The October 2020 update is out in Pokémon GO and the Team GO Rocket leaders all have new teams you need to take on. You’ll fight them a few times, but the main objective is completing the Special Research which culminates in a battle with the leaders and finally Giovanni. If you’ve fought these guys enough then you might already know the best ways to beat them, but with new teams come new counters. So here’s how to beat Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra in Pokémon GO after the October 2020 update.
But first, here’s a few general tips that help with all three battles. With Team GO Rocket leaders just know that there are two things you should always keep in mind. Switching Pokémon or using a charge attack make them delay their attacks, giving you a chance to get more damage and charge attack power at no risk. And they will use up their two shields on the first two charge attacks you deliver. So always try to put you actual first Pokémon in the second or third slot and switch to them right away to get some extra time to attack. And that character should have a very quick charge attack to drain those shields and start delivering lots of damage in the later rounds. So, now onto the best counters against Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra.
How to Beat Arlo
Arlo may change up his second and third Pokémon, but his first will always be Growlithe. This fire type character is pretty easy to counter using either water, ground or rock. Here’s the best counters against Growlithe:
Gwolithe Counters (weak to Ground, Rock, and Water)
Regirock with Lock On and Stone Edge
Golem with Mud Shot and Rock Blast
Omastar with Mud Shot and Rock Slide
Swampert with Mud Shot and Hydro Cannon
Now for the second character Arlo can use either Blastoise, Charizard, or Steelix. Let’s break those down one at a time…
Blastoise Counters (weak to Electric and Grass)
Sceptile with Fury Cutter and Leaf Blade
Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
Leafeon with Quick Attack and Leaf Blade
Hydreigon with Dragon Breath and Dark Pulse
Charizard Counters (weak to Electric, Rock, and Water)
Regirock with Lock On and Stone Edge
Golem with Rock Throw and Rock Blast
Zapdos with Thunder Shock and Ancient Power
Giratina with Shadow Claw and Ancient Power
Steelix Counters (weak to Ground, Fighting, Fire, and Water)
Heatran with Fire Spin and Flamethrower
Excadrill with Mud Slap and Drill Run
Entei with Fire Spin and Flamethrower
Swampert with Mud Shot and Hydro Cannon
Next up you will either fight Dragonite, Salamence, or Scizor. Each has unique counters that work best so here they are…
Dragonite Counters (weak to Dragon, Fairy, Ice, and Rock)
Dialga with Dragon Breath and Draco Meteor
Regice with Lockwithon and Blizzard
Mewtwo with Psycho Cut and Ice Beam
Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash
Salamence Counters (weak to Dragon, Fairy, and Ice)
Tyranitar with Smack Down and Crunch
Regice with Lockwithon and Blizzard
Giratina with Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw
Togekiss with Charm and Dazzling Gleam
Scizor Counters (weak to Fire)
Blaziken with Counter and Blaze Kick
Charizard with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
Entei with Fire Spin and Flamethrower
Typhlosion with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
So that’s how to beat Arlo in Pokémon GO, but what if you get one of his teammates? Here’s the best counters for Cliff.
How to Beat Cliff
Cliff will always start out with Omanyte before moving on to either Electivire, Machamp, or Onix. Finally he’ll throw out either Swampert, Toterra, or Tyranitar as his final combatant. We’ve got the best counters for each, so let’s break them down…
Omanyte Counters (weak to Electric, Fighting, Grass, and Ground)
Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
Torterra with Razor Leaf and Frenzy Plant
Roserade with Razor Leaf and Grass Knot
Ludicolo with Razor Leaf and Energy Ball
Moving into the second round you’ll need to determine which Pokémon he has by entering battle and fleeing if it’s too tough, or trying for a counter against a few options. Here’s all you should choose from.
Electivire Counters (weak to Ground)
Garchomp with Mud Shot and Sand Tomb
Giratina with Dragon Breath and Ancient Power
Rhyperior with Mud Slap and Stone Edge
Flygon with Mud Shot and Earth Power
Machamp Counters (weak to Flying and Psychic)
Mewtwo with Psycho Cut and Psystrike
Lugia with Extrasensory and Sky Attack
Togekiss with Charm and Aerial Ace
Giratina with Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball
Onix Counters (weak to Fighting, Grass, Ground, Ice, Steel, and Water)
Torterra with Razor Leaf and Frenzy Plant
Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
Kyogre with Waterfall and Hydro Pump
Empoleon with Waterfall and Hydro Pump
And for his final fighter here are the best counters.
Swampert Counters (weak to Grass)
Leafeon with Quick Attack and Leaf Blade
Roserade with Razor Leaf and Grass Knot
Meganium with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
Torterra Counters (weak to Bug, Ice, Fire, and Flying)
Moltres with Fire Spin and Sky Attack
Articuno with Ice Shard and Ice Beam
Heatran with Fire Spin and Flamethrower
Entei with Fire Spin and Flamethrower
Tyranitar Counters (weak to Fighting, Ground, Fairy, Steel, Grass, Bug, and Water)
Lucario with Counter and Power Up Punch
Heracross with Counter and Close Combat
Machamp with Counter and Cross Chop
Virizion with Quick Attack and Close Combat
How to Beat Sierra
Typically the toughest Team GO Rocket leader due to using Lapras as her starting fighter, Sierra has been mixed up more than the others and is a totally different fight now. She’ll always start out with Drowzee now, making for a much easier fight. Here’s his best counters.
Drowzee Counters (weak to Bug, Dark, and Ghost)
Tyranitar with Bite and Fire Blast Crunch
Giratina with Shadow Claw and Ominous Wind
Hydreigon with Bite and Dragon Pulse
Darkrai with Snarl and Dark Pulse
For the second Pokémon Sierra will use either Exeggutor, Lapras, or Sharpedo so you could have a tough fight ahead here. But to help, here’s all the best counters against them.
Exeggutor Counters (weak to Dark, Ice, Bug, Fire, Flying, Poison, and Ghost)
Volcarona with Bug Bite and Bug Buzz
Genesect with Fury Cutter and X Scissor
Escavalier with Bug Bite and Megahorn
Scizor with Fury Cutter and X Scissor
Lapras Counters (weak to Fighting, Grass, Electric, and Rock)
Dialga with Dragon Breath and Draco Meteor
Lucario with Counter and Power Up Punch
Melmetal with Thunder Shock and Rock Slide
Regice with Lock On and Focus Blast
Sharpedo Counters (weak to Fighting, Bug, Grass, Fairy, and Electric)
Lucario with Counter and Super Power
Machamp with Counter and Close Combat
Raikou with Volt Switch and Wild Charge
Zapdos with Thunder Shock and Zap Cannon
Finally she’ll use either Alakazam, Houndoom, or Shiftry.
Alakazam Counters (weak to Bug, Dark, and Ghost)
Darkrai with Snarl and Dark Pulse
Hydreigon with Mud Shot and Power Up Punch
Tyranitar with Bite and Crunch
Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash
Houndoom Counters (weak to Fighting, Ground, Water, and Rock)
Swampert with Mud Shot and Hydro Cannon
Poliwrath with Mud Shot and Power Up Punch
Machamp with Counter and Cross Chop
Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stone Edge
Shiftry Counters (weak to Fighting, Ice, Fire, Flying, Poison, Bug, and Fairy)
Togekiss with Charm and Ancient Power
Ho-Oh with Hidden Power and Brave Bird
Yanmega with Bug Bite and Bug Buzz
Volcarona with Bug Bite and Bug Buzz
So that’s how to beat Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra in Pokémon GO using the best counters after the October 2020 update.
