Pokémon · Sun & Moon
Zapdos
SM Black Star Promos · #SM145 · Promo · 2017
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$11.56
TCGPlayer
Current listings on The Game Traders
No active listings for this card right now.
Card facts
Quick reference for collectors and graders.
- Set position
- SM145 / 250
- Release year
- 2017
- Rarity
- Promo
- HP
- 120
- Subtype
- Basic
- Retreat cost
- 1 energy
- Illustrator
- Hitoshi Ariga
- Pokédex #
- 145
- Series
- Sun & Moon
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Status Conditions
- Damage efficiency
- 120 damage
- 30 per Energy
- Prize liability
- 1 Prize given up
- Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
- Setup
- Basic
- Plays straight down — no evolution needed
Also does
Strategy & play
How Zapdos plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- A Basic — hits the board turn 1 with no evolution tax.
- Inflicts Paralysis — the Defending Pokémon can’t attack or retreat for a turn. A reliable one-turn lock; chain it to stall the opponent out.
- Its main attack (Drill Peck) needs 4 Energy — a turn-4 swing on manual attachment — you’ll want Energy acceleration to power it up on time.
- Hits for 120 — one-shots small Basics and support Pokémon, but trades down into the format’s big attackers.
- Needs Lightning Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
- Lightning type, weak to Lightning ×2 — a Lightning attacker doing ≥60 effectively one-shots it.
How to beat Zapdos
- Exploit its Lightning weakness — ≥60 damage one-shots it.
- On the receiving end of a condition? Retreat, switch, or evolve to wipe it — conditions only stick to the Active.
Competitive performance
From real Standard tournament decks over the last 180 days.
- Meta inclusion
- 0% of decks
- 1.08 copies on average · 13 decks
Plays well with
Cards most often run alongside this one in tournament decks over the last 180 days — ranked by how distinctive the pairing is.
Budget alternatives
Cheaper cards that fill a similar role in Standard decks. Reference prices — most-played option first.
More by Hitoshi Ariga
This card was illustrated by Hitoshi Ariga.
Building around Zapdos?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
"A legendary bird Pokémon that is said to appear from clouds while dropping enormous lightning bolts."
LThunder Shock — 20
Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Paralyzed.
CCCCDrill Peck — 120
Weakness:L×2
Resistance:F-20
Retreat cost:C
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
Upcoming events
View calendar →Tournaments and releases relevant to Zapdos or SM Black Star Promos.
Recent tournament results
View calendar →Tournaments from the past 30 days where Zapdos was legal.
Pricing reference
Latest snapshot from the upstream catalog. Actual marketplace prices fluctuate by condition, edition, and grade — use this as a reference, not a quote.
TCGPlayer (USD)
Updated 2026/07/18| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holofoil | $8.00 | $13.88 | $51.32 | $11.56 | $11.78 |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2025/11/21| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €4.99 |
| 7-day average | €4.30 |
| 30-day average | €5.57 |
| Low | €2.25 |
| Trend price | €5.70 |
| Low (excellent+) | €3.20 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €13.00 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €12.04 |
| averageSellPrice | €4.30 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €6.42 |
| Reverse holo trend | €10.70 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Zapdos is real?
Zapdos is not on our list of commonly-counterfeited cards, but counterfeits exist across every set. Check the back-light test (real cards have a black inner layer that blocks light; counterfeits glow through), the rosette dot pattern on the back under magnification, font weight and kerning on the card name, and the holofoil pattern if applicable. For high-value copies we recommend submitting to a professional grader (PSA, BGS, CGC) for tamper-evident authentication.
What is Zapdos worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Zapdos is $11.56; there are no active listings on The Game Traders right now. Actual value depends on condition, grading, edition and printing variant — graded high-condition copies (PSA 9–10) trade at a substantial premium over raw copies.
What set is Zapdos from?
Zapdos is from the Pokémon set "SM Black Star Promos" in the Sun & Moon series, released in 2017.
What rarity is Zapdos?
Zapdos is a Promo card in the SM Black Star Promos set.
Other Zapdos printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
