[OVERVIEW]
Zapdos is without a doubt the best Electric-type in the metagame thanks to its high stats and two powerful moves in Thunderbolt and Drill Peck. It is an incredible late-game sweeper, being a mixed attacker on top of having access to Agility. However, Rhydon and Golem hinder Zapdos's effectiveness. While they do take slight chip damage from Drill Peck, they can't be hit by any of Zapdos's other moves and must be dealt with by the rest of the team. Due to this, Zapdos generally requires minor support to work effectively in all matchups, keeping it from being considered one of the best Pokemon in the metagame.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Drill Peck
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Thunderbolt and Drill Peck are Zapdos's STAB moves. Zapdos hits most targets for strong damage, comfortably 3HKOing Tauros and threatening 3HKOs on Snorlax and Alakazam. However, it should be noted that Thunderbolt cannot paralyze other Electric-types. Drill Peck hits two of the main Pokemon that tank Thunderbolt, Exeggutor and Chansey. Exeggutor is sometimes 2HKOed by Drill Peck, and while Chansey can take two Drill Pecks comfortably, it tends to lose to repeated Drill Pecks, as it can't hit Zapdos very hard, and a single critical hit or full paralysis tends to end the fight in Zapdos's favor. However, Chansey does have access to Reflect to increase its chances of winning the matchup. Thunder Wave is used to paralyze Pokemon such as Tauros and Chansey to give openings for Zapdos to sweep late-game or get a chance to prevent recovery to get an extra turn of damage. Agility can be used on a free turn to allow Zapdos to outspeed faster threats like Alakazam and Tauros. It can also be used to remove the Speed drop from paralysis, which can allow Zapdos to sweep through Pokemon that would otherwise revenge kill it.
In general, you want to keep Zapdos as healthy as possible throughout the match in order to give it sweeping potential. However, this doesn't mean that you should keep it in the back the whole game, as it has a lot of potential to be useful in the early- and mid-game stages. For example, Zapdos can take advantage of sleeping Pokemon such as Snorlax as long as it comes in on the turn the Pokemon uses Rest. One should try to use Zapdos to spread status through Thunder Wave. This is especially helpful to do on a Pokemon like Chansey, which can be prevented from recovering through status, allowing Zapdos to potentially 3HKO with Drill Peck. Early-game, be sure to scout for the Ground-types of the tier, Rhydon and Golem. Do this with Pokemon like Exeggutor, Tauros, Cloyster, and Lapras, which can pressure them through super effective or status moves. Tauros is probably the best example there, as it has a great matchup versus Exeggutor, Snorlax, Chansey, and Tauros, as well as being a great late-game cleaner on top of that. You could also lure them out with Zapdos itself, which can be done fairly early on, putting you at an information advantage. Whether or not you manage to find a Rock-type, though, you should keep Rock-type checks like Exeggutor and Lapras healthy so they better check them if they come out later in the match. Don't use Agility unless most Pokemon on the opposing team are weakened enough for Zapdos to sweep. To give a reference frame, you should probably wait until Pokemon like Snorlax and Chansey have about a third of their health left. However, if they Rest, you can take advantage of them earlier.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Rest is an option for Zapdos to get some HP back, but you'll rarely ever get the chance to use it. Generally, Zapdos should be attacking or use Thunder Wave anyway; there's not a lot of room to put it on the set, as you lose out on either a pivotal attack, the ability to consistently paralyze opposing Pokemon, or the ability to pull off a late-game sweep. Thunder is usable to OHKO Starmie and to 2HKO Tauros and Slowbro, but it is not as used due to its poor accuracy. Toxic is a nice option in order to pressure the Rock-types, but this is generally not worth using over other moves. Final options for Zapdos are Reflect and Light Screen. Generally you would choose one over the other and replace Agility. Having Reflect or Light Screen up mid-game can be incredibly useful; however, due to Zapdos's lack of recovery without Rest, which is already noted to be unreliable, this option is generally not favored. The combination of Rest and Reflect can also be good at letting Zapdos check the Rock-type Pokemon that it usually loses to, but it risks taking a potential critical hit from Rock Slide.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: The Ground-types of the metagame, Rhydon and Golem, are Zapdos's biggest threats to deal with. They soak up any attack Zapdos has to offer, which forces you to play around them before Zapdos can be effective. One can scout early-game for these Pokemon, but if you spend the whole game trying to play around them, you may find yourself in a pickle by late-game.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types like Jolteon can also make good checks to Zapdos, although unlike the above Ground-types, they are susceptible to Thunder Wave. Jolteon would preferably use Rest to better check Zapdos, but ones without Rest work as well. Zapdos itself gets a special mention because it can come in on a Drill Peck to create an even matchup. Despite this, it is still worse than Jolteon as a check, as it is neutral to Thunderbolt damage which should be noted is unable to paralyze Electric-types making it a bit harder for Zapdos to switch in.
**Chansey**: Chansey can act as a good check to Zapdos thanks to its high Special Defense and access to Reflect, but it is generally unfavorable as a check due to the tendency of Drill Peck landing a critical hit.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yoshi, 322194]]
- Quality checked by: [[Djokra, 327320], [Zokuru, 263906]]
- Grammar checked by: [[JockeMS, 53214], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
Zapdos is without a doubt the best Electric-type in the metagame thanks to its high stats and two powerful moves in Thunderbolt and Drill Peck. It is an incredible late-game sweeper, being a mixed attacker on top of having access to Agility. However, Rhydon and Golem hinder Zapdos's effectiveness. While they do take slight chip damage from Drill Peck, they can't be hit by any of Zapdos's other moves and must be dealt with by the rest of the team. Due to this, Zapdos generally requires minor support to work effectively in all matchups, keeping it from being considered one of the best Pokemon in the metagame.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Drill Peck
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Thunderbolt and Drill Peck are Zapdos's STAB moves. Zapdos hits most targets for strong damage, comfortably 3HKOing Tauros and threatening 3HKOs on Snorlax and Alakazam. However, it should be noted that Thunderbolt cannot paralyze other Electric-types. Drill Peck hits two of the main Pokemon that tank Thunderbolt, Exeggutor and Chansey. Exeggutor is sometimes 2HKOed by Drill Peck, and while Chansey can take two Drill Pecks comfortably, it tends to lose to repeated Drill Pecks, as it can't hit Zapdos very hard, and a single critical hit or full paralysis tends to end the fight in Zapdos's favor. However, Chansey does have access to Reflect to increase its chances of winning the matchup. Thunder Wave is used to paralyze Pokemon such as Tauros and Chansey to give openings for Zapdos to sweep late-game or get a chance to prevent recovery to get an extra turn of damage. Agility can be used on a free turn to allow Zapdos to outspeed faster threats like Alakazam and Tauros. It can also be used to remove the Speed drop from paralysis, which can allow Zapdos to sweep through Pokemon that would otherwise revenge kill it.
In general, you want to keep Zapdos as healthy as possible throughout the match in order to give it sweeping potential. However, this doesn't mean that you should keep it in the back the whole game, as it has a lot of potential to be useful in the early- and mid-game stages. For example, Zapdos can take advantage of sleeping Pokemon such as Snorlax as long as it comes in on the turn the Pokemon uses Rest. One should try to use Zapdos to spread status through Thunder Wave. This is especially helpful to do on a Pokemon like Chansey, which can be prevented from recovering through status, allowing Zapdos to potentially 3HKO with Drill Peck. Early-game, be sure to scout for the Ground-types of the tier, Rhydon and Golem. Do this with Pokemon like Exeggutor, Tauros, Cloyster, and Lapras, which can pressure them through super effective or status moves. Tauros is probably the best example there, as it has a great matchup versus Exeggutor, Snorlax, Chansey, and Tauros, as well as being a great late-game cleaner on top of that. You could also lure them out with Zapdos itself, which can be done fairly early on, putting you at an information advantage. Whether or not you manage to find a Rock-type, though, you should keep Rock-type checks like Exeggutor and Lapras healthy so they better check them if they come out later in the match. Don't use Agility unless most Pokemon on the opposing team are weakened enough for Zapdos to sweep. To give a reference frame, you should probably wait until Pokemon like Snorlax and Chansey have about a third of their health left. However, if they Rest, you can take advantage of them earlier.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Rest is an option for Zapdos to get some HP back, but you'll rarely ever get the chance to use it. Generally, Zapdos should be attacking or use Thunder Wave anyway; there's not a lot of room to put it on the set, as you lose out on either a pivotal attack, the ability to consistently paralyze opposing Pokemon, or the ability to pull off a late-game sweep. Thunder is usable to OHKO Starmie and to 2HKO Tauros and Slowbro, but it is not as used due to its poor accuracy. Toxic is a nice option in order to pressure the Rock-types, but this is generally not worth using over other moves. Final options for Zapdos are Reflect and Light Screen. Generally you would choose one over the other and replace Agility. Having Reflect or Light Screen up mid-game can be incredibly useful; however, due to Zapdos's lack of recovery without Rest, which is already noted to be unreliable, this option is generally not favored. The combination of Rest and Reflect can also be good at letting Zapdos check the Rock-type Pokemon that it usually loses to, but it risks taking a potential critical hit from Rock Slide.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: The Ground-types of the metagame, Rhydon and Golem, are Zapdos's biggest threats to deal with. They soak up any attack Zapdos has to offer, which forces you to play around them before Zapdos can be effective. One can scout early-game for these Pokemon, but if you spend the whole game trying to play around them, you may find yourself in a pickle by late-game.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types like Jolteon can also make good checks to Zapdos, although unlike the above Ground-types, they are susceptible to Thunder Wave. Jolteon would preferably use Rest to better check Zapdos, but ones without Rest work as well. Zapdos itself gets a special mention because it can come in on a Drill Peck to create an even matchup. Despite this, it is still worse than Jolteon as a check, as it is neutral to Thunderbolt damage which should be noted is unable to paralyze Electric-types making it a bit harder for Zapdos to switch in.
**Chansey**: Chansey can act as a good check to Zapdos thanks to its high Special Defense and access to Reflect, but it is generally unfavorable as a check due to the tendency of Drill Peck landing a critical hit.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yoshi, 322194]]
- Quality checked by: [[Djokra, 327320], [Zokuru, 263906]]
- Grammar checked by: [[JockeMS, 53214], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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