Versions of this card
Check the number and illustration against the card you are looking for.
What the card itself says
Everything below is written on the card itself: how much health it has, what it fears, and what its attacks cost.
- HP
- 90
- Type
- Lightning
- Stage
- Basic
- Retreat cost
- 3
- Resistance
- -30
Its attacks
Thunder
60Flip a coin. If tails, Zapdos does 30 damage to itself.
Thunderbolt
100Discard all Energy cards attached to Zapdos in order to use this attack.
What to make of it
Have a look at what it does well, then at what will get in your way. After that you'll know whether it belongs in your deck.
WHAT IT HAS GOING FOR IT
- Thunderbolt hits for 100 on 4 Energy. Nothing in Base Set hits harder for that price.
- It is a Basic Pokémon. You can put it down on your very first turn, with nothing to evolve through.
- No Weakness printed on the card. Nothing doubles up the damage it takes.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
- Retreat cost 3. Once it is out front, it stays there. Pack something that moves it another way, or you will burn whole turns discarding Energy.
- None of the 3,240 tournament lists we have read runs it. That does not make it a bad card — it means we have not seen it on a table yet.
Who plays it
None of the tournament lists we have read mentions this card. That happens with a card that has just come out, or one players have not tried yet.
The other cards of this Pokémon
Two cards of the same Pokémon can be worth wildly different amounts — it depends on the set, the rarity and the artwork. We put all 45 Zapdos cards on one page, priciest first.