In progress.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/zapdos
I don't know if it's just me, but I'm finding this incredibly hard work. Taking someone else's analysis, reading it over, chopping, changing, and rewriting it, and then finally ensuring that the end product flows well and doesn't sound chopped and changed is turning out to be a lot more effort than it seemed. Getting the balance right between staying informative and summarizing is difficult too. Anyway, here are the fruits of over an hour and a half's worth of work:
Physically Defensive
<p>Zapdos' few weaknesses, respectable defensive stats, and Roost make it a great tank. Handy resistances to Steel, Bug, Fighting, and an immunity to Ground let Zapdos switch in and check many top threats, notably Scizor, Metagross, some Gyarados, and Lucario. Zapdos can easily switch on many defensive Pokemon as well; Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon seldom carry moves that can really hurt it, and despite being a defensive tank, Zapdos can scare them away in return with the threat of a strong super effective special attack.</p>
<p>When running Heat Wave, Hidden Power Grass becomes a viable option to let Zapdos beat Swampert, one of its biggest counters. If you wish to use only two attacks and run a support move such as Roar in the last slot, it's advisable to use Hidden Power Ice to obtain the best coverage. However, by dropping Heat Wave, you risk not being able to do enough damage to bulky Swords Dance Scizor, who can Roost off the damage from your uninvested neutral Thunderbolts and set up on its supposed counter.</p>
<p>Zapdos also has access to Thunder Wave, Light Screen, Toxic, Substitute, and U-turn, all of which can be very useful depending on your team's needs. Discharge is also a viable alternative for Thunderbolt, and its higher paralysis rate has a good chance to come into play considering how often Zapdos' bulk lets it attack.</p>
<p>The EVs are focused into HP and Defense, allowing Zapdos to take on physical threats as well as it can. 252 HP EVs would make Zapdos' HP stat divisible by four, making it quite vulnerable to Stealth Rock, so 248 EVs are used instead. 32 Speed EVs are designed to outpace max Speed Jolly Tyranitar, but with Zapdos' great base 100 Speed stat, you can run extra Speed as required to more reliably check specific threats. 108 EVs to outrun Adamant Gyarados and Jolly Breloom, and 176 EVs to outrun Adamant Lucario and Timid Heatran, are both feasible benchmarks to hit. These spare EVs should be taken from Defense to retain Zapdos' overall bulk.</p>
<p>Even though this Zapdos makes a great defensive addition to any team, it's fairly easy to wall. Blissey is the number one counter, as it is with most special attackers. While Pressure can help stall Blissey's Seismic Toss, it's her status moves that threaten Zapdos the most, so having a strong physical partner such as Breloom or Machamp can be very helpful. Neither of these Fighting-types are unduly threatened by Blissey's status attacks, and both can serve as reliable answers to Tyranitar as well, another big threat to Zapdos. Latias' excellent Special Defense and Electric resistance let her wall Zapdos all day, so Steel-type Pursuit users such as specially defensive versions of Metagross and Scizor can easily be used to remove her from the match.</p>
<p>Other checks to Zapdos vary depending on which moves you have: Swampert has an easy time if you lack Hidden Power Grass, Celebi isn't threatened by anything other than Heat Wave, and Flygon and Gliscor don't fear much from a Zapdos without Hidden Power Ice. It's worth noting that almost all of Zapdos’ counters are grounded, and therefore will be considerably weakened by the presence of Spikes and Toxic Spikes on their side of the field.</p>
I also added tiny bits of my own to update the analysis, such as listing the number of Speed EVs required to outspeed faster threats, and adding Breloom as another good partner.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/zapdos
I don't know if it's just me, but I'm finding this incredibly hard work. Taking someone else's analysis, reading it over, chopping, changing, and rewriting it, and then finally ensuring that the end product flows well and doesn't sound chopped and changed is turning out to be a lot more effort than it seemed. Getting the balance right between staying informative and summarizing is difficult too. Anyway, here are the fruits of over an hour and a half's worth of work:
Physically Defensive
<p>Zapdos' few weaknesses, respectable defensive stats, and Roost make it a great tank. Handy resistances to Steel, Bug, Fighting, and an immunity to Ground let Zapdos switch in and check many top threats, notably Scizor, Metagross, some Gyarados, and Lucario. Zapdos can easily switch on many defensive Pokemon as well; Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon seldom carry moves that can really hurt it, and despite being a defensive tank, Zapdos can scare them away in return with the threat of a strong super effective special attack.</p>
<p>When running Heat Wave, Hidden Power Grass becomes a viable option to let Zapdos beat Swampert, one of its biggest counters. If you wish to use only two attacks and run a support move such as Roar in the last slot, it's advisable to use Hidden Power Ice to obtain the best coverage. However, by dropping Heat Wave, you risk not being able to do enough damage to bulky Swords Dance Scizor, who can Roost off the damage from your uninvested neutral Thunderbolts and set up on its supposed counter.</p>
<p>Zapdos also has access to Thunder Wave, Light Screen, Toxic, Substitute, and U-turn, all of which can be very useful depending on your team's needs. Discharge is also a viable alternative for Thunderbolt, and its higher paralysis rate has a good chance to come into play considering how often Zapdos' bulk lets it attack.</p>
<p>The EVs are focused into HP and Defense, allowing Zapdos to take on physical threats as well as it can. 252 HP EVs would make Zapdos' HP stat divisible by four, making it quite vulnerable to Stealth Rock, so 248 EVs are used instead. 32 Speed EVs are designed to outpace max Speed Jolly Tyranitar, but with Zapdos' great base 100 Speed stat, you can run extra Speed as required to more reliably check specific threats. 108 EVs to outrun Adamant Gyarados and Jolly Breloom, and 176 EVs to outrun Adamant Lucario and Timid Heatran, are both feasible benchmarks to hit. These spare EVs should be taken from Defense to retain Zapdos' overall bulk.</p>
<p>Even though this Zapdos makes a great defensive addition to any team, it's fairly easy to wall. Blissey is the number one counter, as it is with most special attackers. While Pressure can help stall Blissey's Seismic Toss, it's her status moves that threaten Zapdos the most, so having a strong physical partner such as Breloom or Machamp can be very helpful. Neither of these Fighting-types are unduly threatened by Blissey's status attacks, and both can serve as reliable answers to Tyranitar as well, another big threat to Zapdos. Latias' excellent Special Defense and Electric resistance let her wall Zapdos all day, so Steel-type Pursuit users such as specially defensive versions of Metagross and Scizor can easily be used to remove her from the match.</p>
<p>Other checks to Zapdos vary depending on which moves you have: Swampert has an easy time if you lack Hidden Power Grass, Celebi isn't threatened by anything other than Heat Wave, and Flygon and Gliscor don't fear much from a Zapdos without Hidden Power Ice. It's worth noting that almost all of Zapdos’ counters are grounded, and therefore will be considerably weakened by the presence of Spikes and Toxic Spikes on their side of the field.</p>
I also added tiny bits of my own to update the analysis, such as listing the number of Speed EVs required to outspeed faster threats, and adding Breloom as another good partner.
