Ting-Lu
VGC Guide
155 HP. 125 Defense. And a passive ability that punishes every special attacker on the field just by existing. Flutter Mane, Calyrex-Shadow, and Miraidon all lose 25% SpAtk the moment Ting-Lu steps on the field — no activation needed. Combined with Ruination's guaranteed 50% HP cut, this ancient vessel is both a wall and a wrecking ball.
Vessel of Ruin: Full-Field SpAtk −25%
Vessel of Ruin reduces the Special Attack of every other Pokémon on the field (including allies) by 25% (×0.75). This aura activates automatically the instant Ting-Lu switches in — no move, no turn, no condition required. Opposing special attackers immediately lose a quarter of their offensive output, and unlike Intimidate, this penalty cannot be reversed by abilities like Inner Focus or Defiant.
Important caveat: your own partner's SpAtk is also lowered. If your partner is a special attacker (Flutter Mane, Chi-Yu), carefully weigh this penalty. The ideal partners for Ting-Lu are physical attackers, who are completely unaffected.
When Ting-Lu (Vessel of Ruin: SpAtk ×0.75) is on the field alongside Incineroar (Intimidate: -1 Atk), opponents simultaneously suffer reduced Attack AND reduced SpAtk. Whether a threat is physical or special, it cannot deal full damage — a remarkably strong passive suppression core with zero additional actions required.
Ruination: The Defense-Ignoring HP Halver
- →Ignores Defense and SpDef — equally effective against 0 Def or 252 Def targets
- →Most valuable at full HP — guarantees 50%+ damage regardless of bulk
- →Ruination → partner finisher is a reliable two-turn KO sequence vs Kyogre, Calyrex-Ice
- →Forces opponent to Protect or switch, giving your partner a free action
Standard moves calculate damage using Atk/SpAtk, Def/SpDef, EVs, items, and various modifiers. Ruination bypasses the entire damage formula — it simply deals exactly 50% of the target's current HP, regardless of how much defensive investment the target has. An Assault Vest user, a 252 SpDef Careful spread — Ruination deals exactly the same proportional damage against all of them.
Best Movesets
Counters & Weaknesses
Ting-Lu's Dark/Ground typing brings six weaknesses — a serious liability. Water, Fighting, Fairy, Grass, Bug, and Ice all deal double damage. Fairy-types (Flutter Mane, Zacian) and Water-types (Kyogre, Palafin) are the most common threats in Regulation I meta. The silver lining: complete immunity to Electric and Psychic makes Ting-Lu a hard wall against Miraidon and Calyrex-Shadow's Psychic coverage.
Best Partner Synergy
Ting-Lu's ideal partners are physical attackers — completely unaffected by Vessel of Ruin's SpAtk aura, able to deal full damage while following up on Ruination for reliable KOs. Special attackers can still work but require damage calculations accounting for the ×0.75 SpAtk penalty.
Koraidon is a physical attacker — completely unaffected by Vessel of Ruin. Orichalcum Pulse's Sun boosts the team's offensive environment, and Koraidon's Collision Course or Flare Blitz can clean up after Ruination halves a target's HP.
Urshifu is a physical attacker unaffected by the SpAtk aura. Its Fighting/Dark typing provides coverage that complements Ting-Lu's Ground/Dark attacks. Wicked Blow after Ruination creates near-guaranteed KOs on most targets.
Landorus-T absorbs Fighting-type moves aimed at Ting-Lu and threatens back with Earthquake or Rock Slide. As a physical attacker, it deals full damage unaffected by Vessel of Ruin. The two share Earthquake, so positioning matters.
Incineroar's Intimidate (−Atk) stacks with Vessel of Ruin (−SpAtk) to debuff both offensive directions simultaneously. Fake Out buys Ting-Lu a free Ruination or Earthquake turn. Parting Shot cycling extends Ting-Lu's field presence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vessel of Ruin reduces the Special Attack of every Pokémon on the field except Ting-Lu by 25% (×0.75). It activates automatically on switch-in — no action needed. Flutter Mane, Calyrex-Shadow, and Miraidon all immediately lose 25% of their SpAtk output. The aura stacks with Incineroar's Intimidate for a combined Attack + SpAtk suppression core.
Yes. Ting-Lu is a top-tier physical wall and SpAtk suppressor in Regulation I. Its 155 base HP and 125 base Defense make it extremely difficult to KO with physical moves, while Vessel of Ruin continuously weakens special attackers. In a Regulation I environment dominated by restricted legendaries with high SpAtk, Ting-Lu is a key support anchor and answer to Flutter Mane, Calyrex-Shadow, and similar threats.
Ruination is a Dark-type special move with 100% accuracy that deals exactly 50% of the target's current HP. It completely bypasses Defense and SpDef stats — a Pokémon with 252 Def EVs takes the same proportional damage as one with 0. This makes Ruination especially valuable against high-bulk restricted legendaries. After Ruination, a partner can finish the KO with a single attack for a reliable two-turn sequence. Note: it fails against Sturdy ability users and targets at exactly 1 HP.
Ting-Lu pairs best with physical attackers who are completely unaffected by Vessel of Ruin's SpAtk drop. Top partners: Koraidon (flagship physical attacker, great Ruination follow-up), Urshifu-Single Strike (physical Fighting/Dark, strong type coverage), Landorus-Therian (physical attacker that covers Ting-Lu's Fighting weakness), and Incineroar (Intimidate + Fake Out + Parting Shot for all-around team support).
Usage Rate & Meta Data
Ting-Lu sits at 13.8% usage in Regulation I, ranking it among the top support anchors in the format. Vessel of Ruin passively suppresses every special attacker by 25% multiplicatively, while Ruination deals exactly 152 HP damage to a full-HP Incineroar (304 HP) — a reliable Ruination-into-finisher two-turn KO sequence.
Key Damage Calculations
252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow (-25% Vessel of Ruin) Astral Barrage vs 252 HP / 4 SpD Incineroar: 104-122 (54.2 - 63.5%) -- with Ting-Lu on field
Vessel of Ruin drops Calyrex-Shadow's Astral Barrage output by ~25%, turning a threatening 2HKO into a much more manageable roll — Incineroar survives and can Fake Out or Parting Shot freely.
Ruination cuts Koraidon to exactly 50% regardless of bulk or defensive EVs. Any moderate physical attack from a partner finishes the KO next turn, making this a reliable two-turn sequence against even the bulkiest restricted Pokémon.
Earthquake is Ting-Lu's most reliable spread damage move. Against Incineroar it is a guaranteed 2HKO with 252 Atk investment — position a Flying-type or Levitate partner to avoid friendly fire from the spread.
Build & Test Your Ting-Lu Team
Use PokeStats damage calculator and team builder to simulate Ting-Lu performance across matchups and find the best partners for your squad.