Pokémon Go leader counters for Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff in August 2024

Pokémon Go has its own version of the notorious Team Rocket, called Team Go Rocket. In this Pokémon Go guide, we’ll break down how to find leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo and take them down. Below, we list their parties and strategies as it stands in August 2024, with the most recent changes following the the Team Go Rocket Takeover event that activated alongside the arrival of the “Adventure Week: Taken Over” event in March. Table of Contents How to find leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo in Pokémon Go Team Go Rocket leaders can be found in black PokéStops or hot air balloons flying above you with a Rocket Radar equipped. To get a Rocket Radar, you must get six Mysterious Components, with one regular Go Team Rocket encounter rewarding one Mysterious Component each. With the Rocket Radar equipped, you will then encounter a leader at random. The three leaders are Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff. Some Timed Research and Team Go Rocket Special Research tasks require you to beat all three leaders. Completing the Team Go Rocket Special Research will reward you with a Super Rocket Radar, allowing you to find the boss, Giovanni. Beating Giovanni will net you a Legendary Shadow Pokémon. Team Go Rocket leader Sierra counters [Image: https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19253185/sierra_pogo.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Sierra’s team is: * Carvanha (water/dark) * Sableye (dark/ghost) Milotic (water) Ampharos (electric) * Houndoom (dark/fire) Alakazam (psychic) Nidoqueen (poison/ground) Though coming in to scope out her team first is recommended, if you come equipped with electric- and fighting-types, that will help a ton. Her party is pretty diverse, so you may also want to sprinkle in psychic-, ground-, and grass-type moves as well, depending on what she’s running. Notably, Sableye is only weak against fairy-type moves, so you’ll want to either bring a Pokémon that knows fairy moves or you’ll want to brute force it. We recommend using the following: * Raikou with Thunder Shock and Wild Charge * Magnezone with Spark and Wild Charge * Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere * Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch * Mewtwo with Confusion and Psystrike * Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power * Roserade with Magical Leaf and Grass Knot Team Go Rocket leader Arlo counters [Image: https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19539994/teamgorocketarlo.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Arlo’s team is: * Anorith (rock/bug) * Gyarados (water/flying) Crobat (poison/flying) Steelix (steel/ground) * Scizor (bug/steel) Gardevoir (psychic/fairy) Snorlax (normal) If you come with electric-, ghost-, and water-type moves, you’ll take down most of Arlo’s party. If he does bring his Snorlax as his ringer, then consider bringing some fighting-type moves to take it down. We recommend using any of the following: * Electivire with Thunder Shock and Wild Charge * Magnezone with Spark and Wild Charge * Lunala with Confusion and Shadow Ball * Chandelure with Hex and Shadow Ball * Greninja with Water Shuriken and Hydro Cannon * Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon * Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch Team Go Rocket leader Cliff counters [Image: https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19539806/teamgorocketcliff.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Cliff’s team is: * Lileep (rock/grass) * Marowak (ground) Aerodactyl (rock/flying) Kingdra (water/dragon) Tyranitar (rock/dark) Cradily (rock/grass) Crobat (poison/flying) Cliff’s potential parties are especially weak against ice-, fairy-, and fighting-type moves. We recommend using a mix of the following: * Galarian Darmanitan with Ice Fang and Avalanche * Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche * Xerneas with Geomancy and Moonblast * Togekiss with Charm and Dazzling Gleam * Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere * Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch Team Go Rocket leader tips If you’re struggling against the leaders, here are a few tips to keep in mind: * They will use their shields on the first two Charge Attacks you use. Using a Pokémon that can charge and use Charge Attacks quickly will help you get rid of their shields, allowing you to freely damage them. * You should be prepared for the first Pokémon you use to get knocked out. If you use a Pokémon that gets through shields easily, that’s fine, but your other Pokémon will need to have decent type advantages to defeat any remaining Pokémon. * Remember, you can attempt the battle many times using one Rocket Radar, so you can queue up your strongest Pokémon just to see what the leader is carrying. If you defeat them on the first try, great! If not, you can swap your party around for some type-effective counters. * The team leaders have high CP Pokémon, so you should definitely be using the highest CP Pokémon you have if you’re struggling. * Facing Leaders is an efficient way of earning Shadow Shards for Purified Gems, with each battle rewarding three Shards.