I feel as there's been a lot of talk surrounding Chien-Pao, some saying its overpowered and needs action while others are saying that it deserves a place in this meta and is not overpowered. Here is my thought on the situation.
Chien-Pao, in my opinion, is broken, but also not broken
Chien-Pao is broken in multiple ways. The main way being Icicle Crash. A lot of people have been saying that the only reason that Chien-Pao is broken is due to Icicle Crash, since it ignores Fluffy and because flinch sucks. The thing is, most physical moves are contact, but there are a select few that don't make contact and that are actually used, which would be Earthquake, Stone Edge, Icicle Crash, Poltergeist, Psycho Cut and Gunk Shot. Here's the thing though, Corviknight is definitely the most used Fluffy mon and it's already immune to EQ and Gunk Shot, as well as resists Psycho Cut. Stone Edge is really only used by Roaring Moon, which doesn't even use it on all sets, and Poltergeist is used by Ceruledge but Ceruledge is a bit less common. That leaves us with Icicle Crash. While it still does only 33% on average without having used Swords Dance, Brave Bird isn't even a guaranteed 2HKO, which allows Chien-Pao to Swords Dance, and then just spam Icicle Crash, and even if you look as if your gonna 2HKO based on the first roll, you still have to put into account that you could get flinched, and then possibly swept. You could also use Intimidate, but then you got to worry about Lash Out, and when Corv attempts to Roost off the damage, Chien-Pao can just Swords Dance, and that brings it back to the Icicle Crash shenanigans. This is why Chien-Pao is broken. However, Chien-Pao is also not broken for a multitude of reasons. First off, Icicle Crash can miss and I think most everyone knows how big of a deal a 10% miss is. Secondly, Chien-Pao suffers from "Four Move Slot Syndrome". You need Icicle Crash for Fluffy mons, you need Swords Dance to beat Corv, you need Lash Out for Intimidate, you need Sacred Sword for opposing Chien-Pao and Heatran, and you need Ice Shard for Scarf Roaring Moon. Third, it gets revenge killed fast attackers such as Barraskewda and Scarf Azelf. Lastly, you don't need Corv to counter Chien-Pao. There are other notable mons that can counter Chien-Pao, such as Quaquaval, Skarmory, and Iron Hands, which all have access to fighting type moves to beat Chien-Pao.
Should there by any action?
I'm gonna say no. I think that there is counterplay to Chien-Pao that we haven't "discovered" (can't exactly find the right wording). You could make a point that Chien-Pao requires specific counterplay, which isn't healthy for a metagame, but I think that the situation isn't quite out of hand yet. I could go on... but I don't feel like it.
Chien-Pao, in my opinion, is broken, but also not broken
Chien-Pao is broken in multiple ways. The main way being Icicle Crash. A lot of people have been saying that the only reason that Chien-Pao is broken is due to Icicle Crash, since it ignores Fluffy and because flinch sucks. The thing is, most physical moves are contact, but there are a select few that don't make contact and that are actually used, which would be Earthquake, Stone Edge, Icicle Crash, Poltergeist, Psycho Cut and Gunk Shot. Here's the thing though, Corviknight is definitely the most used Fluffy mon and it's already immune to EQ and Gunk Shot, as well as resists Psycho Cut. Stone Edge is really only used by Roaring Moon, which doesn't even use it on all sets, and Poltergeist is used by Ceruledge but Ceruledge is a bit less common. That leaves us with Icicle Crash. While it still does only 33% on average without having used Swords Dance, Brave Bird isn't even a guaranteed 2HKO, which allows Chien-Pao to Swords Dance, and then just spam Icicle Crash, and even if you look as if your gonna 2HKO based on the first roll, you still have to put into account that you could get flinched, and then possibly swept. You could also use Intimidate, but then you got to worry about Lash Out, and when Corv attempts to Roost off the damage, Chien-Pao can just Swords Dance, and that brings it back to the Icicle Crash shenanigans. This is why Chien-Pao is broken. However, Chien-Pao is also not broken for a multitude of reasons. First off, Icicle Crash can miss and I think most everyone knows how big of a deal a 10% miss is. Secondly, Chien-Pao suffers from "Four Move Slot Syndrome". You need Icicle Crash for Fluffy mons, you need Swords Dance to beat Corv, you need Lash Out for Intimidate, you need Sacred Sword for opposing Chien-Pao and Heatran, and you need Ice Shard for Scarf Roaring Moon. Third, it gets revenge killed fast attackers such as Barraskewda and Scarf Azelf. Lastly, you don't need Corv to counter Chien-Pao. There are other notable mons that can counter Chien-Pao, such as Quaquaval, Skarmory, and Iron Hands, which all have access to fighting type moves to beat Chien-Pao.
Should there by any action?
I'm gonna say no. I think that there is counterplay to Chien-Pao that we haven't "discovered" (can't exactly find the right wording). You could make a point that Chien-Pao requires specific counterplay, which isn't healthy for a metagame, but I think that the situation isn't quite out of hand yet. I could go on... but I don't feel like it.
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