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Is Zapdos good and how to best use it in Pokémon Go

It's a shockingly good legendary bird.

Figuring out if Zapdos is good in Pokémon Go can be difficult compared to the other legendary Pokémon. There are multiple factors you want to consider, and how best to use it comes down to the situation, your team, and the moveset you teach. In this guide, we’re going to cover if Zapdos is good and how to best use it in Pokémon Go.

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How to best use Zapdos

Zapdos is an Electric and Flying-type Pokémon. It’s weak to Ice and Rock-type attacks but resistant to Bug, Fighting, Flying, Grass, Ground, and Steel-type moves. For PvP, it has a maximum CP of 3,527, an attack of 211, a defense of 158, and a stamina of 175. For PvE, it has an attack of 253, a defense of 185, and a stamina of 207. Zapdos can be one of the stronger legendary Pokémon because of its reliable resistances and high attack stat. You will want to use it in the Great or Master League, depending on your other Pokémon that can support it.

If you’re looking to use it in the Master League PvP, the standard version and the shadow version are both ones we recommend. They’re nearly on part with each other, but you will want to make sure your shadow Zapdos can remove the charged move Frustration to ensure it can learn the best attacks available to Zapdos. The same goes for using this Pokémon in the Great League, although the shadow Zapdos is considered better in those battles.

For the best moveset of all Zapdos‘ attacks, the fast move Thunder Shock is the best option, followed by the charged moves Thunder and Drill Peck. Some players may go with Thunderbolt because it costs five energy less than Thunder, but it will do 10 less damage.

When it comes to battling in PvE, Zapdos does just fine. It’s capable of fighting against numerous legendary Pokémon that frequently pop up, so if you’re not using Zapdos in the Master League, you can use it in any of the raids that appear in your neighborhood. Of course, you will want to use it against Bug, Flying, Fighting, and Water-type Pokémon.

Is Zapdos good?

Zapdos is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a suitable Pokémon for your Master or Great League team. However, we will recommend the shadow version of Zapdos over the standard version of the Great League. You can take out a good majority of Pokémon, but any opponent with a Rock or Ice-type attack is capable of standing up to Zapdos and knocking it down. It doesn’t have the highest defenses, so make sure it’s not the first Pokémon you use in a battle unless you’re confident of switching to your other Pokémon if you need to do that first thing.


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Author
Zack Palm
Zack Palm is the Senior Writer of Gamepur and has spent over five years covering video games, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Oregon State University. He spends his free time biking, running tabletop campaigns, and listening to heavy metal. His primary game beats are Pokémon Go, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and any newly released title, and he finds it difficult to pull away from any Star Wars game.