Best Chien-Pao PvP build in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Nature, Tera Type, moves, and more

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have brought some amazing battling items, weather changes, and new creatures to the current generation of the franchise. Players have a lot to accustom themselves to when it comes to the ever-changing meta. By far, the most oppressive change made comes in the form of the new Legendaries.

Chien-Pao, one of the members of the new Legendary Quartet, has been on many people's radars since Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were first launched. With many competitive formats at the time banning the new Legendaries until more experimentation was done, many players may want to give this new creature a try now that it can be used in the games' mainstream tournament scene.

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How to use Chien-Pao in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet PvP

Chien-Pao's Pokedex picture in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Chien-Pao's biggest claim to fame is its signature ability, Sword of Ruin. Through this ability, every participant on the field, even Chien-Pao's teammates, receive a 25% reduction in their total defense except for itself. While other field effects give creatures of a certain type an advantage through a passive bonus, the Ruin array of abilities is the only field condition that actively decreases combatants' stats.

With this effect constantly in play when Chien-Pao is on the field, every serious competitive player uses the creature as a hyper-aggressive physical attacker that can make quick work of targets who do not resist its attacks. This means the only real counters to the Pocket Monster are mind games and the Wonder Room field effect.

While Chien-Pao is a great attacker, there is very little room for variation. Active experimentation can leave this pick open to experienced opponents, as the creature possesses one of the worst defensive types in the franchise (Dark and Ice) to balance out its borderline overpowered ability.

With this being the case, players should keep Chien-Pao away from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's many Fighting-type Pocket Monsters.

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What is the best moveset for Chien-Pao in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

Chien-Pao's biggest shortcoming comes in its moveset. Being a creature with one job on the team leaves it with a very predictable moveset. Most commonly, the creature is used with a set of Scared Sword, Ice Spinner, Protect, and Sucker Punch.

This moveset pairs excellently with a Tera Typing of Dark, as it removes the notoriously terrible Ice typing and boosts the power of the Sucker Punch priority move even further. Ice Spinner also works great for dealing heavy damage as well as clearing terrain that players may have set to give themselves an advantage.

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What is the best nature and held item for Chien-Pao in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

Since Chien-Pao needs to ensure that it moves first in order to deal as much damage as it can before getting knocked out, players typically run it with a Jolly nature. In addition, they use an EV spread to max out their attack and speed, while putting the remaining four points into special defense or HP.

When it comes to items for Chien-Pao, trainers have a few different choices. Most tend to use Focus Sash in case Chien-Pao is in an unfavorable matchup in its first turn. However, Life Orb and Focus Band can be great for those looking to maximize damage potential.