PTB
Zapdos, a Electric and Flying type Pokémon, official artwork

#0145

Zapdos: Weakness, Best Moveset & Builds

ElectricFlyingOU

Zapdos is a fast, hard-hitting attacker, led by its Sp. Atk (125) and Speed (100), with a base stat total of 580. Competitively it is a staple of OverUsed, the main competitive singles tier. It currently appears on 6.7% of OU teams.

Build a team with Zapdos

What is Zapdos weak to?

How much damage Zapdos takes from each attacking type.

2×Weak toIceRock
0.5×ResistsBugFightingFlyingGrassSteel
0×Immune toGround

Zapdos takes super-effective damage from Ice, Rock. It resists Bug, Fighting, Flying, Grass, Steel and is immune to Ground.

Best moveset for Zapdos

The most-used moves on Zapdos in OU (Smogon singles) this month (2026-07 usage statistics):

  • HurricaneFlying11025.2%
  • RoostFlying-22.3%
  • Volt SwitchElectric7018.2%
  • Thunder WaveElectric-9.6%
  • DischargeElectric807.5%
  • U-turnBug707.2%

Best nature for Zapdos

Bold. It is the most common choice on ranked sets right now; the top spread is Bold with 248/0/252/8/0/0 EVs (51.4% of sets).

Abilities

  • PressureIf this Pokemon is the target of a foe's move, that move loses one additional PP.
  • Static30% chance a Pokemon making contact with this Pokemon will be paralyzed.

Best counters for Zapdos

Based on OU (Smogon singles) battle statistics, these Pokémon most reliably beat or force out Zapdos:

Best teammates for Zapdos

Pokémon most often paired with Zapdos on successful OU (Smogon singles) teams. Start from one of these cores, then check your coverage in the team builder:

Full learnset (50 moves; tap to expand)
MoveTypePowerAcc.Category
Giga ImpactNormal15090%Physical
Hyper BeamNormal15090%Special
Brave BirdFlying120100%Physical
Zap CannonElectric12050%Special
HurricaneFlying11070%Special
ThunderElectric11070%Special
Supercell SlamElectric10095%Physical
Heat WaveFire9590%Special
FlyFlying9095%Physical
Take DownNormal9085%Physical
ThunderboltElectric90100%Special
Wild ChargeElectric90100%Physical
DischargeElectric80100%Special
Drill PeckFlying80100%Physical
Tera BlastNormal80100%Special
FacadeNormal70100%Physical
U-turnBug70100%Physical
Volt SwitchElectric70100%Special
Aerial AceFlying60-Physical
Air CutterFlying6095%Special
Ancient PowerRock60100%Special
PluckFlying60100%Physical
SwiftNormal60-Special
AcrobaticsFlying55100%Physical
Weather BallNormal50100%Special
Dual WingbeatFlying4090%Physical
Thunder ShockElectric40100%Special
PeckFlying35100%Physical
Electro BallElectric?100%Special
AgilityPsychic--Status
Baton PassNormal--Status
ChargeElectric--Status
DetectFighting--Status
Eerie ImpulseElectric-100%Status
Electric TerrainElectric--Status
EndureNormal--Status
Helping HandNormal--Status
Light ScreenPsychic--Status
Magnetic FluxElectric--Status
Metal SoundSteel-85%Status
ProtectNormal--Status
Rain DanceWater--Status
RestPsychic--Status
RoostFlying--Status
SandstormRock--Status
Sleep TalkNormal--Status
SubstituteNormal--Status
Sunny DayFire--Status
TailwindFlying--Status
Thunder WaveElectric-90%Status