Zapdos

Zapdos
Zapdos's official artwork from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
Games	Melee SSB4 (3DS) Ultimate
Move	ThunderShock
Rarity	4/583
Article on Bulbapedia	Zapdos (Pokémon)

Zapdos (サンダー, Thunder) is a creature from the Pokémon media franchise.

Origin

Zapdos's official artwork from Pokémon Red and Blue.

Zapdos is an Electric/Flying-type Legendary Pokémon introduced in Generation I and is categorized within the Pokédex at #145 as the "Electric Pokémon". Along with Articuno and Moltres, Zapdos is part of a trio commonly referred to as the legendary birds. Zapdos received a Fighting/Flying-type Galarian form in Generation VIII.

Thunder Shock (formatted as "ThunderShock" prior to Generation VI) is a special Electric-type attack with 40 base power and 100% accuracy. It is part of Zapdos's starting moveset in every game.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

As a Poké Ball Pokémon

Zapdos in Melee.

When Zapdos makes its rare appearance out of Poké Balls, it uses ThunderShock as its attack. Zapdos will discharge electricity and sparks will surround it. Any character besides the summoner that is caught in the discharge will not be able to move (but can SDI out of the electricity, as they can upon being caught in a Smart Bomb's blast radius in Brawl) and will take a lot of damage (up to 81% damage if caught by the attack at its start). The attack happens very quickly.

Trophy

Zapdos is featured as a collectible trophy, unlocked as one of the trophies that can be collected randomly in the Trophy Lottery, though it only appears once all characters have been unlocked.

Zapdos's trophy in Melee

Zapdos

Zapdos flaps its wings, and summer storms appear, throwing lightning every which way. It's said that you can hear this legendary Pokémon coming, as its wings make a very distinctive popping sound as it flies. In addition to electrical moves like the dreaded Thunder, it also wields a vicious move called Drill Peck.

Pokémon Red & Blue (9/98)

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

As a background character

Zapdos in Prism Tower.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Zapdos makes occasional appearances as a background character in the Prism Tower stage. However, it is fairly rare. It flies in from the top of the screen, and quickly arcs back around and leaves the screen again.

Trophy

Zapdos's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Zapdos

Gazing up at dark storm clouds gathering in the sky, many children must have once wondered if the Pokémon they saw in the second Pokémon movie was in the clouds. An innocent and childish dream, perhaps... but even today as adults, the sound of thunder might just bring back memories of this Legendary bird Pokémon.

Gazing up at dark storm clouds gathering in the sky, many children must once have wondered if the Pokémon they just saw in the latest movie was lurking somewhere in their depths. An innocent and childish dream, perhaps...but even today as adults, the sound of thunder might just bring back memories of this Legendary Bird Pokémon.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a background character

Zapdos as it appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In Ultimate, Zapdos once again cameos on the Prism Tower stage.

Spirit

Zapdos also appears alongside Articuno and Moltres as a Legend-class primary spirit.

Zapdos uses an orange Lucas puppet fighter, and is fought on the Find Mii stage's Battlefield form. He is fought along with the cyan and red Lucas puppet fighters representing Articuno and Moltres respectively. During the battle, the Lucas puppet fighters will reflect projectiles, referencing the Legendary birds' defensive abilities. The orange Lucas puppet fighter also frequently uses PK Thunder, referencing Zapdos' Electric type.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
462		Articuno, Zapdos, & Moltres		★★★★	3	4007	10019	2384	5961	1623	4058	No Effect	Pokémon Series

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	サンダー, Thunder
English	Zapdos
French	Électhor
German	Zapdos
Spanish	Zapdos
Italian	Zapdos
Chinese (Simplified)	闪电鸟
Chinese (Traditional)	閃電鳥
Korean	썬더, Sunder
Dutch	Zapdos
Russian	Запдос