Zapdos Raid Guide

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, Party Play and Mega Pokémon may attempt a duo, however realistically a group of four or more is a safe bet.


Zapdos Counters

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

# Attacker Fast Move Charge Move Faints TTW
1. Kyurem (White) Ice Fang Ice Ice Burn Ice 14 431s
2. Rhyperior (Shadow) Smack Down Rock Rock Wrecker Rock 11 498s
3. Kyurem (Black) Dragon Tail Dragon Freeze Shock Ice 16 481s
4. Mamoswine (Shadow) Powder Snow Ice Avalanche Ice 18 514s
5. Rhyperior Smack Down Rock Rock Wrecker Rock 11 600s
6. Tyranitar (Mega) Smack Down Rock Stone Edge Rock 16 542s
7. Diancie (Mega) Rock Throw Rock Rock Slide Rock 27 481s
8. Rampardos (Shadow) Smack Down Rock Rock Slide Rock 42 480s
9. Garchomp (Mega) Dragon Tail Dragon Outrage Dragon 10 700s
10. Tyranitar (Shadow) Smack Down Rock Stone Edge Rock 26 556s
11. Mamoswine Powder Snow Ice Avalanche Ice 18 617s
12. Gigalith (Shadow) Smack Down Rock Meteor Beam Rock 30 548s
13. Golem (Shadow) Rock Throw Rock Stone Edge Rock 18 635s
14. Baxcalibur Ice Fang Ice Avalanche Ice 23 595s
15. Tyrantrum Rock Throw Rock Meteor Beam Rock 21 611s
16. Rayquaza (Mega) Dragon Tail Dragon Breaking Swipe Dragon 25 585s
17. Necrozma (Dawn Wings) Psycho Cut Psychic Moongeist Beam Ghost 26 597s
18. Mewtwo (Shadow) Psycho Cut Psychic Ice Beam Ice 33 563s
19. Abomasnow (Mega) Powder Snow Ice Weather Ball Ice 26 615s
20. Aerodactyl (Mega) Rock Throw Rock Rock Slide Rock 39 555s
21. Rampardos Smack Down Rock Rock Slide Rock 40 557s
22. Terrakion Smack Down Rock Rock Slide Rock 28 615s
23. Aggron (Shadow) Smack Down Rock Meteor Beam Rock 28 616s
24. Golem (Alola Shadow) Rock Throw Rock Stone Edge Rock 25 639s
25. Garchomp (Shadow) Dragon Tail Dragon Outrage Dragon 15 743s
26. Kyurem Dragon Breath Dragon Glaciate Ice 24 656s
27. Gardevoir (Mega) Confusion Psychic Triple Axel Ice 31 615s
28. Groudon (Primal) Dragon Tail Dragon Fire Blast Fire 14 762s
29. Hippowdon (Shadow) Ice Fang Ice Weather Ball Rock 19 715s
30. Weavile (Shadow) Ice Shard Ice Triple Axel Ice 46 563s

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 that are fairly easily available as budget options.
  • 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
  • Thunder Shock* 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!)

*Thunder Shock is a legacy move, only obtainable via Elite TM.


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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