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Raid Guides

Zapdos Raid Counter Guide
title
Zapdos Trio Raid Guide

Table of Contents

Click for Shadow Zapdos
How Shiny is Acquired
Raids, Research Encounter
  • Original
  • Shiny

Pokemon Ratings

Attacker Tier List See all Tier 5
PvE Attacker Rating 4 / 5
Great League PVP Rating See all 1.5 / 5
Ultra League PVP Rating See all 2.5 / 5
Master League PVP Rating See all 3.5 / 5

Pokemon Stats

Type
52.60 kg Weight
1.60 m Height
Pokemon Max CP
Level 50: 3,987
Level 40: 3,527
ATK 253
DEF 185
STA 207

PVE Movesets Grades

Quick Charge ATK DEF
Charge Beam
Thunderbolt
A-
Charge Beam
Zap Cannon
B
Thunder Shock*
Thunderbolt
A
Thunder Shock*
Zap Cannon
A-
Thunder Shock*
Thunder
B-
Show Suboptimal/Unranked Movesets

PVE Offensive Moves Explanation

  • Thunder Shock has slightly more DPS than Charge Beam. 

  • Thunderbolt is more flexible and consistently outperforms Zap Cannon in relevant match-ups.

  • Thunder's low power renders it the worst charge move.
  • Drill Peck does benefit from STAB, but doesn't really synergize with Zapdos' fast moves. 
  • Ancient Power has no use on Zapdos. 
  • Return is basically worthless.

PVE Overview

Of the initial 4 legendary species released in Pokemon GO, Zapdos was arguably the best. But with the introduction of Raikou, Zapdos is no longer the Electric king. Raikou possesses better bulk and more powerful moves that overcome Zapdos’s slight ATK advantage. By no means is Zapdos bad; players just have a better option now.

Zapdos’s Flying typing gives it an advantage in a small subset of matchups, but the extra weaknesses, particularly to Ice, can render the dual typing more of a curse than a blessing.

PVP Movesets Grades

Quick Charge ATK
Thunder Shock*
Drill Peck
Thunderbolt
A

PvP Moveset Explanation

Thunder Shock* + Drill Peck and Thunderbolt

The legacy Thunder Shock performs better than Charge Beam due to faster energy gains. 

Drill Peck fills a dual role here, both as Zapdos's cheapest move (enabling baiting) and just as a solid STAB move. Pair this with Thunderbolt for the most consistent Electric damage option. If you're feeling spicier, consider running Drill Peck + Zap Cannon. This leaves you significantly more reliant on careful baiting, but if you can land it then there's no better nuke in Zapdos's kit.

PvP Rating Explanation

Great League: 1.5 / 5

Zapdos almost has potential in Great League. When almost every was Azumarill + Registeel, it was able to fill an interesting antimeta role in somewhat being able to handle both. However, with the rise of Galarian Stunfisk (which completely walls out Zapdos), the mon is significantly more difficult to run. Sadly, this thunderbird is not go.

Ultra League: 2.5 / 5

Zapdos isn't bad per se in the Ultra League; it unfortunately just doesn't have a real place in the current meta. It does resist Registeel's charged moves, and deals super effective damage to the likes of Togekiss, Lapras and Poliwrath, but it can still struggle at beating them, and has really bad matchups against other major threats such as Giratina and Swampert. Zapdos has its niche use, but there are superior choices.

Master League: 3.5 / 5

Zapdos shines brightest in the Master League, where its high CP leaves it unbound as a top Electric-type pick for the tier. The list of threats that it can eliminate grows in this tier, granting it niches against Kyogre and Togekiss in particular. However, once again, many other threats see it as a paper doll. Poor matchups against Melmetal, Giratina, and of course Dialga all leave Zapdos a fairly strong Pokémon in some contexts that just isn't worth the slot in GBL.

Fast Moves

8
Charge Beam
More Info

Electric

1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.51xDamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS EPU DPS DPS w/STAB True DPS
1.10
0.20
13.64
7.27
9.09

Elite Fast Moves

5
Thunder Shock
More Info

Electric

1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.51xDamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS EPU DPS DPS w/STAB True DPS
0.60
0.30
13.33
8.33
10.42

Charge Moves

140
Zap Cannon
More Info

Electric

1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.51xDamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS DPE DPS DPS w/STAB DPE*DPS
3.70
0.50
0.00
 1.40
37.84
47.30
 52.97
100
Thunder
More Info

Electric

1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.51xDamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS DPE DPS DPS w/STAB DPE*DPS
2.40
1.00
0.00
 1.00
41.67
52.08
 41.67
80
Thunderbolt
More Info

Electric

1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.51xDamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS DPE DPS DPS w/STAB DPE*DPS
2.50
0.50
0.00
 1.60
32.00
40.00
 51.20
70
Ancient Power
More Info

Rock

1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS DPE DPS DPS w/STAB DPE*DPS
3.50
0.25
0.00
 2.12
20.00
25.00
 42.42
65
Drill Peck
More Info

Flying

1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
1.4x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS DPE DPS DPS w/STAB DPE*DPS
2.30
0.40
0.00
 1.97
28.26
35.33
 55.67

Purified Charge Moves

35
Return
More Info

Normal

.714x DamageVS
.714x DamageVS
.51x DamageVS
0.7 secs
CD DW EPS DPE DPS DPS w/STAB DPE*DPS
0.70
0.25
0.00
 1.06
50.00
62.50
 53.03

Secondary Charge Move Unlock Cost

Candy 100
Stardust 100,000

Purification Cost

Candy 20
Stardust 20000

Other

Flee Rate 10.0 %
Buddy Distance 20 km
Capture Rate3.0 %

Pokemon Type Chart

Vulnerable

160% damage
160% damage

Resistant

62.5% damage
62.5% damage
62.5% damage
62.5% damage
62.5% damage
62.5% damage

Raid Boss Catch Rate

Electric Medal

None
Bronze
Silver
Gold

Flying Medal

None
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Normal Nice! Great! Excellent!
No Berry -
Curve
Razz Berry -
Curve
Golden Razz Berry -
Curve

Related Articles

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An Open Letter to Niantic About TMs for Thunder Shock Zapdos
Countering Zapdos: Golem vs. Tyranitar

Pokemon Min/Max CP Values

How to use: You need to know your Pokemon's exact level. To find exactly what level your Pokémon is, power up your Pokémon following this chart until you're certain of your level from Stardust cost changes.

A Pokémon's minimum level is 1.

Every time you power up, your Pokémon gains half a level.

StardustLevelMin CPMax CP
20014349
2001.590103
2002137156
2002.5183209
4003230262
4003.5277316
4004323369
4004.5370422
6005417475
6005.5463528
6006510582
6006.5557635
8007603688
8007.5650741
8008697795
8008.5743848
10009790901
10009.5837954
1000108831008
100010.59271058
1300119721108
130011.510161159
13001210601209
130012.511041259
16001311481310
160013.511921360
16001412371410
160014.512811461
19001513251511
190015.513691562
19001614131612
190016.514571662
22001715011713
220017.515461763
22001815901813
220018.516341864
25001916781914
250019.517221965
25002017662015
250020.518112065
30002118552116
300021.518992166
30002219432216
300022.519872267
35002320322317
350023.520762368
35002421202418
350024.521642468
40002522082519
400025.522532569
40002622972620
400026.523412670
45002723852720
450027.524292771
45002824732821
450028.525182872
50002925622922
500029.526062972
50003026503023
500030.526723048
60003126943073
600031.527163098
60003227393124
600032.527613149
70003327833174
700033.528053199
70003428273224
700034.528493250
80003528713275
800035.528933300
80003629153325
800036.529373350
90003729593375
900037.529813401
90003830033426
900038.530263451
100003930483476
1000039.530703501
100004030923527
Show All

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