Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Niantic, pokemon, pokemon go, shadow pokémon, Team GO Rocket

Team GO Rocket Sierra Battle Guide For Pokémon GO: February 2023

This Team GO Rocket Sierra Battle Guide for Pokémon GO will help you grind for Shiny Shadow Beldum during the Team GO Rocket Takeover.

There has been a shakeup with the Team GO Rocket Leaders' line-ups in Pokémon GO now live as of February 20233. Not only do they have different teams, but the potentially Shiny Shadow Pokémon that you can encounter after defeating them has also changed. With this battle guide, you can build a team to defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra and earn an encounter with a Shiny-capable Shadow Beldum.

Here is a breakdown of Sierra's team and possible counters. This time, to help our readers build their own teams from a diverse selection of possible Pokémon, I will suggest multiple counters for every possible Pokémon she will throw out. These are based not only on type effectivity but also shared weaknesses of other species on these teams and the speed of your counter Pokémon's attacks, which we'll get to below.

SLOT ONE

• Beldum: Excadrill, Scizor with Night Slash (to increase the attack and spam Charged Attacks), Hydreigon with Dark-type moves

SLOT TWO

• Flygon: Galarian Darmanitan, Mamoswine, Glaceon
• Lapras: Lucario, Machamp, Conkeldurr
• Sharpedo: Lucario, Machamp, Conkeldurr

SLOT THREE

• Houndoom: Lucario, Machamp, Conkeldurr
• Shiftry: Lucario, Machamp, Conkeldurr
• Alakazam: Scizor, Hydreigon, Darkrai

SUGGESTED GENERAL TEAM

• Lucario with Counter and Power-up Punch with Shadow Ball unlocked if you can
• Hydreigon with Bite and Brutal Swing or Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalance with High Horsepower unlocked
• Scizor with Fury Cutter and X-Scissor with Night Slash unlocked

Final tips for Pokémon GO players

• When building a team before you know the exact line-up of Slots Two and Three, aim for general overlapping weaknesses that the options will have. For example, Lucario will be good against two of the species in Slot Two and Slot Three, making it quite a powerhouse choice but will be weak to Alakazam and potentially Houndoom.
• Switch Out: Don't put your counter to the first Pokémon in your first slot. Instead, start the battle with the "Switch Out" method. Put your counter to Sierra's first slot in your second or third slot and, as soon as the battle begins, switch to that Pokémon. Hence: Scizor in the final slot when you should be using it against Beldum and deploying the fast-charging Charged Attack of Night Slash to increase Scisor's Attack power. This switch will freeze Sierra up for a moment, allowing you to deal damage without taking damage. She will freeze after every switch and also after every Charged Attack. Utilizing this freeze is essential to defeating these powerful Shadows.
• Get the Shields Down: Keep in mind… Sierra has two shields. You want to choose a Pokémon that will be able to charge up their Charged Attacks quickly so that Sierra's shields can be taken down and real damage can be done. The faster the attacks, especially with your first choice, the better off you will be. Hence Scizor edging out some more powerful counters.

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