Zapdos The Incredible


Introduction: Zapdos is a very pleasing Pokemon both aesthetically and competitively. Whether it’s being used from an offensive or defensive standpoint, Zapdos brings many unique qualities to the game just from its typing and excellent movepool coverage. Knowing this, I decided to get back into the UU metagame and create a team around my favorite UU Pokemon.

Team Building Part 1 of 2: What will we need to support Zapdos with?

Before we begin building a team based around Zapdos it’s important to understand what things trouble Zapdos. One of the things we must ask ourselves is what can’t Zapdos 1 hko or 2 hko.

This first group of Pokemon that Zapdos has trouble with are bulky ground types. Without hidden power grass (which we will not be using on our Zapdos) Zapdos has trouble dealing with Pokemon like Swampert, Quagsire, Rhyperior, Nidoqueen and Claydol.

The second group of Pokemon that Zadpos has trouble with are dedicated special walls like Snorlax, Porygon2, and MIltank. All of these Pokemon can hit Zapdos back with their stab moves or simply status Zapdos while Zapdos cannot 2 hko them.

Thirdly, faster ice types can bring down Zapdos fairly quickly, this includes Pokemon such as Frosslass and Weavile.


Team Building Part 2 of 2: Which Pokemon do we use?

The first thing I said to myself was that I needed a lure. A Pokemon that could tempt some of Zapdos’ counters to come in and either eliminate some of them or deal with them in some way (such as u-turning or volt-switching out). Rotom-H with Will-O-Wisp is a great choice for luring in some of Zapdos counters. The both share some common counters and Rotom –H can status Swampert, Quagsire, Rhyperior and Claydol. Even better is the fact that Rotom-H could take on some of the faster ice types that plague Zapdos.


The next thing I needed was a Pokemon who can deal with the dedicated special walls mentioned above. I also needed it to be a status absorber. I decided to use a fighting type and in UU there are two fighting types who can absorb status: Machamp and Heracross. I went with Heracross because it can deal with Claydol much better than Machamp could.

Next I found myself needing a revenge killer. Something that could check dragon dance Kingdra which my team was very weak to. I settled on scarf Krookodile who add some good synergy to the team while maintaining its status as a revenge killer for my team.



With the main skeleton of my team complete I now looked to cover some holes in my team. I noticed that I had nothing to deal with Chandelure and in UU there are three Pokemon who can counter Chandelure. Those three are Porygon2, Snorlax and Miltank. Since my team was already physically inclined in terms of offense I decided to go with Porygon2.


Finally glancing over my team I noticed I did not have a bulky water and was missing a physical Victini check. I also needed a something that could remove stealth rock for Zapdos and Rotom-H. Blastoise was chosen since he partially checks Victini and can remove stealth rocks with rapid spin.


A closer look:

Rotom-H (The Lure)

Timid
Levitate
Leftovers
252 Special Attack/ 252 Speed/ 6 Hp
Overheat/ Hidden Power (Ice)/ Will-O-Wisp/ Volt Switch

Rotom-H is like the glue that holds together the team. It lures in ground types and hits them with Will-O-Wisp thus crippling them for the remainder of the match. If Rotom-H finds itself face to face with a Pokemon it cannot handle, no problem, I simply volt switch out to an appropriate member of the team which can handle the opposition. Overheat and Thunderbolt are my main offense. Hidden Power Ice is there for Flygon and Gligar which grabs an unexpected KO. Gligar gives my team many problems since it walls Krookodile and Heracross perfectly.


Heracross (The Powerful Check)

Adamant
Guts
Toxic Orb
252 Attack/ 252 Speed/ 6 Hp
Close Combat/ Megahorn/ Stone edge/ Night Slash

Heracross is on my team for two reasons. First, it doesn’t mind status thanks to Guts and Toxic Orb working together. Secondly it checks the special walls that Zapdos and Rotom-H cannot deal with. Thanks to Volt-Switch on both my Zapdos and Rotom-H, Heracross can come in safely as my opponent switches to their Zapdos/Rotom-H check in the very same turn and activate its Toxic Orb, which now activates its Guts ability. Close Combat and Megahorn are my primary offense. Stone Edge is for Zapdos switch in’s as well as Xatu while Night Slash is there for Dusclops and Dusknoir.


Krookodile (The Revenger)


Jolly
Moxie
Choice Scarf
252 Attack/ 252 Speed/ 6 Hp
Pursuit/Crunch/Earthqauke/Stone Edge

Krookodile is an amazing revenger for my team. Threats such as Swords dance Cobalion, Dragon Dance Kindgra, and Chandelure are revenged by this amazing guy. It even has the potential to sweep late game once it's counters have been weakened or eliminated. Pursuit lets me play mind games with foes such as Stoutland and Victini.


Porygon2 (The Patient Wall)

Modest
Trace
Eviolite
252 Special Attack/ 252 hp/ 6 def
Discharge/ Ice Beam/ Tri attack/ Recover

Thanks to suggestions from some raters I removed Snorlax from my team since it was pretty redundant with Krookodile and replaced it was a specially offensive Porygon2. Porygon2 acts as my main Chandelure switch in and walls most special attackers. While its main job is walling it also supports my team by paralyzing opponents with Discharge so that my team can gain the initiative and strike first. Bolt-Beam for coverage, Tri-Attack is for stab and recover is so that Porygon2 can come in consistently again and again to check special attackers.


Blastoise ( The Bulky Water)

Bold
Torrent
Leftovers
252 Hp/ 252 Def/ 4 sp def
Scald/Ice Beam/Rapid Spin/Roar

Blastoise is my bulky water for the team and has the role of removing entry hazards (mainly stealth rock) for my team. Aside from the Blastoise provides minor physical walling for my team and help sponge attacks from Weavile, Cobalion, Bisharp and any other physical attackers. This is also the closest thing I have for dealing with Victini for my team. Though it is important to note that even if my opponent predicts well and goes for the Fusion Bolt, I can switch to Krookodile next turn and trap it with pursuit. Scald is my primary form of offense and Ice beam complements nicely. Rapid Spin is the most important move on this set for its ability to remove hazards. Roar gives my team a phazer which is very welcome. Another thing I like about this set is that it lures ghost types which want to spinblock and are later removed by my scarfed Krookodile.

Zadpos (The late Game Sweeper)

Timid
Pressure
Life Orb
252 Special Attack/ 252 Speed/ 6 Hp
Thunderbolt/ Heatwave/ Hidden Power (Grass)/ Roost

Zapdos is my favorite Pokemon in UU right now. With a typing shared only by Flying Rotom and the banned Thundurus, Zapdos is a great late game sweeper for my team and is what my entire team is based around of. Thunderbolt and Heatwave give Zapdos the coverage to hit most of the metagame right now for at least neutral coverage. In addition to this, Hp Grass lets Zadpos get past its own counters. Sometimes I need Zapdos early in the match to check threats like Calm Mind Suicune and Heracross. If Zapdos is hurt during that time I can simply roost to heal off any excess damage it has taken or life orb damage. I usually roost only when under dual screen support from my Xatu.

Conclusion: Well that’s my UU team that I made as sort of a tribute to Zapdos. Any constructive criticism is appreciated and will be taken into account as I continue to use the team. I hope I gave you guys that didn’t know too much about Zapdos have a better understanding of it and those of you who do know about him perhaps can give me some criticism so that I may better understand how to use Zadpos in UU.
 
Hi Scizor - long time no see eh? :/ Anyhow a nice looking team you have there but I have few little problems with some of your sets. To start, Zapdos - your "late game sweeper" would rarely be using volt switch if primarily in the late game roll - therefore i feel to enhance its sweeping capabilities it should run a hidden power of sorts - perhaps grass to lead me to my next point. Next is Rotom-H which i'm sure you were prepared for some hate on XD It feels a waste of a moveslot running hp grass when you could have either trick or willo-wisp to cripple annoying ground switch ins such as Rhyperior or opposing Swampert - lefties to help with survivability or a choice item to trick and cripple. Lastly i feel your Xatu set really feels out of place on the team as it is great set up bait which your team certainly does not appreciate - i would consider rather than focusing on the sole purpose of a Zapdos sweep, to perhaps consider running a Scarfer which your team seriously lacks and could potentially be torn down by things like sub-dance Cobalion. Perhaps a Krookodile for a fall back if a Zapdos sweep looks unachievable.

Anyway those are the only problems I've noticed and I wish you the best with the team - hope I helped and it's nice to see you into UU!

Luxuria~
 
Hi Scizor - long time no see eh? :/ Anyhow a nice looking team you have there but I have few little problems with some of your sets. To start, Zapdos - your "late game sweeper" would rarely be using volt switch if primarily in the late game roll - therefore i feel to enhance its sweeping capabilities it should run a hidden power of sorts - perhaps grass to lead me to my next point. Next is Rotom-H which i'm sure you were prepared for some hate on XD It feels a waste of a moveslot running hp grass when you could have either trick or willo-wisp to cripple annoying ground switch ins such as Rhyperior or opposing Swampert - lefties to help with survivability or a choice item to trick and cripple. Lastly i feel your Xatu set really feels out of place on the team as it is great set up bait which your team certainly does not appreciate - i would consider rather than focusing on the sole purpose of a Zapdos sweep, to perhaps consider running a Scarfer which your team seriously lacks and could potentially be torn down by things like sub-dance Cobalion. Perhaps a Krookodile for a fall back if a Zapdos sweep looks unachievable.

Anyway those are the only problems I've noticed and I wish you the best with the team - hope I helped and it's nice to see you into UU!

Luxuria~
Hey Thanks so much for the rate. After taking into account your observations you were right on so many points. Will-O-Wisp gives me the ability to spread status on my foes team cushioning them for swampert who has no reliable recovery. Hp Grass on Zadpos is better than volt-switch since its going to be used for late game. Also, I have taken out Xatu for a scarf krookodile to better help my team revenge certain threats. On top of that i have gone with leftovers over choice band on snorlax to help prevent it from being complete setup bait. Thanks for your rate =)
 
Just point out some things. It is 4 HP * not 6. It is a lot easier for other people if you make your description for your pokemon a little bit cleaner, and you forgot to add the nature with for example, (+Atk, -SAtk).

Like this:

Zapdos @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
. Thunderbolt
- Roost

I will recommend HP Ice instead of Grass since you already got HP Grass on your Rotom, and you will need the Ice for Banded Flygon and Gliscors that might occur.

Well your team looks pretty good and I hope I helped, have a nice day !
 
Ok I haven't playing in a while so don't hate on my suggestions!

First of all I question your lack of stealth rocks on your team when swampert has access to it and is the most common set. I understand you don't want to loose momentum but with a team that forces a lot of switching to wittle down walls it seems compulsory. Judging from other posts I also understand you once had a Xatu on your team to try bounce rocks so swampert's set revamp was maybe a minor oversight when taking suggestions.

Your description of snorlax makes it sound extremely obsolete with the addition of krookodile. Why use pursuit with snorlax when krookodile is clearly a better option and when I saw both sets the near resemblence of both pokemon's sets it pretty much calls for a replacement for a synergy related issue. Have you tried an offensive porygon2 in it's position. It theoretically dishes more damage of it's own than snorlax while thoroughly beating rotom-h (watch out for trick!) Of course with this suggestion, I would go against nyanswag's suggestion of HP ice on zapdo and keep hidden power grass. Leave the boltbeaming to porygon2.
 
Well I do agree with FPlease and I see some problems with your team, entry hazards is a big treath to your team as you dont have a spinner and your team is based around LO Zapdos, so I recommend a spinner. Dont find the reason for Snorlax being on your team when you have Krookodile that does his job a lot better, and when talking about Swampert NEVER use Scald or Ice Beam, Swampert is an attacker not special attacker. Make it a tank set with Waterfall and Ice Punch that fits him a lot better.¨

Swampert:

Swampert @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

This set will help you a lot better against Victini, Flygon, Nidoking/queen etc. As you gain more power in him as well you now have a mon that can lay SR.


And do as FPlease said replace your Snorlax with eviolite Porygon2 as it can wall almost every pokemon in the tier.

Porygon2

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Trait: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Discharge
- Ice Beam
- Tri Attack
- Recover

This thing is so much more usefull for your team than Snorlax as it has better bulk and Recover ! Discharge instead off Thunderbolt because off better chance to paralyze the opponent, Ice Beam for Gliscor, Flygon etc. And Tri Attack for extremeky powerfull STAB.


You still need a spinner and I might try figure out something but I think it is enough for now, so I hope this helped and good luck.
 
You both have helped me out tremendously, i shall make the changes stated in bold and get back to you guys on how these changes tested out on the smogon server.
 
When I am talking about swampert I am an advocate for scald. Swampert's attack is higher than it's special attack but scald is a better utility than waterfall and ice beam does have a higher base damage than ice punch. Running mixed sets where applicable is a great advantage overall. Roar is also something that I didn't want to see get removed. I leaning to a two attack swampert set but it's your call.
 
252 Atk Swampert Ice Punch hits harder than Ice Beam, why using Scald when he allready has WoW on his Rotom ? While also Waterfall is doing a ton off damage due to Scald.
 
Right off the bat I saw some major flaws and weaknesses in your team, I'll post them in order.
Victini-Swampert is the only poke on your team that can take a hit from CBtini
Hazards-Two of your pokemon are weak to stealth rock and toxic spikes would mean the end of your walls; swampert and porygon2

I'd recommend to replace swampert with blastoise. As for one it can take on pretty much all versions of victini, and can spin away hazards your team hates. It works well in conjunction with krookidle as krook can pursuit trap ghosts that attempt to spin block.
On top of that I see your team has no form of priority so setup sweepers could be a problem.


I'd recommend a set like this:
Blastoise@Leftovers Bold
252 HP 252 Def 4 Spd
Scald
Rapid Spin
Roar/Dragon Tail
Toxic/Ice beam/Refresh
Refresh allows blastoise to shrug off poison and burns and increase longitivtiy, roar and dragon tail eliminate potential setup sweeper threats. Ice beam can slay flygon, toxic of your own can help break down troublesome walls.
Other than that everything looks fairly solid. Good job. :)
 
^That instead off Swampert, yes i know you will miss rocks but a spinner to your team is just so needed, as well Blastoise can Roar out possible threats or even Roar in pokemons that are weak to SR that is HUGE advantage point. And I suggest Toxic on your Blastoise instead off Ice Beam because Porygon is already having Ice Beam anyway, as well you can switch on threats and cripple the incoming pokemon with Toxic! So the team looks pretty solid now, the only thing I can point out know is that Fighting is a Huge threat to your team maby you should replace Krookodile for a ghost or psychic pokemon and make your Heracross a scarfed revenge killer ? Anyway good luck and have a nice day ! :)
 
Thanks for the additional rates guys. My team has evolved into something more viable for the current metagame. I have updated the OP with the changes suggested and look forward to even more testing with the team. Again, more comments are encouraged!
 
252 Atk Swampert Ice Punch hits harder than Ice Beam, why using Scald when he allready has WoW on his Rotom ? While also Waterfall is doing a ton off damage due to Scald.
Was it a 252 atk swampert set he was using? If so, you're right but if not you're wrong and a defensive swampert is used for utility not for damage. It's irrelevant one other pokemon has will-o-wisp
 
Why have you got Toxic Orb on Heracross? It is okay if Heracross is only staying in for a couple of turns at a time, then it's okay, but if you plan to keep him in for more than about 3 turns, use Flame Orb. Otherwise, excellent team!
 

ZoroDark

esse quam videri
is a Tiering Contributor
With B/W 2 out, I think Heracross is a better cleaner than Krook with his Moxie ability. You'll miss your wallbreaker, so that's why I suggest to run a CB Flygon. His CB set is very underestimated, unexpected and yet very powerful. Flygon also gets U-turn, so you'll have a nice VolTurn core then.
In short:
Heracross -> Choice Scarf MoxieCross
CB Flygon over Krookodile
 
You need some entry hazards. They can be the key to a victory. Other than that I like your team except i recommend that your blastoise should have this moveset

Rapid Spin
Scald
Protect
Toxic

This way you can toxic stall if necessary. It has worked well for me even without a phazing move like dragon tail or roar.
 

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