Chien-Pao is a high-speed, high-attack Pokémon whose ability, Sword of Ruin, passively lowers the Defense stat of all other Pokémon on the field by 25%. This makes it an exceptional offensive threat, capable of breaking through defensive cores and applying immense pressure.
Standard Offensive Chien-Pao
This build focuses on maximizing Chien-Pao's offensive capabilities, often utilizing its speed and power for immediate impact.
- Ability: Sword of Ruin
- Item: Focus Sash / Choice Band / Life Orb
- Tera Type: Dark / Ice / Ghost / Flying
- Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA) or Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
- EV Spread: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Common Moveset:
- Icicle Crash: Powerful Ice-type STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) with a chance to flinch.
- Sucker Punch: Dark-type priority STAB, crucial for hitting faster threats or securing KOs.
- Sacred Sword: Fighting-type coverage that notably ignores the opponent's Defense boosts. Alternatively, Throat Chop for Dark STAB if not using Tera Dark and for utility against sound-based moves.
- Protect: Essential in doubles (VGC) for scouting, stalling, and repositioning. In singles, Ice Spinner (removes terrain, 100% accurate Ice STAB) or Swords Dance (boosts Attack by two stages) are common alternatives.
Key Considerations
Item Choice:
- Focus Sash: Guarantees Chien-Pao survives at least one hit, allowing it to attack or set up with Swords Dance. Particularly effective due to its low defensive stats.
- Choice Band: Significantly boosts Attack, making Chien-Pao an immediate and devastating wallbreaker, but locks it into the first move selected.
- Life Orb: Offers a 30% damage boost to all attacks at the cost of 10% HP per hit, providing flexibility over Choice Band.
Tera Type Strategy:
- Tera Dark: Boosts Sucker Punch's power significantly, making it a formidable revenge-killing tool. Also grants immunity to Prankster moves like Thunder Wave.
- Tera Ice: Maximizes damage output from Icicle Crash or Ice Spinner, useful for securing crucial KOs against bulky targets.
- Tera Ghost: Provides immunity to Fighting-type attacks (a common Chien-Pao weakness) and Normal-type priority like Extreme Speed or Fake Out.
- Tera Flying: Offers an immunity to Ground-type attacks and can be paired with Tera Blast for coverage against Fighting-types that resist its STABs.
Nature and EVs:
- A Jolly nature is generally preferred to outspeed key threats in its speed tier or faster Pokémon that are not Jolly.
- Adamant can be used for maximum damage output, especially if speed control is provided by teammates or if specific damage calculations necessitate it.
- Maximum Attack and Speed EVs are standard to capitalize on its offensive role. The remaining 4 EVs are typically placed in Special Defense or HP.
Common Offensive Partners
Chien-Pao thrives alongside Pokémon that can either benefit from Sword of Ruin or cover its weaknesses.
- Dragonite: A classic partner. Dragonite's Extreme Speed benefits immensely from the defense drop, and it can handle Fighting-types that threaten Chien-Pao.
- Flutter Mane: Another fast, powerful attacker that appreciates the opponent's lowered defenses for its special attacks and can cover Chien-Pao's weaknesses.
- Iron Bundle: Forms a potent offensive core, applying immense speed and offensive pressure.
- Chi-Yu: If using multiple "Treasures of Ruin," Chi-Yu's Beads of Ruin (lowering Special Defense) combined with Chien-Pao's Sword of Ruin can overwhelm opponents defensively.
Effectively utilizing Chien-Pao involves identifying opportunities to bring it in safely and leveraging its incredible offensive pressure. Its frailty necessitates careful play, but its damage potential is game-changing.
