Zekrom, The Deep Black Pokémon. Concealing itself in lightning clouds, it flies throughout the Unova region. It creates electricity in its tail.This Pokémon appears in legends. In its tail, it has a giant generator that creates electricity.

Overview

I used to really like Zekrom... but I'm a Reshiram guy now. Zekrom is pretty... unappealing, to me at least. It has a crazy small movepool, and unlike Reshiram doesn't have the perfect STAB combination. Not saying it has a bad STAB combination, but it is resisted by a few Pokémon, and it main attack has a type immunity. It also can't abuse weather anywhere near as well as Reshiram. What Zekrom does do is something pretty much no other Pokémon in the game does: use physical Electric attacks well. Sure, there's Electivire, but it has what... ThunderPunch? Luxray? Hahaha. Zekrom is sort of unique in that respect. Its ability Mold Brea- sorry, Teravolt, is sort of handy, but not as useful on Zekrom as it is on Reshiram. Outside of... maybe Zapdos, Electric absorbing abilities aren't used. It still stops Sturdy and Multiscale though, so that's nice. Zekrom's main limitation is its awful movepool. It doesn't get Earthquake? That's silly. Not that it really needs any moves outside of its STAB, but still.

Abilities

Teravolt: Mold Breaker with a nice name. It ignores abilities that would hinder or stop your attacks from working.

ChoiceRom

- Bolt Strike
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Fusion Bolt / Volt Switch / Focus Blast
Item Attached: Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) / Jolly Nature (+Spd,-SAtk)

Hit almost twice as hard as Groudon and have less Pokémon immune to your main attack? Yes please! Bolt Strike is phenomenal. Like... it's amazing. 130 power, one immunity, and 2HKOing most Pokémon that resist it. It isn't as good as Blue Flare in my opinion, but it is still great. 180 power and 85 accuracy is insane, backed up by 150 base Attack. Outrage is also an amazing move, and combos well with Electric attacks. What I like is that STAB Outrage is as strong as an unSTABbed Bolt Strike. Dragon Claw is there so you don't have to get locked into Outrage if you need to kill something. Fusion Bolt is an alternative Electric attack that is loads weaker, but considering Bolt Strike has 8 PP, it isn't a bad idea. Volt Switch allows you to scout, and hits hard enough to make an impact, as Zekrom has a nice base Special Attack. Focus Blast is another good move, but you'd only really use it for Dialga and other scum.

MixRom

- Bolt Strike
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Focus Blast
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef) / Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Wall breaking Zekrom. Bolt Strike is amazing and all that jazz. Draco Meteor allows you to ruin Groudon, who would be your main switch in. Outrage is another great physical attack that I have praised enough already. Focus Blast ruins Dialga, another common switch in. Honestly, nothing can safely switch into this but sadly Ground types are immune to your main attack, something Reshiram didn't have to worry about.

Hone Claw...rom

- Hone Claws
- Bolt Strike
- Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Focus Blast
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Zekrom's only boosting move I actually pretty useful. Hone Claws raises your Attack and Accuracy, perfect for Bolt Strike, which I've found misses right when you need it to hit. Typical. Outrage is your secondary STAB, great move, loves the Attack boost. Dragon Claw is an option though, so you aren't ruined by the lock in effect of Outrage. Focus Blast benefits greatly from the accuracy boost and helps eliminate common counters.

Dual Screens

- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Bolt Strike
- Volt Switch / Draco Meteor / Focus Blast / Outrage
Item Attached: Light Clay
Ability: Teravolt
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Like with Reshiram, Zekrom isn't the best dual screener out there, but because of how much it forces switches due to being scary, it gives it opportunities to screen up. Reflect doubles your team's Defence, and Light Screen doubles Special Defence. Bolt Strike IS THE BEST EVER. Volt Switch is something it has over Reshiram, as it allows it to deal good damage and scout. Draco Meteor for Groudon and what not. Focus Blast kills your common counters. Outrage IS ALMOST THE BEST EVER.

EVs & Natures

Zekrom
You could make it bulky... I guess... if you wanted Zekrom to take hits... no. Just run 252/252. If you want a special set, for whatever reason, run Special Attack instead of Attack. Simple and effective.

Other Options

Special, Air Balloon, Charge Beam, Crunch, Dragon Tail, Stone Edge, Substitute, Thunder Wave, Toxic Special Zekrom can... be a surprise. I guess. Like physical Reshiram, it is a waste of an other wise highly threatening Pokémon. Air Balloon is actually a good idea on Zekrom. Its main counter is Groudon, which obviously will try to take you out with Earthquake. If you are running Air Balloon, it will have to waste a turn hitting you with Fire Punch or whatever (or Dragon Claw, which will hurt). Charge Beam is Zekrom's boosting attack, its equivalent to Reshiram's Flame Charge. Nowhere near as useful, but you could use it on a special set. Crunch is pointless, but it's another attack that... is pointless when it adds nothing. Nothing is 4x weak to Dark, so you get 160 base power one a 2x weak Pokémon, making both Bolt Strike and Outrage stronger. Dragon Tail would mostly be for a bulky set, hiding behind a Substitute, killing the opponent with entry hazards. It' an option considering how hard Zekrom will be hitting with it. Stone Edge is also pointless next to Bolt Strike, but you can... uh... consider it for the critical hit rate? Yeah, ignore me. Substitute works well with Zekrom's bulk and 100 base HP. Thunder Wave can be used on a support Zekrom, paralysing switch ins. However, its most common switch ins are already slower than it or don't care about being paralysed. Toxic would only be useful for Groudon, and... Giratina... I guess.

Double & Triple Battle Options

Fusion Flare has that effect with Fusion Bolt; whichever goes after the other gets an extra 100 base power, not counting STAB. Reshiram and Victini both get Fusion Flare, so go wild. Weak to Earthquake and Blizzard, but that's about it in terms of multi hitting attacks it is weak to. However, like Reshiram, it doesn't have many moves to abuse in a multi Pokémon environment. I guess it has Imprison... naa, pointless. Sadly, unlike Reshiram, it can't abuse weather to become even stronger, making it less than ideal for doubles and triples.

Partners

Zekrom does an amazing job at removing Lugia from the game. Like... an amazing job. An. Amazing. Job. AMAZING. Using Pokémon that are walled hard by Lugia such as Rayquaza and Groudon would be a good idea, as you effectively set them up for a sweep. Victini and Reshiram get Fusion Flare, which could be used to power up Fusion Bolt. Removing Ferrothorn would be a thumbs up idea, so counters to that spiky fiend are advised. Groudon would be nice to be removed, especially if you aren't running a mixed set.

Countering Zekrom

Countering something that has no counters... well, that's a bit of a lie this time. Zekrom actually has a few semi safe switch ins.

Groudon, Giratina, Giratina-O, Dialga and Ferrothorn can all sort of switch into Zekrom. Groudon has disgustingly great physical bulk, but gets hit hard by Choice Band Outrage and Life Orb Draco Meteor. Giratina can come into Bolt Stike (maybe, I'm not sure if it gets 2HKOed. I think it's a 2HKO with Stealth Rock) and burn Zekrom, crippling it. Giratina-O can do the same thing, but possibly win a Speed tie. Dialga can take a Bolt Strike well enough (about 45% I think) and beat Zekrom down. Ferrothorn can switch into Bolt Strike AND Outrage, and can Leech Seed or Thunder Wave you, crippling you. However, all of these Pokémon have at least one move they can't switch into safely, so be very careful. Especially against a mixed set. Steelix gets an honourable mention as probably the best Zekrom counter on paper. Immune to Bolt Strike, resists Outrage, 200 base Defence, and STAB Earthquake. Yeah, that was a joke, but on paper it looks alright! Ground Arceus (who I don't think I've ever seen used) can switch into Bolt Strike and take any move, as it outspeeds and can kill with Earthquake. Revenge killing Zekrom is pretty easy. It has 90 base Speed and no way of improving that outside of Choice Scarf. Rayquaza, Palkia, Garchomp, the list is huge. Mewtwo, Scarf Dialga, Wobbuffet if you aren't against Choice Band Bolt Strike, Dugtrio (as if people use it...), Zekrom is revenge kill bait. As I've said a good number of times, Zekrom is amazing, just not as scary a Reshiram. Reshiram has a perfect STAB combination, and whilst Zekrom's is good, it has that one immunity that really hurts it, as it gives Zekrom counters that Reshiram doesn't have. Having said that, Zekrom is still a beast. Practically 2HKOing the entire game is a very scary idea.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in Game.

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in Game.

Colosseum/XD:
Not in Game

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in Game.

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in Game.

Black/White:
N's Castle/Dragonspiral Tower (White)
Trade from White (Black)

Animé Appearences

Zekrom has made a couple of appearances. Firstly, Ash encountered one as soon as he entered the Unova region. In another, Ash uses one to face off against Dread Grangil's Zekrom to protect Eindoak. In the other, Dread Grangil uses one to try and cause chaos in Eindoak # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics 660 In The Shadow of Zekrom! To the Unova Region! Zekrom's Shadow!! Pics 661 Enter Iris & Axew Iris & Axew! Pics M14 White: Victini & Zekrom Victini & The Black Hero: Zekrom Pics M14 Black: Victini & Reshiram Victini & The White Hero: Reshiram Pics 725 Explorers of the Hero's Ruin! The Black Hero's Ruins! Sigiliyph and Cofagrigus!! Pics M15 Kyurem VS The Sword of Justice Kyurem VS The Sacred Swordsman Keldeo Pics 771 The Name's N! Friend...His name is N! Pics 784 Farewell, Unova! Setting Sail for New Adventures! Farewell Unova! Setting Sail Once Again!! Pics M18 Hoopa & The Clash of Ages The Archdjinni of the Rings: Hoopa Pics 1135 Getting More Than You Battled For! Battling & Getting! Mewtwo Comes Back Pics