Chi-Yu
Chi-Yu is a Dark/Fire-type Pokémon, the Ruinous Pokémon, number 1004 (#1004) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 9 and comes from the Paldea region. It is 0.4 m tall and weighs 4.9 kg.
Chi-Yu is a fish of living flame whose jade-bead eyes are its true core, and the Pokédex says it casually swims through a sea of lava it makes by melting rock and sand. Its flames are claimed to burn at roughly 3,000 °C (over 5,400 °F).
How to pronounce Chi-Yu
Chi-Yu is pronounced chee-YOO. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.
Listen to Chi-Yu said out loud:
In Japanese it is イーユイ (Yiyui).
Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.
Lore
Biology
Chi-Yu is a small fish-shaped Pokémon, 0.4 m long and weighing just 4.9 kg. Its eyes are built from two pairs of curved jade beads, ornaments once thought sacred and worn in religious rites, each pair ringing a black-and-white orb. The rest of its body is dark red and yellow flame, and the beads and eyes flare red and yellow during attacks.
Behaviour
The Pokédex ties Chi-Yu to envy: the feeling built up in the beads, which sparked a series of conflicts, and Bulbapedia describes people wanting them enough to start wars. Its entries describe no hostility or friendliness, only the ease with which it handles heat that would melt rock.
Habitat
The Pokédex gives no natural habitat. In Paldea it is sealed in the Firescourge Shrine, in North Province (Area Two).
Powers
Its Ability Beads of Ruin lowers the Special Defense of every other Pokémon in battle. It is a special attacker, with base Special Attack 135 backed by Special Defense 120 and Speed 100, and uses Overheat, Lava Plume, Heat Wave and Nasty Plot. It can also use Memento to weaken a foe as it faints.
Name origin
Chi-Yu may combine jìyú (crucian carp, the fish goldfish were bred from) and yù (jade). The Japanese name is Yiyui (イーユイ), which may combine yù (jade) and yú (fish).
Design inspiration
Chi-Yu may be modelled on a goldfish, especially the telescope-eye and celestial-eye breeds, with magatama, comma-shaped jade ornaments used in ceremony, for the beads. Bulbapedia notes the beads and its birth from envy could recall the phrase 'green-eyed monster', and among the Four Perils it may match Hùndùn, a faceless embodiment of chaos described as scarlet like cinnabar fire. These are fan readings.
In the games
Chi-Yu is one of the four treasures of ruin that you can challenge in Scarlet and Violet once its shrine is unsealed, and you can catch only one per save file. In Pokémon Masters EX it forms a sync pair with Lysandre. It is not available in Legends: Z-A.
In the anime
In the Pokémon Horizons episode HZ153, Coral and Sidian break the Firescourge Shrine's seal by accident, and Liko is the one who finds and confronts Chi-Yu.
Fun facts
- Bulbapedia says it is the only Fire Pokémon with fins.
- It is the lightest Fire type and the lightest Dark type of Generation IX, and Bulbapedia guesses that is because its body is mostly flame, which weighs nothing.
- When you wash it in Scarlet and Violet, the player scrubs it from the side rather than facing its front.
Base stats
- HP: 55
- Attack: 80
- Defense: 80
- Sp. Atk: 135
- Sp. Def: 120
- Speed: 100
Chi-Yu’s base stat total is 570. Its highest stat is Sp. Atk.
Type matchups
What is Chi-Yu weak to?
Chi-Yu takes extra damage from Water (2×), Fighting (2×), Ground (2×), Rock (2×) moves.
It resists Fire (½×), Grass (½×), Ice (½×), Ghost (½×), Dark (½×), Steel (½×).
It is immune to Psychic moves.
Evolution
Chi-Yu does not evolve, and it does not evolve from any other Pokémon.
Abilities
- Beads of Ruin: Lowers Special Defense of all Pokémon except itself.
Moves
Moves Chi-Yu learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ember | Fire | Special | 40 |
| 1 | Spite | Ghost | Status | — |
| 1 | Mean Look | Normal | Status | — |
| 5 | Flame Wheel | Fire | Physical | 60 |
| 10 | Payback | Dark | Physical | 50 |
| 15 | Will-O-Wisp | Fire | Status | — |
| 20 | Flame Charge | Fire | Physical | 50 |
| 25 | Incinerate | Fire | Special | 60 |
| 30 | Confuse Ray | Ghost | Status | — |
| 35 | Nasty Plot | Dark | Status | — |
| 40 | Dark Pulse | Dark | Special | 80 |
| 45 | Lava Plume | Fire | Special | 80 |
| 50 | Ruination | Dark | Special | 1 |
| 55 | Bounce | Flying | Physical | 85 |
| 60 | Swagger | Normal | Status | — |
| 65 | Inferno | Fire | Special | 100 |
| 70 | Memento | Dark | Status | — |
| 75 | Overheat | Fire | Special | 130 |
TM moves (35)
Chi-Yu can learn 35 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Take Down, Scary Face, Protect, Confuse Ray, Fire Spin, Facade, Hex, Snarl, Flame Charge, Endure, Sunny Day, Zen Headbutt, Sleep Talk, Reflect, Light Screen, Rest, Taunt, Dark Pulse, Substitute, Will-O-Wisp, Crunch, Heat Wave, Psychic, Flamethrower, Nasty Plot, Fire Blast, Giga Impact, Overheat, Hyper Beam, Flare Blitz, Tera Blast, Spite, Burning Jealousy, Lash Out, Temper Flare.
Breeding & training
- Gender: genderless.
- Egg groups: Undiscovered.
- Egg cycles: 50 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 6,400).
- Catch rate: 6 out of 255.
- Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 0.
- Growth rate: Slow (1,250,000 experience points to reach level 100).
- Defeating it gives 3 Sp. Atk effort values.
- Base experience yield: 285.
Pokédex entries
The envy accumulated within curved beads that sparked multiple conflicts has clad itself in fire and become a Pokémon. (Violet)
It controls flames burning at over 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit. It casually swims through the sea of lava it creates by melting rock and sand. (Scarlet)
Names around the world
| Japanese | イーユイ |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Yiyui |
| French | Yuyu |
| German | Yuyu |
| Spanish | Chi-Yu |
| Italian | Chi-Yu |
| Korean | 위유이 |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 古玉鱼 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 古玉魚 |
Trivia
- Highest Sp. Atk among Dark types: 135, shared with 1 other.
- Lightest Fire type in Gen 9: 4.9 kg.
- Shortest Fire type in Gen 9: 0.4 m, shared with 1 other.
- Highest Sp. Def among Fire types in Gen 9: 120.
- Lightest Dark type in Gen 9: 4.9 kg.
- Shortest Dark type in Gen 9: 0.4 m.
- Highest Sp. Atk among Dark types in Gen 9: 135.
- Taller than 11% of all Pokémon (0.4 m).
- Heavier than 15% of all Pokémon (4.9 kg).
- Base stat total 570, ranked #93 of 1,025.
- Its best stat is Sp. Atk, ranked #21 of 1,025.
- One of 4 Pokémon that are both Dark and Fire.
- One of 97 red Pokémon.
- Number 99 of 120 Pokémon introduced in Generation 9 (Paldea).
- Can learn 46 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
- Catch rate 6: about 0.8% per Poké Ball at full health.
- Appears in 2 distinct Pokédex entries.
Sources and fact-checking
- Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
- Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Chi-Yu (Pokémon), Serebii: Chi-Yu (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex), Bulbapedia: Treasures of ruin.
- Pronunciation (chee-YOO): no English source says it out loud, so it is our best guess from the parts of the name.
Last checked: . Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.
Explore
Dark-type Pokémon · Fire-type Pokémon · Dark/Fire weaknesses and matchups · Chi-Yu vs Ting-Lu · Paldea region guide · Beads of Ruin ability · Compare Chi-Yu · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves
Browse similar Pokémon
Gen 9 Dark-type Pokémon · Gen 9 Fire-type Pokémon · Gen 9 Pokémon list · Red Pokémon list · No Eggs Discovered egg group · Pokémon that start with C · Fish Pokémon
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