Zapdos (Agility LO) [QC 3/3] [GP 2/3]

[SET]
name: Agility Life Orb
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Agility
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is a unique set which is quite effective against the popular Fire / Water / Grass cores, using Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice to form a pseudo-BoltBeam combination. Save for Swampert, this set usually comes out on top against most Pokemon commonly found in such cores. Thunderbolt is this set's generic STAB move, and Hidden Power Ice is usually the best coverage move to use alongside it. However, Hidden Power Flying is also a good option because it receives STAB and retains good neutral coverage; for example, Spikes Roserade is always 2HKOed by Hidden Power Flying. This set can be used in two different ways: a bulkier variant with access to Roost and decent coverage, or a purely offensive variant that sacrifices recovery for even better coverage in the form of Heat Wave; Roost is superior most of the time, though.</p>

<p>This set must be played in different ways throughout the match. Early-game, Zapdos should use its great 383 Special Attack in tandem with Life Orb to wear down the opponent and wreak havoc on unprepared teams. Roost must then be used to increase Zapdos's longevity. Finally, late-game, Zapdos can use Agility to avoid being revenge killed by a Choice Scarf users such as Flygon or Darmanitan, easily OHKOing them with Hidden Power Ice and Thunderbolt, respectively.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With the given EV spread, Zapdos will outrun Choice Scarf Mienshao after an Agility boost, hit like a truck due to maximum Special Attack, and be bulky enough to act as a pivot when needed. Zapdos can also use max Speed to outrun Jolly Heracross, Timid Chandelure, and Timid Nidoking. Another option is to forego Roost for Heat Wave and use Hidden Power Grass in order to gain better coverage; this however, would require sacrificing Zapdos's defensive capabilities. Baton Pass works well along with Agility, and can be used at the cost of coverage or a loss in durability. However, Baton Pass is generally an inferior option because it diminishes this set's effectiveness as a standalone sweeper.</p>

<p>This set really appreciates entry hazard and Rapid Spin support if Zapdos is on a balanced or bulky offensive team. If you are using an offensive team, the pressure of your sweepers often acts as good team support by minimizing the chances of the opponent using Rapid Spin and placing entry hazards. Good teammates for this set are physical attackers such as Hitmontop&mdash;who can also make use of Rapid Spin&mdash;and Machamp because they can beat many of Zapdos's counters, namely Snorlax, Umbreon, and Rhyperior.</p>
 

kokoloko

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To other QC members: He spoke to me on IRC about this set and I encouraged him to post it to get input from you guys.

Personally, I think this set has potential, so I'm going to test it out myself. I would give an AC mention to max Speed, as well as Hidden Power Flying (not necessarily together). Max Speed lets you outrun non-Scarf Jolly Heracross, Chandelure, etc., so you can check them.

I wish you had posted it in the correct format (bullet points and "why should this set be on-site", but ehh whatever it's short and easy enough to edit atm, so don't worry about it).
 
Definitely looks like a solid set; I'd like something in AC (or OO I suppose but this is only one set so idk about that) about a pure offensive agility sweeper with heatwave and possibly hp grass though, since having only 2 moves is pretty limiting. This means you can't recover, but I'd imagine it makes going for a sweep much easier.

I'd be fine with this going on-site, but I haven't actually used it yet, so other input would be good I guess
 

PK Gaming

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Agility seems like a good idea on Zapdos. You can still play it as a straight up special attacker, but you can sweep lategame given the opportunity. I second the AC mention of HP Flying; It lets you destroy Roserade and 2HKO standard Gligar after SR. Slash HP Grass after HP Ice. It lets you beat bulky-ground types (Rhyperior / Swampert) which are pretty common and maybe slash Heat Wave w/ Roost too if you want to go all out offensive.
 

Nas

Banned deucer.
I would give an AC mention to max Speed, as well as Hidden Power Flying (not necessarily together). Max Speed lets you outrun non-Scarf Jolly Heracross, Chandelure, etc., so you can check them.
I agree with this, in fact I'd consider making it the default EV spread because it makes Zapdos more useful early/midgame when you need to check Nidoking, Heracross, Chandelure, etc, and can't get the Agility off.
 

kokoloko

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Hot N Cold, do you still plan to hand this over to someone else for the actual writeup or do you want to write it out yourself?
 

kokoloko

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Ready for QC*

Yeah, I like this set, but godspeed to whoever GPs this lol

QC Approved 1/3
 

Nas

Banned deucer.
I'd like to see Hidden Power Flying slashed next to Hidden Power Ice, with the option of 3 attacks (HP Grass and Heat Wave>Roost) in the Additional Comments section. Once that is done,

QC Approved 2/3
 

Yonko7

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[SET]
name: Agility LO
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Agility
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is an underrated and rare set, Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice make together the well known coverage combo known as "Boltbeam", which is quite effective against the popular FWG cores, achieving the an OHKO or 2HKO with Stealth Rock support being with Swampert being the exception. However, Hidden Power Flying is also a good option too for the second move with STAB, ,because it receives STAB. fFor example, Comma Gligar is always a 2HKO after damage Steath Rock damage.This set has two options: the a bulky one set with access to Roost and a good coverage; and or a more offensive one set, forgoing sacrificing recovery over for coverage.</p>

<p>This set has to be played nifty well, in the early-game Hyphen it allows you to attack Zapdos attacks with a great SpA 383 Special Attack 383 plus the with Life Orb boost, wreakings havoc on unprepared teams,. Period On the other hand, Roost allows Zapdos to stay healthy increases Zapdos's longevity. At Once late-game Hyphen you Zapdos can just make use of Agility to avoid being revenge killed by a Choice Scarf user like ,such as Flygon and Darmanitan, Comma while they are easily OHKOed by Hidden Power Ice and Thunderbolt, Comma respectively.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With Tthe given EV spread, Comma lets Zapdos outruns Better to write in active rather than passive Naive Choice Scarf Mienshao by using an Agility. The SpA Special Attack boosting nature and the EVs are invested looking to maximize its immediate power. The rest of the EVs are placed in HP in order to maintain Zapdos respectable bulk despite being a special sweeper. Maybe also mention its weakness to SR? Zapdos can Aalso can run max Speeed lets to outrun non-Choice Scarf Jolly Heracross, Chandelure, Nidoking, among anothers,. Period be useful in early and midgames but then lose its interesting bulk. (I don't know what this sentence is referring to) Another option to gain more coverage is to foregoing Roost for Heat Wave, which along Hidden Power Grass let Zapdos get the nod over its most common checks with Heat Wave Zapdos bypasses its common checks such as Roserade, Swampert or Rhyperior. The last option is Baton Pass, which along with Agility can be another option at the cost of a loss of coverage like a sweeper or and a loss in durability, Baton Pass is generally is a worst bad option.</p>

<p>This set really appreciates entry hazard and Rapid Spin support if you are using on a balanced or bulky team, if you are using a very offensive team the pressure of your sweepers often act as a pseudo team support by minimizing the chances of the opponent to make use of using Rapid Spin and placing entry hazards. Good teammates for this set are physical attackers such as Hitmontop, who can actually make use of Rapid Spin, and Machamp; basically any pokemon that can beat Zapdos's most solid counters, who are usually special walls: Snorlax, Raikou, Umbreon and Lanturn.</p>


I can provide a c/p if you prefer.
 
[SET]
name: Agility LO
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Agility
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is a underrated and rarique set,; Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice make the well known coverage combo known as "Boltbeam", which is quite effective against the popular FWG cores, achieving an OHKO or 2HKO with Stealth Rock support with Swampert being the exceptionBoltBeam combination, which is quite effective against the popular Fire / Water / Grass cores, as Zapdos achieves an OHKO or 2HKO on most Pokemon in these cores with Stealth Rock support except for Swampert. However, Hidden Power Flying is also a good option, because it receives STAB. F; for example, Gligar is always a 2HKOed by Hidden Power Flying after Steath Rock damage. This set has two options: a bulky set with access to Roost and good coverage;, or a more offensive set, that sacrificinges recovery for coverage.</p>

<p>This set has tomust be played well, in the ein different ways throughout the match. Early-game, Zapdos attacks with ashould use its great 383 Special Attack in tandem with Life Orb boost,to wear down the opponent and wreaks havoc on unprepared teams. On the other hand, RoostRoost must then be used to increases Zapdos's longevity. OnceFinally, late-game, Zapdos can use Agility to avoid being revenge killed by a Choice Scarf user, such as Flygon andor Darmanitan, while they are easily OHKOed by and then easily OHKO them with Hidden Power Ice and Thunderbolt, respectively.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With the given EV spread, Zapdos will outruns max Speed Naive Choice Scarf Mienshao byafter an Agility. The Special Attack boostingModest nature and the EVs are investused to maximize itZapdos's immediate power. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP to maintain Zapdos respectable bulk despite being a special sweeper but being weak to Stealth Rock. Zapdos can also can runuse max Speeed to outrun non-Choice Scarf Jolly Heracross, Chandelure, and Nidoking, among anothers. Another option to gain coverage is to forego Roost for Heat Wave, with Heat Wave Zapdos bypasses its common checks such as Roserade, Swampert or Rhyperior in order to bypass Zapdos's common checks such as Roserade and Bronzong. The last option is Baton Pass, which, along with Agility, can be another option at the cost of coverage and a loss in durability. However, Baton Pass is generally is a bad option.</p>

<p>This set really appreciates entry hazard and Rapid Spin support if Zapdos is on a balanced or bulky team, i. If you are using a veryn offensive team, the pressure of your sweepers often act as pseudo team support by minimizing the chances of the opponent using Rapid Spin and placing entry hazards. Good teammates for this set are physical attackers such as Hitmontop, who can actually make use of Rapid Spin, and Machamp; basically any pPokemon that can beat Zapdos's most solid counters, who are usually special walls: Snorlax, Raikou, Umbreon, and Lanturn.</p>


[SET]
name: Agility LO
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Agility
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is a unique set; Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice make the BoltBeam combination, which is quite effective against the popular Fire / Water / Grass cores, as Zapdos achieves an OHKO or 2HKO on most Pokemon in these cores with Stealth Rock support except for Swampert. However, Hidden Power Flying is also a good option because it receives STAB; for example, Gligar is always 2HKOed by Hidden Power Flying after Steath Rock damage. This set has two options: a bulky set with access to Roost and good coverage, or a more offensive set that sacrifices recovery for coverage.</p>

<p>This set must be played in different ways throughout the match. Early-game, Zapdos should use its great 383 Special Attack in tandem with Life Orb to wear down the opponent and wreak havoc on unprepared teams. Roost must then be used to increase Zapdos's longevity. Finally, late-game, Zapdos can use Agility to avoid being revenge killed by a Choice Scarf user such as Flygon or Darmanitan and then easily OHKO them with Hidden Power Ice and Thunderbolt, respectively.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With the given EV spread, Zapdos will outrun max Speed Naive Choice Scarf Mienshao after an Agility. The Modest nature and EVs are used to maximize Zapdos's immediate power. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP to maintain respectable bulk. Zapdos can also use max Speed to outrun non-Choice Scarf Jolly Heracross, Chandelure, and Nidoking. Another option to gain coverage is to forego Roost for Heat Wave in order to bypass Zapdos's common checks such as Roserade and Bronzong. The last option is Baton Pass, which, along with Agility, can be another option at the cost of coverage and a loss in durability. However, Baton Pass is generally is a bad option.</p>

<p>This set really appreciates entry hazard and Rapid Spin support if Zapdos is on a balanced or bulky team. If you are using an offensive team, the pressure of your sweepers often act as pseudo team support by minimizing the chances of the opponent using Rapid Spin and placing entry hazards. Good teammates for this set are physical attackers such as Hitmontop, who can actually make use of Rapid Spin, and Machamp; basically any Pokemon that can beat Zapdos's most solid counters: Snorlax, Raikou, Umbreon, and Lanturn.</p>


Changed a lot so

[gp]2/3[/gp]
 

complete legitimacy

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[SET]
name: Agility LOife Orb
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Agility
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is a unique set; Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice make the BoltBeam combination, which is quite effective against the popular Fire / Water / Grass cores, asusing Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice to form a pseudo-BoltBeam combination. Zapdos achieves an OHKO or 2HKO on most Pokemon in these cores with Stealth Rock support except for Swampert. However, Hidden Power Flying is also a good option because it receives STAB; for example, Gligar is always 2HKOed by Hidden Power Flying after Steath Rock damage. This set has two options: a bulky se (you might want to use a better example since you can just use HP Ice for Gligar; maybe against like Shaymin or Roserade?). This set can be used in two different ways: a bulkier variant with access to Roost and good coverage, or a more offensive sevariant that sacrifices recovery for coverageeven better coverage in the form of Heat Wave; Roost is superior most of the time, though (added this part since Heat Wave isn't even slashed and you want the writeup to reflect that).</p>

<p>This set must be played in different ways throughout the match. Early-game, Zapdos should use its great 383 Special Attack in tandem with Life Orb to wear down the opponent and wreak havoc on unprepared teams. Roost must then be used to increase Zapdos's longevity. Finally, late-game, Zapdos can use Agility to avoid being revenge killed by a Choice Scarf user such as Flygon or Darmanitan and then, easily OHKOing them with Hidden Power Ice and Thunderbolt, respectively.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With the given EV spread, Zapdos will outrun max Speed Naive Choice Scarf Mienshao (max Speed is implied) after an Agility boost. The Modest nature and Special Attack EVs are used to maximize Zapdos's immediate power. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP to maintain respectable bulk. Zapdos can also use max Speed to outrun non-Choice Scarf Jolly Heracross,Jolly Heracross as well as Timid Chandelure, and Nidoking. Another option to gain coverage is to forego Roost for Heat Wave in order to bypass Zapdos's common checks such as Roserade and Bronzong. The last option is Baton Pass, which,orks well along with Agility, and can be another optionused at the cost of coverage and a loss in durability. However, Baton Pass is generally is a bad optionor a loss in durability. However, Baton Pass is generally is a bad option because it diminishes this set's effectiveness as a standalone sweeper.</p>

<p>This set really appreciates entry hazard and Rapid Spin support if Zapdos is on a balanced or bulky offensive team. If you are using an offensive team, the pressure of your sweepers often acts as pseudogood team support by minimizing the chances of the opponent using Rapid Spin (might want to mention Chandelure as a good offensive partner since it can spinblock) and placing entry hazards. Good teammates for this set are physical attackers such as Hitmontop, who can actually make use of Rapid Spin, and Machamp; basically any Pokemon thatecause they can beat Zapdos's most solid counters: Snorlax, Raikou, Umbreon, and Lanturn.</p>
[SET]
name: Agility Life Orb
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Agility
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is a unique set which is quite effective against the popular Fire / Water / Grass cores, using Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice to form a pseudo-BoltBeam combination. Zapdos achieves an OHKO or 2HKO on most Pokemon in these cores with Stealth Rock support except for Swampert. However, Hidden Power Flying is also a good option because it receives STAB; for example, Gligar is always 2HKOed by Hidden Power Flying after Steath Rock damage (you might want to use a better example since you can just use HP Ice for Gligar; maybe against like Shaymin or Roserade?). This set can be used in two different ways: a bulkier variant with access to Roost and good coverage, or a more offensive variant that sacrifices recovery for even better coverage in the form of Heat Wave; Roost is superior most of the time, though.</p>

<p>This set must be played in different ways throughout the match. Early-game, Zapdos should use its great 383 Special Attack in tandem with Life Orb to wear down the opponent and wreak havoc on unprepared teams. Roost must then be used to increase Zapdos's longevity. Finally, late-game, Zapdos can use Agility to avoid being revenge killed by a Choice Scarf user such as Flygon or Darmanitan, easily OHKOing them with Hidden Power Ice and Thunderbolt, respectively.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With the given EV spread, Zapdos will outrun Choice Scarf Mienshao after an Agility boost. The Modest nature and Special Attack EVs are used to maximize Zapdos's immediate power. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP to maintain respectable bulk. Zapdos can also use max Speed to outrun Jolly Heracross as well as Timid Chandelure and Nidoking. Another option to gain coverage is to forego Roost for Heat Wave in order to bypass Zapdos's common checks such as Roserade and Bronzong. Baton Pass works well along with Agility, and can be used at the cost of coverage or a loss in durability. However, Baton Pass is generally is a bad option because it diminishes this set's effectiveness as a standalone sweeper.</p>

<p>This set really appreciates entry hazard and Rapid Spin support if Zapdos is on a balanced or bulky offensive team. If you are using an offensive team, the pressure of your sweepers often acts as good team support by minimizing the chances of the opponent using Rapid Spin (might want to mention Chandelure as a good offensive partner since it can spinblock) and placing entry hazards. Good teammates for this set are physical attackers such as Hitmontop, who can actually make use of Rapid Spin, and Machamp because they can beat Zapdos's most solid counters: Snorlax, Raikou, Umbreon, and Lanturn.</p>


[GP]3/3[/GP]
 

kokoloko

what matters is our plan!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Two-Time Past SPL Champion
Okay, I implemented the 3rd check... but I ended up changing a few things, so I'm going to move this to the full Zapdos analysis so it can go through GP again.

Thanks everyone, especially Hot N Cold!
 

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