Zapdos Raid Guide

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Zapdos

Zapdos raid is a Tier 5 Legendary Raid Boss in Pokémon GO. Zapdos Boss CP is 46418 and it has only two weaknesses due to its Electric and Flying type: Rock and Ice.

  • 1930 – 2015 CP catch range (Level 20, no weather boost)
  • 2413 – 2519 CP catch range (Level 25, boosted by Windy or Rainy weather)

Ambitious players, with the introduction of friendship, weather, and Mega Pokémon may attempt a duo, however realistically a group of four or more is a safe bet. Shiny Zapdos is available from raids as of July 2018.


Zapdos Counters

The following Pokémon are considered to be best Zapdos counters in a raid battle:

# Pokémon Fast Move Charge Move Time to win Deaths
1. Aerodactyl (Mega) Rock Throw
Rock
Rock Slide
Rock
432.98s 23.00
2. Glalie (Mega) Frost Breath
Ice
Avalanche
Ice
480.23s 22.80
3. Abomasnow (Mega) Powder Snow
Ice
Weather Ball
Ice
511.02s 16.60
4. Gengar (Mega) Lick
Ghost
Shadow Ball
Ghost
524.08s 23.40
5. Alakazam (Mega) Confusion
Psychic
Psychic
Psychic
532.00s 22.80
6. Latios (Mega) Dragon Breath
Dragon
Psychic
Psychic
570.98s 14.40
7. Blaziken (Mega) Fire Spin
Fire
Blast Burn
Fire
548.66s 25.40
8. Charizard (Mega Y) Fire Spin
Fire
Blast Burn
Fire
555.06s 28.50
9. Swampert (Mega) Water Gun
Water
Hydro Cannon
Water
606.11s 13.20
10. Salamence (Mega) Dragon Tail
Dragon
Draco Meteor
Dragon
598.94s 18.20
11. Rhyperior Smack Down
Rock
Rock Wrecker
Rock
625.90s 9.60
12. Gardevoir (Mega) Confusion
Psychic
Psychic
Psychic
590.50s 21.80
13. Rampardos Smack Down
Rock
Rock Slide
Rock
566.74s 29.40
14. Mamoswine Powder Snow
Ice
Avalanche
Ice
633.48s 15.20
15. Tyrantrum Rock Throw
Rock
Meteor Beam
Rock
628.98s 17.00
16. Banette (Mega) Shadow Claw
Ghost
Shadow Ball
Ghost
592.73s 30.40
17. Terrakion Smack Down
Rock
Rock Slide
Rock
623.77s 21.20
18. Darmanitan (Galarian Standard) Ice Fang
Ice
Avalanche
Ice
593.39s 31.00
19. Latias (Mega) Dragon Breath
Dragon
Psychic
Psychic
650.70s 13.60
20. Manectric (Mega) Thunder Fang
Electric
Wild Charge
Electric
639.01s 20.20
21. Beedrill (Mega) Poison Jab
Poison
Sludge Bomb
Poison
609.41s 34.00
22. Aggron (Mega) Smack Down
Rock
Meteor Beam
Rock
662.17s 16.00
23. Charizard (Mega X) Fire Spin
Fire
Blast Burn
Fire
655.78s 19.00
24. Blastoise (Mega) Water Gun
Water
Hydro Cannon
Water
626.35s 29.20
25. Ampharos (Mega) Volt Switch
Electric
Power Gem
Rock
682.95s 12.60
26. Kyurem Dragon Breath
Dragon
Glaciate
Ice
665.86s 18.80
27. Gigalith Smack Down
Rock
Meteor Beam
Rock
656.93s 21.80
28. Kyogre (Primal) Waterfall
Water
Blizzard
Ice
661.50s 22.20
29. Gyarados (Mega) Bite
Dark
Hydro Pump
Water
661.94s 23.60
30. Tyranitar Smack Down
Rock
Stone Edge
Rock
681.52s 19.60
31. Houndoom (Mega) Fire Fang
Fire
Foul Play
Dark
656.23s 27.40
32. Glaceon Frost Breath
Ice
Avalanche
Ice
655.56s 28.60
33. Aggron Smack Down
Rock
Meteor Beam
Rock
728.75s 11.00
34. Lopunny (Mega) Pound
Normal
Hyper Beam
Normal
678.77s 23.67
35. Absol (Mega) Snarl
Dark
Payback
Dark
671.85s 30.00

Zapdos Counters Explained

Zapdos counters are strongly based around Rock and Ice type attackers, and follow a similar pattern as other Legendary bird counters. Zapdos can relatively easily be countered with Pokemon that take reduced Electric damage:

  • Rhyperior, Mamoswine and Golem are all examples of mixed Ground types with strong Rock moves.
  • The majority of Rock-typed Zapdos counters have access to Smack Down, an excellent move for dealing with Flying types
  • The majority of Ice-typed Zapdos counters are bulky attackers, such as Mamoswine and Mega Abomasnow.

Stats and Max CP

Zapdos ElectricFlying
Max CP at Level 40 3527 | Max CP at Level 50 3987
ATK 253 DEF 185 HP 207
Weak to Resistances
Ice Rock  Bug Fighting Flying Grass Ground Steel

Zapdos Move Sets

Zapdos moves are mostly Electric-type moves, with Drill Peck Flying and Ancient Power Rock thrown in the mix for PvP viability and lore fluff. Consequentially, 60% of the time, you will face Zapdos with Electric moves:

Fast moves Charge moves
Charge Beam Electric
  • Zap Cannon Electric
  • Thunder Electric
  • Thunderbolt Electric
  • Drill Peck Flying
  • Ancient Power Rock

Zap Cannon, Thunder and Thunderbolt are all relatively similar, but Zap Cannon will hurt the most. Comparatively speaking, Thunder is often the easiest Electric move to be faced against.

Drill Peck can be problematic, as it’s only a 33 Energy move. Zapdos can charge and fire Drill Peck quite frequently, which makes it quite dangerous in longer raid battles. Eventually, dodge fatigue results in more damage taken compared to Thunderbolt. Drill Peck also deals a significant amount of damage compared to Thunder and Thunderbolt.

Ancient Power is not a major concern, but it does fit in the same problem bucket as Drill Peck: frequent activation, dodge fatigue and unusual typing (Rock!)


Weather

Rainy weather is not going to be your friend with Zapdos, but thankfully its the only concern. Otherwise on the positive end, Windy will merely allow it to be a higher level when caught, and Partly Cloudy and Snow will provide the extra benefits needed to take it down faster.

Weather Pro Con
Sunny
Windy Allows a Level 25 Encounter from Weather Boost
Partly Cloudy Boosts Super Effective Rock attacks
Cloudy
Snow Boosts Super Effective Ice attacks
Rainy Boosts Zapdos’ Electric moves
Fog

 

Zapdos Sprites

Zapdos sadly has the weakest shiny of the three Kanto Legendary birds, keep an eye out for those darker feet, and a slight’y brighter yellow.

Regular Sprite Shiny Sprite

Author & tags

Zeroghan
Zeroghanhttps://pokemongohub.net/
Zeroghan started the Hub in July 2016 and hasn't had much sleep since. A lover of all things Pokémon, web development, and writing.

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