Zapdos
Electric Pokémon
This Pokémon has complete control over electricity. There are tales of Zapdos nesting in the dark depths of pitch-black thunderclouds.
Base Stats
Type Effectiveness
Abilities
Forms
Evolution Chain
Moves
Details
Sprites
Competitive
Strategy Overview
Electric
Zapdos is an incredible special wallbreaker for Electric teams mainly due to Hurricane and a great Speed tier. Choice Specs Hurricane hardly has any reliable switch-ins in the metagame when paired with Volt Switch and Heat Wave, OHKOing Hydreigon and 2HKOing other Pokemon like Toxapex and Excadrill. Many types such as Ground, Dragon, and Water cannot switch into Hurricane. Hurricane is also useful for taking out Grass-type Pokemon such as Amoonguss, Celebi, and Rillaboom, which Electric teams typically struggle with. Zapdos's Speed tier is important, as it allows Zapdos to outspeed common slower offensive threats such as Hydreigon, Tapu Lele, and Kyurem and threaten the rest of the team. However, Hurricane can be unreliable due to its shaky accuracy. This, combined with Zapdos's overreliance on the move and weakness to Stealth Rock, makes it a rather inconsistent wallbreaker. Choice Specs Zapdos also forces Rotom-W to drop Pain Split and serve as the Defogger or the team.
Most Used Moves
Common Teammates
Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc