I was on hiatus when the legendary birds were raidable and am relying on Field Research to catch them. The three Zapdos that I have caught so far have the following IVs (A/D/S):
A. 15/12/11 or 15/13/10 (CB/ZC)
B. 12/12/14 (CB/TB)
C. 10/15/10 (CB/TB)
Should I collect a stamp tomorrow and hope for a better Zapdos or wait until June so I can catch five Articunos? On paper, Zapdos is the better bird, but Articuno is my team bird and is not outclassed by a dog. My prestiger Jolteons, Jynx and Cloysters have bad charge moves (by current standards) that are probably not worth using CTMs on, leaving Raikou and Walrein as my only decent attackers for their respective types.
If I were you, I'd roll the dice for Zapdos one last time. Yes, it's outclassed by Raikou but is still #2 in electric-type rankings, and doesn't have a Mamoswine on the way in the coming months, for instance, as Articuno does.
Put another way, Articuno doesn't really stand out in the grand scheme of ice-type offense in the same way that Zapdos stands out (and will continue to stand out for some time) in electric-type offense.
Don't wait, get one more Zapdos. It's not worth skipping multiple days of research and Zapdos is a much better pokemon.
In addition to reasons said already, remember that between Raikou and Zapdos, Zapdos actually has higher base attack. If there's a moveset shakeup in the future, the dog may end up being outclassed instead.
Too many good reasons just to go for Zapdos now (and I'm Mystic, so I understand the team part with Articuno).
Articuno is good, but you've got 4 chances coming up to get a great one. This is your final (for the time being) chance to get a really good Zapdos.
Articuno is a great ice attacker, but not so far ahead of all the other strong ice attackers that it actually feels essential. Against Dragonite in gyms a double ice move Jynx is actually faster, in raids there's lots of options that are on a par with Articuno. Plus as already mentioned, there's even stronger ice on the way.
Zapdos on the other hand stands out more, just because it's electric competition is less competitive.
No, you can not. Once you have collected the 7th day stamp it is not possible to collect any other rewards. If you try, you will be asked to collect the breakthrough reward first. Thus, you can only complete three more research tasks until everything is completed and blocking the queue for new tasks.
I'd say it's the exact opposite. Electric is far more useful than ice, ice is really only good for double weak targets.
And as for gen 4 competition, Zapdos is still one of the best electric attackers with Electivire out but Mamoswine/Weavile and Glaceon will outclass Articuno by a significant amount given good movesets. Three non-legendaries that are better attackers doesn't spell a good future for Articuno.
Go for the 5 Articuno, to have a better chance of getting a good one. This isn't a question to be answered by Stats or the Meta; there are better Electric types coming as well as better Ice types. Including Raikou; if Niantic follows the same pattern after Articuno, then Raikou will be making its appearance by September at the latest, and Raikou is a better Electric attacker than Zapdos. And if we're going to get into non-Legendary Electric Attackers, a few good non-Legendary ones are coming in Gen 4 too. Ones you don't have to spend Rare Candies or Stardust on to get up to Level 35. So the Meta-relevant arguments for Zapdos aren't quite as powerful as they might seem. They're valid, naturally, but not the be-all and end-all arguments.
Go for the Team Mascot. Go for the representation of your Team. This isn't about the Meta or Stats or who will give you an extra Premier ball in a raid. This is about team pride, about having the best representation of your team as you can. Try for the best Articuno you can get - even if it never gets powered up, it will likely be more precious to you than a high IV Zapdos.
I'm in the somewhat unique position of having an easy choice - I couldn't do research the very first day it came out, so I get my breakthroughs on Fridays. I can either do it early in the day and get Zapdos, or do it after 4 PM here, and get Articuno, without skipping a day. I'm doing Zapdos, because while I have a good one, I don't have a great one, and I'll get 4 shots at Articuno.
I just dread the number of posts like this that we get when the new month begins on a Thursday, and everyone and their cousin wants to know which way to go. Hopefully it will be a choice between Raikou and Suicune, and not Kyogre and Rayquaza.
I'm in a different situation than you, but I've already made my decision.
I'll go for my 5th Zapdos, instead of going for 5 Articuno. I didn't raid either, in their first run, since I wasn't playing yet. And I already have a great Zapdos, 96%. So I might be better off giving more chances at Articuno.
But I don't like the idea of missing a whole day of research, Do that 7 times and I'd have one fewer legendary overall. Besides, I could always use more Zapdos candy to power this one up.
