How to beat Team GO Rocket leaders and Giovanni to get Shadow Articuno

Category : Tips & Tricks Views: 1580 Reading Time: 8 Minutes

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Team GO Rocket monthly Special Research is back in Pokémon GO. After almost a year of rest, boss Giovanni and the three leaders are back in the game. Due to the global pandemic, Niantic put a pause on the monthly Special Research that led up to a fight with the Team GO Rocket Boss Giovanni and a Shadow Legendary Pokémon encounter.

In the upcoming months, a Team GO Rocket Special Research will reward Trainers with the Kanto Legendary birds. In March, Trainers can get their hands on a Shadow Articuno; Shadow Zapdos will be available in April and Shadow Moltres will make its debut in May.

‘The Higher They Fly…’ Special Research will reward you with a Super Rocket Radar which you can use to challenge Giovanni. If you manage to defeat him, you will get the chance to rescue his Shadow Articuno.

However, before you can challenge Giovanni and get the Super Rocket Radar, you will need to defeat all three Team GO Rocket Leaders – Arlo, Cliff and Sierra. They will have different Shadow Pokémon in their team, so you have to be ready with some of your most powerful Pokémon to take them on.

 

How to defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo

The first Pokémon in Arlo’s team is always going to be Beldum. A double Steel/Psychic-type, Beldum is weak to Ground, Fire, Ghost, and Dark-type moves.

If you choose your strongest Pokémon with one or more of these moves, you will easily take down Beldum, but there are several Pokémon that are particularly recommended as strong counters against Beldum.

Top Beldum counters are:

·         Mega Gengar with Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball

·         Mega Y or X Charizard with Fire Spin and Blast Burn

·         Reshiram with Fire Fang and Overheat

·         Mega Houndoom with Fire Fang and Foul Play

·         Chandelure with Fire Spin and Overheat

·         Gengar with Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball

If you don’t have any of the abovementioned Pokémon, you can utilize Beldum’s weaknesses and use any of your strong Pokémon with type advantages.

The second slot in Arlo’s team lineup will be either Gardevoir, Aggron, or Infernape.

Gardevoir is a dual Psychic/Fairy-type, and it’s weak against Ghost, Poison, and Steel-type moves.

Aggron, a dual Steel/Rock-type, is weak against Fighting, Ground, and Water-types.

Infernape is Fire/Fighting-type, therefore weak against Flying, Ground, Psychic, and Water-type Pokémon.

Arlo will use either Armaldo, Salamance, or Scizor as his third Pokémon.

Armaldo is a Rock/Bug-type, which makes him weak to Rock, Steel, and Water-type moves.

Salamence is a dual Dragon/Flying-type, which makes it weak to Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Rock-types.

Scizor, a Bug/Steel-type, is weak to only Fire. So make sure to take some of your strongest Fire-types against this Pokémon.

 

How to defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff

The first Pokémon Cliff will always use is Aerodactyl, its Rock and Flying-typing makes this Pokémon vulnerable to Water, Ice, and Electric-type moves.

The best counters against Aerodactyl include:

·         Electivire – Thunder Shock and Wild Charge

·         Mega Blastoise – Water Gun and Hydro Cannon

·         Raikou – Thunder Shock and Wild Charge

·         Mamoswine – Powder Snow and Avalanche

·         Kyogre – Waterfall and Surf

·         Rampardos – SmackDown and Rock Slide

 

Cliff will have either Cradily, Gallade, or Slowking in his second slot.

Cradily is a Rock/Grass-type, making it weak to Bug, Ice, Fighting, and Steel Pokemon.

Gallade, a dual-type Psychic/Fighting Pokémon, is weak to Fairy, Flying, and Ghost-type moves.

Slowking, a dual-type Water/Psychic Pokémon is weak to Bug, Dark, Electric, Ghost, and Grass types.

In third place, Cliff will use either Dusknoir, Mamoswine, or Tyranitar.

A Ghost-type Dusknoir is weak to Dark and Ghost types.

Mamoswine, an Ice/Ground-type is weak to Fighting, Fire, Grass, Steel, and Water Pokémon.

A dual Rock/Dark-type Tyranintar is weak to Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water types.

 

How to defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra

The third Team GO Rocket Leader you will need to take on is Sierra. Her first Pokémon will always be Carvanha, a dual Water and Dark-type Pokémon. It has a weakness to Fairy, Bug, Electric, Grass, and Fighting-type moves.

Best Carvanha counters include:

·         Mega Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant

·         Conkeldurr with Counter and Dynamic Punch

·         Zekrom with Charge Beam and Wild Charge

·         Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere

·         Machamp with Karate Chop and Dynamic Punch

·         Mega Beedrill with Infestation and X-Scissor

 

For her second Pokémon, Sierra will bring out either Mismagius, Porygon-Z, or Hippowdon.

Mismagius, a pure Ghost-type Pokémon, is weak to Dark and Ghost-type moves only.

A Normal-type Porygon-Z is only weak against Fighting-type moves.

Hippowdon, a pure Ground-type Pokémon, is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-type moves.

Possible Pokémon for Sierra’s third slot includes Flygon, Houndoom, or Walrein.

Flygon is a dual Ground/Dragon-type, which makes it weak to Ice, Fairy, and Dragon-type moves.

Houndoom, a dual Dark/Fire-type, is weak to Fighting, Ground, Rock, and Water-type moves.

Walrein’s dual Ice/Water-typing makes it weak to Fighting, Rock, Electric, and Grass-type moves.

 

How to defeat Team GO Rocket Boss Giovanni

Once you defeat all the Leaders, you will get a Super Rocket Radar, helping you to track down and challenge the Team GO Rocket Boss. Unlike the leaders, Giovanni’s team is more consistent. The only variation in Pokémon is in his second slot.

The first Pokémon Giovanni will use is always going to be his trusty Persian. A pure Normal-type Pokémon, Persian is weak against Fighting-type moves.

The best counters against Giovanni’s Persian include:

·         Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere

·         Conkeldurr with Counter and Focus Blast

·         Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch

·         Breloom with Counter and Dynamic Punch

·         Hariyama with Counter and Dynamic Punch

·         Blaziken with Counter and Focus Blast

As you can see, the best fast move to use against Persian is Counter. If you don’t have any of the listed Pokémon, you can take one of your strongest Fighting-types to take down Giovanni’s first Pokémon.

Giovanni will use either Kangaskhan, Garchomp, or Nidoking as his second Pokémon.

Kangaskhan, like Persian, is a Normal-type Pokémon, also making it weak to Fighting-type moves. If you get lucky and Giovanni has Kangaskhan in his second slot, you will easily take it down with the same Pokémon you used against Persian.

Garchomp is a dual-type Dragon/Ground Pokémon, which makes it weak against Ice, Fairy, and Dragon-type moves.

The best Pokémon to take down Garchomp include:

·         Mega Abomasnow with Powder Snow and Ice-type Weather Ball

·         Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche

·         Galarian Darmanitan with Ice Fang and Avalanche

·         Glaceon with Ice Shard and Avalanche

·         Weavile with Ice Shard and Avalanche

·         Mewtwo with Confusion and Ice Beam

Nidoking, a dual Poison/Ground-type is weak to Water, Ground, Ice, Psychic-type moves.

Best Nidoking counters include:

·         Mewtwo with Confusion and Psystrike

·         Mega Blastoise with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon

·         Mega Gengar with Hex and Psychic

·         Kyogre with Waterfall and Blizzard

·         Metagross with Zen Headbutt and Psychic

·         Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche

The final Pokémon in Giovanni’s lineup will always be Legendary Pokémon Articuno. A dual Ice/Flying-type, Articuno is weak to Rock, Fire, Electric, Steel-type moves.

Best Pokémon to take down Articuno include:

·         Rampardos with Smack Down and Rock Slide

·         Rhyperior with Smack Down and Rock Wrecker

·         Terrakion with Smack Down and Rock Slide

·         Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stone Edge

·         Gigalith with Smack Down and Rock Slide

·         Mega Y Charizard with Fire Spin and Blast Burn

These six Pokémon are some of the strongest against Articuno, but if you don’t have them, make sure to take Pokémon that can exploit its weaknesses well to defeat Giovanni and rescue Articuno.

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