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This is a guide to movesets and best builds for using Zapdos in competitive play for the games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, Tera Type, and Held Items to use with Zapdos, as well as its strengths and weakness.
List of Contents
Nat. Dex #145 | Type | |
---|---|---|
Zapdos | ||
Abilities | ||
Pressure Static (Hidden) |
||
Weak to: | ||
(2x) | ||
Damaged Normally By: |
(1x) | |
Resists: | (0.5x) | |
Immune to: | (0x) |
Ability Name | Description | |
---|---|---|
Pressure | When the user is hit with an opponent's move, that move loses 2 PP instead of 1. | |
Static (Hidden) |
Has a 30% chance to paralyze opponents that come into direct contact with the user. |
Stat | Value | Rank |
---|---|---|
HP | 90 | 168 |
Atk | 90 | 286 |
Def | 85 | 242 |
SpAtk | 125 | 53 |
SpDef | 90 | 176 |
Speed | 100 | 120 |
Total | 580 | 83 |
Stat | Max | 0Nat | 0EV | -Nat | Min |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HP | 197 | 197 | 165 | 165 | 150 |
Atk | 156 | 142 | 110 | 99 | 85 |
Def | 150 | 137 | 105 | 94 | 81 |
SpAtk | 194 | 177 | 145 | 130 | 117 |
SpDef | 156 | 142 | 110 | 99 | 85 |
Spd | 167 | 152 | 120 | 108 | 94 |
Best Natures | ||
---|---|---|
Bold (+Def, -Atk) |
Timid (+Spe, -Atk) |
Build Name | Recommendation |
---|---|
Defensive Pivot | ★★★★★ |
Nature | Bold (+Def, -Atk) |
---|---|
EV Spread | HP 252 / Def 184 / Spe 72 |
Final Stat Values | HP 197 / Def 140 / Sp.Atk 145 / Sp.Def 110 / Spe 72 |
Ability | Static |
Tera Type | |
Held Item | Heavy-Duty Boots |
Moveset | ・
Discharge
・ Hurricane ・ Tailwind ・ Roost |
Zapdos' great dual typing makes it a great offensive pivot and physical walk against common physical attackers such as Meowscarada, Kingambit, and Scizor to name a few.
Static has a 30% to inflict paralysis when Zapdos is hit by a contact move Reliable recovery in Roost Can support its teammates with Tailwind |
Ability | Held Item | |
---|---|---|
Static | Heavy-Duty Boots |
Static is the chosen Ability for this build so that Zapdos has a 30% chance to inflict paralysis when hit by a contact move.
Heavy-Duty Boots prevents Zapdos from losing HP from entry hazards like Stealth Rock, allowing it to freely switch in and out of the battle.
Discharge | Hurricane |
Tailwind | Roost |
Discharge is Zapdos' main STAB and utility move, boasting a 30% chance to inflict paralysis. This move, along with its Static Ability, allows Zapdos to deter setup sweepers and force them to switch out from the field or risk getting paralyzed.
Hurricane is its secondary STAB move and has a 30% chance to inflict confusion. This move has perfect accuracy when used during Rain Dance.
Tailwind doubles Zapdos and its teammates' Speed stat. Roost recovers lost health and also temporarily removes Zapdos' Flying-type, and is useful against physical attackers with Rock and Ice-type coverage moves.
Water Tera Type Matchup | ||
---|---|---|
Weak to: | ||
(2x) | ||
Damaged Normally By: |
(1x) | |
Resists: | (0.5x) | |
Water Tera Type allows Zapdos to better handle physical attackers like Chien-Pao by giving it newfound Ice-type resistance.
Full EV investment in HP and 140 Def EVs gives this Zapdos as much physical bulk as possible, while 72 Spe EVs give it an effective Speed stat of 129 that allows it to outspeed slower attackers and other defensive Pokemon.
Volt Switch | Can replace Discharge and gives Zapdos and easier tool to pivot from the battle. |
---|---|
Heat Wave | Can replace Hurricane and gives Zapdos a move to hit Steel-types for super effective damage. |
The following calculations take into account Zapdos' defensive EV spread with a Bold Nature.
Damage Received by Zapdos |
|
---|---|
Item:
Leftovers
|
Body Press +2 43-51 (21.8 - 25.8%) 1.6% Chance to 4HKO |
Item:
Lum Berry
|
Iron Head +2 66-78 (33.5 - 39.5%) Guaranteed 3HKO |
Item: Choice Specs | Make it Rain 93-110 (47.2 - 55.8%) 77.7% Chance to 2HKO |
Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator
Build Name | Recommendation |
---|---|
Tailwind Support | ★★★★ |
Nature | Timid (+, -) |
---|---|
EV Spread | Def 4 / Sp.Atk 252 / Spe 252 |
Final Stat Values | HP 165 / Def 106 / Sp.Atk 177 / Sp.Def 110 / Spe 167 |
Ability | Static |
Tera Type | |
Held Item | Sitrus Berry |
Moveset | ・
Tailwind
・ Thunderbolt ・ Hurricane ・ Roost |
Zapdos is best used as an offensive Tailwind setter nad lead in Doubles thanks to its great Speed stat. Once it's done supporting its team, it can then fill the role of a sub special attacker with its dual STAB moves.
Reaches 167 Speed with a Timid Nature at Lv. 50 Great dual Electric / Flying-type STAB Reliable recovery in Roost |
Ability | Held Item | |
---|---|---|
Static | Sitrus Berry |
Static is the chosen Ability for this build so that Zapdos has a 30% chance to inflict paralysis when hit by a contact move.
Sitrus Berry restores Zapdos' HP by 1/4 of its max HP when at critical health and provides burst healing in the event an opponent lands a critical hit.
Tailwind | Thunderbolt |
Hurricane | Roost |
Tailwind doubles Zapdos and its allies' Speed stat for 4 turns and should be used at the start of the battle. Thunderbolt and Hurricane are its main STAB moves and hits hard with full Sp.Atk EV investment.
Roost allows Zapdos to stay on the field for longer, providing reliable healing and removing its Rock and Ice-type weakness.
Electric Tera Type Matchup | ||
---|---|---|
Weak to: | ||
(2x) | ||
Damaged Normally By: |
(1x) | |
Resists: | (0.5x) | |
Electric Tera typing further boosts the power of Zapdos' Electric-type moves, while also removing its Rock and Ice-type weakness.
Best Electric Tera Type Pokemon
Full EV investment in Sp.Atk and Spe ensures Zapdos hits as hard and as fast as possible with Thunderbolt and Hurricane, with the remaining EVs placed in Def to slightly improve its physical bulk.
Discharge | An alternative to Thunderbolt that allows Zapdos to better spread paralysis, but also hits its ally. It's best used when Zapdos is partnered with a Ground-type or a Pokemon with the Telepathy Ability. |
---|
The following calculations take into account Zapdos' offensive EV investment with a Timid Nature.
Damage Dealt by Zapdos |
|
---|---|
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots | Thunderbolt 102-122 (50.4 - 60.3%) Guaranteed 2HKO |
Item: Leftovers | Hurricane 108-128 (56.2 - 66.6%) Guaranteed 2HKO |
Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator
Zapdos' great dual typing makes it one of the better defensive pivots in the game, with its higher Speed stat giving it some distinction against some of the slower pivots in the game.
As a result, it's a great check against both setup sweepers and other defensive Pokemon as it can still hit hard with its STAB moves even with minimal offensive investment.
In Singles, Zapdos is best used as the team's defensive pivot and works well in offensive-oriented teams. In Doubles, you can use it on both hyper offense and more defensive teams so long as it's used as the lead.
Lead Attacker | Defensive Pivot | Special Attacker |
---|---|---|
Chien-Pao | Zapdos | Chi-Yu |
Both Chien-Paoi and Chi-Yu appreciate Zapdos' Fighting-type resistance and ability to infllict paralysis with Static or Discharge, with both quickly switching out of the battle and to Zapdos when faced with a Fighting-type check.
Lead Attacker | Tailwind Support |
---|---|
Ursaluna | Zapdos |
Redirection Support | Special Attacker |
Amoonguss | Flutter Mane |
Ursaluna is a great partner for Zapdos as not only can it provide a much needed Speed boost with Tailwind, Ursaluna's Ground-typing means it's immune to Discharge and Zapdos can use that move instead to provide even more team utility.
Amoonguss serves as this team's redirection support, swapping places with Zapdos to take away the pressure from Ursaluna if it needs to setup. Flutter Mane serves as this team's special attacker and is near-impossible to outrun once it gets a Tailwind boost thanks to its naturally high Speed stat.
Despite boasting a recovery move, Zapdos is susceptible to getting worn down by status especially Poison from Toxic or Salt Cure. Zapdos is then forced to either constantly heal with Roost, or switch out to prevent the poison or Salt Cure from increasing in damage as the turns progress.
Pokemon | Description |
---|---|
Clodsire | Ranking: ★★★★★
・Immune to Zapdos' Electric-type moves and takes little damage from Hurricane. ・Can stall Zapdos with Toxic and Recover. ▶️Clodsire Best Movesets |
Garganacl | Ranking: ★★★★★
・Special Defensive variants can tank Zapdos' Thunderbolt and Hurricane. ・Can stall Zapdos with super effective STAB Salt Cure and Recover. ・Salt Cure stacks with other status effects like burns or poison. ▶️Garganacl Best Movesets |
Glimmora | Ranking: ★★★★
・Resists Hurricane and defensive variants can tank a Discharge or Thunderbolt. ・Can use Mortal Spin to poison it and wear it down with Sludge Bomb. ▶️Glimmora Best Movesets |
Movesets & Best Builds for Ranked Battle
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Zapdos Movesets and Best Builds
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