Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: How To Get Chien-Pao 1
Image: Nintendo Life

Chien-Pao is one of four legendary Pokémon you'll eventually meet while exploring the Paldea region in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

At level 60, this beautiful snow leopard packs a powerful, icy punch, and if you're looking to catch 'em all, you'll need to search every crevice within the Paldea region. Here's how to get Chien-Pao on your team...

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Pokémon Scarlet & Violet - How To Get Chien-Pao

Where to find Chien-Pao

Chien-Pao is hidden behind the Yellow Shrine on the west side of Paldea — West Province (Area One), to be exact. It's on the westernmost tip of the area, partway up a cliff face.

You'll need the ability to climb with Miraidon in order to unlock the shrine — or at least a well-timed glide if you're clever at navigating the skies.

How to open the shrine

To open the shrine, you'll need to pull all eight Yellow Ominous Stakes from the ground.

These are all located across the western areas of Paldea.

How to catch Chien-Pao

Before the battle, we recommend turning off autosave and manually saving from the menu instead. This means if you fail, you can just reload and try again.

A cross between a snow leopard and a sabre-tooth tiger, Chien-Pao is Dark/Ice-type, and with its Sword of Ruin ability, it'll lower your team's Defense stat.

Again, Fire-type moves isn't a great type to use here, and neither are Rock-based attack, as you don't want to cause Chien-Pao to faint. Dragon-type is also a poor choice here as Ice will be super effective. Bring your best Pokémon with resistance to Ice and Dark-type moves.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: How To Get Chien-Pao 4
Image: Nintendo Life

Ultra and Timer Balls are your friend here. Take a chance with a Quick Ball at the start of the battle if you're feeling lucky, and Dusk Balls if it's nighttime.

If you manage to catch it, you'll have one of the four Ruinous Pokémon!

How has it taken this long for a snow leopard Pokémon!? Let us know if you're finding our Pokémon Scarlet & Violet walkthrough guides helpful so far and keep reading on for more hints, tips, and tricks for your journey in the Paldea region!