Zapdos

Dynamax Zapdos is a Tier 5 Max Battle in Pokémon GO. It costs 800 Max Particles to participate in this Max Battle, which will only be consumed if you defeat Dynamax Zapdos successfully. Dynamax Zapdos can be shiny from Max Battles. Dynamax Zapdos can be challenged by up to 4 Trainers. The fight is not soloable.

Zapdos is an Electric and Flying type, so it is only weak to Rock and Ice types. It resists Bug, Grass, Fighting, Flying, Steel  and Ground. Zapdos is boosted by Windy and Rainy weather. It can be caught with the following CP:

• CP range on catch (L20): 1930 – 2015 CP

Best Counters for Dynamax Zapdos

Dynamax Zapdos Battles can be participated in by up to 40 Trainers. Those 40 Trainers are then split up into groups of 4 that work together. In each group of 4 we recommend two Trainers have teams focused on attackers, one tank/defender team, and one healer team.

Recommended Team

• Zamazenta is your best option as a defender for Zapdos. Backed up by Blissey as a healer this will serve you well.
• Gigantamax Lapras is the clear best attacker for Zapdos.

Best Attackers for Dynamax Zapdos

The best attackers for defeating Dynamax Zapdos are the following Pokémon:

• Your best Dynamax Zapdos counter is Gigantamax Lapras. Lapras is the strongest Ice-type attacker available at the moment. 
• After Lapras, pick your most powerful options from the list above, and they will serve you well.

Best Defenders for Dynamax Zapdos

The best defenders to use against a Dynamax Zapdos are the following Pokémon:

• Latias is your top choice, as it is resistant to what Zapdos has to offer whilst still charging up the Max Meter as quickly as possible.
• Zamazenta is also an incredible defender!

Best Healers for Dynamax Zapdos

The best healers to use in a Dynamax Zapdos Max Battle are the following Pokémon:

Ideally, you want a Blissey. Wailord, Snorlax, or Lapras are great second choices however.

Max Battle Information

To participate in a Max Battle you can be in-person only, at Power Spots, which are easily identified on the map by the purple marking and large ‘X’ above them.

You can challenge Max Battles with up to 40 people, including yourself. Each person can bring up to 3 Dynamax Pokémon in their team, but participation is possible with just one Dynamax Pokémon.

Only Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon can participate in this Max Battle. Existing non-Dynamax Pokemon are not eligible.

Max Battles are turn based, differing from both raiding and GO Battle League. More strategy will need to be implemented for harder Max Bosses.

In a Max Battle, tap the screen to use Fast Attacks, and build up energy to use Charged Attacks as usual (though as discussed later in this guide, we advise against actually using Charged Attacks). Attacking will also fill up the Max Meter at the top of the screen.

When three lines appear above a Pokemon’s head, it means it is being targeted by the Max Battle Boss. You can avoid this by swiping to either the left or the right.

In battle you will see a Max Meter at the top of the screen. When it reaches its maximum, your Pokémon will automatically Dynamax/Gigantamax your Pokémon. You have a 3 second countdown to choose with Pokémon you wish to Dynamax/Gigantamax. Keep an eye on the meter! Once it’s full, your Pokémon will Dynamax for 3 turns!

To Dynamax/Gigantamax, you need to fill up the Max Meter at the top of the screen to its maximum, and the meter fills up by swiping towards the energy icons that appears from time to time, or by using your Fast and Charged Attacks.

Once Dynamaxed you will be given the option to use any of your unlocked Max Moves, if battling harder difficulty bosses as a group, plan your use of your attack, Shield and Spirit moves together.

You can Dynamax more than once in a Max Battle, and will automatically Dynamax once your Max Meter refills.

If all of your Pokémon faint while battling a three-star or higher Power Spot Boss, you can still help your allies by cheering for your them so that their meters fill faster.

Stats and Max CP

As stats for Dynamax Zapdos are currently unknown, these are the stats for a normal Zapdos:

Zapdos ElectricFlying
Max CP at Level 40 3527 | Max CP at Level 50 3987
ATK 253		DEF 185		HP 207
Weak to			Resistances
Ice Rock			Bug Fighting Flying Grass Ground Steel

Dynamax Zapdos Movepool

*Denotes a Legacy Move only available via Elite TM.

The Max Boss will have 2 different charged moves from its movepool, which includes exclusive moves. One is used as an area-of-effect attack that damages all Pokémon currently on the field and cannot be dodged. The other is used as a focused attack which targets only a specific Pokémon and deals double the regular damage, but this move can be dodged.

Dynamax Zapdos has primarily Electric type moves, which makes it one of the trickier bosses with the available Dynamax Pokémon right now. It rules out all Water types as potential tanks and healers.

Drill Peck will deal super effective damage against all Grass types.

Ancient Power will deal super effective damage against Charizard.

Trainers can re-lobby to re-roll the moves of a Max Boss, in order to face off against specific desired moves, since MP (Max Particles) are only consumed upon victory. As Zapdos has a movepool largely consisting of Electric type moves that your Ice and Grass counters will resist, they are what you want to hope for. Because they have a large movepool of Electric type moves, we highly advise against using any Water types for your defenders or healers as they will be decimated quickly by them.

A Note On Charged Moves & Gigantamax Battles

Recommended charged moves are not included in this guide, since it is inadvisable to be using them in Gigantamax Battles. Trainers do not need to worry about Charged Moves being the correct move/typing and can save on Charged TMs. In Max Battles, only your Fast Move really matters, so be sure to keep a stock of Fast TMs!

The main reasons we recommend not using charged moves during Gigantamax Battles are as follows:

• The amount of Max Energy generated per attack, is based on damage dealt in relation to the maximum HP of the Gigantamax Boss, but has a minimum value of 1.
• Because of how bulky these Gigantamax Bosses are, there are no charged moves that can generate more than 1 Max Energy per use.
• Since the execution time of fast moves are a lot quicker than those of charged moves (charged attacks have a much slower animation), yet they generate the same amount of Max Energy, using only fast moves fills up the Max Meter faster.

Furthermore, getting to the Dynamax Phase as quickly as possible is the most important part of Gigantamax Battles — the boss does not attack during this phase, so healing any damage received during the regular battle phase, as well as applying or restoring shields can be done in safety, whilst also dealing large amounts of damage with the Max Attacks.

Even though this strategy means sacrificing some damage from charged attacks during the regular battle phase, it is absolutely worth it. The reason for this is that the quicker you can Dynamax again, the more you will be able to use your Max Attacks. Max Attacks are so powerful that is more than makes up for any lost damage during the normal battle phase, by not using your regular Charged Attacks.

Although Max Mushrooms might make charged moves more viable, their effect — doubling attack damage — is also applied to fast moves and Max Attacks in the Dynamax Phase. It will impact your Max Attacks much more than your Charged Attacks, so it is still not worthwhile using your standard Charged Attacks. Max Mushrooms are a premium expensive resource, so they cannot dependably be included in strategies as most trainers will not wish to invest in them for Max Battles unless absolutely necessary.

For Gigantamax Battles, using only fast moves is the best strategy. Be sure to advise your fellow trainers of this when meeting up with your local community to optimise this strategy!

Group Composition

While a group can consist of up to 40 Trainers, the larger group will be divided into smaller subgroups of 4 trainers upon joining the lobby. Ideally, the larger group should be divisible by 4 so that each subgroup is full.

Generally, the best strategy for each subgroup is to have 2 attackers, 1 defender and 1 healer. This will allow your group to stay alive as long as possible, whilst also directing damage towards one specific trainers, and allowing maximum damage to take place. It is advisable to keep in mind that Trainers are grouped together in the order of joining the lobby, so it may be worth planning to ensure that the most prepared trainers with levelled up Max Spirit and Max Guard are paired with others who are only prepared for attacks.

Max Guard

Max Guard can stack up to 3 times, and the damage that a shield can absorb is a set amount based on this Max Move’s level. The protection amount for a single shield is 20, 40 or 60 HP at levels 1, 2 and 3 respectively, which can stack to a total of 60, 120 or 180 HP per level. If you find you are re-entering your Dynamax Phase and you still have two shields left for example, it would be recommended to top back up to 3 shields, then use your Max Attack.

While shields are only applied to the Pokémon using them, it is a hugely important aspect of a Max Battle. Whilst shielded, the Max Battle boss will direct its focused attacks towards the Pokémon that is shielded only!

The defender therefore draws damage away from their 3 active allies, protecting them in this way. Dodging is important, to reduce damage received and keep shields up for longer. We cannot under-estimate how important Max Guard is due to it drawing damage away for your whole group, it is absolutely key to utilise in your strategy.

Only one person in your group of four needs to use Max Guard, so communication is key here.

Max Spirit

Max Spirit heals not only Pokémon using it, but also any other active allies remaining in your group of 4. The amount of health restored is a percentage based on the level of Max Spirit and the user’s maximum HP. (The heal amount for a single heal is 8%, 12% or 16% of the user’s maximum HP at levels 1, 2, and 3 respectively).

This means that Pokémon with high stamina / HP are better healers, even if they don’t have optimal attacks for their Max Battle boss.

Sprites

Regular Sprite	Shiny Sprite

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