[OVERVIEW]
Wonderful typing, reliable recovery, and a solid base stat total keep Zapdos aloft as a persistent defensive OU threat. Zapdos's niche is how hard it is deal with for many offensive teams; staples to this archetype such as Supersonic Skystrike Landorus-T, Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Mega Scizor, Tapu Bulu, and Celesteela struggle to get past it, and with Zapdos's coverage, it's quite difficult to switch into for these teams. Its weakness to Stealth Rock does limit it, though, forcing it to use Roost excessively or simply rendering it unable to counter what it ought to for the duration of the match. Zapdos is also a good user of Defog. While Zapdos's ability to Defog can be compromised by its weakness to Stealth Rock, Zapdos has a good matchup against a few common users of the move, such as Excadrill or Ferrothorn, mitigating this weakness.
[SET]
name: Three Attacks
move 1: Discharge
move 2: Hidden Power Ice
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Roost
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Discharge is the STAB move of choice, as its utility suits Zapdos's playstyle better than Thunderbolt. Hidden Power Ice gets excellent super effective coverage; it allows Zapdos to act as a great answer to Landorus-T, Zygarde, Salamence, Dragonite, and Garchomp. Heat Wave also has very nice super effective coverage, battering Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu, Mawile, Magnezone, Ferrothorn, and more. Roost holds the set together, allowing Zapdos to stay healthy throughout the match and do its job.
Set Details
========
Zapdos acts as a more defensive Pokemon, but its excellent Speed can be capitalized on to actually increase its ability to function in this role by letting it move first to either KO or heal against the foe. Thus, a spread of 248 HP / 252 Spe with a Timid nature makes Zapdos very effective. Being able to outpace the likes of Landorus-T, Zygarde, Tapu Bulu, Excadrill, and other threats is invaluable. While the extra Speed is great for beating all the way up to and tying with base 100s, taking some of Zapdos's Speed and putting it into Defense is not a bad idea. 184 Speed EVs will let it outpace Jolly Landorus-T and is about as slow as this Zapdos should be going. Both Pressure and Static have their uses. Both can be used to exploit Zapdos's ability to annoyingly use Roost over and over. Pressure is superior at PP stalling out moves with low PP or ones that make no contact like Stone Edge, while Static is better at punishing moves with high PP that Zapdos can switch into, such as Tapu Bulu's Horn Leech or Tornadus-T's U-turn. Leftovers is the item of choice for a defensive Pokemon like Zapdos.
Usage Tips
========
Zapdos should be used as a switch-in the Pokemon it can effectively deal with. These include, with some limitations, Landorus-T, Celesteela, Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, Pinsir, Zygarde, Mega Scizor, Jirachi, Salamence, Garchomp, and Tapu Bulu. Because Zapdos doesn't hit all that hard, it's generally better to stay healthy throughout the match and use Roost constantly. This will capitalize on Zapdos's ability to prevent a large swath of threats from seriously harming your team. When the opportunity to attack presents itself, consider just using Discharge instead of the super effective attack on the threat Zapdos is currently handling. Because Zapdos relies on super effective damage, and has a fairly predictable moveset, often opponents will switch comfortably into a Pokemon that Zapdos cannot hit super effectively, like Heatran, Mega Sableye, or Nihilego. Discharge's paralysis chance is Zapdos's best chance at punishing these switch-ins.
Team Options
========
Mega Scizor is one of Zapdos's better partners for its ability to take care of big threats to Zapdos—Stealth Rock, Nihilego, Mamoswine, Weavile, and Kyurem-B. Ferrothorn performs similarly to Scizor against these threats, but instead of removing Stealth Rock it sets it up, which can punish Pokemon like Alolan Marowak and Mega Charizard X that can pretty easily take advantage of Zapdos. Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and Suicune are some of SM OU's premier bulky Water-types, and they relieve Zapdos of its weaknesses to Fire-, Rock-, and Ice-types. Tapu Fini in particular helps with its Defog support. Keldeo is another Water-type that similarly takes on Ice-, Fire-, and Rock-types, for the more offensively minded teams. Because Zapdos is so good at handling its counters, Choice Band Zygarde is a good partner to Zapdos.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Discharge
move 2: Roost
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Defog
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Discharge is a great defensive STAB attack, punishing switch-ins and would-be boosters with a high paralysis chance, such as Mega Charizard X and Volcarona. Roost keeps Zapdos healthy, necessary for a defensive Pokemon. Heat Wave can be used to sting various Steel- and Grass-types that Zapdos can deal with to good effect like Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Tapu Bulu. Hidden Power Ice pairs well with Heat Wave. It lets Zapdos beat Landorus-T and Garchomp and prevents Zygarde from walking all over Zapdos. Defog is also a good option; Zapdos does a have a good matchup against a few Stealth Rock users like Excadrill and Ferrothorn which allows it to support not only teammates but itself as well. Toxic is another option in the final slot. While it won't deal with Hidden Power Ice's primary targets in short order, it does put a timer on them, as well as covering some Pokemon that Zapdos otherwise cannot touch, such as Alolan Marowak, Hippowdon, and Mamoswine.
Set Details
========
The choice between Static and Pressure is something to think about. Zapdos's ability to PP stall attacks like Landorus-T's Stone Edge is made easier with Pressure, but Static's ability to punish U-turn spam, or just help win against attackers Zapdos might be facing, is valuable as well. Keep in mind that Defog is illegal with Static. 248 HP EVs, a Bold nature, and 240 Defense EVs give Zapdos the physical bulk it needs to take on attackers like Mega Pinsir, Tapu Bulu, and Garchomp successfully. 20 Speed EVs let it outpace Adamant Bisharp and Breloom, as well as Timid Magnezone—a nice bonus for such a small price. More Speed investment is an option. With 108 Speed EVs, Zapdos can now outpace a host of threats including neutral-natured Gyarados, Dragonite, Tapu Bulu, and positive-natured Bisharp, Breloom, and Volcanion. While this is a nice profile of threats, it quite significantly cuts into Zapdos's defensive investment, which it really does need. Leftovers provides obligatory defensive bolstering.
Usage Tips
========
Using Zapdos is fairly simple. Switch into Pokemon it can counter, especially ones that it can Defog against if you carry the move, Roost until healthy, and then attack. Supersonic Skystrike Landorus-T, Garchomp, Ferrothorn, Pinsir, Scizor, Skarmory, Tapu Bulu, and Celesteela are among the most common Pokemon Zapdos can effectively switch into. Focus on staying healthy; Zapdos doesn't hit very hard and is much better off Roosting to continue to wall what it can throughout the match. Because of Discharge's nice paralysis chance, it's often a good idea to spam the move; Pokemon that can otherwise pretty easily absorb Zapdos's attacks and threaten it out like Mega Charizard X, Clefable, Latios, Tapu Lele, and Nihilego don't appreciate the paralysis. Remember to take advantage of Pressure when possible. Zapdos's ability to just use Roost over and over in the face of attacks and drain them of PP before succumbing to critical hits is quite powerful.
Team Options
========
Defensive Zapdos fits well on both balanced and stall teams alike, coveted for its fairly useful set of targets that it can shut down. Mega Sableye, Chansey, Skarmory, Dugtrio, and Clefable are a classic stall core, which Zapdos can round off nicely, providing another solid answer to many threats. For more balanced teams, Mega Scizor's ability to remove Stealth Rock, and deal with dangerous Ice-types like Mamoswine, Weavile, and Kyurem-B, make it quite good alongside Zapdos. Ferrothorn is a good defensive partner, as it's a solid answer to the likes of Kyurem-B, Nihilego, Mamoswine, and Tyranitar. Its Stealth Rock support helps deter Mega Charizard X and Marowak from running over this core effortlessly. On more balanced teams, Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and Suicune are good bulky Water-types that can deal with pressure put on Zapdos by Rock-, Fire-, and Ice-types like Weavile, Terrakion, Heatran, and Mamoswine. Tapu Fini's Defogging benefits Zapdos quite a lot. Choice Scarf Keldeo is a more offensive Water-type that can also assist with the likes of Ice-, Fire-, and Rock-type attacks coming from Greninja, Weavile, Heatran, and more. Defensive Landorus-T's ability to deal with Pokemon that give Zapdos a hard time such as Alolan Marowak, Mega Charizard X, and Continental Crush Landorus-T makes it a good defensive partner as well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Offensive three attacks Zapdos is an option. It runs a similar moveset to the three attacks set of Thunderbolt / Heat Wave / Hidden Power Ice / Roost with offensive investment of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe and a Timid nature. Zapdos can still leverage its defensive typing successfully and use the surprise of its power to OHKO threats like Landorus-T. A Substitute, Roost, and Toxic set can be quite dangerous. It deals with a similar profile of targets as the three attacks defensive set and can better wear down some of the more defensive Pokemon that can be a problem for Zapdos, such as Mega Charizard X, Mamoswine, and Alolan Marowak. This being said, it's often preferable to have the instant damage to simply KO targets with super effective moves. An Agility set with Electrium Z is potentially quite a dangerous cleaner, but it offers very little defensive utility, making it a fairly less convincing choice compared to the likes of Landorus-T in such a role. Volt Switch is an option to compress a switch advantage and a STAB attack into one move, but it can be clumsy, forcing Zapdos out when it might want to stay in.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Mega Charizard X**: Mega Charizard X is capable of using Zapdos as setup bait outside of a Discharge paralysis.
**Alolan Marowak**: Thanks to its typing and ability combination, Alolan Marowak easily walls Zapdos, and it can use these free turns to inflict serious damage or set up Stealth Rock.
**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar's Sand Stream, Rock typing, and good defensive stats make it a serious threat to Zapdos, though it is worth mentioning that Zapdos can use Roost and Pressure to drain Tyranitar of Stone Edge PP in very short order.
**Kyurem-B**: Kyurem-B is another strong attacker with a super effective STAB move and little weakness to any of Zapdos's moves. It can usually switch into Zapdos once or twice in a match and threaten it out.
**Nihilego**: Nihilego's nice natural Special Defense and super effective special STAB attack make it a competent counter to Zapdos, being able to switch directly in and beat it.
**Chansey**: Zapdos has no chance against Chansey; it will simply be walled and lose to Toxic damage.
**Ground-types**: As Zapdos is an Electric-type, unsurprisingly a lot of Ground-types pose a serious threat to it. It can do little to the likes of Quagsire, Hippowdon, and Mamoswine, which hit back with super effective attacks or a deadly Toxic.
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