[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Hurricane / Weather Ball
move 2: Roost
move 3: Volt Switch / U-Turn
move 4: Defog
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Primordial Sea / Desolate Land / Magic Bounce
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Zapdos can function as an amazing pivot that can come in against common threats such as Ferrothorn, Hippowdon, Swampert, and Dhelmise and threaten them out with it's STAB and coverage moves. Hurricane can threaten out Grass- and Fighting-types such as Dhlemise, Zapdos-G, and Zarude. It also works best in tandem with Primordial Sea, as Hurricane turns into a perfectly accurate STAB attack that cannot miss. Weather Ball is an alternative coverage option that can enable Zapdos to circumvent certain checks depending on the weather conditions. For instance, under Heavy Rain, Zapdos has access to Water-type coverage that can target Ground-types that can otherwise check it such as Hippowdon, Landorus-T, Excadrill, and Garchomp. On the other hand, under harsh sunlight, Zapdos can beat other common switchins such as Ferrothorn and Volt Asborb Corviknight. Roost provides Zapdos with crucial recovery and enables it to come in more frequently without being worn down. Volt Switch lets Zapdos pivot out against incoming switchins and grants its teammates an opportunity to come in more safely. U-Turn can be used instead as it allows Zapdos to switch out against Ground-types as well, despite it lacking the STAB-boost like Volt Switch. Zapdos is a great Defog user as it can switch into common Stealth Rock setters and threaten them out as mentioned previously. Primordial Sea is the primary ability seen on this set, as not only does it let Zapdos pull off Hurricanes without missing, but also grants it access to Water-type coverage with Weather Ball. Desolate Land can be used as an alternative that not only provides Zapdos with Fire-type coverage, but also provides defensive utility by letting it check Water-type threats such as Barraskewda and Gyarados. Maguc Bounce is a more defensive alternative option, enabling it to counteract entry hazard setters more immediately. 56 EVs are invested into its Speed to outspeed Adamant Tapu Bulu, with the rest invested into HP and Defense to maximize its defensive prowess.
Zapdos pairs well with partners that can cover its Rock- and Ice-type weaknesses. Such teammates may include Steel-types like Jirachi, Silvally-Steel, and Heatran. Heatran is a particularly great partner as it can provide Stealth Rock support while Zapdos can help check Water-types if it is running Desolate Land. Other entry hazard setters such as Swampert, Ferrothorn, and Hippowdon also pair well with Zapdos as well as they can check threats such as Terrakion and Archeops that can threaten Zapdos out. Offensive teammates such as Victini, Dhelmise, Noivern, and Weavile appreciate Zapdos' ability to provide pivoting and entry hazard removal support, letting the aforementioned threats to come in more safely.
[SET]
name: Offensive Weather
move 1: Weather Ball
move 2: Discharge / Hurricane / Thunder
move 3: Roost
move 4: U-Turn / Volt Switch
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Primordial Sea / Desolate Land / Magic Bounce
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Zapdos can blend its offensive prowess and defensive utility to function as a great offensive pivot that can disrupt common defensive cores. With its STAB movepool options combined with amazing coverage granted by Weather Ball, Zapdos can be quite a nuisance to switch into depending on which weather conditions it can set
- coverage moves that affect its role
- EV spread in one sentence or less
Paragraph 2:
- brief example of teammates that benefit from the Pokemon's presence
- brief example of foes that the Pokemon is vulnerable to + teammates to help cover them
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
List some options for the Pokemon user that are plausible but not always recommended due to either being not consistent enough or too outclassed by other Pokemon in the metagame.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Insert Threat Here**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.
**Insert Threat Here**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
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