While the Team GO Rocket grunts found in Pokemon GO rarely present too much of a challenge, the same can't be said for the evil organization's leaders. When battling them, players will often be required to bring their best Pokemon in hopes of countering these powerful trainers.
One of the leaders of Team GO Rocket that players can find themselves going up against is Sierra. Pokemon GO players not used to battling against challenges such as her may find their team getting quickly wiped without warning. Still, it is possible to take her and her team down if players know what to expect.
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Sierra will always use the same Pokemon in her first party slot, but she has the choice between three different Pokemon for her second slot, as well as three more Pokemon for her third slot. The only way to know which Pokemon she will choose is by rematching her within the same battle encounter, which can only be done after losing to her and seeing what she had already sent out.
When starting the fight with Sierra, her first Pokemon will always be Sneasel. This Pokemon is a dual Dark and Ice-type, making it vulnerable to Fighting, Fairy, Bug, Steel, Fire, and Rock-type moves. It, however, also can resist damage from Ghost, Ice, Dark, and Psychic-type moves.
Sneasel is Sierra's weakest Pokemon, but some players may just want to get it out of the way quickly to reduce any possible early damage. Because of this, the best Pokemon that can counter Sneasel are:
Lucario - Counter and Aura Sphere
Conkeldurr - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Machamp - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Blaziken - Counter and Focus Blast
Sirfetch'd - Counter and Close Combat
Moving on to Sierra's second Pokemon, this is where the challenge truly starts and proper counters begin to matter. All of the Pokemon she can use here are fully evolved and are fully capable of wiping out multiple Pokemon by themselves.
One of the first possibilities that Sierra can send out at this stage is Ampharos. This Pokemon is a pure Electric-type, making it only weak to Ground-type moves and resisting damage from Steel, Electric, and Flying-type moves. For this fight players are highly recommended to use:
Therian Landorus - Mud Shot and Earthquake
Excadrill - Mud-Slap and Earthquake
Groudon - Mud Shot and Earthquake
Garchomp - Mud Shot and Earthquake
Rhyperior - Mud-Slap and Earthquake
The second possible Pokemon that players might fact is Granbull, a pure Fairy-type Pokemon. Like other pure Fairy-types, Granbull is only weak to Steel and Poison-type moves while resisting Fighting, Bug, Dark, and Dragon-type moves. Because of this, some of the better Pokemon to use against Granbull are:
Ho-Oh - Steel Wing and Brave Bird
Galarian Slowbro - Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb
Drapion - Poison Sting and Sludge Bomb
Staraptor - Quick Attack and Brave Bird
Blaziken - Fire Spin and Blast Burn
Finally, the last Pokemon that Sierra might use as her second Pokemon is Gliscor. It is a dual Ground and Flying-type Pokemon, making it only weak to Ice and Water-type moves. Additionally, it resists damage from Electric, Fighting, Bug, Poison, and Ground-type moves. Even with few weaknesses though, there are still Pokemon that can take advantage of them such as:
Mamoswine - Powder Snow and Avalanche
Abomasnow - Powder Snow and Weather Ball (Ice)
Mr. Rime - Ice Shard and Ice Punch
Piloswine - Ice Shard and Avalanche
Alolan Ninetales - Powder Snow and Weather Ball (Ice)
Once players get to the final stretch, they will need to give it their all, no matter which Pokemon Sierra uses at her last Pokemon. All three of the possible Pokemon can quickly end the battle, so players need to be sure to not get caught off guard.
The first possibility for Sierra's final Pokemon is Houndoom. It is a dual Dark and Fire-type Pokemon, so it is weak to Fighting, Ground, Rock, and Water-type moves. Meanwhile, it also resists damage from Steel, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Dark, Fire, and Psychic-type moves. Because of this, the best Pokemon that can be used to take it down are:
Rampardos - Smack Down and Rock Slide
Kingler - Bubble and Crabhammer
Therian Landorus - Mud Shot and Earthquake
Conkeldurr - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Kyogre - Waterfall and Hydro Pump
Another Pokemon that Sierra can use last is the dual Water and Dragon-type Pokemon, Kingdra. Its typing makes it weak to only Fairy and Dragon-type moves while also resisting Steel, Water, and Fire-type moves. The best Pokemon to use against it in this scenario are:
Granbull - Charm and Play Rough
Garchomp - Dragon Tail and Earth Power
Kingdra - Dragon Breath and Outrage
Togekiss - Charm and Dazzling Gleam
Palkia - Dragon Tail and Draco Meteor
The very last of the Pokemon that Sierra can use in battle is Drapion. It is a dual Poison and Dark-type Pokemon, making it only weak to Ground-type moves. Drapion additionally benefits from resistances to Psychic, Ghost, Grass, Poison, and Dark-type moves. With this in mind, the best counters for it are:
Garchomp - Mud Shot and Earth Power
Ho-Oh - Incinerate and Earthquake
Therian Landorus - Mud Shot and Earthquake
Excadrill - Mud-Slap and Earthquake
Groudon - Mud Shot and Earthquake
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.
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