Zapdos, the iconic bird of the trio from Generation 1, is back in Pokémon Go Raids. But what makes it so difficult to deal with? The type coverage of this Raid is nuts. Zapdos has a ton of really strong moves that hit multiple types at once. There are plenty of really fast and powerful Electric and Dragon moves. The move diversity of Zapdos can sometimes vary by spawn in the Raid, so it can help to know what you’re up against.
Zapdos Moveset – Charged Moves + Fast Moves
- Charge Beam (Ground, Grass, Electric, Dragon)
- Drill Peck (Rock, Steel, Electric)
- Ancient Power (Fighting, Ground, Steel)
- Thunder (Ground, Grass, Electric, Dragon)
- Thunderbolt (Ground, Grass, Electric, Dragon)
- Zap Cannon (Ground, Grass, Electric, Dragon)
How to Catch Zapdos in Pokémon Go Raids
The basic idea is that it’s very important to both scales some defenses against your Raid target and bring moves that have a damage bonus.
While Moltres and Articuno both have a major weakness to Rock-type moves at 4x, Zapdos is a bit more resilient. Zapdos only has a 2x weakness as it’s a Flying-type. Zapdos does have another weakness that can be exploited though. The Ice-type also confers a 2X damage multiplier against Zapdos. This means a decently powerful mix of Ice and Rock-type moves. You can get another layer of defensive scaling though.
Since Ground-type is resistant to Electric attacks, it makes it much easier to find a Ground-type that can tank Zapdos much better than other options. The downside of this approach is that the Ground-type moves won’t affect the flying bird at all.
Best Counters Against Zapdos in Pokémon Go Raids
You will want to bring both Fast and Charged moves with your Counters for any raid, this is no different.
| Galarian Darmanitan | Ice Fang | Avalanche |
| Rampardos | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Rhyperior | Smack Down | Rock Wrecker |
| Mamoswine | Powder Snow | Avalanche |
| Tyranitar | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
| Golem | Rock Throw | Stone Edge |
| Terrakion | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Mewtwo | Psycho Cut | Ice Beam |
| Gigalith | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Weavile | Ice Shard | Avalanche |
