Is there any way to influence nature and gender when Pokemon breeding?

In short, no, not without cheating devices (these let you create the pok�mon form scratch). However, if you make a Pok�mon hold an everstone, there is a 50% chance the offspring will have that nature. So if you say wasnt a Jolly Riolu, then breeding a compatible Jolly father holding an everstone with a female lucario, there is a 50% chance the resultant Riolu will be Jolly, and 12.5% it will be female, so there's a 6.25% chance that any egg will contain a jolly, female Riolu. Torchic has the same male:female ratio (7:1) so the same thing applies here. This easy tool should make things much easier. :)