[OVERVIEW]
Zapdos is a dominant and defining Pokemon in GSC OU. It has tremendous base 125 Special Attack and near perfect coverage between STAB Electric-type moves and Hidden Power Ice, making it an offensive force to be reckoned with. It is particularly deadly when used with Spikes support, as no Pokemon immune to Spikes can stomach hits from it for long, and even grounded foes that can withstand a beating from it, such as Raikou and Snorlax, become crippled if Zapdos's Thunder inflicts paralysis on them. Zapdos also has defensive traits that its main competition, Raikou, can only look to the sky in envy at. Its Flying typing grants it immunity to Earthquake from the tier's many Ground-types as well as useful resistances to Fighting and Bug—all without the usual accompanying weakness to Electric-type attacks. Its phenomenal typing and formidable defensive stats make it one of the best candidates for using RestTalk, which gives Zapdos excellent longevity and makes it one of the best Pokemon at taking Toxic from foes such as Skarmory, Cloyster, Suicune, and Blissey, although it should be more wary of taking paralysis when it doesn't need to. Thanks to its spectacular damage output, even the few Pokemon that can 2HKO it, such as Jynx, Tyranitar, and Marowak, can struggle to find an opportunity to advantageously trade hits with it, especially since Zapdos often finds chances to recover lost health with Rest. This excellent balance between offense and defense makes Zapdos an easy fit on many teams. However, Zapdos will often find itself having to trade hits with Snorlax, which is one of the very few Pokemon that can do so favorably. Furthermore, while it generally has the upper hand in most matchups, many common offensive Pokemon such as Cloyster, Exeggutor, and Steelix will often try to trade themselves for Zapdos with Explosion, which almost always OHKOes it.
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Water
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Great Special Attack, combined with the ability to continuously get rid of status and restore health with virtually no drawbacks, turns Zapdos into a powerful tank. The choice between Thunder and Thunderbolt depends on what your team needs more: power or consistency. Offensive teams will typically favor Thunder's higher Base Power, which allows Zapdos to possibly 4HKO Snorlax and 2HKO Miltank. The damage roll on Snorlax is particularly notable against non-Sleep Talk Snorlax, as Zapdos without Thunder will require multiple critical hits within a few turns to KO Snorlax, whereas Thunder Zapdos can potentially KO it if Thunder lands a critical hit within three attacks. Thunder's high chance of inflicting paralysis also makes Electric-types such as Raikou shakier at checking Zapdos, as they depend on their Speed to reliably deal with other foes such as Vaporeon and Cloyster. This high chance of paralysis on such a powerful move is an important reason why Zapdos can be so difficult to deal with—aside from Raikou, Pokemon such as Exeggutor, Tyranitar, Porygon2, and Gengar lose considerable effectiveness when they become paralyzed, and they will all need to risk this occasionally. Still, some teams may prefer the high PP and accuracy of Thunderbolt, which gives Zapdos more consistency against foes such as Vaporeon, Cloyster, Starmie, and Tentacruel. Zapdos's coverage attack is primarily used to threaten Ground-types such as Nidoking and Marowak. Hidden Power Ice has the benefits of hitting Grass-types such as Exeggutor super effectively and crucially increasing Zapdos's odds at beating opposing RestTalk Zapdos with Sleep Talk rolls. Hidden Power Water is an alternative option to hit Golem, Steelix, and Rhydon harder, but the resulting HP DV drop and neutral damage to opposing Zapdos make Zapdos substantially less likely to come out on top against RestTalk Zapdos with Hidden Power Ice. With Rest and Sleep Talk, Zapdos makes a great status absorber and a more consistent check to Vaporeon, Exeggutor, and Nidoking. Its defensive stats and typing pair together so well that, with the right Sleep Talk rolls, it can sometimes beat almost an entire weakened team by itself, especially if the team lacks Explosion or attacks that 2HKO it.
Team Options
========
Zapdos possesses several qualities that make it fantastic at taking advantage of Spikes: its attacking moves hit all Spikes-immune Pokemon extremely hard, its immunity to Spikes makes it excellent at double switching to rack up Spikes damage, and very few of the Pokemon that can withstand its powerful attacks pose an immediate KO threat in return. Cloyster not only provides these Spikes, but it also switches into many of the Pokemon that can switch into Zapdos, with the notable exception of Raikou. Offensive partners such as Gengar and Exeggutor lure in the three major walls that trouble Zapdos—Raikou, Blissey, and Snorlax—and can use a strong Explosion to KO or severely weaken them. Gengar also acts as an effective lure to Quagsire, which, while uncommon, walls Zapdos effectively. Exeggutor, on the other hand, can check Quagsire with ease. Zapdos also enjoys support from Snorlax, which can take on problematic foes such as Raikou, Blissey, and Jolteon, while a Raikou of your own will take on opposing Electric-types. If Snorlax has Self-Destruct, it can also bait and KO opposing Snorlax to give room for Zapdos to wreak havoc. Slower offensive Pokemon such as Vaporeon and Machamp appreciate paralysis support from Thunder, and teams that have Raikou will almost certainly switch it into Zapdos, giving Zapdos plenty of chances to inflict this paralysis for its teammates. Zapdos enjoys support from Snorlax checks such as Steelix, Rhydon, and Machamp on offensive teams and Skarmory, Misdreavus, Umbreon, and Miltank on defensive teams; Tyranitar and Golem are also commonly found on both kinds of team. Skarmory can also take Explosion from Steelix and deal with Quagsire. Machamp, Vaporeon, and Ground-types such as Nidoking help Zapdos against Tyranitar. Ground-types also help against Electric-types, especially Raikou.
[SET]
name: Offensive Phazer
move 1: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 2: Hidden Power Water / Hidden Power Ice
move 3: Whirlwind
move 4: Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Zapdos can take its already respectable offensive presence to another level by using Whirlwind in tandem with Spikes support. This set works due to Zapdos's huge threat level against a vast majority of the metagame. Few Pokemon can afford to stay in to trade hits with Zapdos—notably, fewer than can take Roar Raikou on—with many risking being OHKOed if they stay in. Most teams rely on Snorlax and Raikou or a Ground-type to combat Zapdos's onslaught, but repeatedly taking Spikes damage on entry and then immediately being phazed, forcing another entry, can bring even the sturdiest checks into KO range of its attacks. There is no reliable answer to such a strategy other than to anticipate Whirlwind and attack Zapdos or hope that Whirlwind drags in a healthy Pokemon that has a favorable matchup. Whirlwind also lets Zapdos punish Snorlax for setting up Curse against it by preventing it from burning through any of its sleep turns if used when Snorlax is forced to use Rest. Thunder Wave can cripple most healthy Pokemon, making the target easier for Zapdos and its team to deal with. It is particularly useful when dealing with RestTalk Zapdos, which is one of the only Pokemon that can give this Zapdos significant trouble due to its immunity to Spikes and ability to avoid being 2HKOed. Thunder Wave is not the only option for this moveslot; rather, it is the clear best option for a majority of teams. One alternative is Protect, which can block Explosion from the likes of Exeggutor, Steelix, and Gengar and allow Zapdos to recover health with Leftovers to help compensate for lacking Rest, potentially turning 3HKOs into 4HKOs against foes such as Nidoking and Gengar. While this Zapdos is typically considered an offensive variant, Whirlwind also allows it to play defensive roles, such as phazing Mean Look variants of Misdreavus and Umbreon, Curse and Belly Drum Snorlax that have used Rest, and other foes with boosting moves. On more defensive lineups, it may elect to use Rest over Thunder Wave and pair up with a Heal Bell user such as Blissey.
In terms of attacks, this variant of Zapdos is much more dependent on Spikes support and therefore prefers to have the most powerful and accurate moves against Rapid Spin users. Thunderbolt is slightly preferred over Thunder, as it consistently eliminates Starmie and Cloyster and deals reliable heavy damage to Forretress, and Hidden Power Water is preferred over Hidden Power Ice so that Zapdos can nail Golem, Rhydon, and Steelix, which is useful to deter use of Rapid Spin from Golem, Rock Slide from Rhydon, and Body Slam or Roar from Steelix. In addition, Whirlwind somewhat compensates for Hidden Power Water's worsened Exeggutor matchup, as Zapdos can phaze it as it switches in. However, Exeggutor is a much bigger threat to this Zapdos and can be especially problematic if the team cannot maintain Spikes support. Hidden Power Ice can therefore still be useful, and it also helps against opposing Zapdos when using the less reliable Thunder.
Team Options
========
Cloyster is the preferred teammate for Spikes support, as it provides a significant offensive threat alongside its Spikes and can blow a hole in the opponent's defenses against Zapdos. It also provides a decent temporary answer to Curse Snorlax thanks to its high Defense, tendency to run Toxic in its standard moveset—which can force Snorlax to use Rest, and ability to threaten Snorlax with Explosion. Cloyster also provides a temporary answer to Ground- and Rock-type foes that Zapdos may not always want to trade hits with, such as Rhydon and Marowak. Forretress is a valid alternative, although its offensive capabilities are lacking. It is great at taking advantage of foes such as mono-attacking Snorlax and capitalizes well when opponents are stacking their teams with anti-Cloyster measures, such as Thunder Snorlax and Toxic Skarmory, which are less effective against Forretress and can grant it easy opportunities to set Spikes. Gengar is another useful teammate for its ability to spinblock, as losing Spikes can significantly impair Zapdos's offensive capabilities against defensive teams. Without RestTalk, Zapdos is far more susceptible to status. RestTalk Snorlax is therefore a great choice of teammate, especially on teams that lack other good candidates for a RestTalk user, as it can absorb status from most foes safely. Zapdos generally appreciates having offensive teammates that punish foes for trying to recover. Some of these include Nidoking, Gengar, Exeggutor, and Jynx. In particular, it is important that Zapdos's teammates do not allow paralyzed opposing Zapdos opportunities to switch in and use Rest without threatening a 3HKO in return or a trade with Explosion.
However, if Zapdos is instead found on a defensive lineup, pressing a favorable position is much less important and its teammates can instead be focused on gaining and maintaining a Spikes advantage while walling the enemy team. Skarmory is a commonly chosen teammate that can take on Curse + Earthquake Snorlax reliably and check Marowak and Machamp, which are two Pokemon that Zapdos does not want to be the lone check against. Blissey is a great choice for checking special attackers and offering Heal Bell support to Zapdos. When paired with other formidable mixed tanks such as Snorlax, Zapdos can also help against foes such as Nidoking, Machamp, Vaporeon, and Tentacruel, despite lacking RestTalk.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Running Drill Peck with an Electric-type move and Hidden Power Water will give Zapdos a better matchup against threats such as Heracross, Machamp, and Exeggutor, and its high PP and solid damage output can put pressure on Blissey's Soft-Boiled PP, but Zapdos will still have problems with Raikou, Snorlax, and Quagsire. When used alongside Whirlwind, Reflect is helpful when dealing with Tyranitar, Machamp, and Snorlax; Light Screen is similarly useful when fighting Nidoking, Jynx, and opposing Zapdos. Light Screen also tends to be valuable in helping setup sweepers find opportunities to boost without losing too much health in the process. Toxic is a possibility to force Snorlax and Raikou into a predictable Rest, which can grant momentum. In addition, if Snorlax is unable to safely absorb Toxic, this can put Blissey in a difficult position due to its limited Heal Bell PP. Zapdos can consider running Hidden Power Grass to deal a lot of damage to Quagsire, but this will severely impact Zapdos's HP stat and lose crucial super effective coverage against Nidoking, so it is therefore almost never recommended. With Magnet, Zapdos can possibly 3HKO Snorlax with Thunder after Spikes, though losing Leftovers reduces Zapdos's longevity by such a huge amount that Zapdos loses much of its usual defensive effectiveness. Zapdos's high Speed means that it can use Substitute + Swagger somewhat effectively with prior paralysis spreading and Spikes support. This can give it a better chance of getting through some of its bulkier checks, such as Snorlax and Quagsire. However, this strategy can easily fall apart against RestTalk Zapdos and Raikou if they are able to use Rest, and the set suffers from the inability to fit Thunder Wave.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types**: Raikou is the best counter to Zapdos, as it can take any of Zapdos's moves while phazing or hammering Zapdos with a powerful STAB Thunder of its own. Jolteon can use Zapdos without Whirlwind as setup bait. After it uses Agility or Growth, it can use Baton Pass to send a deadly boost to a teammate to sweep Zapdos's team. Jolteon can also easily dispose of Zapdos itself after using Growth. Other less common Electric-types such as Ampharos also have a good matchup against Zapdos. However, none of them appreciate being paralyzed by Zapdos's Thunder or Thunder Wave, and none of them can immediately threaten a 2HKO on Zapdos, which can give Zapdos a chance to fish for paralysis against them.
**Special Walls**: Blissey walls Zapdos all day long; however, it is largely unable to do anything significant to Zapdos other than use Light Screen to support its team or fish for a freeze with Ice Beam while Zapdos is awake. With RestTalk or Heal Bell support, Snorlax will easily take on even Thunder Zapdos. Even without such support, Snorlax is one of the best Pokemon at tanking Zapdos's moves and threatens it back significantly with its STAB attacks. However, Zapdos's Thunder is capable of 4HKOing Snorlax, so pairing Snorlax with a Ground-type Pokemon to bait Hidden Power can be useful in limiting the damage it takes switching in. Rapid Spin support also helps immensely in this regard, as Spikes damage counteracts Leftovers recovery and causes Thunder damage to accumulate far more quickly.
**Ground-types**: Steelix works as an effective pivot for teams looking to bring in a check to Zapdos against a relatively weak Hidden Power Ice. Steelix can also use Explosion to trade itself for Zapdos, phaze, or paralyze Zapdos with Body Slam or Dragon Breath. Piloswine and Quagsire can also check Hidden Power Ice Zapdos reliably and potentially threaten it in return with Ice Beam or Hidden Power Rock. Quagsire also has the advantage of taking neutral damage from Hidden Power Water, unlike the other Ground-types that also take neutral damage from Hidden Power Ice. Marowak can 2HKO Zapdos with Rock Slide and almost always avoids a 2HKO from Hidden Power. Nidoking usually 3HKOes with Ice Beam and has the threat of Counter up its sleeve—Counter always succeeds against Hidden Power in GSC, although Nidoking should weaken Zapdos before attempting to pull this off. Rhydon 2HKOes Zapdos with Rock Slide and narrowly evades being 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ice almost all of the time. However, the slim margins in this matchup, as well as the potential Hidden Power Water OHKO, make fighting Zapdos with Rhydon head on a risky proposition. Rhydon and Marowak both also have access to Counter; Rhydon will OHKO if targeted by Hidden Power Ice about 85% of the time and can guarantee an OHKO if it has slightly lower Special DVs than maximum, whereas to KO with Marowak, Zapdos must be weakened or Marowak's Special DVs and Special Stat Experience must be significantly lower than maximum, which may not be worth the serious loss of special bulk.
**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar has STAB Rock Slide, which achieves the rare feat of 2HKOing Zapdos. Furthermore, it has Pursuit to chip away at Zapdos as it switches out. However, Tyranitar cannot afford to switch in on Zapdos's Thunder, which 3HKOes it.
**Jynx**: Jynx cannot afford to switch into a an Electric-type move from Zapdos, but usually avoids a Thunder 2HKO and threatens a 2HKO in return with Ice Beam, making it a good option to switch in as Zapdos uses Rest.
**Explosion**: Zapdos makes a great target for Explosion users such as Exeggutor, Cloyster, Golem, Steelix, and Gengar. With the exception of Gengar, which can use Ice Punch to bring it into KO range beforehand, most Explosion users in OU can always OHKO Zapdos, and this is often an excellent trade to make. Removing Zapdos from the picture often paves the way for attackers such as Vaporeon, Nidoking, and Machamp to wreak havoc.
**Sunny Day**: Pokemon with Sunny Day can turn a winning matchup into a potential losing one for Zapdos variants relying on Thunder. Entei, Typhlosion, and Houndoom can also 2HKO Zapdos with Fire Blast in sun, and Moltres often survives one hit from Thunder to land a 2HKO. However, if Zapdos manages to land Thunder, it has good odds to 2HKO Typhlosion and Houndoom.
**Substitute**: Zapdos's tendency to use the inaccurate Thunder can be exploited by fast Pokemon with Substitute, such as Alakazam, Espeon, Tentacruel, and Starmie. As Zapdos fails to break Substitute with Hidden Power most of the time, Thunder misses can generate free turns to set up, fire off attacks, or spin away Spikes.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[wyc2333, 336830], [Earthworm, 15210], [Lockeness, 39891]]
- Quality checked by: [[Jorgen, 53302], [FriendOfMrGolem120, 424525]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
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