Rocket Leaders Downfall: Takedown Team with Perfect Counters!

Conquering Pokémon GO's Team GO Rocket Leaders: A January 2025 Guide

Whether you're a seasoned trainer or just starting your Pokémon GO journey, defeating Team GO Rocket Leaders – Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff – is crucial for research tasks and acquiring powerful Shadow Pokémon. Their constantly evolving teams make preparation essential. This guide provides the January 2025 lineups and optimal counter strategies.

Quick Navigation:

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

Finding Team GO Rocket Leaders

Unlike Grunts, encountering Leaders requires strategic effort. First, defeat six Grunts to obtain six Mysterious Components. Combine these to craft a Rocket Radar. Grunts appear randomly at PokéStops, and a Grunt-carrying hot air balloon spawns every six hours, following you for 20 minutes. With the Rocket Radar active, Leaders replace Grunts at darkened PokéStops and in hot air balloons.

Sierra's January 2025 Team & Counters

Sierra's cunning reflects in her diverse team. 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 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 presents a varied challenge. Prepare for 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

Top counters include:

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 features a strong Dark-type presence, alongside Ground, Flying, and Poison possibilities.

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

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. Good luck, trainers! Pokémon GO is available now on mobile devices. Last updated 1/14/2025.