Pokemon Go Team Rocket leader guide: What Pokemon do they use?

Thanks to Professor Willow’s Rocket Radar device, we’ve been able to locate the Team GO Rocket leaders – Arlo, Cliff and Sierra. Which Pokemon do each of them use, though?

Update: Scroll down to see their lineups for February 2020.

The leaders have been sporadically appearing at Team Rocket invaded PokeStops ever since early November. Unsurprisingly, the leaders use more powerful Pokemon than their Grunt counterparts.

They even have the benefit of Protect Shields, something which makes battling them a lot harder. Much like other Team Rocket battles, they will leave behind a Shadow Pokemon for you to catch, but, this time, they can be shiny!

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The Team Rocket leaders: Cliff, Sierra and Arlo (from left to right)…

Knowing which Pokemon Arlo, Cliff and Sierra will use is paramount to defeating them. After all their team is the most important thing when it comes to picking your own. We can’t tell you exactly which species they use but it will be from a specific pool of Pokemon.

• Read More: What types do each Team Rocket Grunt use?

They also use a variation of Pokemon, which makes assembling a team a little more tricky. The February 2020 lineups are as follows:

Arlo team

• Pokemon 1: Mawile
• Pokemon 2: Blastoise, Charizard or Steelix
• Pokemon 3: Dragonite, Salamence or Scizor
• Shadow Pokemon: Bagon

Cliff team

• Pokemon 1: Pinsir
• Pokemon 2: Marowak, Omastar, Electivire
• Pokemon 3: Swampert, Torterra or Tyranitar
• Shadow Pokemon: Pinsir

Sierra team

• Pokemon 1: Beldum
• Pokemon 2: Sharpedo, Exeggutor or Lapras
• Pokemon 3: Alakazam, Shiftry or Houndoom
• Shadow Pokemon: Beldum

Team Rocket leader rewards

In addition to a Shadow Pokemon, defeating one of the leaders will also earn other rewards. You will always earn 1,000 Stardust on top of two of the following:

• Max Potion
• Max Revive
• Revive
• Sinnoh Stone
• Unova Stone

It’s worth noting you can only encounter a Team GO Rocket leader when you have a Rocket Radar, whether you have it equipped or not. Upon defeating one you’ll need to find another six Mysterious Components to be able to find more leaders.

• Read More: Pokemon Go: The differences between IVs and CP explained

They may be tough (as they should be) but with the right strategy, and more importantly right types, you can make a habit of defeating them in fairly comfortable fashion.