Summary

Zapdos is one of the most flexible pokemon in ADV Draft. It is able to serve most roles well -- from a bulky special wall, to an offensive special attacker, to a mixed attacker, to a baton passer, to a baton pass recipient. Zapdos can fit on just about any draft and works with just about any partner. Its biggest strength is its flexibility -- if there's a job you want done, Zapdos has you covered. Zapdos' superb Electric/Flying typing is also a direct upgrade to either type alone, being neutral to Electric instead of weak and immune to Ground. Although you are not an Electric resist, you have the stats and tools to trade with just about every single Electric-type or Electric check. Zapdos has a huge 125 base special attack stat, STAB options that can only be matched by Moltres on the special side, and is a reliable option in the face of inaccurate or low base power STAB of the other top Pokemon like Metagross, Tyranitar, or Salamence.

The most obvious and powerful set Zapdos has is its offensive set -- with maximized Special Attack and Speed investment tailored to the matchup, Thunderbolt and a special-typed Hidden Power have potential to deal huge amounts of damage. This is an extremely potent set as, outside of a few options, most drafts will have limited Electric checks. However, there are many other hats Zapdos can wear. Its status as a legendary Pokemon gives it superb bulk, meaning it can live a lot of surprising hits. For example, with only 216 EVs in HP, Zapdos is never OHKO'd by a +1 252+ Salamence Rock Slide. Many of Zapdos' offensive sets also offer great utility -- Toxic can break through its common checks like regice over time, Thunder Wave neutralizes most opposing offensive threats without status removal, Substitute can create free turns on switches or enable pinch berries, Baton Pass pivots and keeps up momentum, and Agility means you're faster than most pokemon, even when boosted. Zapdos also has the tools, however, to run defensive sets. Its previously mentioned great typing enables an extremely effective Rest / Sleep Talk set alongside Toxic, Thunderbolt, and investment in HP and Special Defense -- giving it special wall status that can rival Blissey. Although Zapdos cannot usually fill the exact same role it can in later generations, it is more than capable of fulfilling this role vs many ADV drafts. Zapdos can also run physical sets with or without Choice Band, thanks to its solid base 85 Attack stat and access to STAB Drill Peck. HP Fighting can OHKO certain Tyranitar sets, which becomes guaranteed with Spike support. Of course, Zapdos can also utilize mixed sets, using Thunderbolt paired with some physical attacks to target certain threats such as Blissey or Celebi. It should be noted that even with 0- investment, Zapdos' Drill Peck can still OHKO some Heracross and Breloom sets.

Zapdos is weak to certain special walls, such as Blissey, Regice, Ampharos, and Steelix. Many of those pokemon either resist status or do not mind it, such as Blissey with Natural Cure, Ampharos with Heal Bell, and Steelix being outright immune to Toxic. These pokemon can make trouble, but they usually struggle into Zapdos' teammates. Zapdos is often paired with bulky Water types, such as Milotic and Vaporeon, which amplify its powerful offensive presence by hitting many of the pokemon that try to pivot into Zapdos. They also cover Zapdos defensively, resisting the Fire and Water types which threaten Zapdos with STAB and resist the super effective Ice-type attacks that Zapdos can struggle with taking outside of Rest sets. Zapdos can also be paired with Skarmory or Glalie, as Spikes chip down Zapdos' many grounded checks or punish the pivoting necessary to manuever around Zapdos with faster pokemon such as Starmie or Aerodactyl. Zapdos enables the Baton Pass team style well, with drafts that tend to stack many recipients of Zapdos' Agility such as Heracross, Hariyama, and Marowak in order to force the opponent into many awkward prep lines while you have multiple ways to threaten the them. Zapdos works both as a passer, thanks to its access to Agility, and a recipient being able to utilize boosts from Calm Mind or pass them along as it forces more switches. Zapdos can also be paired with stall drafts with partners such as Blissey and Claydol, usually enabled by Spikes or Dugtrio to generate progress.

Zapdos is an extremely flexible pokemon that works with just about everything. It doesn't have Tyranitar's extreme set variety, Metagross' ability to threaten every Pokemon, Raikou's blistering speed, or Snorlax's sweeping potential, but it does have traits from all of these pokemon that enable it to work nearly any draft, and is always a decent Round 1 option. You can hardly ever go wrong with Zapdos, and no matter what you take alongside it, Zapdos can help to enable just about any team and can fill most roles.

Summary written by Wraxius

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