Pokémon Go has its own version of the notorious Team Rocket, called Team Go Rocket. In this Pokémon Go guide, we’ll break down how to find leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo and take them down.

Below, we list their parties and strategies as it stands in September 2024, with the most recent changes following the the Team Go Rocket Takeover event that activated alongside the arrival of the “Adventure Week: Taken Over” event in March.

How to find leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo in Pokémon Go

Team Go Rocket leaders can be found in black PokéStops or hot air balloons flying above you with a Rocket Radar equipped.

To get a Rocket Radar, you must get six Mysterious Components, with one regular Go Team Rocket encounter rewarding one Mysterious Component each.

With the Rocket Radar equipped, you will then encounter a leader at random. The three leaders are Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff.

Some Timed Research and Team Go Rocket Special Research tasks require you to beat all three leaders. Completing the Team Go Rocket Special Research will reward you with a Super Rocket Radar, allowing you to find the boss, Giovanni. Beating Giovanni will net you a Legendary Shadow Pokémon.

Team Go Rocket leader Sierra counters

Though coming in to scope out her team first is recommended, if you come equipped with electric- and fighting-types, that will help a ton. Her party is pretty diverse, so you may also want to sprinkle in psychic-, ground-, and grass-type moves as well, depending on what she’s running. Notably, Sableye is only weak against fairy-type moves, so you’ll want to either bring a Pokémon that knows fairy moves or you’ll want to brute force it.

We recommend using the following:

Team Go Rocket leader Arlo counters

If you come with electric-, ghost-, and water-type moves, you’ll take down most of Arlo’s party. If he does bring his Snorlax as his ringer, then consider bringing some fighting-type moves to take it down.

We recommend using any of the following:

Team Go Rocket leader Cliff counters

Tyranitar (rock/dark)
Cradily (rock/grass)
Crobat (poison/flying)
Cliff’s potential parties are especially weak against ice-, fairy-, and fighting-type moves.

We recommend using a mix of the following:

Team Go Rocket leader tips

If you’re struggling against the leaders, here are a few tips to keep in mind: