Pokémon Go leader counters for Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff in November 2025

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When Team GO Rocket returns to stir up trouble this November, trainers will need more than luck to take down Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff. Their Pokémon lineups have changed again, and only the right counters can secure a flawless victory. Here’s how to outsmart every leader in Pokémon Go this month.

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Team Go Rocket leader Sierra counters

Sierra continues to challenge trainers in November 2025 with her tough Shadow lineup, demanding well-prepared counters. Her team often includes a mix of Psychic-, Dark-, and Ground-type Pokémon, making strong Fighting-, Fairy-, and Water-types key to victory. Pokémon such as Lucario, Gardevoir, and Kyogre are excellent choices to overcome her defenses. Keeping flexible counters ready can help adapt quickly if her roster shifts during the month’s rotation.

Sierra’s team is:

  • Feebas (water)
  • Ferrothorn (grass/steel), Mismagius (ghost), OR Staraptor (normal/flying)
  • Houndoom (dark/fire), Drapion (poison/dark), OR Camerupt (fire/ground)

Though coming in to scope out her team first is recommended, if you come equipped with ground-, water- and ice-types, that will help a ton. Her party is pretty diverse, so you may also want to sprinkle in dark-, fire-, or fighting-type moves as well, depending on what she’s running. If you’re struggling against Feebas in the beginning, you can bring electric- or grass-type Pokêmon to help out with that, too.

Any of the following Pokémon should help you take down Sierra:

  • Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power
  • Rhyperior with Mud-Slap and Earthquake
  • Kyogre with Waterfall and Origin Pulse
  • Primarina with Waterfall and Hydro Cannon
  • Galarian Darmanitan with Ice Fang and Avalanche
  • Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche
  • Lucario with Force Palm and Aura Sphere
  • Delphox with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
  • Tyranitar with Bite and Brutal Swing

Team Go Rocket leader Arlo counters

Arlo, the cunning Team Go Rocket leader, often surprises trainers with his balanced and strategic Pokémon lineup. To effectively counter his team in November 2025, focus on using Pokémon with strong type advantages and powerful moves that exploit his common weaknesses. Preparing a diverse team with coverage moves can help you quickly overcome Arlo’s tactics and secure victory.

Arlo’s team is:

  • Wobbuffet (psychic)
  • Steelix (steel/ground), Crobat (poison/flying), OR Slowbro (water/psychic)
  • Scizor (bug/steel), Alolan Muk (poison/dark), OR Alakazam (psychic)

Arlo’s team is pretty diverse this time around. Bringing electric-type moves will give you the most edge, but there are a lot of other types you may need to bring, depending on what he has. You can use ghost-, ground-, and fire-type moves to effectively dish out some damage, too.

Here are some Pokémon we’d suggest using to take down Arlo:

  • Electivire with Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
  • Zekrom with Charge Beam and Fusion Bolt
  • Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power
  • Rhyperior with Mud-Slap and Earthquake
  • Chandelure with Hex and Shadow Ball
  • Delphox with Fire Spin and Blast Burn

Team Go Rocket leader Cliff counters

Cliff’s lineup in November 2025 focuses on power and durability, requiring balanced counters that can withstand heavy hits. His first Pokémon is typically a Rock- or Ground-type, so strong Water, Grass, or Fighting attackers like Swampert, Machamp, and Torterra are great openers. Later rounds may include tough Shadow Pokémon such as Tyranitar or Aerodactyl, making Electric, Steel, and Ice moves effective options. Building a flexible team that covers multiple type weaknesses is key to defeating Cliff efficiently this month.

Cliff’s team is:

  • Tyranitar (rock/ground)
  • Honchkrow (dark/flying), Skarmory (steel/flying), OR Annihilape (fighting/ghost)
  • Tyranitar (rock/dark), Machamp (fighting), OR Luxray (electric)

Cliff’s potential parties are especially weak against fairy-type moves, which was the case with his last party, too. You can also sprinkle in fire– and ground-type moves to fill in any gaps that the fairy-type moves can’t burn down.

Best teams to beat Sierra Arlo and Cliff this month

The best teams to beat Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff in Pokémon GO for November 2025 combine flexibility, strong coverage, and top meta attackers. Here are recommended teams to consistently defeat each leader this month:

Best Team vs Sierra

  • Primal Kyogre or Swampert (for Shadow Trapinch, also useful against Fire-types)

  • Terrakion (covers Staraptor, Ferrothorn, Houndoom, Camerupt, Drapion)

  • Primal Groudon (excellent against Ferrothorn, Houndoom, Camerupt, Drapion)

  • All three have strong neutral damage, aiding in quick wins even against unpredictable lineups.​

Best Team vs Cliff

  • Mamoswine (handles Gible, Honchkrow, Tyranitar, Luxray)

  • Primarina (Fairy/Water moves help versus Honchkrow, Annihilape, Tyranitar, Machamp; also solid against Skarmory)

  • Therian Thundurus or Mega Rayquaza (for powerful coverage; Rayquaza except vs Skarmory, Thundurus especially for Honchkrow/Skarmory)

  • Ground-types like Primal Groudon, Garchomp, and Rhyperior are ideal for Luxray and Tyranitar.​

Best Team vs Arlo

  • Therian Thundurus

  • Ho-Oh

  • Groudon

  • These three offer top-tier damage and flexible coverage, often out-damaging the opposition even with imperfect matchups. Adjust to include Lucario, Swampert, or strong Fairy/Ghost-types if facing specific Arlo variants, as community advice also supports their success against recent lineups.​

Notes

  • Try to use Pokémon with fast-charging moves and high CP for best results.

  • Swampert, Lucario, and Greninja are widely recommended for their ability to take out several leaders’ lineups and break through shields quickly.​

  • Adjust teams if encountering different leader variants or depending on available Pokémon power-ups.

These recommended lineups give you broad coverage and a high chance to win against any Team Rocket leader this month in Pokémon GO.​

Which counters work best against each leader’s first Pokémon

Here are the best counters against each Team Rocket leader’s first Pokémon for November 2025 in Pokémon GO:

Sierra: Shadow Trapinch

  • The most effective counters are strong Ice-types and Water-types such as White Kyurem, Baxcalibur, Cetitan, Kyurem, Glaceon, Mamoswine, or Swampert. These Pokémon reliably cover Trapinch’s and potential Staraptor’s weaknesses, and Water-types like Kyogre or Gyarados are excellent alternatives.​

Cliff: Shadow Gible

  • The top counters are powerful Ice-type Pokémon such as Mamoswine, Mega Garchomp, or any of your strongest Ice-type attackers. These counters efficiently handle Gible, and also stand up to Honchkrow, Tyranitar, and Luxray if Cliff uses them. Mamoswine with Ice moves is particularly recommended.​

Arlo: Shadow Wobbuffet (current pool also lists Horsea and Crobat)

  • Use Electric-types like Zekrom, Xurkitree, Raikou, or Zapdos. These quickly defeat Horsea and Crobat when present, and remain viable against Arlo’s possible second Pokémon. For Wobbuffet, strong Dark and Ghost-types like Yveltal, Giratina, or Hydreigon are also very effective. Against Crobat specifically, Rock, Electric, Psychic, and Ice moves all work well, so Shadow Mewtwo, White Kyurem, and Mega Alakazam are notable picks.​

These recommended Pokémon help you reliably overcome each leader’s first slot and set up success for the rest of the battle.​

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Usman Ahmed

His gaming journey began with a fierce RuneScape addiction. He now proudly puts the unique linguistic skills honed from countless hours in that classic MMORPG to good use for the blog.

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