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.
Sierra is one of the three leaders you must face; however, she's no pushover, as her line-up could overwhelm you if you're not prepared or underpowered. This guide details Sierra's current line-up and the best counters, including Pokémon, their typing, and attacks to use against her in Pokémon GO.
Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra's Current Line-Up In Pokémon GO For March 2023:
Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra's line-up, like Arlo and Cliff, has undergone some changes for the new month and the current Team GO Rocket Takeover. Regardless, assembling the best counters to go against her line-up of Shadow Pokémon should be pretty straightforward, and all data is supplied by notable Pokémon source, PokémonGOHub.
Below is the current Shadow Pokémon line-up for Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra for March 2023:
- Sierra Battle Phase 1: Beldum
- Sierra Battle Phase 2: Flygon / Lapras / Sharpedo
- Sierra Battle Phase 3: Alakazam / Houndoom / Shiftry
Best Beldum Counters:
Starting this battle, Sierra will bring out her Shadow Beldum, a Steel/Psychic Pokémon that’s weak to Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground attacks. As Beldum will be utilizing Steel attacks in the first round, you should have no issue in countering its attacks.
- Blaziken (Fire/Fighting): Fire Spin (Fast Attack); Blast Burn, Blaze Kick (Charged Attack)
- Chandelure (Ghost/Fire): Incinerate (Fast Attack); Flame Charge, Shadow Ball (Charged Attack)
- Darkrai (Dark): Snarl (Fast Attack); Dark Pulse, Sludge Bomb (Charged Attack)
- Gengar (Ghost/Poison): Shadow Claw (Fast Attack); Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb (Charged Attack)
- Hydreigon (Dark/Dragon): Bite (Fast Attack); Brutal Swing, Dragon Pulse (Charged Attack)
Best Flygon, Lapras & Sharpedo Counters:
The second round of this battle will see either Flygon, Lapras, or Sharpedo being brought out to face against your line-up. Flygon is a Ground/Dragon-type Pokémon that’s vulnerable to attacks from Dragon, Fairy, and Ice Pokémon, while Lapras is vulnerable to Electric, Fighting, Grass, and Rock-type attacks.
Lastly, Sharpedo is a Water/Dark Pokémon who is weak to Bug, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, and Grass Pokémon. As these three Pokémon share some common weaknesses, this should inform you as to which Pokémon you can utilize for this battle.
- Articuno (Ice/Flying): Ice Shard (Fast Attack; Icy Wind, Ancient Power (Charged Attack)
- Avalugg (Ice/Normal): Ice Fang (Fast Attack); Avalanche, Body Slam (Charged Attack)
- Gardevoir (Psychic/Fairy): Charm (Fast Attack); Shadow Ball, Synchronoise (Charged Attack)
- Mamoswine (Ice/Ground): Powder Snow (Fast Attack); Avalanche (Charged Attack)
- Togekiss (Fairy/Flying): Charm (Fast Attack); Ancient Power, Flamethrower (Charged Attack)
- Kartana (Grass/Steel): Razor Leaf (Fast Attack); Leaf Blade, X-Scissor (Charged Attack)
- Keldeo (Water/Fighting): Low Kick (Fast Attack); Hydro Pump, Sacred Sword (Charged Attack)
- Rampardos (Rock): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Rock Slide (Charged Attack)
- Terrakion (Rock/Fighting): Smack Down (Fast Attack); Rock Slide, Sacred Sword (Charged Attack)
- Xurkitree (Electric): Spark (Fast Attack); Discharge, Thunder (Charged Attack)
- Kartana (Grass/Steel): Razor Leaf (Fast Attack); Leaf Blade, X-Scissor (Charged Attack)
- Keldeo (Water/Fighting): Low Kick (Fast Attack); Hydro Pump, Sacred Sword (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)
- Xurkitree (Electric): Spark (Fast Attack); Discharge, Thunder (Charged Attack)
Best Alakazam, Houndoom & Shiftry Counters:
The final round could see a potential line-up against Sierra’s Shadow Alakazam, Houndoom, or Shiftry. The Psychc-type Alakazam is most vulnerable to Bug, Dark, and Ghost-type attacks, while the Dark/Fire-type Houndoom is weakest to attacks from Fighting, Ground, Rock, and Water Pokémon.
Shiftry is a Grass/Dark Pokémon who has a weakness to Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Flying, Ice, and Poison-type Pokémon. Like with the second line-up, all three Pokémon have shared weaknesses which should give you many problems finding the right counters.
- Chandelure (Ghost/Fire): Incinerate (Fast Attack); Flame Charge, Shadow Ball (Charged Attack)
- Darkrai (Dark): Snarl (Fast Attack); Dark Pulse, Sludge Bomb (Charged Attack)
- Gengar (Ghost/Poison): Shadow Claw (Fast Attack); Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb (Charged Attack)
- Hydreigon (Dark/Dragon): Bite (Fast Attack); Brutal Swing, Dragon Pulse (Charged Attack)
- Origin Giratina (Ghost/Dragon): Shadow Claw (Fast Attack); Shadow Ball, Shadow Force (Charged Attack)
- Conkeldurr (Fighting): Counter (Fast Attack); Dynamic Punch, Stone Edge (Charged Attack)
- Kyogre (Water/Ice): Waterfall (Fast Attack); Blizzard, Surf (Charged Attack)
- Machamp (Fighting): Counter (Fast Attack); Cross Chop, Rock Slide (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)
- Burn, Douse & Normal Genesect (Bug/Steel): Fury Cutter (Fast Attack); Magnet Bomb, X-Scissor (Charged Attack)
- Escavalier (Bug/Steel): Bug Bite (Fast Attack); Drill Run, Megahorn (Charged Attack)
- Pheromosa (Bug/Fighting): Bug Bite (Fast Attack); Focus Blast, Close Combat (Charged Attack)
- Vikavolt (Bug/Electric): Bug Bite (Fast Attack); Discharge, X-Scissor (Charged Attack)
- Yanmega (Bug/Flying): Bug Bite (Fast Attack); Bug Buzz (Charged Attack)
With all the best counters to utilize against Sierra, Trainers should have an idea of which Pokémon they can use in their line-up. Based on all the Pokémon we’ve listed above, the best team line-up to use in battle will be Mamoswine (Beldum & Flygon), Pheromosa (Alakazam, Sharpedo & Shiftry), and Terrakion (Houndoom & Lapras).
