VGC 21 Zapdos

[Namuko Pro]

[OVERVIEW]

Zapdos storms into the VGC 2022 metagame as one of the strongest special-attacking Dynamax options in the format. Electric / Flying typing is incredibly effective for both defensive and offensive purposes. It gives Zapdos key resistances or immunities to some of the strongest attacks in the metagame—like Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade and Groudon's Precipice Blades—alongside almost perfect neutral STAB coverage, access to STAB Max Airstream, and STAB super effective moves for top Pokemon like Kyogre, Amoonguss, and Venusaur. Zapdos has a strong niche on Kyogre and Zacian-C teams, as both Pokemon appreciate Zapdos's Max Airstream to quickly fire off their devastating attacks, as well as Zapdos hitting opposing Kyogre and Grass-types for heavy damage. However, Zapdos is fairly limited if it is not used as a Dynamax option, and it can have problems with certain matchups. It struggles when teams can weaken it with Light Screen and/or Snarl, or when they negate its Max Airstream boosts with speed control of their own.

[SET]
name: Dynamax Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Heat Wave / Weather Ball
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb / Safety Goggles
ability: Static
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 20 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 68 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Thunderbolt as a primary attack offers consistent damage outside of Dynamax and a strong Max Lightning within Dynamax.

* Hurricane offers Zapdos a very strong STAB Max Airstream, boosting the Speed of it and its ally, and offering super effective damage against common Pokemon like Amoonguss and Venusaur. However, its low accuracy can be a hinderance outside of Dynamax.

* Heat Wave is typically the third attack to deal heavy damage with Max Flare to tough Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Solgaleo, and most importantly Zacian-C. Given how often Zapdos is paired with Kyogre, Weather Ball can potentially give Zapdos a way to hit Incinieroar and other Fire- or Ground-types. Also, when Zapdos is with Groudon or facing it, Weather Ball can offer a stronger and more consistent Fire-type attack. However, Weather Ball is overall less consistent and relies on bringing a weather setter alongside Zapdos.

* Life Orb is Zapdos's most common item, maximizing its damage to rip through teams with very powerful Max Moves. Safety Goggles is an alternative that allows Zapdos to better deal with Amoonguss and Venusaur by ignoring their powder moves.

* The given EV spread allows Zapdos, when Dynamaxed, to always survive a Modest Mystic Water Kyogre Max Geyser based off Water Spout. It and the Timid nature also maximize Speed to potentially win Speed ties against base 100s like Charizard and opposing Zapdos. A Modest nature instead increases its damage output at the cost of being outsped by Timid Kyogre and Dialga.

[OTHER OPTIONS]

Roost and Eerie Impulse can be used with Thunderbolt and Hurricane for a more defensive set aimed at crippling special attackers and sticking around. While this does harm its offensive potential, an unsuspected Eerie Impulse on an enemy Dynamax user can be game winning. Volt Switch, Thunder, and Rising Voltage are all valid alternative moves for Thunderbolt, with Volt Switch offering pivoting on bulky teams, Thunder being the strongest overall attack and synergizing with rain teams, and Rising Voltage offering a 140 Base Power Max Lightning and capitalizing on Electric Terrain being live after Dynamax ends. These moves do have drawbacks, however, such as Volt Switch and Rising Voltage's lower Base Power and Thunder's shaky accuracy outside of rain.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namuko Pro, 426995]]
- Quality checked by: [[Helios of Sun, 547596], [zee, 501951]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]

 

[Helios of Sun]

Nice work as always Namuko

ADD REMOVE COMMENT HIGHLIGHT

Zappy

[OVERVIEW]

Zapdos storms into the VGC 2022 metagame as one of the strongest special attacking Dynamax options in the format. Electric- and Flying-typing is incredibly effective for both defensive purposes, giving Zapdos key resistances or immunities to some of the strongest attacks in the metagame like Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade and Groudon's Precipice Blades, and for offensive purposes, with almost perfect neutral STAB coverage, access to STAB Max Airstream, and STAB super-effective moves for top metagames threats Pokemon (I feel like using the term threats is a little disingenuous because I think it more commonly refers to sweepers whereas Amoonguss is more of a defensive Pokemon) like Kyogre, Amoonguss, and Venusaur. Zapdos has found a strong niche as an option on Kyogre and Zacian-C teams, as both Pokemon appreciate Zapdos's Max Airstream support to fire off their devastating attacks at high speeds as well as its ability to hit opposing Kyogre and Grass-types for heavy damage. However, Zapdos is fairly limited if it is not used as a Dynamax option and can have problems with opposing teams that can either lessen its damage output with Light Screen and/or Snarl or that can negate its Max Airstream boosts with speed control of their own, leading Zapdos to be a strong Pokemon that can serve as an effective Dynamax option in specific matchups but that can heavily struggle in others.

[SET]
name: Dynamax Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt / Rising Voltage (does Rising Voltage even increase Zapdos's attack power? Even if not, I don't think its better than Thunder as a second option)
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Heat Wave / Weather Ball
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb / Safety Goggles
ability: Static
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 20 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 68 SpD / 252 Spe


[SET COMMENTS]

* Most Zapdos opt to use Thunderbolt as their primary attacking move, offering consistent damage outside of Dynamax and a strong Max Lightning within Dynamax. Given how often Zapdos Dynamaxes, Rising Voltage is an alternative that offers a stronger Max Lightning and that can unleash devastating damage on grounded opponents outside of Dynamax if Electric Terrain has been set up through Max Lightning or other means. Given the inconsistent accuracy of Zapdos's other STAB move, the non-Terrain boosted 70 BP of Rising Voltage outside of Dynamax can be underwhelming with no previous setup, leading it to be strongest on teams that find that Zapdos almost always Dynamaxes when it is brought to the battle. (again, I'd like to confirm if Rising Voltage works for Zapdos? Even if not, I really think it's not gonna be worth it putting it as a second move. Thunder is probably better still.)

* Hurricane is used to offer Zapdos a very strong STAB Max Airstream, boosting the speed of it and its ally and offering super-effective damage against common Pokemon like Amoonguss and Venusaur. However, the 70 accuracy can be quite problematic outside of Dynamax, which is why Zapdos is often paired with Kyogre which can set rain with its Drizzle ability or with another strong water-type that can instead set rain through Max Geyser.

* Heat Wave is typically chosen as the third attacking move to deal heavy damage with Max Flare to tough steel-types like Solgaleo, Necrozma-DM, and most importantly Zacian-C, potentially being able to OHKO Zacian-C depending on Zapdos's item and the spread of both Pokemon. (I'd like a Ferrothorn mention as well, with how Zapdos is often times the only reliable damage onto Ferrothorn for ZacOgre teams) Given how often Zapdos is paired with Kyogre and the possibility of using it on a team with Groudon, Weather Ball can potentially give Zapdos a way to hit Incinieroar and other Fire- or Ground- types when rain is up or offer a stronger and more consistent Fire-type attack when the sun is up, although this option is less consistent and relies on bringing the weather setter to battle to ensure that Zapdos doesn't have a dead move slot.

* Life Orb is Zapdos's most common item, allowing it to maximize its damage and rip through teams with very powerful Dynamax attacks. Safety Goggles is an alternate item choice that allows Zapdos to better deal with Amoonguss and Venusaur and ignore Spore and Rage Power or Sleep Powder respectively, especially given that Amoonguss often runs Coba Berry and can survive Max Airstream or Hurricane, while Venusaur can outspeed Zapdos if sun is up.

* The given EV spread allows Dynamax Zapdos to always survive a 252+ Mystic Water Kyogre Max Geyser based off Water Spout and maximizes Speed in order to potentially win speed ties against base 100s like Charizard, Palkia, and opposing Zapdos which all run max speed with varying degrees of frequency. Given Zapdos's role as a damage dealer, the rest of the EVs are put into Special Attack to deal as much damage as possible. Zapdos can also simply run an EV spread with max Special Attack and Speed in order to deal damage as quickly and powerfully as possible. Zapdos can run either a Timid or Modest nature, as a Timid nature allows it to always outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kyogre while a Modest nature further increases its already impressive damage output.


[OTHER OPTIONS]

Roost is an option that Zapdos can use over a third attacking move or Detect, especially in conjunction with a bulkier EV spread. However, given that Zapdos's strongest VGC 2022 niche is as a speedy offensive Pokemon, Roost is typically less effective than moves which better allow Zapdos to fill that role. Thunder can be used over Thunderbolt or Rising Voltage for more immediate damage on teams that use Kyogre, but given that both Thunder and Hurricane have 70% accuracy when not in Rain, this can leave Zapdos with very inconsistent attacking options when the weather gets reset. Assault Vest allows Zapdos to better take attacks from powerful Special Attackers like Calyrex-S, Palkia, and Kyogre, but leaves Zapdos with the inability to Protect itself and doesn't make a specific difference in any meaningful defensive calculations. (I'd like a mention of Eerie Impulse as another alternative option. It's a tech that's been popping up recently as a way to deal with the Zapdos mirror, and I think it's worth a mention here.)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namuko Pro, 426995]]
- Quality checked by: [[name, id], [name, id]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

QC 1/2

 

[yuki]

ADD REMOVE COMMENT HIGHLIGHT

QC

[OVERVIEW]

Zapdos storms into the VGC 2022 metagame as one of the strongest special attacking Dynamax options in the format. Electric- and Flying-typing is incredibly effective for both defensive purposes, giving Zapdos key resistances or immunities to some of the strongest attacks in the metagame like Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade and Groudon's Precipice Blades, and for offensive purposes, with almost perfect neutral STAB coverage, access to STAB Max Airstream, and STAB super-effective moves for top metagame Pokemon like Kyogre, Amoonguss, and Venusaur. Zapdos has found a strong niche as an option on Kyogre and Zacian-C teams, as both Pokemon appreciate Zapdos's Max Airstream support to fire off their devastating attacks at high speeds as well as its ability to hit opposing Kyogre and Grass-types for heavy damage. However, Zapdos is fairly limited if it is not used as a Dynamax option and can have problems with opposing teams that can either lessen its damage output with Light Screen and/or Snarl or that can negate its Max Airstream boosts with speed control of their own, leading Zapdos to be a strong Pokemon that can serve as an effective Dynamax option in specific matchups but that can heavily struggle in others. I think with the more defensive and supportive sets existing now, this is less true overall.

[SET]
name: Dynamax Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Heat Wave / Weather Ball
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb / Safety Goggles
ability: Static
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 20 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 68 SpD / 252 Spe


[SET COMMENTS]

* Most Zapdos opt to use Thunderbolt as their primary attacking move, offering consistent damage outside of Dynamax and a strong Max Lightning within Dynamax.

* Hurricane is used to offer Zapdos a very strong STAB Max Airstream, boosting the Speed of it and its ally and offering super-effective damage against common Pokemon like Amoonguss and Venusaur. However, the 70 accuracy can be quite problematic outside of Dynamax, which is why Zapdos is often paired with Kyogre which can set rain with its Drizzle ability or with another strong water-type that can instead set rain through Max Geyser. (This might be a touch wordy, could be "It's low accuracy can be a hindrance outside of Dynamax, making Drizzle Pokemon such as Kyogre or strong Max Geyser users such as Palkia useful partners." or so.)

* Heat Wave is typically chosen as the third attacking move to deal heavy damage with Max Flare to tough Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Solgaleo, Necrozma-DM, and most importantly Zacian-C, potentially being able to OHKO Zacian-C depending on Zapdos's item and the spread of both Pokemon. Given how often Zapdos is paired with Kyogre and the possibility of using it on a team with Groudon (or against opposing Groudon), Weather Ball can potentially give Zapdos a way to hit Incinieroar and other Fire- or Ground- types when rain is up or offer a stronger and more consistent Fire-type attack when the sun is up, although this option is less consistent and relies on bringing the weather setter to battle to ensure that Zapdos doesn't have a dead move slot. (I think this is kinda wordy. I am fine with the Heat Wave point, just I know we could cut down the weather ball point)

* Life Orb is Zapdos's most common item, allowing it to maximize its damage and rip through teams with very powerful Dynamax attacks. Safety Goggles is an alternate item choice that allows Zapdos to better deal with Amoonguss and Venusaur and ignore Spore and Rage Power or Sleep Powder respectively (I think saying you ignore their sleep moves is generally fine, a bit more concise), especially given that Amoonguss often runs Coba Berry and can survive Max Airstream or Hurricane, while Venusaur can outspeed Zapdos if sun is up.

Potentially a short point on the Detect > Protect nuance, given I have seen both Indeedee and Calyrex-S running Imprison this format.

* The given EV spread allows Dynamax Zapdos to always survive a 252+ Mystic Water Kyogre Max Geyser based off Water Spout and maximizes Speed in order to potentially win speed ties against base 100s like Charizard, Palkia, and opposing Zapdos which all run maximum Speed with varying degrees of frequency. Given Zapdos's role as a damage dealer, the rest of the EVs are put into Special Attack to deal as much damage as possible. Zapdos can also simply run an EV spread with max Special Attack and Speed in order to deal damage as quickly and powerfully as possible. Zapdos can run either a Timid or Modest nature, as a Timid nature allows it to always outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kyogre while a Modest nature further increases its already impressive damage output. (I reckon we could make this a bit more concise overall.)

[OTHER OPTIONS]

Roost is an option that Zapdos can use over a third attacking move or Detect, especially in conjunction with a bulkier EV spread. However, given that Zapdos's strongest VGC 2022 niche is as a speedy offensive Pokemon, Roost is typically less effective than moves which better allow Zapdos to fill that role. Zapdos has a couple additional options for electric-type attacking moves. Given how often Zapdos Dynamaxes, Rising Voltage is an alternative that offers a stronger Max Lightning and that can unleash devastating damage on grounded opponents outside of Dynamax if Electric Terrain has been set up through Max Lightning or other means. Thunder can be used over Thunderbolt or Rising Voltage for more immediate damage on teams that use Kyogre. Both Rising Voltage and Thunder are more inconsistent than Thunderbolt, as Thunder has 70% accuracy when not in rain while Rising Voltage has a low 70 base power when Electric Terrain isn't set up, which alongside Hurricane can leave Zapdos with very inconsistent attacking options outside of Dynamax. Some Zapdos opt to run Eerie Impulse over a third attacking move, but like Roost this is best reserved for more defensive minded Zapdos rather than full on Dynamax Attackers. Assault Vest allows Zapdos to better take attacks from powerful Special Attackers like Calyrex-S, Palkia, and Kyogre, but leaves Zapdos with the inability to Protect itself and doesn't make a specific difference in any meaningful defensive calculations.

I do believe there to be genuine merit behind making the Impulse/Roost set its own thing, but it's entirely up to you.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namuko Pro, 426995]]
- Quality checked by: [[Helios of Sun, 547596], [yuki, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

Apologies for the delay on this, should generally be fine. Ping me on discord to discuss any further changes, because there's potentially a big one if we add a whole new set.

 

[Giokio]

ADD REMOVE COMMENT HIGHLIGHT

QC

[OVERVIEW]

Zapdos storms into the VGC 2022 metagame as one of the strongest special attacking Dynamax options in the format. Electric- and Flying-typing is incredibly effective for both defensive purposes, giving Zapdos key resistances or immunities to some of the strongest attacks in the metagame like Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade and Groudon's Precipice Blades, and for offensive purposes, with almost perfect neutral STAB coverage, access to STAB Max Airstream, and STAB super-effective moves for top metagame Pokemon like Kyogre, Amoonguss, and Venusaur. Zapdos has found a strong niche as an option on Kyogre and Zacian-C teams, as both Pokemon appreciate Zapdos's Max Airstream support to fire off their devastating attacks at high speeds as well as its ability to hit opposing Kyogre and Grass-types for heavy damage. However, Zapdos is fairly limited if it is not used as a Dynamax option and can have problems with opposing teams that can either lessen its damage output with Light Screen and/or Snarl or that can negate its Max Airstream boosts with speed control of their own, leading Zapdos to be a strong Pokemon that can serve as an effective Dynamax option in specific matchups but that can heavily struggle in others. I think with the more defensive and supportive sets existing now, this is less true overall.

[SET]
name: Dynamax Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Heat Wave / Weather Ball
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb / Safety Goggles
ability: Static
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 20 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 68 SpD / 252 Spe


[SET COMMENTS]

* Most Zapdos opt to use Thunderbolt as their primary attacking move, offering consistent damage outside of Dynamax and a strong Max Lightning within Dynamax.

* Hurricane is used to offer Zapdos a very strong STAB Max Airstream, boosting the Speed of it and its ally and offering super-effective damage against common Pokemon like Amoonguss and Venusaur. However, the 70 accuracy can be quite problematic outside of Dynamax, which is why Zapdos is often paired with Kyogre which can set rain with its Drizzle ability or with another strong water-type that can instead set rain through Max Geyser. (This might be a touch wordy, could be "It's low accuracy can be a hindrance outside of Dynamax, making Drizzle Pokemon such as Kyogre or strong Max Geyser users such as Palkia useful partners." or so.)

* Heat Wave is typically chosen as the third attacking move to deal heavy damage with Max Flare to tough Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Solgaleo, Necrozma-DM, and most importantly Zacian-C, potentially being able to OHKO Zacian-C depending on Zapdos's item and the spread of both Pokemon. Given how often Zapdos is paired with Kyogre and the possibility of using it on a team with Groudon (or against opposing Groudon), Weather Ball can potentially give Zapdos a way to hit Incinieroar and other Fire- or Ground- types when rain is up or offer a stronger and more consistent Fire-type attack when the sun is up, although this option is less consistent and relies on bringing the weather setter to battle to ensure that Zapdos doesn't have a dead move slot. (I think this is kinda wordy. I am fine with the Heat Wave point, just I know we could cut down the weather ball point)

* Life Orb is Zapdos's most common item, allowing it to maximize its damage and rip through teams with very powerful Dynamax attacks. Safety Goggles is an alternate item choice that allows Zapdos to better deal with Amoonguss and Venusaur and ignore Spore and Rage Power or Sleep Powder respectively (I think saying you ignore their sleep moves is generally fine, a bit more concise), especially given that Amoonguss often runs Coba Berry and can survive Max Airstream or Hurricane, while Venusaur can outspeed Zapdos if sun is up.

Potentially a short point on the Detect > Protect nuance, given I have seen both Indeedee and Calyrex-S running Imprison this format.

* The given EV spread allows Dynamax Zapdos to always survive a 252+ Mystic Water Kyogre Max Geyser based off Water Spout and maximizes Speed in order to potentially win speed ties against base 100s like Charizard, Palkia, and opposing Zapdos which all run maximum Speed with varying degrees of frequency. Given Zapdos's role as a damage dealer, the rest of the EVs are put into Special Attack to deal as much damage as possible. Zapdos can also simply run an EV spread with max Special Attack and Speed in order to deal damage as quickly and powerfully as possible. Zapdos can run either a Timid or Modest nature, as a Timid nature allows it to always outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kyogre while a Modest nature further increases its already impressive damage output. (I reckon we could make this a bit more concise overall.)

[OTHER OPTIONS]

Roost is an option that Zapdos can use over a third attacking move or Detect, especially in conjunction with a bulkier EV spread. However, given that Zapdos's strongest VGC 2022 niche is as a speedy offensive Pokemon, Roost is typically less effective than moves which better allow Zapdos to fill that role. Zapdos has a couple additional options for electric-type attacking moves. Given how often Zapdos Dynamaxes, Rising Voltage is an alternative that offers a stronger Max Lightning and that can unleash devastating damage on grounded opponents outside of Dynamax if Electric Terrain has been set up through Max Lightning or other means. Thunder can be used over Thunderbolt or Rising Voltage for more immediate damage on teams that use Kyogre. Both Rising Voltage and Thunder are more inconsistent than Thunderbolt, as Thunder has 70% accuracy when not in rain while Rising Voltage has a low 70 base power when Electric Terrain isn't set up, which alongside Hurricane can leave Zapdos with very inconsistent attacking options outside of Dynamax. Some Zapdos opt to run Eerie Impulse over a third attacking move, but like Roost this is best reserved for more defensive minded Zapdos rather than full on Dynamax Attackers. Assault Vest allows Zapdos to better take attacks from powerful Special Attackers like Calyrex-S, Palkia, and Kyogre, but leaves Zapdos with the inability to Protect itself and doesn't make a specific difference in any meaningful defensive calculations.

I do believe there to be genuine merit behind making the Impulse/Roost set its own thing, but it's entirely up to you.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namuko Pro, 426995]]
- Quality checked by: [[Helios of Sun, 547596], [yuki, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

Apologies for the delay on this, should generally be fine. Ping me on discord to discuss any further changes, because there's potentially a big one if we add a whole new set.

Hi yuki, do you think you can provide a final version yourself at this point?

 

[zee]

taking this over as well, implemented my QC check into the analysis

GP Team

 

[Adeleine]

Add/Fix Remove Comment
(AC): Add Comm

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Zapdos storms into the VGC 2022 metagame as one of the strongest special-attacking (added hyphen) Dynamax options in the format. Electric- and Flying-typing Electric / Flying typing is incredibly effective for both defensive purposes, giving and offensive purposes. It gives Zapdos key resistances or immunities to some of the strongest attacks in the metagame—like Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade and Groudon's Precipice Blades, and for offensive purposes, with Blades—alongside almost perfect neutral STAB coverage, access to STAB Max Airstream, and STAB super effective (removed hyphen) moves for top metagame Pokemon like Kyogre, Amoonguss, and Venusaur. Zapdos has found a strong niche as an option on Kyogre and Zacian-C teams, as both Pokemon appreciate Zapdos's Max Airstream support to quickly fire off their devastating attacks at high speeds as well as its ability to hit attacks, as well as Zapdos hitting opposing Kyogre and Grass-types for heavy damage. However, Zapdos is fairly limited if it is not used as a Dynamax option, (AC) and it can have problems with opposing teams that can either lessen its damage output with Light Screen and/or Snarl or that can negate its Max Airstream boosts with speed control of their own, leading Zapdos to be a strong Pokemon that can serve as an effective Dynamax option in specific matchups but that can heavily struggle in others. certain matchups. It (optional add: "heavily") struggles when teams can weaken it with Light Screen and/or Snarl, or when they negate its Max Airstream boosts with speed control of their own.

[SET]
name: Dynamax Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Heat Wave / Weather Ball
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb / Safety Goggles
ability: Static
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 20 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 68 SpD / 252 Spe (removed extra linebreak under)

[SET COMMENTS]

* Most Zapdos opt to use Thunderbolt as their primary attacking move, offering Thunderbolt as a primary attack offers consistent damage outside of Dynamax and a strong Max Lightning within Dynamax.

* Hurricane is used to offer offers Zapdos a very strong STAB Max Airstream, boosting the speed Speed of it and its ally and offering super-effective ally, and offering super effective damage against common Pokemon like Amoonguss and Venusaur. However, its low accuracy can be a hinderance outside of Dynamax.

* Heat Wave is typically chosen as the third attacking move the third attack to deal heavy damage with Max Flare to tough steel-types Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Solgaleo, and most importantly Zacian-C. Given how often Zapdos is paired with Kyogre and the possibility of using it on a team with Groudon (or against opposing Groudon), Kyogre, Weather Ball can potentially give Zapdos a way to hit Incinieroar and other Fire- or Ground- types when rain is up or Ground-types. Also, when Zapdos is with Groudon or facing it, Weather Ball can offer a stronger and more consistent Fire-type attack when the sun is up, although this option is less consistent and relies on bringing the weather setter to battle to ensure that Zapdos doesn't have a dead move slot. attack. However, Weather Ball is overall less consistent and relies on bringing a weather setter alongside Zapdos.

* Life Orb is Zapdos's most common item, allowing it to maximize its damage and maximizing its damage to rip through teams with very powerful Dynamax attacks. Max Moves. Safety Goggles is an alternate item choice alternative that allows Zapdos to better deal with Amoonguss and Venusaur and ignore Spore and Rage Power or Sleep Powder respectively. by ignoring their powder moves.

* The given EV spread allows Dynamax Zapdos, when Dynamaxed, to always survive a Modest Mystic Water Kyogre Max Geyser based off Water Spout and maximizes Spout. It and the Timid nature also maximize Speed in order to potentially win speed Speed ties against base 100s like Charizard and opposing Zapdos. Modest Nature A Modest nature instead increases its damage output at the cost of being outsped by Timid Kyogre and Dialga. (removed extra linebreak under)

[OTHER OPTIONS]

Roost and Eerie Impulse can be used in addition to with Thunderbolt and Hurricane for a more defensive set aimed at crippling special attackers and sticking around. While this does harm its offensive potential, an unsuspected Eerie Impulse on an enemy Dynamax user can be game winning. Volt Switch, Thunder, and Rising Voltage are all valid alternative moves for Thunderbolt, with Volt Switch offering the ability to pivot around pivoting on bulky teams, Thunder being the strongest overall attack and synergizing with rain teams, and Rising Voltage offering a 140 Base Power Max Lightning with the ability to capitalize and capitalizing on Electric Terrain being live after Dynamax ends. These moves do have drawbacks, however, such as Volt Switch and Rising Voltage's lower Base Power and Thunder's shaky accuracy outside of rain.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namuko Pro, 426995]]
- Quality checked by: [[Helios of Sun, 547596], [zee, 501951]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]

1/1, just be mindful of wordiness
GP Team done