How to beat Leader Arlo in Pokemon Go: December 2024 counters & weaknesses

❘ Updated: 2024-12-02T09:30:37

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Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo is a difficult opponent to defeat in Pokemon Go, and going up against his Shadow squad requires the perfect team. To help you out, here are the details of his most recent lineup, their weaknesses, and some of the best counters you can use in battle.

One of the most exciting elements of Pokemon Go are the battles against Team Go Rocket. These troublemakers invade PokeStops around the game’s overworld and use their Shadow Pokemon to battle anyone who interacts with them.

If you win these fights, you’ll get the chance to capture one of their Shadow Pokemon, which can either be ‘purified’ for a CP boost or left as a Shadow Pokemon with higher attack stats if you’re competitive-minded or looking to master Raid battles.

In this guide, you’ll find Arlo’s current lineup of Pokemon, their weaknesses, and the best counters you can use on your team to defeat them.

Artwork of Team Go Rocket and Shadow Snorlax in Pokemon Go

Arlo Pokemon Go lineup (December 2024)

Arlo’s lineup changed during the Pokemon Go Galarian Expedition: Taken Over event, which kicked off in October. Here is his current lineup in Pokemon Go:

Phase 1: Shadow Beldum
Phase 2: Shadow Gyarados / Shadow Hypno / Shadow Charizard
Phase 3: Shadow Snorlax / Shadow Scizor / Shadow Metagross

Arlo’s lineup changes every time there’s a Team Go Rocket Takeover. We don’t know when the next one will occur, but we’ll update this page if one happens during the Dual Destiny season, which starts on December 3, 2024.

How to beat Arlo

If you defeat enough Team Go Rocket Grunts at PokeStops, you’ll be able to piece together a Rocket Radar, which will allow you to locate and battle either Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra at random.

Let’s take a look at all the Pokemon that Arlo can send out into battle, their weaknesses, and the best counters you can use to defeat each one.

Arlo Pokemon Go counters phase 1

Beldum counters

Beldum is a dual Steel/Psychic-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground-type attacks. It’s also resistant to Poison, Psychic, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Rock, and Steel-type moves, so don’t use those.

Here are some of the best Shadow Beldum counters:

Arlo Pokemon Go counters phase 2

Gyarados counters

Gyarados is a Water/Flying-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Electric and Rock-type attacks but resistant to Ground, Bug, Fighting, Fire, Steel, and Water-type moves.

Here are some of the best counters to defeat Shadow Gyarados:

Shadow Gyarados Counters
	Raikou	Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move)
	Xurkitree	Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Discharge (Charged Move)
	Mega Manectric	Thunder Fang (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move)
	Magnezone	Spark (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move)
	Rampardos	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move)
	Rhyperior	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charged Move)

Hypno counters

Hypno is a pure Psychic-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Bug, Dark, and Ghost-type attacks. On the other hand, it’s resistant to Fighting, and Psychic-type moves.

Here are some of the best counters to take down Shadow Hypno:

Charizard counters

Charizard is a dual Fire/Flying-type Pokemon, which makes it weak against Rock, Electric, and Water-type attacks. It’s resistant to Bug, Grass, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Steel-type moves.

Here are some of the best counters to use against Shadow Charizard:

Shadow Charizard Counters
	Rampardos	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move)
	Rhyperior	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charged Move)
	Mega Tyranitar	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Stone Edge (Charged Move)
	Gigalith	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Meteor Beam (Charged Move)
	Terrakion	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move)
	Primal Kyogre	Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charged Move)

Arlo Pokemon Go counters phase 3

Snorlax counters

Snorlax is a Normal-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Fighting-type attacks, and it’s also resistant to Ghost-type moves.

Here are some of the top Shadow Snorlax counters you can use:

Scizor counters

Scizor is a dual Bug/Steel-type Pokemon, which means its only weakness is Fire-type attacks. It has loads of resistance, including Grass, Poison, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Normal, Psychic, and Steel-type moves.

Here are some of the best Shadow Scizor counters you can use:

Shadow Scizor Counters
	Mega Blaziken	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move)
	Mega Charizard Y	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move)
	Reshiram	Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Fusion Flare (Charged Move)
	Darmanitan Standard Mode	Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)
	Moltres	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)
	Chandelure	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)

Metagross counters

Metagross is a dual Steel/Psychic-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground-type attacks. It’s also resistant to Poison, Psychic, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Rock, and Steel-type moves.

Here are some of the best Shadow Metagross counters for your team:

Best team to beat Arlo

One of the best teams you can take into battle against Arlo in Pokemon Go right now is the trio of Chandelure, Rampardos, and Mega Lucario.

As a full-on Fire type, Mega Blaziken (or its regular version) is the ideal Pokemon to take care of Beldum, Scizor, and Metagross. However, it is better to go with Chandelure – with both Fire and Ghost moves – so it can also take care of Hypno.
For Gyarados and Charizard, a good Electric or Rock type like Rampadors, Rhyperior, or Raikou (if you have one), will work nicely. You can even use a Mega Ampharos with Charge Beam and Power Gem to cover both types, too.
The trickiest part to figure out is the third spot. You can go for a Dark or Ghost Pokemon like Mega Gengar to take care of Hypno and help out with Beldum and Metagross if your Chandelure faints, and hope Arlo never uses Snorlax.
- If you want to be prepared to take on the Normal-type Snorlax, all you can do is add a Fighting Pokemon to your team, so go with Mega Lucario, Conkeldurr, or something easier to get like Machamp.

Remember that you can rematch Arlo as often as you like until you defeat him, so if you find yourself struggling, you’ll be able to leave and switch up your team before you return for the win.

Every Arlo Shadow Boss ranked by difficulty

Ever since Arlo and Team Go Rocket joined Pokemon Go in 2019, the various bosses have had a wide range of party members and ultimately, Shadow Boss Pokemon.

With a wide range of Pokemon to battle, including popular favorites and tough opponents like Scizor, Charizard, Cradily, and more: Arlo and the other Team Go Rockets have had some seriously powerful teams.

So, considering stats, bulk, moveset, and other factors we have made a handy guide explaining just how tough every single one of Arlo’s Shadow Boss Pokemon has been so far.

A graph shows the difficulty of each third Pokemon used by Team Go Rocket leader Arlo

How to find Arlo

The only way to track down Arlo is to beat at least six different Team Go Rocket Grunts and earn six different Mysterious Component parts. Once you have six, they combine to assemble a Rocket Radar.

With a Rocket Radar active, when you encounter Team Go Rocket members either at Poke Stops or by clicking on a Team Go Rocket Balloon, you will encounter either Sierra, Cliff, or Arlo.

Keep clicking on these encounters until you find Arlo, and you can then battle and defeat Arlo to earn yourself a Shadow Beldum.

How to beat Team Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go

Alongside Arlo, you’ll also be able to go head to head with a few other Team Go Rocket Leaders, so check out our guides to defeat Cliff and Sierra. Their boss, Giovanni, is also still around for December 2024.

That’s everything you need to properly defeat Arlo in Pokemon Go. For additional assistance, check out how to get Remote Raid Passes, plus the latest Spotlight Hour schedule.

Shadow Beldum Counters
	Dawn Wings Necrozma	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charged Move)
	Primal Groudon	Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charged Move)
	Heatran	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Magma Storm (Charged Move)
	Mega Gengar	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Mega Blaziken	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blaze Kick (Charged Move)
	Chandelure	Hex (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)

Shadow Hypno Counters
	Dawn Wings Necrozma	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charged Move)
	Mega Gengar	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Mega Banette	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Tyranitar	Bite (Fast Move) & Brutal Swing (Charged Move)
	Chandelure	Hex (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Mewtwo	Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)

Shadow Snorlax Counters
	Mega Lucario	Force Palm (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charged Move)
	Mega Heracross	Counter (Fast Move) & Close Combat (Charged Move)
	Conkeldurr	Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move)
	Terrakion	Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charged Move)
	Keldeo	Low Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charged Move)
	Machamp	Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move)

Shadow Metagross Counters
	Dawn Wings Necrozma	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charged Move)
	Primal Groudon	Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charged Move)
	Mega Gengar	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Mega Blaziken	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blaze Kick (Charged Move)
	Mega Charizard Y	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move)
	Chandelure	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)

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