[OVERVIEW]
Galarian Zapdos is a defining offensive threat in SV RU thanks to its excellent Attack stat and good Speed tier paired with a near-unresisted STAB combination and solid coverage in U-turn and Knock Off. As one of the few viable offensive Flying-types, Galarian Zapdos takes advantage of the tier's lack of reliable Pokemon that resist the combination of Flying- and Fighting-type attacks to shred through unprepared teams, with even those that prepare for the big bird needing to play carefully against it. Galarian Zapdos's power and pivoting capabilities let it enable several potent offensive threats, such as Bisharp, Nasty Plot Mew, and Magnezone, while also providing more balanced teams with reliable speed control by holding a Choice Scarf. However, Galarian Zapdos often relies on Choice items to either break through teams or outrun threats like non-Choice Scarf Gengar, making it relatively prediction-heavy. This forces Galarian Zapdos to pivot out more than it wants to or be exploited by setup sweepers like Calm Mind Slowbro and Dragon Dance Salamence. Additionally, Galarian Zapdos relies heavily on Brave Bird and Close Combat to hit hard, reducing its health and bulk, respectively; this leaves it vulnerable to being revenge killed by priority users like Entei or, if not running a Choice Scarf, faster threats like Noivern. Galarian Zapdos struggles to break through physically bulky Pokemon like Galarian Weezing and Hippowdon without a Choice Band, while it gets outsped by threats like Raikou and Gengar if it forgoes a Choice Scarf.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Galarian Zapdos can run Protective Pads to ease prediction while protecting it from Rocky Helmet or contact-based abilities like Talonflame's Flame Body. If Protective Pads are used, Taunt can provide additional utility by disrupting bulkier Pokemon like Gastrodon and Hippowdon. However, Galarian Zapdos will be forced to forgo U-turn or Knock Off, both of which provide valuable coverage and utility. A Bulk Up set can be used to let Galarian Zapdos sweep through teams; however, due to how long it takes for Galarian Zapdos to get going, it can be disrupted or revenge killed easily. Agility can be used to ease the latter issue, making Galarian Zapdos nigh-impossible to outspeed in the process, but this forces it to give up the valuable coverage of Knock Off or the utility of U-turn. If a non-Choice item set is used, Thunderous Kick can be run over Close Combat in order to let Galarian Zapdos stay in more often while letting it weaken defensive checks like Galarian Weezing and Cresselia, leaving them vulnerable to Brave Bird. A more defensive Tera type like Steel or Fire can be used at the cost of power; the former lets it resist Extreme Speed from Entei as well as Outrage and Dual Wingbeat from Dragon Dance Salamence, while the latter protects it from Galarian Weezing and Talonflame's Will-O-Wisp. Acrobatics is a reliable, recoil-free alternative Flying-type STAB move to Brave Bird, but it relies on Galarian Zapdos running either a consumable item like Eject Pack or forgoing an item completely.
Checks and Counters
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**Psychic-types**: Bulky Psychic-types, such as Slowbro, Reuniclus, and Cresselia, can take most of Galarian Zapdos's attacks, heal off the damage, and retaliate with a super-effective move or cripple it with Thunder Wave. All of them do have to be wary of Knock Off, especially if Galarian Zapdos is running a Choice Band; however, they can all run Colbur Berry as a one-time shield against it. Armarouge is able to survive a non-Choice Band-boosted attack, boost its Speed with Weak Armor, and revenge kill Galarian Zapdos with its powerful STAB moves.
**Physical Walls**: Galarian Weezing, Gastrodon, and especially Hippowdon are major thorns in Galarian Zapdos's side, as all of them can take hits from it before retaliating with Will-O-Wisp, Ice Beam, or Stone Edge, respectively. Additionally, all three tend to carry Rocky Helmet to punish pivoting attempts with U-turn. However, Galarian Weezing can be worn down by Galarian Zapdos due to its lack of reliable recovery, and Choice Band variants are able to 2HKO it and Gastrodon. Gligar can take even Choice Band-boosted attacks but can't do much back directly and is vulnerable to Knock Off.
**Contact Effects**: Galarian Zapdos's reliance on contact moves means that it can be quickly worn down by Rocky Helmet from the likes of Galarian Weezing, Slowbro, and Gastrodon, especially when combined with Brave Bird recoil. Additionally, Galarian Zapdos can find itself crippled by abilities that trigger on contact, namely Flame Body from Talonflame.
**Revenge Killers & Priority**: Because Galarian Zapdos tends to wear itself down with Brave Bird recoil, it is prone to being picked off by priority moves it does not resist, such as Mimikyu's Shadow Sneak and Extreme Speed from Entei or the more niche Lucario. Additionally, Pokemon that are naturally faster than Galarian Zapdos, such as Gengar and Terrakion, can revenge kill it, especially if they're running Choice Scarf themselves.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bice.236507/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/heatranator.647728/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rarelyme.513635/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
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