The best moveset for Zapdos in Pokemon GO

Zapdos is emerging as arguably the best Electric-type Pokemon in Master League and Ultra League.

For the longest time, Zapdos has been held back by a lack of a decent quick move. Now thanks to Elite TMs, Zapdos gets a phenomenal quick move that makes it much more viable. With this moveset, Zapdos can hold its own in the higher tiers of Pokemon GO Battle League.

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Which moves should this Electric and Flying-type Pokemon be using?

While it may seem like Charge Beam should charge more energy, Thunder Shock charges more in PvP. Since Charge Beam takes so long in PvP (1.5 seconds), Thunder Shock actually has more EPS due simply to being faster.

In general, nine energy for a move that lasts one second is very efficient compared to other moves in Pokemon GO.

Whether it’s being used more for Raids or PvP, Zapdos should definitely be running Thunderbolt. Compared to its other Electric-type options (Thunder and Zap Cannon), Thunderbolt is the cheapest in terms of energy cost.

That being said, it doesn’t really sacrifice much in power. It does 80 damage in PvP, which is backed by Zapdos’ strong 253 Attack stat.

While Zapdos' secondary charge move can be flexible, in most cases it should be Drill Peck. This is the only Flying-type move Zapdos gets, and it’s necessary to stop Grass-types from switching in and not being threatened out.

Of course, not too many Grass-types are popular in the Master League meta. In fact, it would most likely be a Dragon-type switching into Thunderbolt. In Ultra League, though, there are several top-tier Grass-type Pokemon (Venusaur, Abomasnow, Tangrowth, etc.).

Thunderbolt tends to be better on Zapdos than Thunder or Zap Cannon (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Since it also only requires 40 energy in PvP, Drill Peck can also be Zapdos’ shield bait move. Firing off Drill Pecks will allow Zapdos to save up Thunderbolts for later in matches.

In Raids, Thunder and Zap Cannon might be tempting. Zap Cannon in particular has a huge base power of 150. In most Raids where Zapdos is good, Thunderbolt still picks up quick knockouts.

In fact, looking at the Raid counters for Mantine (double weak to Electric), Zapdos wins in 505.4 seconds with Thunderbolt, so the Pokemon clearly doesn’t lack too much power with this move.

Note: The article reflects the views of the writer.