How Zapdos Aged Perfectly.

[@jimothycool]

Articuno’s Rare Uses in Competitive. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWLOpJatmdt7a9E

[@thefloodwatch785]

zapdos' consistency and moltres' ability to be just under the curve for so long shows how good the flying type has been, even with rocks being around

[@youri7229]

And Articuno has consistently chilled in the depths of PU!

[@melikmourali2072]

​@@youri7229Gen 1 Articuno cries in Blizzard

[@massimilianodelrosso5495]

@@youri7229 and that shows us that no matter how good Flying type is, Ice type will always suck harder. Wait, that didn't come out right

[@et34t34fdf]

@@melikmourali2072 I so wish they made articuno at least decent again, new ability, some new moves etc.

[@Imitationist]

@@massimilianodelrosso5495 Any Ice type that is not a fast and hard attacker suffers (ie frail for balance reasons).

[@kaan-kaant]

Zapdos is unsurprisingly pretty solid. Zapdos might be the most 'pretty solid' pokemon - of all time. In gen 10 zapdos will probably be - pretty solid.

[@Gold_Gamer_100]

Is that a Reverend reference I see?

[@gibleEKvids]

Reverend reference

[@gregorymirabella1423]

@@Gold_Gamer_100 reverend?

[@cobaltordinaire5219]

wait, Zapdos doesn't have Solid Rock for an ability

[@nitro5247]

Reverence

[@MrShadowThief]

The main reason for the fall of Zapdos in gen 5 OU was the introduction of a new Electric/Flying type: Emolga

[@Blanktester685]

Thunderus

[@connorself]

@@Blanktester685that’s a weird way of spelling emolga

[@Hydraina]

Emolga shall rule the gen 5 lands •^•

[@a-s-greig]

If you've fought Elesa, you know the truth about Emolga. It is an airborne Pachirisu.

[@fluffyone1882]

So world class??? Lol... That one pachirisu...

[@SteveScapesYT]

Also Gen 5 was total bullshit because Articuno and Moltres both got Hurricane, where as they gave Zapdos Zap Cannon instead. Clearly it was something GF considered, and pretty much all BW players then and now agree that if Zapdos got Hurricane to go with its Thunder in the perma rain Gen it would have easily been OU, and if it got it’s Hidden Ability Lightning Rod on top of it, might even have outclassed Thundurus-T.

[@windwaker0rules]

Give it time and it will be power crept out, probably by an electric type that is just zapdos but with all the moves they cut from its movepool and base 20 attack with 70 more base HP.

[@Maaarrrrk]

Lol who needs attack? Just give it a The Hp and Defenses and Special attack with the same typing and movepool

[@Poison_Paradise]

​@@Maaarrrrk base 20 total not 20 more base 20 total means very little confusion damage, or... uh... damage from that dark type move that calculates based on foe's Attack

[@KonkeyDong14]

​@@Poison_Paradisefoul play baybeee

[@royalgelly8948]

kilowattrel is hope that we wont be getting another electric/flying for a while

[@mr.sandman7339]

@@royalgelly8948 I wouldn't be too sure since they've already given us 5 fully evolved Grass/Ghost types just since gen 6, usually multiple in one game (not counting all the Gourgeist forms).

[@ShiningJudgment666]

Electric/Flying is really good typing and Zapdos has the stats and movepool to take advantage of it (it's got naturally good bulk being an early Gen legendary, has just enough offensively and has good utility moves for defensive/supportive roles). It fell off a bit in Gen 5 and was UU but it was still viable despite that.

[@EmersonCRVG]

the only reason it was UU in gen 5 is because thundurus was just broken

[@13thKingMu]

​@@EmersonCRVGLike some comments pointing out,it didn't learn hurricane in gen 5 while the other 2 legendary birds can and that would make zapdos viable in OU due to prema rain make hurricane 100% acc all times

[@antoinepolnareff8970]

Great Neck is a Sauropode, just exactly like his brother is also a type of dinosaur

[@pineappleman570]

These videos are perfectly written, paced, and narrated

[@venomsabre2696]

I truly hope the sourpod community has nothing but praise for Great Neck, as these complicated and troublesome times with Old Money and Iron Mugulis have been rather stressful.

[@a2g108]

Great Neck will destroy the enemies. He is our savior

[@fluffyone1882]

Its clearly a brachiosaurus based pokemon... Brachio in brachiosaurus means 'arms' because its arms (forelegs) are much longer than its back limbs (hind legs). Look at that thing... Its clearly not built like a giraffe.

[@sagetmaster4]

​@@fluffyone1882that and maybe the DRAGON typing??? Definitely not a giraffe

[@jive238]

Power creep is one thing but when game freak is actively taking a spike bat to the pokemon's knees(they took my gengar's levitate 😢) it's no wonder why some fall off. Better hope they don't come for zapdos in time.

[@mr.sandman7339]

Basically how I feel about Ttar dropping to RU. They actively took away everything that made Ttar good (pursuit, sand abusers, specific threats it could check), offered no relevant movepool buffs since gen 4, and dropped a million Fighting and Ground types in the game. Ironically, all these things helped Zapdos thrive since Ttar was one of its best counters.

[@lessgochamp646]

Took gengar's levitate away only to introduce *dragapult* a gen later. I refuse to believe this was for balance purposes. They just wanted to fuck around

[@Christoffski]

Zapdos is proof of concept. Speed, typing, movepool. It has survived the most brutal power creep. Articuno was always doomed, but shout out to Moltres. That thing defines endeavour.

[@leohwf]

Moltres really spent almost 20 years digging itself back into OU

[@windwaker0rules]

If articuno retained the 125 special attack and 93 accuracy blizzards it might've stood a chance after defog was introduced, it would be like a kyruem with slightly worse typing.

[@EJS-jj8py]

​@@leohwfshoutout to my nigga moltres, we came from the slums now we up!

[@queenofthesalt5199]

Zapdos has stats just good enough to effectively be a baseline that everything else has to compare to. 100 Speed? Check. 120+ Attacking Stat? Check. Usable ability? Check. Good Movepool? Check. It’s almost funny how good of an example Zapdos is of a Good OU Pokémon. That’s it. No funny gimmicks. No silly tricks or meta relevant checks. It’s got everything you need, and no more.

[@Dr._is_sleepy]

It's also got a strong defensive profile due to its ability but part of that is also helped by it's attacking stat. Just like how Lando most runs defensive sets with less investment into attack. Zap can also afford more defensive EVs while also not being passive with its incredible base Sp.Atk

[@williamdrum9899]

Good typing? Check

[@a2g108]

I love watching these vids for the Jokes about Iron Mugulis-> Great Neck, but I just want to take a moment to applaud Jimothy's scripts. That last line about Zapdos being used the same way as it was in Gen 3/4 filled me with nostalgia. Great Work Jim, love your channel

[@MaraudingManiac]

I love Zapdos. Good, balanced, distinctive. I hope it continues staying relevant in OU in the future

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

If you need any other legendary pokemon to cover, maybe a discussion on both Latias and Latios? Latios and Zapdos both feel like great Battle Facility Pokemon, so when I think of Latios, i think of Zapdos and vice versa

[@lanceknightmare]

Ah, the old Lantern in the Link Cable days. That Pokemon was especially dangerous versus my team in generation 2. I was running two Mewtwo, Articuno, Ho-oh, Lugia, and Tyranitar. I cringe looking back at that team.

[@FLITTLEFANATIC]

I think one of the funniest moments for Zapdos was in the BDSP metagames, it once dropped to RU because BDSP movepool distribution had nerfed its coverage so badly, it was basically restricted to mono electric movesets. It eventually rose back up to UU though.

[@morovin5]

"When Zapdos flaps its glittering wings, it releases electricity that can potentially cause thunderstorms." Give this thing Drizzle & it would be banned within the hour lol.

[@TheOtherNeutrino]

Zapdos: I fear no metagame but that thing... BDSP: Zapdos: ... it scares me.

[@tomcrawley3343]

Zapdos is a bit like Great Tusk (and old Lando T) in that its incredibly splashable due to its role compression and defensive utility without being passive due to its inherently good offensive typing. Its typing and base stats are too good for it to ever not be a useful Pokémon.

[@gambleralex5083]

Iron mugulis is a heavy Zapdos counter in OU

[@et34t34fdf]

Just need to give it drizzle, i mean, pokedex entries say it summons thunderstorms. Might be a tad overpowered though, but it does make sense as an ability.

[@Xtreme24Overlord]

I always wanted for the bird trio to have weather abilities for their hidden abilities. It would give them such a cool niche to be able to spam blizzard, thunder and solarbeam.

[@cadetjones9205]

Zapdos would instantly be Uber with Drizzle. Unavoidable Stab Thunders and Hurricanes coming from a 125 special attack is no joke, water type weather ball would shread most ground types and the last moves slot could be anything from Tera Blast to Agility on a Bulky Zapdos.

[@danielsmith5032]

@@cadetjones9205it would be epic to see the birds shoot up even higher in viability because of weather-abilities. But yea Zapdos would be too much for OU 😂. Last slot would probably have to be drill peck because Blissey and assault vest would be everywhere

[@cadetjones9205]

@@danielsmith5032 Or maybe Brave Bird as the Last Slot if it wants to sacrifice itself for big damage to a low defense check.

[@Rptor_]

Zapdos has only really been bad once in BDSP But we don't talk about that

[@kwayke9]

And Articuno was numero uno, technically *ban noises*

[@thebestworst8002]

I’ve found Great Neck’s hiding place in a town on Long Island NY literally named Great Neck

[@victorlinares4137]

That great typing hasn't been affected by any new types/ changes since gen 1.

[@captain_buggles]

meanwhile articuno is out there in the trenches fighting for its life to be relevant

[@fwdooms2540]

It's got great stats across the board and an impressive special attack to spam hurricanes and thunders in rain teams. Not to mention a decent amount of bulk that allows it to abuse roost. I don't see it ever falling off

[@Hagot428]

To quote reverend, "Zapdos is the most 'pretty solid' pokemon ever. When scarlet and violet come out, zapdos will be 'pretty solid'." We don't talk about BDSP though

[@BHox01]

Reverend has so many fire quotes, man. Highly recommend to anyone who hasn't seen his stuff

[@arthurfilion5992]

What happened with BDSP?

[@Hagot428]

@@arthurfilion5992 Zapdos' moveset was GUTTED in bdsp. No toxic, no hurricane, no heat wave, no tailwind(for doubles), and the lack of boots hurt it quite a bit. Also, no static. Just a rough patch for the bird to sweep under the rug.

[@fractalisomega9517]

BDSP and LGPE are technically sidegames IMO and not full on remakes like BW2, HGSS, ORAS, or USUM

[@arthurfilion5992]

@@Hagot428 BDSP doesn’t count then lol

[@bradyanderson1229]

Great video Jimothy. Crazy to see how a few mons have survived the test of time over almost 30 years

[@IceAokiji303]

Ah yes. The old reliable "now play it against Zapdos".

[@azeria1]

Moltres Is also now good in gen 9 ou despite losing moves maybe one day articuno will finally be good doubt it though

[@chess_fella]

How Jimothy Cool aged well

[@oK5Yo]

when he was like "competition in a new electric flying type" My legit reaction was woah emolga that good this whole time

[@mediocreboi]

I love these single pokemon focused videos, I always felt like Starmie was one of the most consistent mons, only kind of falling off in gen 8 when it landed in NU

[@danielsmith5032]

It fell off in the generation with Megas didn’t it? So Gen 6

[@jaketerpening3284]

@@danielsmith5032 It made it back to OU. Gen 7 it stayed in UU. That's also when Gengar lost levitate and left OU for the first time. Gen 7 was a sad time for Gen 1 pokemon.

[@chilitofu3512]

the great trio, kfc, chicken that's been shocked by lightning and a bird that's put in the freezer

[@enricobersani8948]

Rest in piece lightingrod Zapdos, I will never forget you 😢

[@Ella-to5vi]

i forgot it😅 didn’t even know he got lightning rod

[@papipaupanda1401]

Great video! But i kinda hoped you would compare the ever-relevant Kanto Zapdos to its Galarian form by the end. More power to you and your channel!

[@ramihajyounesmontoya5194]

The Flying-type is a very good type in general. Even in cases where the combination is horrible, like Bug/Flying, it's most often so because of the other type not itself. And I like the final remark on Zapdos being a simple Pokémon because it's true. Simple yet effective.

[@asuuki2048]

Wonderful video! I honestly wish more people talked about Zapdos to be honest. It’s my least favorite of the Legendary Birds, but I do like it. My favorite is Moltres :3 I feel like Tyranitar’s “fall” in Scarlet & Violet is mainly just things that aren’t really a knock against the Pokémon itself. Like, I’m not a big Tyranitar fan, and running into one was always a pain, so I don’t have bias for it. I just can’t help but see that it has a lack of teammates (caused by the National Dex issue) as one of its biggest hindrances.

[@simonalbert7518]

Gen 5 was not the only time zapdos dropped, it also dropped in BDSP.

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

Never forget how Zapdos is UU or even worse RU in BSDP singles.

[@mjl167]

How have I not subbed to you yet? You have the funniest freaking way of asking people to sub I've ever seen, very unique! I hope you blow up on youtube! I love your stuff!

[@torterra118]

been loving the gen 3 content jim, you should do a vid on gen 3 randbats

[@RedRockin6]

2:59 I legit thought he was gonna say Emolga lmao

[@iggysentyou]

You're making me miss gengar. The sin of removing levitate can never be forgiven.

[@parhelio___]

Thabk you for not yelling yo the mic like the rest of youtube. I appreciate the good pacing

[@ulkimion]

2:58 "And the main reason for the fall of zapdos was the introduction of a new eletric flying type" Emolga!? "Thundurus Therian" Oh.

[@loopseeker]

honestly one of my favorite mons ever

[@Dan-ub7ec]

Zapdos is like an vine, it do never get old, while stays amazing

[@soapy5613]

my favorite definitely has to be moltres. i use a physically defensive moltres to beat down on tusk, gambit, and physical val

[@wowb1965]

Zapdos will now face competition from a new electric type in the form of Great Neck

[@avery3748]

Zapdos is one of the few forces with the power suppress Iron Mugulis almost single-handedly. I wish it didn't have so many other problems to deal with

[@Omar_ZX]

My fav gen 1 mon to use in sv is actually a tie between mewtwo and zapdos honestly, both are really solid for their tier and still surprise me with how they are still standing the test of time

[@goldman77700]

Eh, every mascot like Mewtwo has stood the test of time with the exception of Kyurem-Black, whose where he belongs when they finally gave it dragon dance in gen 8.

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

3:30am, working on my national dex in Black 2, why not listen and watch a video on Zapdos

[@elijahstreckfuss8204]

I'm sorry, but that first try ice beam freeze into the turn one thaw was insane!

[@AlldaylongRock]

Zapdos has an extremely good typing and balanced stats. Move pool is also nice, it likes rain especially (Thunder and Hurricane) and it's relatively easy to find a switch in to it's weaknesses (a Steel Type solves all of Zapdos' weaknesses).

[@BiffTheBanana]

Zapdos is such a ridiculously solid pokémon, but honestly I always preferred the big fire chicken instead

[@vyor8837]

Articuno is prettier!

[@robinsong4298]

gran pollo de fuego ❤

[@tomatogenesis]

All of them are great and i'm glad for where they stand today and how solid they managed to be over the years. (Except for Articuno ofc, poor guy got ruined by Stealth Rock and Ice type's weaknesses)

[@vyor8837]

@@tomatogenesis least Boots lets them be viable in UU...

[@tomatogenesis]

@@vyor8837 Yeah, but Articuno did had to endure the painful wait of _4_ whole generations where he languished in PU (and even untiered once) for the time being, poor guy.

[@jimothycool]

The Unfortunate Fall of Mew. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGLCk5yqhbuNi5I

[@Mewseeker]

"And the main reason for the fall of Zapdos was the introduction of a new electric/flying type: _Emolga_ ."

[@suly5836]

I'll say it now and I'll say it again, as long as people hit zapdos to proc his static, he will always be good. Moltres followed his steps and became peak, I hope that someday they give articuno a similar ability.

[@fluffycat679]

I only have access to gen 9 competitive right now but I think I'll try employing Zapdos some day, I've been wanting to make my first ever rain team for my first ever time in doubles and I could give Zapdos thunder, it would prevent other water types from abusing my rain but I was planning on making Rotom Wash the center of my team. I don't know much about what Pokémon are good against what other than typing and common coverage moves but I could just pack Zapdos anyway as an alternate option to better deal with other threats that Rotom Wash could be weak to.

[@expo_pkmn]

3:02 my stupid ass thought he was gonna say emolga 😭😭 its not even good why would i think that dawg🗣

[@yoxhi5044]

Zapdos since gen 1 has always been a consistent mon. Yeah it lost defog and toxic, but it's iconic in being a swiss army knife.

[@RidentGaming]

I haven’t been keeping up, there’s no SHOT they’re releasing a pokémon named Great Neck. No way.

[@tarotdactyl752]

How GREAT Was Zapdos Actually? Jokes aside, great video! Information dense, well paced, context is well established. Really well done :)

[@fluffycat679]

Wait, Sandy Shocks is OU? They're my favorite Paradox Pokémon! I'm happy for Zapdos, I like the electric-flying typing so, so much, and I think it's always been coolest among the three birds. But as for Raikou, another electric trio member and among my top three legendries of all time, and somewhere among my top five general Pokémon, has to struggle everywhere I go. It seems even Thundurus Therian got to be good.

[@boop53]

yeah! sandy shocks were UU for a long time, but they rose up in July, if i remember right

[@vtmagno23]

Raikou was a top 5 pokemon in gen2, so at least there's that!

[@fluffycat679]

@@vtmagno23 Wait really? Dude thanks for telling me! I don't really have anything I can play gen 2 competitively on right now but you can bet that's now on my bucket list! "Get in losers, we're going back to the localized release of Pokémon Gold and Silver 2000."

[@carnage0685]

@@fluffycat679gen 2 competitive is unfortunately probably the worst.

[@boop53]

@@carnage0685 gotta disagree “worst” is subjective, a lot of people really enjoy gen 2 ou some would argue gen 5 and gen 8 are actually more unenjoyable

[@fyrex7797]

I can't be the only dinosaur fan that felt offended that Jim said SOUR-O-POD when its pronounced sore-o-pod. But still a good video and honestly sets Zapdos as a standard as to what makes a good pokemon

[@nishantdayama4558]

Zapdos and Rotom Wash are the only good defensive electric typea I can think of. Imagine if both of them had their secondary accurate special STABs too (Air Slash and Scald respectively)

[@matiascocco3557]

Great video Jim! Can you make a video with the most consistent pokemon throughout history?

[@charliebartlett5768]

Sour-O'pod? Come on Jimothy. First Gru-don, now Sour-O'pod? 😂

[@jimothycool]

I've never said the word out loud I guess LOL.

[@charliebartlett5768]

@@jimothycool Haha 😂 but yeah it's pronounced the same as the saur in dinosaur

[@kylelundgren5133]

I yeah the thing that you're calling Great neck is actually a dinosaur.

[@shatterthineekey]

to quote a great man, zapdos is the most "pretty good" pokemon of all time

[@someeggplant]

And it was true: in gen 9, Zapdos is, indeed, pretty solid.

[@AI-DreigonGPT]

A vidéo about Landorus forgotten form ( Landorus Incarnate ) in Uber would be good

[@saltlakeatrocity9771]

Its probably worth mentioning that, while power creep certainly plays a part, there's a certain level of "TPC just doesn't give a shit" at work too. For example; the Tapus, Urshifus, and even paldea quad aren't exactly innately game-changing in and of themselves if you judge them based on what was available in early generations----but their abilities absolutely are. Mons like Articuno or regice or whatever don't HAVE to be garbage, TPC are clearly able to give pokemon newer abilities when they want them to be relevant again. But there's no marketability in making them relevant again, while introducing a better form is a tangible product they can sell.

[@malakimphoros2164]

Regi trio with abilities boosting Ice, Rock and Steel would be cool.

[@saltlakeatrocity9771]

That would be cool, but given the niche those pokemon fill within their respective tiers im not sure boosted offense would really do a ton for them---but its certainly better than what we got at least.

[@fishyfishyfishy500akabs8]

@@malakimphoros2164 with the exception of regirock I don’t see this helping much. They tend to have abhorrent coverage and are hard walled by certain mons. Plus regice is basically like non flying articuno and registeel is a mainly defensive mon since its attack is mediocre.

[@carnage0685]

@@malakimphoros2164make Regice immune to fire moves or at least give it Heatproof ability Give Regirock regenerator. Done. They wouldn’t be OU but they sure as hell won’t be Untiered anymore.

[@malakimphoros2164]

@@carnage0685 I'd rather give them all Recover, Regenerator is a stupid ability

[@HawkBreland]

the OG bird still thriving today is heartwarming

[@simonpetrikovthepoor9737]

I really like zapdos, but being a static wall thats just here to hax some lucky paralysis is a shadow of what his offensive potential could be if they actually give him cool moves

[@evolition7]

It's always been my favorite pokemon and will never changed. Ever since I got Red on original Gameboy it was my favorite. In pokemon go I love the shadow variant

[@nedalsoned9940]

tell me why when they were talking about a gen 5 elec/flying type that outclasses zapdos i was like "emolga?"

[@ZoroarkLover98]

Zapdos was my first legendary before I even knew what a legendary was!

[@goldman77700]

It was the easiest of the bird trio to find if I'm not mistaken.

[@gcDaydays]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. - Zapdos

[@bacd-nn2lg]

I think that Landorus needs some buffs in the future.

[@redwings13400]

Typing: Fantastic Bulk: Good Speed: Decent Special attack: Great Movepool: Fantastic It just kinda has everything it needs, and the moves its received over the years make sense for it (aside from maybe heat wave, but whatever, its still a good addition). Being an electric type that's immune to earthquake is always gonna be an in demand trait, it always has a secondary move that can hit ground types, volt switch is fantastic, roost is fantastic. Static is a really nice secondary ability, its been able to clear hazards, function offensively and defensively. Zapdos is another pokemon that never feels particularly overwhelming because it doesn't have the setup potential to end games on the spot, but its always just a really consistent and solid pick that will fill its role every game.

[@VoltismProductions]

Even as a kid that didn't know anything about competitive pokemon, zapdos was always one of my most reliable pokemon

[@fe4rlicia540]

I like how this channel is False Swipe Gaming like but still different because it's shorter and more specific

[@Argobus1]

Electric flying really is a great typing, just wait until Emolga returns to destroy OU with that breakneck 103 speed stat.

[@josephgarcia8209]

Forgot to mention the introduction of paralysis immunity in gen VI

[@launchpadmcquack24]

Zapdos is one of my favorite pokemon, both to play and in general

[@usernametaken017]

>"Zapdos is the most consistent pokemon of all time" >Looks inside (popilar sets) >Static and hurricane

[@sergioalvaradokuschel8758]

that Great Neck guy is a villain!!!

[@2000Vincius]

Jim, curious if you recall me. I'm that one crazy dude with Gardevoir Reflect Memento into Smeargle. Would love to see you build a team around it

[@aaleven4728]

Never ask a man is salary A woman her age Zapdos what happened in BDSP

[@10640404]

I don’t play competitive, but I remember Zapdos being really useful in xd gale of darkness orre colosseum.

[@frycookHJ]

love the videos!

[@BillPhurnell]

I've only been alive for 23.5 years. Let that sink in.

[@TooEaxy]

I absolutely love using max defense Zappos with u-turn beats so many teams just with 8 roosts

[@Lobster222]

I still don't understand why the end screen can't be excellent AND funny...

[@sumirsookdeo9443]

Amazing how he stayed there the longest with the meta.

[@hatsunemisko2651]

How bolt beam aged perfectly

[@jakehxllxws259]

He is him.

[@jakehxllxws259]

your girl gives me great neck

[@greninjaguy5264]

0:13 3:38 4:08 does anyone know how to get these avatars in pokemon showdown? I really like them a lot.

[@SharpLCDTV]

You have to either win it as a prize in a tournament or be chosen to play in a team tournament and get the team avatar