Team Line-ups Revealed: Battle Guide for Pokémon GO (Jan '25)

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 presents a consistent challenge. 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.

Quick Links:

• Locating Team GO Rocket Leaders: Sierra, Arlo, & Cliff
• Sierra's Current Team & Counters
• Arlo's Current Team & Counters
• Cliff's Current Team & Counters

Finding Team GO Rocket Leaders

Unlike encountering standard Team Rocket Grunts, locating the Leaders requires a strategic approach. You must first defeat six Grunts to obtain six Mysterious Components. Combining these creates a Rocket Radar, which reveals the Leaders at darkened PokéStops or in hot air balloons. Grunts appear randomly at PokéStops, and a Grunt-carrying balloon spawns every six hours, following you for 20 minutes.

Sierra's January 2025 Team & Counters

Sierra's team presents a diverse challenge. Expect a mix of Dark, Psychic, and Bug/Poison types.

First Pokémon	Second Pokémon	Third Pokémon
Skorupi Bug/Poison	Sableye Dark/Ghost	Houndoom Dark/Fire
	Steelix Ground/Steel	Nidoqueen Ground/Poison
	Milotic Water	Gardevoir Fairy/Psychic

Effective Counters:

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 January lineup features a blend of Flying, Psychic, and Poison types.

First Pokémon	Second Pokémon	Third Pokémon
Alolan Grimer Poison/Dark	Hypno Psychic	Metagross Psychic/Steel
	Charizard Flying/Fire	Scizor Bug/Steel
	Gyarados Flying/Water	Snorlax Normal

Effective 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 team emphasizes Dark-type Pokémon, with potential Ground, Flying, and Poison types.

First Pokémon	Second Pokémon	Third Pokémon
Cubone Ground	Venusaur Grass/Poison	Tyranitar Dark/Rock
	Marowak Ground	Obstagoon Dark/Normal
	Aerodactyl Flying/Rock	Crobat Flying/Poison

Effective 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 now on mobile devices. Last updated 1/14/2025.