Leading into the second round for viable competitive Pokémon for players to use in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the leads at Smogon have decided to place Chien-Pao under the magnifying glass. The team will assess if this legendary Pokémon should be allowed in competitive play, and if removed, players will no longer be able to use them in Smogon-recognized tournaments.
So far, these are only the initial discussions, with an official vote happening at a later time. Meetings are open to all Smogon users so long as they have a minimum GXE of 80 and have played at least 50 games.
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Based on the initial comments shared by players, it doesn’t look like Chien-Pao will be allowed to continue to be used in competitive play and won’t have as narrow of a vote margin as Terastallization did last month. There are multiple arguments against players using this legendary Pokémon in competitive play, mainly because of the Pokémon’s overpowering speed and power.
Because of Chien-Pao’s speed, and particular weaknesses in competitive play, it becomes a difficult threat to counter. An opposing player would need a specific Pokémon to go against it by not only having a Pokémon that could counter it with specific moves but also being faster than it, which is problematic given Chien-Pao’s naturally high-speed stat.
Chien-Pao is one of the four legendary Pokémon you can encounter in the Paldea region, locked behind a mystical gate. Players need to collect all eight yellow ominous stakes scattered throughout the region. After they’ve been collected, players can catch Chien-Pao at a specific location, adding the Dark and Ice-type Pokémon to their collection.
The official vote will take place after the preliminary discussions about whether Chien-Pao should be banned, or allowed to continue to play, following February 10 at GMT-5.
