How to Beat Sierra in Pokémon Go: Weaknesses and Counters

Are you wondering how to counter Sierra in Pokémon Go? Do not worry since we have got your back! Ever since Team Go Rocket invaded the Pokémon Go world with the game’s 2019 update, trainers have had the chance to take the fight against the dreaded group. After fighting enough Team Go Rocket Grunts to create a Rocket Radar, all trainers have a chance to go up against the group’s bigwigs, Cliff, Arlo, Sierra, and the head honcho himself, Giovanni! Do not take these fights for granted, though, as they would be some of the toughest any trainer will go through. Thankfully, we are here to take you through these Team Go Rocket leaders one by one. For this article, we will teach you the pokémon that counters Sierra in Pokémon Go!

Also read: How to defeat Cliff, How to defeat Arlo

How to Beat Sierra in Pokémon Go

As we said earlier, Pokémon Go’s Sierra is one of Team Go Rocket’s executives and leaders. Due to this, her shadow pokémon are far and above any of the rank and file of Team Go Rocket Grunts you may have encountered so far. Similar to the other Team Go Rocket leaders, she also features a three pokémon lineup during battle. Her first pokémon is fixed, but her second and third pokémon are randomized from a pool of three pokémon each. That randomization is the catch since you cannot predict which of the six pool pokémon she would pull out. Do not worry since we will list down these pokémon and the best counters to them. We will also include an overall strategy for your bout with Sierra.

In consideration of the casual players, our counters will focus more on common pokémon compared to legendary and mythical pokémon. That said, you have to keep in mind your pokémon’s attack movesets and move types. It might also be a good idea to calculate your pokémon’s IV, especially if you have two of the same pokémon.

Also read: Spotting and Catching the Rarest Pokémon

Sierra’s First Phase Pokémon

Now, let us talk about Pokémon Go leader Sierra’s first pokémon. Her first shadow pokémon is Nidoran (♀), a pure poison-type pokémon. While it only has a Maximum Combat Point (CP) score of 922, it is resistant to bug, fairy, fighting, grass, and other poison-type pokémon moves. Trainers should focus on getting pokémon with ground or psychic moves against Nidoran (♀) since it deals 160% damage compared to the usual 100%.

Sierra’s Second Phase Pokémon

Team Go Rocket leader Sierra’s second pokémon can be one of three. These are the bug-poison type Beedrill, the grass-poison type Vileplume, and the water-psychic type Slowbro. The first two are weak to psychic-type attacks because of their shared poison typing, but preparing against Slowbro will be a bit harder. In any case, let us see which pokémon is best to counter each of the three.

Counters Against Sierra’s Shadow Beedrill

Although not among the ten strongest bug pokémon in Pokémon Go, Beedrill has a decent Max CP of 2087 that can pack a punch against unprepared trainers. A dual bug-poison pokémon, it has weaknesses (160% damage) to fire, flying, psychic, and rock attack moves. It also has resistance (39.1%) to fighting and grass moves while also having slight resistance (62.5%) to bug, fairy, and poison attacks.

Counters Against Sierra’s Shadow Vileplume

Team Go Rocket leader Sierra’s second pokémon could also be Vileplume, a grass-poison-type pokémon. It is weak (160%) to fire, flying, ice, and psychic-type moves while being resistant (39.1%) to grass attacks. Vileplume also has some resistance (62.5%) against electric, fairy, fighting, and water pokémon moves.

Counters Against Sierra’s Shadow Slowbro

The last possibility for Pokémon Go leader Sierra’s second pokémon is Slowbro. As a water-psychic pokémon, Slowbro is weak (160%) to bug, dark, electric, ghost, and grass-type attacks due to its dual-typing. However, it has resistances (62.5%) to fighting, fire, ice, psychic, steel, and water pokémon moves.

Sierra’s Third Phase Pokémon

Now, let us talk about Pokémon Go leader Sierra’s third pokémon. The pool for this last pokémon comes from one of three pokémon: the dark-fire Houndoom, the pure ground-type Marowak, and the poison-ground powerhouse Nidoqueen.

Counters Against Sierra’s Shadow Houndoom

Pokémon Go Team Go Rocket leader Sierra’s signature pokémon is Houndoom. A dark-fire pokémon, Houndoom has several weaknesses (160%), namely fighting, ground, rock, and water pokémon moves. It also has a strong (39.1%) resistance to psychic attacks and normal resistance (62.5%) to dark, fire, ghost, grass, ice, and steel-type moves.

Counters Against Sierra’s Shadow Marowak

Another possibility for Sierra’s third pokémon is the ground-type Marowak. Weak (160%) to grass, ice, and water-type moves, it makes up for it with excellent resistance (39.1%) to electric attacks and normal resistance (62.5%) to poison and rock-type moves.

Counters Against Sierra’s Shadow Nidoqueen

The last pokémon you could expect as Sierra’s third pokémon is Nidoqueen. Considered as one of the strongest poison-type pokémon in Pokémon Go, Nidoqueen is also a heavyweight along with the other pokémon in this randomized pool. Compared to its pre-evolved form, Nidoran (♀), Nidoqueen is a poison-ground type pokémon. Due to this, it is weak (160%) against ground, ice, psychic, and water attacks. It also means it is strongly resistant (39.1%) to electric and poison moves while being normally resistant (62.5%) to bug, fairy, fighting, and rock-type pokémon moves.

Overall Team to Beat Sierra in Pokémon Go

Now that we have given you the list of pokémon you may encounter from Pokémon Go leader Sierra, let us talk about how to form your team.

For Sierra’s first pokémon, Nidoran (♀), your best choice would be ground or psychic pokémon due to type weaknesses. We suggest taking a Mega Gengar with Psychic to battle since it would be good against Sierra’s other possible pokémon as well. If you do not have one, you could go with a pure psychic pokémon like Mewtwo or a ground-type like Excadrill.

When it comes to Sierra’s second pokémon, we again suggest taking Mega Gengar due to having both the Psychic attack move and ghost-type attack moves. You can easily beat down both Beedrill and Vileplum using Psychic and then defeat Slowbro using Shadow Claw or another ghost-type attack. If you do not have Mega Gengar, you can take a Mega Gyarados or Gyarados with Bite instead.

Finally, for Sierra’s last pokémon, your best bet would be to take a water-type pokémon like Mega Gyarados or Mega Blastoise. This is due to all three of Sierra’s third pokémon pool being weak to water attacks. The best alternatives to these two would be legendary water pokémon like Kyogre or the non-Mega versions of water pokémon.

Overall, the best pokémon team you can bring against Sierra would be a Mega Gengar with Psychic and Shadow Claw, a Mega Gyarados with Bite and Hydro Pump, and a fire pokémon like Mega (X or Y) Charizard as a backup.

Alternatively, you could also create a different team of strong fire, ghost, and water-type pokémon. Fire pokémon can be used against Nidoran (♀), Beedrill, Vileplum, and Nidoqueen. On the other hand, ghost pokémon would go against Slowbro and water pokémon should fight against Houndoom and Marowak.

Other Pokémon Go Guides

There you have it — a concise yet effective way to counter Sierra in Pokémon Go! Trainers should know that this article is just one part of our extensive list of guides for Pokémon Go. These guides include a tips and tricks guide for new players, a guide to excellent throws.