I have heard a lot of people bad-mouthing Zapdos, complaining "His first
attack is way too risky.", or "His second attack makes you discard way too
much energy." While the first attack has the undesired side-effect of
hurting yourself, his second attack, which makes you discard all of his
energy cards, fits right into the masterplan!

Let me ask you this, is it better to do major damage before discarding
those energy cards, possibly taking out an opposing Pokemon, or would you
rather just discard those energy cards, along with a knocked out Zapdos?

The strategy is simple; keep using "Thunder" until you have only half your
remaining HP (Don't want to risk killing yourself!), when that time comes,
use "Thunderbolt", probably knocking out your opposer.  Now, cross your
fingers and hope your opponent doesn't have a Pokemon ready to knock you
out!  If Zapdos is still around next turn, use "Scoop Up" to make him better
again!

You see Thunderbolt is a blessing in disguise, IT MAKES YOU DISCARD ALL OF
ZAPDOS' ENERGY CARDS, WHICH PAVES THE WAY FOR A TIMELY SCOOP UP!

There are a few things to look-out for while using this strategy.  YOU MUST
HAVE SOMEONE ON THE BENCH (if your bench is empty, and you Scoop Up your
attacking Pokemon, you immediately lose.).  MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOMEONE READY
TO ATTACK ON THE BENCH (after you Scoop Up Zapdos, you must send out a
benched-Pokemon, you can't put the same Zapdos back out.).