Chien Pao

Using Chien Pao in a Playthrough

Chien-Pao is a standalone Dark/Ice Legendary Pokémon obtainable in both Scarlet and Violet by pulling the eight yellow stakes that seal the Icerend Shrine and then challenging it at level 60. Its current base 120 Attack and exceptional base 135 Speed make it one of Paldea's fastest and most immediately dangerous physical attackers, while Sword of Ruin multiplies the Defense stat of every other active Pokémon by 0.75 and therefore makes Chien-Pao's physical attacks hit much harder than its Attack stat alone suggests. Ice Spinner and Crunch provide perfectly accurate physical STAB, while Icicle Crash offers more Ice power at 90% accuracy and Sacred Sword supplies important coverage against opposing Dark-, Ice-, Rock-, and Steel-types. Ice Shard gives reliable priority and Sucker Punch offers stronger Dark priority but depends on the target choosing an attacking move, making the two options useful for different kinds of speed control. Its offensive profile is excellent, but Dark/Ice is defensively poor: Chien-Pao is weak to Bug, Fairy, Fire, Rock, and Steel and takes 4× damage from Fighting, while 80/80/65 bulk gives it little margin for error against strong neutral hits. Ruination can remove half of a target's current HP when it hits, but 90% accuracy and Chien-Pao's enormous direct attacking power make it more situational in a normal playthrough than on defensive Ruinous Pokémon. Terastallization can erase the 4× Fighting weakness or amplify Dark or Ice offense, while Jolly is generally ideal for preserving the elite Speed tier and Adamant can be used when maximum damage is more important.

Chien Pao in Competitive Pokémon

Chien-Pao is currently Uber in Scarlet/Violet singles and has one of Generation IX's clearest early tiering histories: after surviving an initial January 2023 quickban vote, it was banned from SV OU by suspect test on February 11, 2023 with 69.03% support. Sword of Ruin is central to why it became overwhelming in OU, because reducing every other active Pokémon's Defense to 75% effectively magnifies the impact of base 120 Attack, strong Dark/Ice STAB, Swords Dance, and an already elite base 135 Speed tier. In Ubers, Chien-Pao commonly functions as a revenge killer or late-game cleaner using Icicle Crash or Ice Spinner, Crunch, Sucker Punch, Ice Shard, and sometimes Swords Dance; its priority is especially valuable against faster or boosted Dragons. Its limitations are much more visible at that power level: it is frail, weak to Stealth Rock, vulnerable to common Fighting-, Fairy-, Steel-, and Fire-type attacks, and often struggles to enter the field repeatedly without support. Official VGC gives Chien-Pao a separate and highly successful identity because Sword of Ruin also reduces the Defense of both opponents, dramatically increasing the damage of physically attacking partners such as Dragonite, Urshifu, and restricted Pokémon while Chien-Pao contributes Protect, Sucker Punch, Ice attacks, or Sacred Sword. That doubles role remained relevant deep into the Scarlet/Violet era; Chien-Pao appeared on multiple top-cut teams at the 2025 World Championships, including a Masters semifinal team and Senior and Junior semifinal teams. Its singles ban and long VGC career therefore come from the same defining mechanic—Sword of Ruin—but the surrounding roles differ sharply between self-contained offense in singles and teamwide physical amplification in doubles.

Chien Pao in Nuzlockes

Chien-Pao can be extraordinarily powerful in a Nuzlocke if the ruleset permits Legendary encounters, but its survival profile is much less forgiving than its offensive numbers suggest. Base 135 Speed is its strongest defensive asset because moving first can eliminate threats before they act, while Ice Shard gives perfectly accurate priority when an opposing Pokémon is already weakened. Sword of Ruin increases physical damage without requiring a setup turn, making Chien-Pao particularly good at securing immediate knockouts, but the same Ability also reduces the Defense of allied Pokémon in Double Battles and can therefore increase risk to a partner. Ice Spinner and Crunch are safer routine STAB choices than Icicle Crash because they are perfectly accurate, and Sucker Punch should not be treated as guaranteed priority because it fails if the opponent uses a status or setup move. The 4× Fighting weakness is the largest danger, but Chien-Pao also has five additional ordinary weaknesses and only base 65 Special Defense, so blind switching is hazardous even when it outspeeds most opponents. Ruination's fixed proportional damage can be useful against very bulky targets, yet its 90% accuracy introduces unnecessary variance if a direct attack already secures the knockout. Used as a carefully positioned finisher rather than a switch-in, Chien-Pao can be one of the strongest offensive Nuzlocke assets in Paldea.

Chien-Pao is a long, panther-like Pokémon whose visible body is made from snow and ice, with crystalline claws, whiskers, and body markings. Its true core is the pair of broken sword pieces that form its enormous fangs: the hatred of people killed by that sword long ago accumulated within the weapon and eventually became the Pokémon. Chien-Pao can control roughly 100 tons of fallen snow and causes avalanches, then leaps through the moving snow in what the Pokédex describes as innocent play. The contrast between its playful behavior and the violent human hatred that created its core is a defining feature of the Sword of Ruin.