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Zapdos is a large avian Pokémon with predominantly yellow plumage. Black rings encircle its eyes, and it has a long, thin, light orange beak. Its wings and tail are a mass of spiky feathers, with black feathers covering the back of its wings and inner tail feathers. A large crest of spiked feathers surrounds its head. Its thighs are a khaki color, and it has anisodactyl feet ending in talons.
When Zapdos flaps its glittering wings, it releases electricity that can potentially cause thunderstorms. It produces massive crackling and snapping sounds when it flies; these are attributed to the lightning bolts it sheds when airborne. When stricken by lightning, it gains power. Zapdos reportedly appears only during thunderstorms, and is said to live among thunderclouds. However, it is rarely seen.
The Electric Pokémon made its anime debut appearance in As Clear As Crystal. When Team Rocket made an attempt to steal a crystal that gave a lake the ability to heal Electric-type Pokémon, they were side-tracked when Zapdos showed up and they changed their objective to capture Zapdos instead.
Having captured this Legendary bird in the abandoned Power Plant in Holy Moltres as in the games, Lt. Surge appears with Zapdos in his team during the events of Volume 3, using it as a never-ending power source for his Electric types, allowing them to continually shock Red at full force, a strategy that turns against him when Red uses Saur's Razor Leaf to cut the supply cords and his insulating underwear with them. After having been merged with Articuno and Moltres into an undiscovered Pokémon, the three Pallet Town Trainers are able to defeat the combined monster, so it leaves his team, and Team Rocket afterwards to go back to the wild.
Green later captures Zapdos before the Gold, Silver, & Crystal arc and uses it against Will and Karen, having caught it and its Legendary bird companions on her personal training journey to overcome her fear of birds. During this battle, it is lent to Blue when things get rough. Once returned, it is put back in its Poké Ball and isn't seen again, meaning it has either been deposited into her box or released.
When released from a Poké Ball, Zapdos uses a powerful Thunder Shock that hits opponents several times to produce a substantial amount of damage.
Trophy information
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.
Zapdos appears in the background of the Prism Tower stage in the 3DS version of the game.
Trophy information
NA: 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.
PAL: 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.
Game data
NPC appearances
Zapdos is the first Legendary Pokémon encountered in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. After it kidnaps Shiftry, the player must fight it at the top of Mt. Thunder. It is possible to recruit Zapdos by returning for another fight after the credits.
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 is a legendary bird Pokémon that has the ability to control electricity. It usually lives in thunderclouds. It gains power if it is stricken by lightning bolts.
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.
Of all Legendary Pokémon with fixed in-game locations, Zapdos can be obtained with the fewest number of Badges: 3. In the Generation I games and their remakes, the player can catch Zapdos with only the Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge, and Soul Badge.
Zapdos shares its category with Elekid and Electabuzz. They are all known as the Electric Pokémon.
Zapdos and Jolteon's Japanese names are almost exactly the same as each other's, with a final s being the only difference.
Zapdos possesses a type advantage over all other members of its trio, as well as its trio master, Lugia.
Zapdos may be based on the Native American legend of the thunderbird. The thunderbird was known for being the spirit of thunder, lightning, and rain in the form of a giant bird. The beating of the wings was said to create thunder. It may also have been based on the lightning bird, a bird created from wherever lightning hits the earth. Aesthetically it may also be based of hummingbirds, due to the long beak, the rather simple wings and described violent behaviour.
Name origin
Zapdos is a combination of zap and dos (Spanish for two, indicating that it is the second in the series of KantoLegendary birds).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.