Pokémon GO - How to Beat Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra (October 2020)

But first, here are some general tips that will help you in 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 causes them to delay their attacks, giving you a chance to get more damage and charge attack power safely. And they'll use both of their shields on the first two charge attacks you deliver. So always try to place your first Pokemon in the second or third slot and immediately switch to them to have a little more time to attack. And this character should have a really fast charge attack to drain those shields and start dealing a lot of damage in subsequent turns. So, now on the best counters against Arlo, Cliff and Sierra.

How to beat Arlo

Arlo can change his second and third Pokémon, but his first will always be Growlithe. This fire-type character is quite easy to counter using either water, soil, or rock. Here are the best counters against Growlithe:

Gwolithe counters (weak to earth, 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 Blastoise, Charizard, or Steelix. Let's break them down one at a time ...

Blastoise meters (low on electricity and grass)

Sceptile with Fury Cutter and Leaf Blade
Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzied Plant
Leafeon with quick attack and leaf blade
Hydreigon with Dragon Breath and Dark Pulse

Charizard meters (low on electricity, 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, combat, 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

Then you will fight Dragonite, Salamence or Scizor. Each has unique meters that work the best, so here they are ...

Dragonite counters (weak compared to dragons, fairies, ice and rocks)

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 compared 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 shine

Scizor counters (weak to shoot)

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 have one of his teammates? Here are the best counters for Cliff.

How to beat Cliff

Cliff will always start with Omanyte before moving on to Electivire, Machamp or Onix. Finally, he will reject Swampert, Toterra or Tyranitar as his last fighter. We have the best counters for everyone, so let's break them down ...

Omanyte meters (low to electric, fights, grass and soil)

Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzied Plant
Torterra with Razor Leaf and Frenzied Plant
Roserade with razor leaf and grass knot
Ludicolo with razor foil and energy ball

Entering the second round, you'll have to figure out which Pokemon it has by going into battle and running away if it's too difficult, or trying to counter a few options. Here is all you need to choose.

Electivire meters (low to earth)

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 at 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 in combat, grass, ground, ice, steel and water)

Torterra with Razor Leaf and Frenzied Plant
Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
Kyogre with waterfall and hydraulic pump
Empoleon with waterfall and hydraulic pump

And for his latest fighter, here are the best counters.

Swamp counters (low to grass)

Leafeon with quick attack and leaf blade
Roserade with razor leaf and grass knot
Megane with vine whip and Frenzy plant
Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant

Torterra counters (weak against insects, ice, fire and theft)

Moltres with Fire Spin and Sky Attack
Articuno with Ice Shard and Ice Ray
Heatran with Fire Spin and Flamethrower
Entei with Fire Spin and Flamethrower

Tyranitar Counters (weak to Combat, Ground, Fairies, Steel, Grass, Insects, and Water)

Lucario with counter and Power Up Punch
Heracross with counter and close combat
Machamp with Counter and Cross Chop
Virizion with fast attack and close combat

How to beat Sierra

Generally the toughest leader in Team GO Rocket due to using Lapras as a starting fighter, Sierra has been mixed up more than the rest and is a whole different fight now. She will always start with Drowzee now, which will make the fight a lot easier. Here are his best counters.

Drowzee counters (low to Bug, Dark and Ghost)

Tyrant with Bite and Fire Blast Crunch
Giratina with shadow claw and eerie 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 can have a tough fight here. But to help you out, here are all of the best against them.

Exeggutor counters (low to Dark, Ice, Bug, Fire, Flying, Poison, and Ghost)

Volcarona with Bug Bite and Bug Buzz
Genesect avec Fury Cutter et X Scissor
Staircase with Bug Bite and Megahorn
Scizor avec Fury Cutter et X Scissor

Lapras counters (weak in combat, grass, electricity 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 combat, insects, grass, fairies, and electricity)

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 will use Alakazam, Houndoom, or Shiftry.

Alakazam counters (low 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 in combat, ground, water, and rock)

Swampert with Mud Shot and Hydro Cannon
Poliwrath avec Mud Shot et Power Up Punch
Machamp with Counter and Cross Chop
Tyranny with Smack Down and Stone Edge

Shiftry Counters (weak to Combat, Ice, Fire, Theft, Poison, Insects, and Fairies)

Togekiss with charm and ancestral power
Ho-Oh with hidden power and a brave bird
Yanmega with Bug Bite and Bug Buzz
Volcarona with Bug Bite and Bug Buzz

So this is how to beat Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra in Pokémon GO using the best counters after the October 2020 update.