Zapdos counters

Gen 6 OU · Sorted by reliability score · Smogon · Apr 2026 - Jun 2026

Zapdos
#0145 Zapdos
ElectricFlying
USAGE 14.4% #14
ABILITYStatic
BASE STATS
HP 90
ATK 90
DEF 85
SPA 125
SPD 90
SPE 100
BST580
TYPE MATCHUPS
2×
IceRock
½×
GrassFightingFlyingBugSteel
0×
Ground
Moves
Roost 97.7% Heat Wave 92.6% Hidden Power Ice 72.5% Volt Switch 71.0% Discharge 26.1% Defog 24.8% Toxic 6.5% Thunderbolt 4.8%
Items
Leftovers 58.3% Rocky Helmet 33.7% Expert Belt 4.3% Safety Goggles 1.7% Choice Specs 1.4% Magnet 0.4% Life Orb 0.1% Eject Button 0.0%
Abilities
Static73.6%Pressure26.4%
Common Teammates
Excadrill58.5%Weavile35.9%Volcanion33.6%Serperior30.4%Garchomp24.6%Metagross-Mega24.0%Tyranitar21.5%Keldeo20.9%
Browse Gen 6 OU teams using Zapdos →
Teams using Heatran 90% Teams using Keldeo 57% Teams using Clefable 56% Teams using Rotom-Wash 51% Teams using Garchomp 34% Teams using Excadrill 34%

Checks & Counters

Ranked by reliability — blends KO rate with how often each Pokémon is matched up.

# Checker Encounters Reliability KO Rate
01
Heatran
Heatran
FireSteel OFFENSIVE CHECK
23.435
90
89.9% dies 6.23%
02
Keldeo
Keldeo
WaterFighting OFFENSIVE CHECK
24.637
57
56.6% dies 9.98%
03
Clefable
Clefable
Fairy DEFENSIVE COUNTER
60.88
56
56.2% dies 6.36%
04
Rotom-Wash
Rotom-Wash
ElectricWater SOFT CHECK
22.391
51
51.2% dies 10.56%
05
Garchomp
Garchomp
DragonGround SOFT CHECK
20.066
34
34.2% dies 10.59%
06
Excadrill
Excadrill
GroundSteel SOFT CHECK
129
34
33.6% dies 7.03%
07
Ferrothorn
Ferrothorn
GrassSteel SOFT CHECK
49.347
20
20.5% dies 5.74%
08
Landorus-Therian
Landorus-Therian
GroundFlying SOFT CHECK
52.557
19
19.5% dies 7.69%
09
Tornadus-Therian
Tornadus-Therian
Flying SOFT CHECK
36.975
11
11.3% dies 5.20%
10
Skarmory
Skarmory
SteelFlying SOFT CHECK
27.291
9
9.3% dies 5.56%

Ranked #14 with 14.36% usage. Sorted by reliability score.