Zapdos Through the Ages: How Zapdos has impacted the competitive scene since RBY

By DurzaOffTopic and Ransei.
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Art by h_n_g_m_n.

Introduction

Zapdos is the prime example of a Pokémon that has stood the test of time; through every generation of Pokémon, Zapdos has had a definite niche in the OU tier and has only been UU by usage for a single generation. No other Pokémon can say the same, as the closest was Gengar, which, in Generation 7, finally dropped to UU. Zapdos was one of the few titan Pokémon to have ever stood in the RBY OU metagame and since then has made its way to the current USM OU metagame, where it still stands strong as a Pokémon. Throughout the years, Zapdos's role has changed from being an offensive threat in the early generations to shifting into a Pokémon with incredible defensive utility in the more recent generations. Here's an analysis of how Zapdos has performed in each and every Pokémon generation so far.

RBY

RBY Zapdos

Zapdos is one of the few Pokémon in RBY that claims the role of a mixed sweeper, but it is hard walled by Golem and Rhydon. If these threats are removed, however, Zapdos can easily pull off a sweep, boasting a pretty nice 19.5% chance to score a critical hit. This works especially well after using Agility in battle; even if Zapdos is paralyzed, Agility will negate the Speed drop and still give the boost. With Thunder Wave, it can successfully become able to potentially outpace the majority of the metagame. Zapdos can alternatively use Hyper Beam to catch Pokémon like Chansey and Alakazam for extra damage. Thunder is an option that often does more damage with a minimum roll than the maximum roll of Thunderbolt, which can be crucial in some matchups at the cost of accuracy. Jolteon is a decent Zapdos check, but it can still be threatened by Hyper Beam variants. Zapdos faces a bit of competition itself from Jolteon due to Jolteon's incredible Speed and better sweeping capabilities, but Zapdos's roles as a mixed attacker and a Ground-immune Pokémon along with its superior bulk are some of the things that push it over the edge of its competition.

GSC

GSC Zapdos

Zapdos is notable for being the #2 Pokémon in GSC OU, as there weren't many supportive options to go against Zapdos during that time. Its bulk with the combination of Rest and Sleep Talk allows it to stay on the battlefield for many turns. Its biggest flaw is objectively based on the presence of Snorlax, as Snorlax has high HP and Special Defense along with a movepool that allows it to stall out and potentially break Zapdos. It also has issues with Ground-types such as Quagsire and Piloswine, as they are immune to Zapdos's STAB attack and take little from its coverage move. Raikou is an Electric-type that counters Zapdos, resisting Thunder and taking little from Hidden Power Ice, though it hates being paralyzed. Steelix, while not outright being able to beat Zapdos, sponges Thunder and can phaze Zapdos with Roar or trade with Explosion. Zapdos also cannot deal with Blissey well due to its immense defensive stats but can potentially stall it out by utilizing RestTalk.

ADV

ADV Zapdos

Zapdos had a variety of offensive and defensive sets that could run and was a very versatile Pokémon in general. While the set listed is offensive in nature, it can alternatively run a defensive set utilizing Thunderbolt, Rest, and any of Roar, Toxic, or Light Screen. Its new ability, Pressure, was a godsend, as it helped its stalling capabilities even more. Zapdos was able to compress roles incredibly well by checking many Steel- and Fighting-types while still maintaining the natural offensive presence it had shown off for the past two generations prior. Zapdos is also one of the most effective Baton Pass users, able to beat most of the common phazers and able to pass both Speed boosts from Agility and a Substitute. Zapdos was an important Pokémon to rely on to check both Metagross and Jirachi. With the existence of Hidden Power and being a great Electric-type as it is, Zapdos is also able to beat out common Water-type Pokémon such as Suicune and Swampert. Protect can be used for various utilities, such as compounding Toxic damage on a foe or scouting moves from Pokémon such as Aerodactyl and Metagross. Roar is an option that can be used to phaze foes, making Zapdos an effective partner to Spikes users like Skarmory and Forretress in order to force foes to take more chip damage from hazards. Zapdos can alternatively run a mixed set to make use of its decent stats.

DPP

DPP Zapdos

Despite the introduction of Stealth Rock, an absolute bane to Zapdos, the creators of Pokémon were nice enough to give it the opportunity to automatically heal off its Stealth Rock damage with the move Roost. Along with its consistently good defensive typing granting it only two weaknesses, Zapdos can use its physical bulk to blanket check many Pokémon while having the offensive capabilities to still put out an extremely respectable amount of damage with its naturally high Special Attack. Zapdos also received the incredibly useful coverage move in Heat Wave, allowing it to check Steel-type Pokémon like Scizor, Metagross, and Lucario even more effectively than it had in previous generations. Zapdos has other options such as a Substitute + Roost set, which synergizes incredibly with Pressure and can be used effectively in tandem with Toxic Spikes. Discharge can be used to spread paralysis. Zapdos can also run more offensively oriented sets such as a Choice Specs set, which can tear through teams without an Electric-immune Pokémon, an All-out Attacker set, or an Agility set that can be a potent sweeper.

BW

BW Zapdos

This was Zapdos's lowest point in competitive Pokémon with its drop to the UnderUsed tier, so we'll analyze its effects in both OU and UU.

OU

Zapdos took a usage hit in Generation 5 for one main reason; it was completely outclassed offensively by Thundurus-T, as it had higher Speed, higher Special Attack, a much better ability in Volt Absorb, and access to Nasty Plot. However, Zapdos still found itself a niche in its defensive role but again was hampered by its weakness to Stealth Rock, which prevented it from performing as well offensively as it should've. At the beginning of the generation, Zapdos had an important niche as a defensive Pokémon that could beat rain offense, as it was able to check Pokémon like Tornadus-T and Genesect, but as those two were banned to Ubers along with another Pokémon Zapdos checked in Landorus, Zapdos lost some of its utility as an anti-metagame Pokémon. However, it was still a decent pick to beat teams that commonly ran Steel-types like Excadrill and Ferrothorn, which really hate Heat Wave, while also pressuring Water-types. Zapdos had the advantage of reliable recovery in Roost to help deal with residual damage, but it was being outclassed by better specially defensive Pokémon such as Celebi and Jirachi.

UU

While Zapdos was struggling in Black and White OU, it found a temporary new home in UU, as it was one of the strongest special attackers that had the extra benefit of reliable recovery. Zapdos also had outstanding versatility, as it was able to run effective offensive, defensive, and Choice item sets. While Zapdos struggled with dedicated special walls such as Umbreon and fellow former OU titan Snorlax, it still made its place in the tier by using its combination of sheer power, solid coverage, and respectable bulk. Zapdos terrorized teams that didn't have solid checks to it, as it had near-perfect coverage with Thunderbolt, Heat Wave, and a Hidden Power of choice. Choice Specs sets usually opted to run Hidden Power Flying to get a powerful STAB-boosted Flying-type attack.

XY

XY Zapdos

This was a transition era for Zapdos, as it became less of an offensive presence. The introduction of Mega Evolution allowed many Pokémon to compete with the offensive prowess Zapdos previously had, causing Zapdos to turn towards being used for defensive purposes. Zapdos made a boom back into the OU tier with the changes to the move Defog in Generation 6, which now removed hazards from the entire battlefield. Zapdos's amazing typing, reliable recovery, and good defenses along with all the great coverage it needed allowed it to Defog on many common offensive threats in the tier while forcing them out. Being able to use Defog and beat Bisharp at the same time was no shallow feat. Volt Switch was also an option for when Zapdos wanted to function as an amazing pivot, taking advantage of its respectable Special Attack, and Hidden Power Ice could be used to punish threatening Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and the less-common Zygarde. However, Zapdos fell out of favor later in the metagame, as it disliked switching into things that it would normally beat in a one-on-one scenario if Stealth Rock was up.

SM

SM Zapdos

Zapdos's great typing and bulk has really benefited from metagame trends in Sun and Moon, as it is able to check a plethora of offensive staples such as Landorus-T, Mega Pinsir, Kartana, Hawlucha, and Tapu Bulu. In a metagame filled with offense, Zapdos is able to take it head-on, given that it's very careful playing around the seemingly omnipresent Stealth Rock, which wears it down and prevents it from properly checking these offensive powerhouses. It remains a wonderful support Pokémon as well, being able to clear the field of hazards for Pokémon such as Charizard and Volcarona, which are both 4x weak to Stealth Rock. It also has good matchups against Stealth Rock users like Ferrothorn and Excadrill, further enhancing its utility as a Defogger.

Get Out There!

As the competitive metagame evolves over the generations, so does a Pokémon's purpose in it. Not many Pokémon can stand the test of time, but Zapdos is one of the few that has proven its worth through the years. As the metagames progressed, Zapdos gained many tools that helped it stay viable in the metagames and not fall behind like many of its former OU giants like Golem and Tauros. No matter what generation you may be playing, Zapdos is an excellent choice for a member of your team for whatever role you might want it to play. Give it a try yourself!

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