Is Zapdos Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. Trade from FireRed or LeafGreen. AbilityPressure doubles PP consumption. Zapdos is the best of the three birds with Electric/Flying typing that handles Wallace, Winona, and Glacia. If imported, one of the strongest team members in RS.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Zapdos resists most of Brawly's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Zapdos resists most of Winona's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Zapdos resists most of Wallace's coverage and hits back hard.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Zapdos trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Zapdos has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Trade
Zapdos cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- After Wattson
- TM34ElectricShock WavePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Wattson
- After Norman
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 105Accuracy 95%PP 15Route 119
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Winona
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Winona
- LV 49FlyingDrill PeckPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 85ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10
How to Get Zapdos in Ruby & Sapphire
Zapdos is absent from the Hoenn map, with no Power Plant to guard here. Trade one in from its home game, where its catch rate of 3 made it a long fight.
Zapdos cannot be caught in the wild in Ruby & Sapphire, but you can still get it via these paths:
Obtain and trade from these games:
Then trade to Ruby & Sapphire.
Also Obtainable In:
Pokemon transfers only go forward through generations, never backward. Direct cross-gen trades aren't supported.
How to Get Shiny Zapdos in Ruby & Sapphire
Zapdos enters Sapphire only by trade, so confront the static bird in the Power Plant's back room of FireRed or LeafGreen, soft resetting for a shiny before the catch. See every game where Shiny Zapdos can be hunted
Shiny Zapdos Evolution
Does Not EvolveZapdos 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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Zapdos Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Zapdos
 Regice Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 105 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Regice builds →Ice Beam 2x72-85% Ancient Power 2x19-22% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Rhydon builds →Rock Tomb 2x50-59% Ice Beam 2x26-31% | ||
 Walrein IceWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Spheal (Shoal Cave Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Walrein builds →Ice Beam 2x68-81% Rock Tomb 2x22-26% | ||
 Glalie Ice | C | |
 Armaldo RockBug | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Regirock Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 111 Interact Encounter | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zapdos View Aggron builds →Rock Tomb 2x44-52% Ice Beam 2x32-38% | ||
 Magcargo FireRock | 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
RS Zapdos Best Moveset
MoveThunderbolt from 125 Sp. Atk with Electric/Flying TermStab covers nearly everything without being resisted. Ground immunity via Flying removes Electric's main weakness. AbilityPressure doubles opponent PP usage. MoveRest plus MoveSleep Talk sustains. Held ItemLeftovers recovers. Complete offensive and defensive profile.
Best Build
Zapdos best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Attacker Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Grass
- Baton Pass
- Thunder Wave
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Zapdos. TMs unlock Normal and Fighting coverage 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
All 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
ZAPDOS is a legendary bird POKéMON that has the ability to control electricity. It usually lives in thunderclouds. The POKéMON gains power if it is stricken by lightning bolts.
Zapdos Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Zapdos isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Find it in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it to Ruby & Sapphire.
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 · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List