Is Zapdos Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
The best of the three legendary birds for a Red and Blue playthrough. Zapdos combines high speed and massive special damage with decent bulk. Found in the Power Plant and immediately useful against Lorelei's Water-types. No major weaknesses in the E4 except Lance's Dragonite.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Zapdos resists most of Misty's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Zapdos resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Zapdos resists most of Lorelei's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Zapdos in the Power Plant (interact, Lv 50, limited). Power Plant, Surf from Route 10. Surf south from the Route 10 area to reach the Power Plant. Zapdos is a stationary encounter inside the building.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 50)
- LV 50FlyingDrill PeckPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Brock
- TM45ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 24
- After Lt. Surge
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Giovanni
- TM43FlyingSky AttackPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Victory Road
- LV 51ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10
- LV 55PsychicAgilityPower —Accuracy 100%PP 30
How to Get Zapdos in Red & Blue
Reach Zapdos by surfing into the Power Plant from Route 10, where it waits at level 50. Like the other birds it is a one-shot encounter with a catch rate of 3, so save first.
1 location to catch Zapdos
Badge 7How to Get Zapdos in Red & Blue
Zapdos Weakness
Ice and Rock moves hit Zapdos for super-effective damage. The upside? Ground-type moves can't touch it at all. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Zapdos's special bulk (base 125 Special) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ice, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Flying, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Zapdos Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Zapdos
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 2x75-89% Blizzard 2x24-28% | ||
 Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift | ||
 Dewgong WaterIce | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Cloyster WaterIce | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Shellder (Route 6 Super Rod) | ||
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
Zapdos Evolutions
A Electric/Flying-type legendary, Zapdos doesn't evolve or breed. At 615 total stats, it's meant to stand on its own. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Zapdos Best Moveset
125 Special powering MoveThunderbolt and MoveDrill Peck for dual TermStab that hits nearly everything at least without being resisted. 100 Speed outspeeds most threats, and the Electric/Flying typing resists Fighting and is immune to Ground via Flying. MoveThunder Wave cripples anything faster. Controls the pace through Speed, coverage, and paralysis.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Drill Peck
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Agility
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Zapdos. TMs unlock Normal coverage and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Sky Attack and Thunder into something with actual range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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
All 20 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A legendary bird POKéMON that is said to appear from clouds while dropping enormous lightning bolts.
Zapdos Red & Blue Guide
Zapdos is a static encounter at Power Plant in Red & Blue. Zapdos appears at level 50. Prerequisite: Power Plant, Surf from Route 10. Save before the encounter. These one-shot Pokemon don't respawn if you knock them out or run out of Poke Balls.
In Red & Blue, use Zapdos as a setup sweeper. Splits damage between physical and special. It outspeeds most threats, Thunderbolt is the primary attack. Set up with Agility when you get a free turn.
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.
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 · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List