Team Rocket's Scheme Uncovered: Leaders & Weaknesses Revealed

Conquering Pokémon GO's Team GO Rocket Leaders: Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff

Whether you're focused on research or bolstering your Shadow Pokémon collection, defeating Team GO Rocket Leaders in Pokémon GO can be challenging. Their powerful Shadow Pokémon and ever-shifting lineups make predicting their strategies difficult. This guide provides comprehensive information on each leader's current team (as of January 2025) and effective counter-strategies.

Locating Team GO Rocket Leaders

Unlike Grunts, encountering Leaders requires defeating six Grunts first. Each defeated Grunt yields a Mysterious Component. Six components assemble into a Rocket Radar, which reveals Leaders at darkened PokéStops and in hot air balloons (a Grunt balloon spawns every six hours, lasting 20 minutes).

Sierra's January 2025 Team & Counters

Sierra's cunning matches her appearance. Her January 2025 team includes:

Pokémon 1	Pokémon 2	Pokémon 3
Skorupi (Bug/Poison)	Sableye (Dark/Ghost)	Houndoom (Dark/Fire)
	Steelix (Ground/Steel)	Nidoqueen (Ground/Poison)
	Milotic (Water)	Gardevoir (Fairy/Psychic)

Effective counters include:

Pokémon	Moves
Terrakion	Smack Down Rock Slide
Gengar	Shadow Claw Shadow Ball
Excadrill	Metal Claw Iron Head

Arlo's January 2025 Team & Counters

Arlo's team, while predictable after the first Pokémon, packs a punch. His January 2025 lineup:

Pokémon 1	Pokémon 2	Pokémon 3
Alolan Grimer (Poison/Dark)	Hypno (Psychic)	Metagross (Psychic/Steel)
	Charizard (Flying/Fire)	Scizor (Bug/Steel)
	Gyarados (Flying/Water)	Snorlax (Normal)

Prepare for Flying, Psychic, and Poison types. Top counters:

Pokémon	Moves
Tyranitar	Bite Brutal Swing
Blaziken	Fire Spin Blast Burn
Excadrill	Mud Slap Drill Run

Cliff's January 2025 Team & Counters

Cliff's formidable team for January 2025:

Pokémon 1	Pokémon 2	Pokémon 3
Cubone (Ground)	Venusaur (Grass/Poison)	Tyranitar (Dark/Rock)
	Marowak (Ground)	Obstagoon (Dark/Normal)
	Aerodactyl (Flying/Rock)	Crobat (Flying/Poison)

Expect Ground, Flying, and Poison types. Recommended counters:

Pokémon	Moves
Mamoswine	Powder Snow Avalanche
Lucario	Force Palm Aura Sphere
Blaziken	Counter Blast Burn

This guide will be updated as Team GO Rocket Leader lineups change. Pokémon GO is available on mobile devices. Last updated 1/14/2025.