Team Rocket has officially invaded Pokémon GO, and if you’ve launched the game in the last few days, you’ve likely seen one of their balloons flying overhead. While most of the grunts are fairly easy to take care of, many of the Team Rocket bosses can give you quite the challenge, and you’ll want to be prepared when it’s time to face them.

So, here are all of the Pokémon you can expect to see from each boss, and how to counter them. It’s worth noting that these lineups are only consistent with bosses that can be found in the Team Rocket balloons. Those located at Pokéstops will have a different team.

Jesse & James

Jesse and James will occasionally show up in a Meowth balloon, just as they did in the classic anime. Unlike the other bosses on this list, both are fairly easy to defeat and you can normally get through them with a team of strong Pokémon regardless of typing.

Jesse will always lead with her trademark Ekans, followed by a Scyther and a Bagon. You can use psychic and ground moves against Ekans, fire, flying, or electric moves on Scyther, and fairy, dragon, and ice moves on Bagon.

James will always lead with his trademark Koffing, followed by a Sneasel and a Beldum. Koffing is weak against psychic and ground attacks, Sneasel is weak against fighting, fairy, bug, steel, fire, and rock moves, and Beldum is weak against fire, dark, ground, and ghost moves.

Leader Cliff

Now, for the real challenges. The rest of the bosses on this list will have some high-CP Pokémon, and you’ll need to be on your A-game to take them down. It’s also a good idea to use special attacks that charge up quickly in the beginning in order to deplete the boss’ shields.

Cliff will always start off with a Grimer, which is weak ground and psychic moves. Some good counters to use include Mamoswine, Mewtwo, Excadrill, and Groudon.

His second Pokémon will either be Machamp, Omastar, or Electivire. Machamp is weak to flying, fighting, and psychic moves, making Mewtwo and Rayquaza great counters. Omastar is double weak to grass, making Torterra and Venusaur excellent counters. Finally, Electivire is weak to ground moves, so Swampert, Garchomp, and Rhyperior should work well.

Cliff’s final Pokémon will either be Tyranitar, Swampert, or Torterra. Tyranitar is weak to fighting, grass, and bug, making Machamp or Torterra a great counter. Swampert is double weak to grass, meaning Torterra or Venusaur will take it out quickly. Finally, Torterra is double weak against ice, meaning Mamoswine or Glaceon will help you out here.

Leader Arlo

Arlo will always start off with Pineco, which has a weakness to fire, rock, and flying-type moves. Charizard, Flareon, Rhyperior, and Rayquaza are all excellent counters.

His second Pokémon will either be Charizard, Blastoise, or Steelix. Charizard is double weak to rock, making Rhyperior and Tyranitar great counters. Blastoise is weak to grass and electric, but Shifty will resist all of its moves, making it the best counter. You can also go with Venusaur or a powerful Electivire. Finally, Steelix is weak to fire, ground, and fighting, but Excadrill resists all of its attacks. You could also use Groudon or Charizard.

Arlo’s third Pokémon will either be Dragonite, Scizor, or Salamance. Dragonite and Salamance are both dragon and flying-type, making ice moves your best bet by far. Go with Mamoswine, Glaceon, or Mewtwo with Ice Beam. Scizor is double weak to fire, making Groundon, Heatran, or Charizard an excellent choice.

Leader Sierra

Sierra will always lead with a Lapras, which is weak to rock, grass, electric, and fighting. Dialga, Giaratina, and Machamp are all great counters with the right moves.

Her second Pokémon will either be another Lapras, Exeggutor, or Sharpedo. Exeggutor has many weaknesses, but nothing does more damage than bug, making Scizor and Pinsir great counters. Sharpedo is weak to fairy, fighting, bug, electric, and grass, making Venusaur, Togekiss, and Machamp excellent counters.

Sierra’s third Pokémon will either be Alakazam, Houndoom, or Shiftry. With Alakazam, any powerful dark-type will get the job done, especially Darkrai or Tyranitar. Versus Houndoom, the dark and fire-type, Tyranitar is also very powerful, as well as Swampert or Kyogre. Finally, Shiftry is double weak to bug, making Scizor and Pinsir your best bet.

Giovanni

Last but not least, the OG Rocket boss himself, Giovanni.

Giovanni always leads with Persian, who is weak to fighting-types like Machamp and Lucario.

His second Pokémon will either be Nidoking, Dugtrio, or Garchomp. Nidoking is weak to water, psychic, ice, and ground, making Excadrill, Jirachi, and Mewtwo a great counter. Dugtrio is weak to grass, ice, and water, meaning you’ll want to use Gyarados, Torterra, Mamoswine, or Venusaur. Finally, Garchomp is weak to ice, fairy, and dragon. Mamoswine and Togekiss are great counters. Be careful using dragon types, as Garchomp may be about to take them out quickly.

Finally, Giovanni’s last Pokémon will always be Suicune, which is weak to grass and electric. Electric-types are the way to go, though, seeing as Suicine has a few ice-type moves in its arsenal which will quickly take out grass types. Raikou, Electivire, and Magnezone work best here.

And there you have it, a counter to each and every Team Rocket boss! Often times, it’ll take you a few tries to assemble the right team, so don’t give up too soon. Good luck, and hopefully you’ll encounter a shiny along the way

Source: Reddit, iMore

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