One of the more formidable Team Go Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go, Sierra, presents a challenging battle for Trainers seeking to prove their skills. To make things a little easier, here are all the details on her lineup, weaknesses, and the best counters to use as we head into January 2025.
In the world of Pokemon Go, Trainers can grab Mysterious Components by defeating Team Go Rocket Grunts at invaded PokeStops. Once you have six of them, you’ll be able to construct a powerful Rocket Radar, leading you straight to the Team Go Rocket Leaders.
However, unlike the Grunts, who can be taken down with relative ease, the Team Go Rocket Leaders present a far more demanding challenge.
Each boasts its own arsenal of unique ‘mon to engage in combat against. There are three in total: Cliff, Arlo, and Sierra, the latter of which his guide is dedicated to, detailing her current line-up for January 2025 and the best counters to use to secure victory.
Sierra Pokemon Go lineup (January 2025)
As of January 15, 2025, Sierra’s lineup changed during the latest Team Go Rocket Takeover, the Fashion Week: Taken Over event. Here is her current lineup in Pokemon Go:
- Phase 1: Shadow Skorupi
- Phase 2: Shadow Ninetails/ Shadow Ferrothorn / Shadow Milotic
- Phase 3: Shadow Houndoom / Shadow Nidoqueen / Shadow Drapion
How to beat Sierra in Pokemon Go
To defeat Sierra in Pokemon Go, you’ll need to utilize a variety of different types to counter her. We’ve featured a mix of stronger Legendaries and more common alternatives, so there should be something here to meet every Trainer’s needs – and all of them are solid choices.
Let’s look at the weaknesses of all the Pokemon that Sierra could choose to send out during your battle and which counters should be used to beat her.
Sierra Pokemon Go counters phase 1
Skorupi counters
Skorupi is a Poison/Bug-type Pokemon, making it weak to Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock-type moves. It resists Fighting, Bug, and Poison attacks while being especially resistant to Grass.
Here are some of the best counters to defeat Shadow Skorupi:
| Shadow Skorupi Counters | ||
| Mega Rayquaza | Air Slash (Fast Move) & Dragon Ascent (Charge Move) | |
| Mewtwo | Confusion (Fast Move) & Psystrike (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Charizard Y | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Blaziken | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charge Move) | |
| Rhyperior | Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charge Move) | |
| Metagross | Zen Headbutt (Fast Move) & Psychic (Charge Move) | |
Sierra Pokemon Go counters phase 2
Ninetails counters
Ninetails is a pure Fire-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Ground, Rock, and Water-type attacks, and resistant to Bug, Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, and Steel-type moves.
Here are some of the best Shadow Ninetails counters you can use:
| Shadow Ninetails Counters | ||
| Primal Kyogre | Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move) | |
| Primal Groudon | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Garchomp | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Earth Power (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Swampert | Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move) | |
| Rhyperior | Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charge Move) | |
| Rampardos | Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charge Move)Ferrothorn counters | |
Ferrothorn counters
Ferrothorn is a Grass/Steel-type Pokemon, which makes it weak against Fighting and Fire-type attacks. It’s resistant to Dragon, Grass, Electric, Fairy, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, Steel, and Water-type moves.
Here are some of the best counters to use against Shadow Ferrothorn:
| Shadow Ferrothorn Counters | ||
| Mega Blaziken | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move) | |
| Mega Charizard Y | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charge Move) | |
| Heatran | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Magma Storm (Charged Move) | |
| Reshiram | Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Fusion Flare (Charged Move) | |
| Mega Charizard X | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move) | |
| Shadow Chandelure | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move) | |
Milotic counters
Milotic is a Water-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Electric and Grass-type attacks and resistant to Steel, Fire, Water, and Ice-type moves.
Here are some of the best Shadow Milotic counters you can use:
| Shadow Milotic Counters | ||
| Mega Sceptile | Fury Cutter (Fast Move) & Frenzy Plant (Charge Move) | |
| Kartana | Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charge Move) | |
| Raikou | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
| Xurkitree | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Discharge (Charge Move) | |
| Electivire | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
| Magnezone | Spark (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
Sierra Pokemon Go counters phase 3
Houndoom counters
Houndoom is a dual Dark/Fire-type which means it’s weak against Fighting, Ground, Rock, and Water-type attacks. It’s resistant to Dark, Fire, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Psychic, and Steel-type moves.
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These are some of the top counters for Shadow Houndoom:
| Shadow Houndoom Counters | ||
| Primal Kyogre | Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move) | |
| Primal Groudon | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Lucario | Force Palm (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move) | |
| Rampardos | Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charge Move) | |
| Terrakion | Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move) | |
| Rhyperior | Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charge Move) | |
Nidoqueen counters
Nidoqueen is a dual Poison/Ground-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water-type attacks, and it’s resistant to Electric, Poison, Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Rock-type moves.
Here are some of the best counters to defeat Shadow Nidoqueen:
| Shadow Nidoqueen Counters | ||
| Mewtwo | Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Psystrike (Charge Move) | |
| Primal Kyogre | Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move) | |
| Primal Groudon | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Swampert | Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move) | |
| Mamoswine | Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move) | |
| Excadrill | Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Scorching Sands (Charge Move) | |
Drapion counters
Drapion is a dual Poison/Dark-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Ground-type attacks. It’s also resistant to Dark, Ghost, Grass, Poison, and Psychic-type moves.
Here are some of the best Shadow Drapion counters for your team:
| Shadow Drapion Counters | ||
| Primal Groudon | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Garchomp | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Earth Power (Charge Move) | |
| Excadrill | Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Scorching Sands (Charge Move) | |
| Rhyperior | Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Earthquake (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Swampert | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Earthquake (Charge Move) | |
| Mamoswine | Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & High Horsepower (Charge Move) | |
Best team to beat Sierra in Pokemon Go
One of the best teams you can use when battling Sierra in Pokemon Go consists of Charizard Y, Raikou, and Primal Groudon.
- The most important part of your team here is a Fire-type Pokemon like Charizard Y or Mega Blaziken, which is a helpful counter to Skorupi and Ferrothorn.
- The fastest way to take down Milotic is with an Electric Pokemon, so go with Raikou or Xurkitree.
- The rest of the team is weak to Ground types such as Primal Groudon or Mega Garchomp.
- If you don’t have the required Mega or Primal Energy, go with their regular forms.
Overall, our best advice is to take in your strongest Pokemon to have a chance of winning through sheer force. Even if you lose, you’ll be able to understand Sierra’s lineup to plan a better team using the counters in this guide.
Every Sierra Shadow Boss ranked by difficulty
Team Go Rocket first appeared in Pokemon Go back in 2019, and since then their teams have had plenty of Pokemon rotations to challenge the players and keep them interested.
Unlike the Grunts, the Team Go Rocket Leaders – Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra – can be quite tough to beat, mainly due to their final Shadow Pokemon, the one used in phase three.
After analyzing Sierra’s team over the years, along with her final Pokemon’s stats, bulk, moveset, and other factors, here’s how tough to beat she’s been so far:
How to find Sierra
The only way to track down Sierra is to beat six Team Go Rocket Grunts and earn all six parts of the Mysterious Component. Once you have the six parts of the device, they’ll combine to assemble a Rocket Radar.
With a Rocket Radar active, when you encounter Team Go Rocket members either at Poke Stops or by clicking on a Team Go Rocket Balloon, you will encounter either Sierra, Cliff, or Arlo.
Keep tapping on these encounters until you see Sierra’s avatar. Then you can battle and defeat Sierra to earn yourself a Shadow Skorupi.
How to beat Team Go Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go
As well as Sierra, you’ll need to go head to head with the other Team Go Rocket Leaders, so check out our guides to beat Arlo, defeat Cliff, and finally, take down Giovanni.
That’s everything you need to properly defeat Sierra in Pokemon Go. For additional help, make sure to check out how to play Pokemon Go, the Spotlight Hour schedule, and which Pokemon are the current Raid bosses.