Is Zapdos Good in Platinum Playthrough?
Electric/Flying roamer across Sinnoh after the Elite Four. AbilityPressure doubles PP usage. Zapdos is one of the strongest Electric-types in any Pokemon game. Battle Frontier powerhouse, but tracking it down takes patience.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Zapdos resists most of Gardenia's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Zapdos resists most of Maylene's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos resists most of Crasher Wake's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Zapdos resists most of Aaron's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Zapdos resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos resists most of Mars's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos resists most of Saturn's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Zapdos on Roaming Sinnoh (walking, Lv 60, limited). After meeting Professor Oak in Eterna City. Meet Professor Oak at the Pal Park lobby, then receive the Up Grade in the Eterna City south house to release Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 60)
- LV 60ElectricDischargePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Fantina
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Veilstone Game Corner
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Maylene
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15Veilstone City (Galactic Warehouse)
- LV 71FlyingDrill PeckPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 20
- Post-Game
- TUTORFireHeat WavePower 100Accuracy 90%PP 10Survival Area
- TUTORBugSignal BeamPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Survival Area
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
- LV 78ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10
Platinum Zapdos Locations
Zapdos joins the post-Champion roam, wandering Sinnoh at level 60 with the same brutal catch rate as its fellow birds. Tracking where it drifted to each day is half the battle before you even throw a ball.
Best Locations to Catch Zapdos in Platinum
How to Get Shiny Zapdos in Platinum
Zapdos skips Platinum, so soft reset it in HeartGold or SoulSilver, then trade it across. Compare Shiny Zapdos odds across every game
Shiny Zapdos Evolution
Does Not EvolvePlatinum Shiny Zapdos Calculator
1 MethodThe only route here is Full Odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Platinum shiny odds for Zapdos.
Zapdos Weakness
Ice and Rock moves hit Zapdos for super-effective damage. The upside? Ground-type moves can't touch it at all. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. With 90 HP and balanced defenses, Zapdos can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ice, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Flying, Bug, Steel |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Zapdos Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Zapdos
 Cranidos Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodOreburgh City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Cranidos builds →Head Smash 2x144-169%KO Ice Beam 2x21-25% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x99-116%KO Avalanche 2x40-47% | ||
 Regice Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Regice builds →Ice Beam 2x72-85% Ancient Power 2x31-36% | ||
 Glaceon Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Hearthome City Gift) | ||
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Abomasnow builds →Ice Beam 2x68-80% Rock Slide 2x38-45% | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Oreburgh City Gift) | ||
 Weavile DarkIce | B | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Oreburgh City Gift) | ||
 Mamoswine IceGround | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Mamoswine builds →Ice Fang 2x65-76% Rock Slide 2x50-59% | ||
 Froslass IceGhost | C | |
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Oreburgh City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Kabutops builds →Rock Slide 2x68-80% Ice Beam 2x35-41% | ||
 Pupitar RockGround | C | |
 Probopass RockSteel | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Zapdos Evolutions
A Electric/Flying-type legendary, Zapdos doesn't evolve or breed. At 580 total stats, it's meant to stand on its own. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Pt Zapdos Best Moveset
Defensive switch-in that fires back hard: 90 HP and balanced defenses absorb hits while 125 Sp. Atk and 100 Speed threaten most of the field. The moveset runs special Electric and Flying attacks, and Electric/Flying typing only loses 25% to MoveStealth Rock.
Best Build
Zapdos best EVs are HP and Defense
Wall Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Hidden Power Ice
- Heat Wave
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Zapdos. TMs unlock coverage across 9 types and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Thunder and Fly into something with actual range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
32 of 35 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A legendary Pokémon that is said to live in thunderclouds. It freely controls lightning bolts.
Zapdos Platinum Guide
In Platinum, use Zapdos as a support. Splits damage between physical and special. It outspeeds most threats, Thunderbolt is the primary attack.
Zapdos has a Galarian form that swaps the typing and reshuffles the stats. Introduced in Gen 8. Worth checking if the original version doesn't fit your team.
For Platinum, run Bold on Zapdos. +Defense is what matters, and the -Attack cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the support role.
Game Availability
First obtainable in Red & Blue, Zapdos has been featured in 20 titles across 9 generations. Legendary status means a single encounter per playthrough in most games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwShGalarian
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Zapdos.
Keep playing · PlatinumPlatinum Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Platinum Tier List