Ever since Pokémon Go added Team Go Rocket into the game, trainers have wondered how to beat Cliff and other Team Go Rocket leaders like Sierra and Arlo. Players have to first defeat six Team Go Rocket grunts before they can encounter the Team Go Rocket leaders. But the question is, can you? Some of the Team Go Rocket grunts were hard enough to beat with their shadow pokémon when you encountered them at PokéStops. But, it’s not impossible. If you are one of the lucky ones to beat the first challenge, overcoming the leaders is your next goal. Thankfully, we got you covered with our Team Rocket Go leader’s guides—starting with beating Cliff in Pokémon Go!
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How to Beat Cliff in Pokémon Go?
Now, let us proceed to how to actually beat Cliff in Pokémon Go. Just like any of the other Team Go Rocket leaders, Cliff only has a few pokémon to call out — three to be exact. While his first pokémon is fixed, the other two could be any pokémon from a pool of three pokémon each. Due to this, we will list down what pokémon he might bring out and which pokémon are the best counters to that.
In consideration of the casual players, we will focus more on the common pokémon that can counter Cliff’s pokémon, instead of the usual legendary heavies that we will suggest. Trainers should also remember that having a pokémon that counter’s Cliff’s pokémon type is not enough and their pokémon’s attacking movesets and relative calculated IVs is also important when considering the match.
First Pokémon
Cliff’s first pokémon would always be Grimer. While not the best poison type pokémon, it does pack quite a punch. Due to being a poison-type pokémon, Grimer is best countered by ground and psychic type pokémon as it does an additional 160% damage. Below is a list of the best pokémon and their attack moves to beat Cliff’s Shadow Grimer.
| Pokémon | 1st Attack Move | 2nd Attack Move |
| Mewtwo | Confusion | Psystrike |
| (Therian) Landorus | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
| Garchomp | Mud Shot | Earth Power |
| Latios | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Metagross | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Excadrill | Mud-Slap | Earthquake |
| Groudon | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
| Rhyperior | Mud-Slap | Earthquake |
Second Pokémon
Team Go Rocket Cliff’s second pokémon will be one of three shadow pokémon: the grass-poison type Venusaur, the poison-flying Crobat, or the pure-fighting pokémon Machamp. Cliff’s second pokémon options are a bit harder to plan against since only Venusaur and Crobat share a type — poison — and thus, its weaknesses. Thankfully, though, poison and fighting type pokémon are weak to psychic type attacks. In any case, here are the pokémon and their movesets that you should have on hand to defeat Cliff’s Venusaur, Crobat, or Machamp.
Counters Against Cliff’s Shadow Venusaur
Due to being the strongest grass-type pokémon in Pokémon Go, Venusaur is the worst opponent you can get out of the bunch. Thankfully, Venusaur is a dual grass-poison type, which means you can counter it with fire, flying, ice, and psychic type pokémon.
| Pokémon | 1st Attack Move | 2nd Attack Move |
| Reshiram | Fire Fang | Overheat |
| Mewtwo | Confusion | Psystrike |
| Gallade | Confusion | Psychic |
| Magmortar | Fire Spin | Fire Blast |
| Moltres | Fire Spin | Sky Attack |
| Tornadus | Air Slash | Hurricane |
| Metagross | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Charizard | Fire Spin | Blast Burn |
Counters Against Cliff’s Shadow Crobat
The second option you can get to fight against is Cliff’s Shadow Crobat, a poison-flying type pokémon. Its typing makes it weak to electric, ice, psychic, and rock-type attacks.
Also See: Best Flying Type Pokémon
| Pokémon | 1st Attack Move | 2nd Attack Move |
| Mewtwo | Confusion | Psystrike |
| Zekrom | Charge Beam | Wild Charge |
| Rampardos | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Rhyperior | Smack Down | Rock Wrecker |
| Metagross | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Alakazam | Confusion | Psychic |
| Latios | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Espeon | Confusion | Psychic |
Counters Against Cliff’s Shadow Machamp
The last pokémon Cliff can call out as his second pokémon is Machamp, a pure fighting type. Fighting-type pokémon are weak only to fairy, flying, and psychic type moves.
| Pokémon | 1st Attack Move | 2nd Attack Move |
| Mewtwo | Confusion | Psystrike |
| Latios | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Ho-Oh | Extrasensory | Brave Bird |
| Moltres | Wing Attack | Sky Attack |
| Metagross | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Alakazam | Confusion | Psychic |
| Espeon | Zen Headbutt | Future Sight |
| Gardevoir | Charm | Psychic |
Third Pokémon
Similar to his second pokémon, Cliff’s third shadow pokémon is randomly picked from a pool of three pokémon: Arcanine, Charizard, and Tyranitar. While Arcanine is a pure fire type, Charizard is a fire-flying type, and Tyranitar is a rock-dark type, all three of them are weak to water-type pokémon attacks. That said, let us move on to the pokémon you should use to counter either of the three!
Counters Against Cliff’s Shadow Arcanine
The first pokémon in Cliff’s third pokémon pool is Arcanine, one of the strongest dog pokémon in Pokémon Go. Due to being a fire-type pokémon, Arcanine is weak only to ground, rock, and water-type pokémon attack moves.
| Pokémon | 1st Attack Move | 2nd Attack Move |
| Rhyperior | Mud-Slap | Rock Wrecker |
| Kyogre | Waterfall | Hydro Pump |
| Rampardos | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Garchomp | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
| Swampert | Water Gun | Hydro Cannon |
| Groudon | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
| Excadrill | Mud-Slap | Earthquake |
| Kingler | Bubble | Crabhammer |
Counters Against Cliff’s Shadow Charizard
Cliff’s third pokémon could also be the fire-flying pokémon Charizard. This pokémon is weak to electric, rock, and water type pokémon attacks.
| Pokémon | 1st Attack Move | 2nd Attack Move |
| Rampardos | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Mega Blastoise | Water Gun | Hydro Cannon |
| Rhyperior | Smack Down | Rock Wrecker |
| Tyranitar | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
| Gigalith | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Aerodactyl | Rock Throw | Rock Slide |
| Omastar | Rock Throw | Rock Slide |
| Golem | Rock Throw | Stone Edge |
Counters Against Cliff’s Shadow Tyranitar
The final pokémon Cliff may bring out is Tyranitar. A rock-dark type pokémon, it has a few weaknesses namely bug, fairy, fighting, grass, ground, steel, and water attacks.
| Pokémon | 1st Attack Move | 2nd Attack Move |
| Conkeldurr | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
| Lucario | Counter | Aura Sphere |
| Machamp | Karate Chop | Dynamic Punch |
| Mega Blastoise | Water Gun | Hydro Cannon |
| Blaziken | Counter | Focus Blast |
| Hariyama | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
| Breloom | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
| Toxicroak | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
Overall Team to Beat Cliff in Pokémon Go
Now that we have gone through all the potential pokémon that Team Go Rocket Leader Cliff can put out, you might have noticed a few patterns. Cliff’s first and second pokémon can be beaten by a good psychic pokémon while his third should be countered by a strong water-type pokémon. With these ideas in mind, the best lineup to beat Cliff in Pokémon Go would be to have Mewtwo, Metagross, and Mega Blastoise on your team.
As one of the strongest psychic type legendary pokémon in-game, Mewtwo would be able to steamroll through Cliff’s first and second pokémon. If it fails, or you need a backup pokémon, Metagross can carry the day.
As for Mega Blastoise, it is a good pick against Cliff’s Shadow Arcanine, Charizard, and Tyranitar due to its strong water-type attacks. If you do not have Mega Blastoise, a good alternative would be legendary water pokémon like Kyogre. If you don’t have it either, you could use a rock-type pokémon like Rampardos or Rhyperior and let your psychic-type pokémon clean up the rest.
Other Pokémon Go Guides
Guides against Pokémon Go’s Team Go Rocket leaders are not the only ones we have on the site. As part of our commitment to helping trainers with the game, we have a collection of articles that you can explore for a better Pokémon Go experience. These include simple tips and tricks guides for newbies and a general guide to gym battles and pokémon raids. You Can download Pokémon Go on Google Play Store for Android and on App Store for iOS.
