252 Spa Choice Specs Beads Of Ruin Tera Fire Chi Yu
Also known as: Chi-Yu copypasta · Chi-Yu damage calc meme
"252+ SpA Choice Specs Beads of Ruin Tera Fire Chi-Yu" is a copypasta from the competitive Pokémon community that lists the absurd number of damage-boosting conditions needed to turn the Legendary Pokémon Chi-Yu into an unstoppable one-hit-kill machine3. Originating on Reddit's /r/stunfisk subreddit in December 2022 after the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the format became a go-to joke template among competitive Pokémon fans who found humor in the sheer stack of buffs required to obliterate even the tankiest defenders1.
Overview
The meme takes its name from a string of competitive Pokémon jargon that reads like an incantation: "252+ SpA Choice Specs Beads of Ruin Tera Fire Chi-Yu." Each term in the string represents a different layer of damage optimization3. Broken down: "252+" means maximum EVs (effort values) invested in Special Attack with a boosting nature, "Choice Specs" is a held item that increases Special Attack by 50%, "Beads of Ruin" is Chi-Yu's signature ability that lowers all opponents' Special Defense by 25%, and "Tera Fire" means the Pokémon has Terastallized into pure Fire type for a same-type attack bonus12.
The result is a Chi-Yu using Overheat, one of the strongest special Fire-type moves in the game, with so many multipliers stacked that it can knock out Pokémon that should comfortably survive Fire-type hits. The comedy comes from the ridiculous length of the damage calculator output and the fact that even dedicated walls crumble under this specific setup3.
Chi-Yu was introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Generation IX) as one of the four Treasures of Ruin, a group of Legendary Pokémon sealed away in Paldea1. Designed as a fish-like creature formed from cursed jade beads and dark flames, Chi-Yu packs a base 130 Special Attack stat, making it one of the hardest-hitting special attackers in the game1.
Its signature ability, Beads of Ruin, passively cuts the Special Defense of every other Pokémon on the field by 25%, a free defensive shred just for showing up2. Combined with Choice Specs, maximum EV investment, a boosting nature, and the Terastallization mechanic new to Generation IX, Chi-Yu's Overheat reaches damage numbers that look like typos.
The earliest known post calling attention to this absurd damage output appeared on December 11, 2022, in Reddit's /r/stunfisk (the competitive Pokémon subreddit)3. User Phoenix-Rising-78 posted about how a fully optimized Chi-Yu could potentially one-shot Toxapex, a Water/Poison-type Pokémon famous for being one of the most durable special walls in competitive play. The post gained over 70 upvotes in its first year3.
Origin & Background
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
The standard format lists every damage-boosting factor in a row, mimicking the output of a Pokémon damage calculator like calc.pokemonshowdown.com. People typically:
Pick a Pokémon with high offensive stats (Chi-Yu is the classic choice)
Stack every possible damage multiplier: EVs, nature, held item, ability, Tera type
Name the move (usually Overheat for Chi-Yu)
State the target, often an extremely bulky defensive Pokémon
Deliver the punchline: the damage roll shows a guaranteed one-hit KO on something that should never go down in one hit
Fun Facts
Chi-Yu's flames burn at over 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit (3,000 degrees Celsius), hot enough to melt rock and sand into lava that it can swim through.
The Pokémon is based on the Chinese mythological figure Hundun (混沌), an embodiment of chaos described as "scarlet like cinnabar fire" in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Chi-Yu's true form is just the jade beads that make up its eyes. The rest of its fish-shaped body is constructed from flames it controls.
Beads of Ruin is the only ability in the game that passively lowers all opponents' Special Defense just by being on the field.
The copypasta's home base, /r/stunfisk, is named after one of the least competitively viable Pokémon in the franchise, making it a fitting birthplace for a meme about absurd power.