Team GO Rocket Leaders are enemy battles that can be challenging for Trainers to overcome in Pokémon GO; however, it can be rewarding. Defeating Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra will lead to the showdown with their boss, Giovanni, but before that, you'll need to go head-to-head with each leader.
Preparing for the battle with Arlo will heavily depend on the combination of Shadow Pokémon he'll use, but we've made this encounter a little easier for you. This guide details Arlo's current line-up and the best counters, including Pokémon, their typing, and attacks to use against him in Pokémon GO.
Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo's Current Line-up In Pokémon GO For March 2023:
As of the start of the Team GO Rocket Takeover event, Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo's line-up has changed to reflect the new Shadow Pokémon included in his line-up. As a result, Trainers will need to adjust their line-up to include the best possible counters to defeat Arlo, which all data is supplied by notable Pokémon source, PokémonGOHub.
Below is the current Shadow Pokémon line-up for Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo for March 2023:
- Arlo Battle Phase 1: Nidoran (Male)
- Arlo Battle Phase 2: Cradily / Crobat / Steelix
- Arlo Battle Phase 3: Armaldo / Charizard / Scizor
Best Nidoran Counters:
As mentioned earlier, Arlo's current line-up has changed to reflect the new month and the ongoing Team GO Rocket event, so you must best prepare for the fight. In the first phase, Arlo will bring out his Shadow Nidoran, who's weak to Ground and Psychic-type attacks, which can effectively destroy its shields.
- Alakazam (Psychic): Confusion (Fast Attack); Future Sight, Psychic (Charged Attack)
- Attack Forme Deoxys (Psychic): Zen Headbutt (Fast Attack); Thunderbolt. Psycho Boost (Charged Attack)
- Exeggutor (Grass/Psychic): Confusion (Fast Attack); Psychic, Seed Bomb (Charged Attack)
- Mewtwo (Psychic): Psycho Cut (Fast Attack); Ice Beam (Charged Attack)
- Unbound Hoopa (Psychic): Confusion (Fast Attack); Psychic, Shadow Ball (Charged Attack)
Best Cradily, Crobat & Steelix Counters:
Arlo could bring Cradily, Crobat, or Steelix to this battle for the second phase of this encounter. While Steelix is weak to Ground-type attacks, Cradily and Crobat aren’t, making this even more difficult to counter. Cradily is vulnerable to Fighting and Crobat is weak to Electric, Ice, Psychic, and Rock attacks.
- Conkeldurr (Fighting): Counter (Fast Attack); Dynamic Punch, Stone Edge (Charged Attack)
- Keldeo (Water/Fighting): Low Kick (Fast Attack); Hydro Pump, Sacred Sword (Charged Attack)
- Lucario (Fighting/Steel): Counter (Fast Attack); Dynamic Punch, Shadow Ball (Charged Attack)
- Pheromosa (Bug/Fighting): Bug Bite (Fast Attack); Focus Blast, Close Combat (Charged Attack)
- Terrakion (Rock/Fighting): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Rock Slide, Sacred Sword (Charged Attack)
- Alakazam (Psychic): Confusion (Fast Attack); Future Sight, Psychic (Charged Attack)
- Attack Forme Deoxys (Psychic): Zen Headbutt (Fast Attack); Thunderbolt. Psycho Boost (Charged Attack)
- Mewtwo (Psychic): Psycho Cut (Fast Attack); Ice Beam (Charged Attack)
- Unbound Hoopa (Psychic): Confusion (Fast Attack); Psychic, Shadow Ball (Charged Attack)
- Xurkitree (Electric): Spark (Fast Attack); Discharge, Thunder (Charged Attack)
- Darmanitan (Fire): Fire Fang (Fast Attack); Overheat (Charged Attack)
- Keldeo (Water/Fighting): Low Kick (Fast Attack); Hydro Pump, Sacred Sword (Charged Attack)
- Lucario (Fighting/Steel): Counter (Fast Attack); Dynamic Punch, Shadow Ball (Charged Attack)
- Reshiram (Dragon/Fire): Dragon Breath (Fast Attack); Crunch, Overheat (Charged Attack)
- Terrakion (Rock/Fighting): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Rock Slide, Sacred Sword (Charged Attack)
Best Armaldo, Charizard & Scizor Counters:
The final stage of this battle could see Arlo using either Armaldo, Charizard, or Scizor to face off against your current line-up. Armaldo is vulnerable to Rock, Steel, and Water types, quite similar to Charizard; however, it’s also vulnerable to Electric Pokémon (not Steel), and Scizor is weak to Fire; this shouldn’t trouble Trainers to find the right Pokémon to use against them.
- Kyogre (Water/Ice): Waterfall (Fast Attack); Blizzard, Surf (Charged Attack)
- Metagross (Steel/Psychic): Bullet Punch (Fast Attack); Earthquake, Meteor Mash (Charged Attack)
- Rampardos (Rock): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Rock Slide (Charged Attack)
- Sharpedo (Water/Dark): Waterfall (Fast Attack); Crunch, Hydro Pump (Charged Attack)
- Tyrantrum (Rock/Dragon): Rock Throw (Fast Attack); Meteor Beam, Outrage (Charged Attack)
- Alolan Golem (Electric/Rock): Volt Switch (Fast Attack); Stone Edge, Wild Charge (Charged Attack)
- Aerodactyl (Ground/Rock): Rock Throw (Fast Attack); Earth Power, Rock Slide (Charged Attack)
- Gigalith (Rock/Fighting): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Rock Slide, Superpower (Charged Attack)
- Rhyperior (Ground/Rock): Mud-Slap (Fast Attack); Rock Wrecker, Surf (Charged Attack)
- Terrakion (Rock/Fighting): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Rock Slide, Sacred Sword (Charged Attack)
- Tyranitar (Rock/Dark): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Stone Edge, Crunch (Charged Attack)
- Blaziken (Fire/Fighting): Fire Spin (Fast Attack); Blast Burn, Blaze Kick (Charged Attack)
- Charizard (Fire/Flying): Fire Spin (Fast Attack); Blast Burn, Overheat (Charged Attack)
- Entai (Fire/Steel): Fire Spin (Fast Attack); Flame Charge, Iron Head (Charged Attack)
- Flareon (Fire): Fire Spin (Fast Attack); Flamethrower, Overheat (Charged Attack)
- Infernape (Fire/Fighting): Fire Spin (Fast Attack); Blast Burn, Flamethrower (Charged Attack)
Ultimately, Trainers can only bring as many Pokémon as they’re allowed for their battle against Arlo; therefore, the best line-up has to eliminate his entire line-up. The best line-up to bring for this encounter is Blaziken (Cradily & Scizor), Mewtwo (Crobat & Nidoran), and Terrakion (Armaldo, Charizard & Steelix).
