How to beat the cliff (December 2021)

Even with 2021 coming to an end, Team GO Rocket is still causing trouble in Pokemon GO. The beginning of December also marked a change in the teams of Team GO Rocket heads Cliff, Arlo and Sierra.
With new Shadow Pokemon teams, Pokemon GO players need to prepare for any battle with the leaders of Team GO Rocket. New teams mean new weaknesses and resistances that can catch unsuspecting players off guard. Fortunately, all the new teams have been recorded.
Cliff will use three Pokemon in battle against him like any other trainer. What makes him and the other Team GO Rocket leaders unique is how each of his second and third Pokemon has the option of being three different Pokemon. The Pokemon that Cliff sends is random, but if the player loses to him and rematches him in the same encounter, his Pokemon will remain the same as the original battle.
Cliff’s First Pokemon – Grimer
The first Pokemon Cliff will send is his Grimer. It is a pure Poison-type Pokemon, making it weak only on the ground and Psychic movement. Grimer also resists damage from Battle, Poison, Bug, Grass, and Fairy moves. Despite being Cliff’s weakest Pokemon, the strongest counterattacks against Grimer are:
Pokemon | Move fast | Fee of transport |
Mewtwo | Panic | Psystrike |
Hoopa is not bound | Panic | Psychic |
Deoxys form attack | Zen Headbutt | Psychological boost |
Alakazam | Panic | Psychic |
Hoopa is incarcerated | Panic | Psychic |
Cliff’s second Pokemon – Venusaur, Crobat or Machamp
The next Pokemon that Cliff sends introduces a high level of difficulty compared to his Grimer. He has the option of sending Venusaur, Crobat or Machamp.
Venusaur is a Grass and Poison-type Pokemon that is weak to Flight, Fire, Telepathy, and Ice moves. It also resists damage from Combat, Water, Electric, Fairy, and Grass moves. With this in mind, the best remedies to use against Venusaur are:
Pokemon | Move fast | Fee of transport |
Mewtwo | Panic | Psystrike |
Hoopa is not bound | Panic | Psychic |
The Darmanitans of Galarian | Ice Fang | avalanche |
Deoxys form attack | Zen Headbutt | Psychological boost |
Reshiram | Fire Fang | Heat up |
Crobat is a Poison and Flying-type Pokemon, making it weak when it comes to damage from Rock, Electric, Telepathic, and Ice attacks. As for stamina, it can counter Ground, Poison, Fairy, Battle, Bug, and Grass-type moves. The best counters for it are:
Pokemon | Move fast | Fee of transport |
Mewtwo | Panic | Psystrike |
Hoopa is not bound | Panic | Psychic |
Therian Thundurus | Thunder | Thunderbolt |
Deoxys form attack | Zen Headbutt | The battle is like a storm |
The Darmanitans of Galarian | Ice Fang | avalanche |
Machamp is a Battle-type Pokemon Weak against Flying, Psychic, and Fairy attacks. It resists damage from Rocks, Bugs, and Shadow generation attacks. Therefore, the best counters in this case are:
Pokemon | Move fast | Fee of transport |
Mewtwo | Panic | Psystrike |
Hoopa is not bound | Panic | Psychic |
Alakazam | Panic | Psychic |
Deoxys form attack | Zen Headbutt | Psychological boost |
Espeon | Panic | Psychic |
Cliff’s Last Pokemon – Tyranitar, Charizard or Arcanine
Cliff’s final Pokemon once again has the option of three different Pokemon. This time the choices are between Tyranitar, Charizard and Arcanine. All three can provide quite a bit of challenge and take down many of the player’s party members.
Tyranitar is a double rock and Shadow-type Pokemon weak to Battle, Ground, Bug, Steel, Water, Grass, and Fairy moves. It also resists damage from basic attacks, flying, Poison, Ghost, Fire, Dark, and Psychic. Its Battle-type weakness is the most important, as Combat-type moves deal 256% damage to Tyranitar compared to its other weaknesses that deal 160% damage. With this in mind, the best remedies for Tyranitar are:
Pokemon | Move fast | Fee of transport |
Lucario | Counter | Aura Sphere |
Conkeldurr | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
Breloom | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
Machamp | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
Blaziken | Counter | Focus Blast |
Charizard is a dual Fire and Flying-type Pokemon that is weak against Rock, Water, and Electric move. On the defensive side, it resists damage from Ground, Battle, Steel, Fire, Fairy, Bug, and Grass attacks. Like Tyranitar, Charizard has one weakness that is more important than its other weaknesses. In this case, that’s its Rock-type weakness. Because of this, the best measures against Charizard are:
Pokemon | Move fast | Fee of transport |
Rampardos | Smash down | Ice skating |
Rhyperior | Smash down | Rock Wrecker |
Terrakion | Smash down | Ice skating |
Therian Landorus | Throw stones | Edge stone |
Aerodactyl | Throw stones | Ice skating |
Finally, Arcanine is a pure Fire-type Pokemon, making it vulnerable to Ground, Rock, and Water-type moves. It also resists Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, Ice and Fairy attacks. The best counters to use against it are:
Pokemon | Move fast | Fee of transport |
Rampardos | Smash down | Ice skating |
Kingler | Balloon | Crab cutter |
Therian Landorus | Throw stones | Earth Energy |
Kyogre | Waterfall | Hydraulic pump |
Excadrill | Mud-Slapping | Earthquake |
Pokemon GO currently available for Android and iOS devices.
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