Pokemon GO Rocket Guide: Team Leader Line-ups & Best Counters (January 2025)

Conquering Team GO Rocket Leaders in Pokémon GO: A January 2025 Guide

Whether you're focused on research or bolstering your Shadow Pokémon collection, defeating Pokémon GO's Team GO Rocket Leaders—Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff—requires strategy. Their powerful Shadow Pokémon and rotating teams present a constant challenge. This guide provides the information you need to overcome them, regardless of who appears in your area.

Locating Team GO Rocket Leaders

Unlike Grunts, encountering Leaders requires preparation. You must first defeat six Rocket Grunts. Each defeated Grunt yields a Mysterious Component. Six components combine to create a Rocket Radar. Grunts appear randomly at PokéStops, and a hot air balloon containing a Grunt spawns every six hours, following you for 20 minutes. Once you have a Rocket Radar, Leaders replace Grunts at darkened PokéStops and in hot air balloons.

Sierra's January 2025 Team & Counters

Sierra's January 2025 team presents a diverse challenge:

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 January 2025 team features a mix of types:

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. Strong 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 January 2025 team features several Dark-types and at least one Ground-type:

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)

Prioritize Pokémon effective against Dark, Ground, Flying, and Poison types. Consider these 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. Stay prepared for whatever Pokémon GO throws your way! Pokémon GO is available now on mobile devices. Last updated 1/14/2025.