Is Shadow Zapdos worth using in Pokemon GO?

Shadow Pokemon always have their pros and cons compared to their original forms, but is it better in Zapdos’ case?

The issue with Shadow Zapdos is that standard Zapdos is an excellent Pokemon in its own right. Shadow Pokemon deal twice the damage but also take twice of such.

This makes every Shadow Pokemon a gamble, and it’s essential to consider before adding them to any team. Can Zapdos afford to take the extra damage? Here’s the breakdown on Shadow Zapdos.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of the writer.

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Is Shadow Zapdos worth using in Pokemon GO?

(Image via The Pokemon Company)

One thing that’s for sure is that Zapdos is a terrifying offensive presence in Shadow form. Normal Zapdos already has 253 Attack, and only 17 Pokemon in the entire game are more powerful than that. With that damage being doubled, there’s hardly any Pokemon in the game that want to take attacks from it.

The trade-off with this, however, is that Shadow Zapdos becomes a glass cannon. This means that it should never run Zap Cannon as a charge move.

With a cooldown of 3.7 seconds, Shadow Zapdos can’t be vulnerable for that long. It needs to quickly get its damage so it can take the least amount of hits possible.

Fortunately, though, Thunder Shock into Thunderbolt does more damage per second anyway. Thunder may be an appealing option with 120 power, but Thunderbolt requires half the energy.

There isn’t a better option for Zapdos than running Thunderbolt and Drill Peck as the charge moves, especially since Drill Peck takes care of Grass-type Pokemon Zapdos doesn’t like.

Therefore, because of the ridiculously high damage output, Shadow Zapdos is worth it. It’s essential, however, to keep in mind the role that Zapdos is playing on the team.

If a team is built around a Water-type Pokemon like Kyogre or Blastoise, Zapdos might need to be a cover for Grass-types. In this case, Zapdos is going to need the bulk to take attacks.

That doesn’t change the fact, though, that Shadow Zapdos hits like a truck. It can undoubtedly be a valuable Pokemon for any player.