Pokemon GO players will be able to challenge Team Rocket leaders throughout the month and work their way towards a big encounter with Giovanni and his Shadow Mewtwo. These battles offer exciting item and encounter rewards and it’s usually well worth the effort of preparing for the fights by optimizing a counter roster for each leader early in the week.
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The most important thing to keep in mind when preparing for a battle against a Team GO Rocket leader (whether it’s Sierra or any of the others) is that players might need to take a loss on their first attempt in order to gain some information about which lineup choices were selected by the boss. There are definitely some crossover weaknesses with Arlo’s possible selections, so players should study each option carefully and make the most versatile counter roster they can come up with.
Arlo’s December 2022 Lineup
Mawile Salamence or Charizard or Staraptor Scizor or Granbull or Dragonite
Mawile Counters
Genesect - Fury Cutter/X-Scissor
Yanmega - Bug Bite/Bug Buzz
Darmanitan (Galarian Standard) - Ice Fang/Avalanche
Salamence Counters
Tyranitar - Smack Down/Crunch
Regice - Lock On/Blizzard
Giratina - Dragon Breath/Dragon Claw
Charizard Counters
Tyranitar - Smack Down/Crunch
Gigalith - Smack Down/Rock Side
Terrakion - Smack Down/Rock Slide
Staraptor Counters
Tyranitar - Smack Down/Crunch
Rampardos - Smack Down/Rock Slide
Terrakion - Smack Down/Rock Slide
Scizor Counters
Heatran - Fire Spin/Flamethrower
Moltres - Fire Spin/Overthrow
Charizard - Fire Spin/Blast Burn
Granbull Counters
Roserade - Poison Jab/Sludge Bomb
Genesect - Metal Claw/Magnet Bomb
Excadrill - Metal Claw/Iron Head
Dragonite Counters
Togekiss - Charm/Ancient Power
Sylveon - Charm/Moonblast
Zacian (Hero) - Snarl/Close Combat
As always in these leader battles, the most important thing is to focus on the crossover counters and try to field a roster of Pokemon that isn’t weak to any of the possible matchups. This can be a real challenge with multiple options for a few lineup spots, so trainers need to just do their best on the first attempt, learn what they can, and then make a second try with an ideal setup.
Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.
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