Pokemon GO – How to Beat Arlo

Team GO Rocket has been plaguing the adventures of Pokemon GO trainers for awhile, but only recently have they become a true force to be reckoned with. Giovanni has arrived and he has henchmen ready to do battle just to stop you from reaching him. These elite trainers have equally special teams of enhanced Pokemon. And if you ever want to take on the big boss you’ll need to defeat them all. But with an ever changing and slightly random team you’ll need to know the best counters for each. To start off, here’s how to beat Arlo in Pokemon GO.

How to Beat Arlo

We’ll update this any time the team changes, so check back if things are switched up. The current article is accurate up to January 2020, so keep reading to find out what Arlo’s team will consist of and the best counters for them all. As I said, his team can change often, but it also pulls from a set of powerful characters. Each encounter can be different, so you need to be tactical with your choices. Of course, if you lose or quit you can try again with a new team, so expect to go in cold the first time before fine tuning your counters after.

Thankfully Arlo’s first Pokemon is always the same one: Mawile, which has a few solid counters available to players. These are Chandelure (Fire Spin and Overheat), Darmanitan (Fire Fang and Overheat), Blaziken (Fire Spin and Blaze Kick), Volcarona (Fire Spin and Overheat), and Moltres (Fire Spin and Overheat).

After defeating Mawile you’ll either face off against Charizard, Blastoise, or Steelix. So here’s counters for those guys…

Charizard: Tyranitar (Smack Down and Crunch), Rhyperior (Smack Down and Stone Edge), Altered forme Giratina (Shadow Claw and Ancient Power), Aggron (Smack Down, and Stone Edge), and Kyogre (Waterfall and Surf)

Blastoise: Poliwrath (Mud Shot and Ice Punch), Venusaur/Meganium (Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant), and Shiftry (Razor Leaf and Leaf Blade)

Steelix: Kyogre (Waterfall and Surf), Charizard (Fire Spin and Blast Burn), Excadrill (Mud Slap and Earthquake), Garchomp (Mud Shot and Earthquake), and Groudon (Mud Shot and Earthquake)

Note that some of the first options are counters for earlier or other Pokemon Arlo might use, so if you’re going in without knowing his team, those are good choices. Now onto the third character Arlo might use which can be Dragonite, Scizor, or Salamence. Here’s how to beat those with the best counters.

Dragonite: Tyranitar (Smack Down and Crunch), Mamoswine (Powder Snow and Avalanche), Rhyperior (Smack Down and Stone Edge), Dialga (Dragon Breath and Iron Head/Draco Meteor), Melmetal (Thunder Shock and Rock Slide), and Metagross (Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash)

Scizor: Heatran (Fire Spin and Flamethrower), Charizard (Fire Spin and Blast Burn), Blaziken(Fire Spin and Blaze Kick and Blast Burn), and Moltres (Fire Spin and Sky Attack)

Salamence: Mamoswine (Powder Snow and Avalanche), Weavile (Snarl and Avalanche), Regice (Lock On and Blizzard), Dragonite (Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw), Altered forme Giratina (Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw), Mewtwo (Psycho Cut and Ice Beam), and Suicune (Ice Fang and Ice Beam)

Once you have the team set just work on your timing of shields and charge attacks. Choosing an off Pokemon as your first character and immediately switching at the start of battle can really help delay Arlo’s attacks, so give it a shot. Power up any weaker counters you’re needing and you’ll get there with enough patience and luck. And that’s how to beat Arlo in Pokemon GO.