Pokémon GO: How to counter Zapdos in Raids

Take down Zapdos quickly in Raids with these counters for Pokémon GO.

Zapdos returns to Pokémon GO on November 26 during a special Raid Hour, and this guide will show you how to avoid getting shocked.

Welcome to the Thunderdome: Pokémon GO‘s end-of-season event “Mischief Unbound” will bring numerous highlights to the screens of players – a special raid hour on November 26 between 6pm and 7pm local time will kick things off. The three Kanto legends Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres will temporarily take on their role as level five raid bosses and their rare Shiny variant that can also be encountered during the event. This guide will show you how to tame the thunderbird without risking a shock.

Zapdos sports 46,418 Competition Points (CP) as a fifth-level raid boss. The monster of the Electric and Flying categories can be caught after a victory with a strength between 1,930 and 2,519 CP. The most powerful representatives of the species appear in windy weather and rain. The fastest raid times are achieved by Pokémon with Ice and Rock moves.

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Zapdos: Best Counters

Pokemon GO

  1. Rhyperior (Smack Down, Rock Wrecker)
  2. Rampardos (Smack Down, Rock Slide)
  3. Mamoswine (Powder Snow, Avalanche)
  4. Terrakion (Smack Down, Rock Slide)
  5. Galarian Darmanitan (Ice Fang, Avalanche)
  6. Mega Abomasnow (Powder Snow, Weather Ball (Ice))
  7. Tyranitar (Smack Down, Stone Edge)
  8. Glaceon (Frost Breath, Avalanche)
  9. Weavile (Ice Shard, Avalanche)
  10. Mewtwo (Psycho Cut, Ice Beam)
  11. Landorus (Incarnate Forme) (Rock Throw, Rock Slide)
  12. Mega Gengar (Lick, Shadow Ball)
  13. Golem (Rock Throw, Stone Edge)
  14. Gigalith (Smack Down, Rock Slide)
  15. Alolan Golem (Rock Throw, Stone Edge)

While the Rock Pokémon are the best choice by far against Articuno and Moltres, you truly have free choice between Rock and Ice types when fighting Zapdos – both options balance each other out and can be mixed and matched. However, in terms of mega evolutions, the Ice-type has an advantage in the form of Mega Abomasnow. This very angry tree imbues in its frosty colleagues a valuable boost to their damage. No Rock-type has received its mega evolution in Pokémon GO so far, though at least while fighting the Kanto birds they don’t really depend on it.

Written by Marco Wutz on behalf of GLHF.

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