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 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 Electric | |||||
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 Grass Ground Steel |
Zapdos Move Sets
Zapdos moves are mostly Electric-type moves, with Drill Peck Rock thrown in the mix for PvP viability and lore fluff. Consequentially, 60% of the time, you will face Zapdos with Electric moves:
and Ancient PowerFast moves | Charge moves |
---|---|
Charge Beam Electric |
|
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 |