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

One of the more formidable Team Go Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go, Sierra, presents a challenging battle for Trainers seeking to prove their skills. To make things a little easier, here are all the details on her lineup, weaknesses, and the best counters to use as we head into December 2024.

In the world of Pokemon Go, Trainers can grab Mysterious Components by defeating Team Go Rocket Grunts at invaded PokeStops. Once you have six of them, you’ll be able to construct a powerful Rocket Radar, leading you straight to the Team Go Rocket Leaders.

However, unlike the Grunts, who can be taken down with relative ease, the Team Go Rocket Leaders present a far more demanding challenge.

Each boasts their own arsenal of unique ‘mon to engage in combat against. There are three in total: Cliff, Arlo, and Sierra, the latter of which his guide is dedicated to, detailing her current line-up for December 2024 and the best counters to use to secure victory.

Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo make up the Team Go Rocket Leaders alongside Giovanni.

Sierra Pokemon Go lineup (December 2024)

As of December 2, 2024, Sierra’s lineup remains unchanged following the most recent Team Go Rocket Takeover, the Galarian Expedition: Taken Over event. Here is her current lineup in Pokemon Go:

• Phase 1: Shadow Ralts
• Phase 2: Shadow Sableye/ Shadow Steelix / Shadow Milotic
• Phase 3: Shadow Houndoom / Shadow Nidoqueen / Shadow Gardevoir

If her lineup changes following the Dual Destiny season launch on December 3, 2024, we’ll update you here accordingly, so make sure to check back soon!

How to beat Sierra in Pokemon Go

To defeat Sierra in Pokemon Go, you’ll need to utilize a variety of different types to counter her. We’ve featured a mix of stronger Legendaries and more common alternatives, so there should be something here to meet every Trainer’s needs — and all of them are solid choices.

Let’s look at the weaknesses of all the Pokemon that Sierra could choose to send out during your battle and which counters should be used to beat her.

Sierra Pokemon Go counters phase 1

Sierra will always use Shadow Ralts during the first phase.

Ralts counters

Ralts is a dual Psychic/Fairy-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Ghost, Poison, and Steel-type attacks. It’s also resistant to Dragon, Fighting, and Psychic-type moves, so it’s important to pick your counters mindfully.

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

Shadow Ralts Counters
	Dusk Mane Necrozma	Metal Claw (Fast Move) & Sunsteel Strike (Charge Move)
	Dawn Wings Necrozma	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charge Move)
	Mega Gengar	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charge Move)
	Excadrill	Metal Claw (Fast Move) & Iron Head (Charge Move)
	Cursola	Hex (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charge Move)
	Mewtwo	Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charge Move)

Sierra Pokemon Go counters phase 2

Sierra will use Shadow Sableye, Shadow Steelix, or Shadow Milotic during the second phase.

Sableye counters

Sableye is a dual Dark/Ghost-type Pokemon, which means it’s only weak against Fairy-type attacks, resistant to Poison, and immune to Normal, Fighting, and Psychic-type moves.

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

Shadow Sableye Counters
	Mega Gardevoir	Charm (Fast Move) & Dazzling Gleam (Charge Move)
	Xerneas	Geomancy (Fast Move) & Moonblast (Charge Move)
	Granbull	Charm (Fast Move) & Play Rough (Charge Move)
	Tapu Bulu	Bullet Seed (Fast Move) & Nature’s Madness (Charge Move)
	Xurkitree	Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Dazzling Gleam (Charge Move)
	Togekiss	Charm (Fast Move) & Dazzling Gleam (Charge Move)

Steelix counters

Steelix is a Steel/Ground-type Pokemon, which makes it weak against Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Water-type attacks. It’s resistant to Poison, Electric, Rock, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Normal, Psychic, and Steel-type moves.

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

Shadow Steelix Counters
	Mega Lucario	Force Palm (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charged Move)
	Primal Groudon	Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charge Move)
	Primal Kyogre	Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charged Move)
	Mega Swampert	Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charged Move)
	Conkeldurr	Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move)
	Excadrill	Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Scorching Sands (Charged Move)

Milotic counters

Milotic is a Water-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Electric and Grass-type attacks and resistant to Steel, Fire, Water, and Ice-type moves.

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

Shadow Milotic Counters
	Mega Sceptile	Fury Cutter (Fast Move) & Frenzy Plant (Charge Move)
	Kartana	Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charge Move)
	Raikou	Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move)
	Xurkitree	Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Discharge (Charge Move)
	Electivire	Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move)
	Magnezone	Spark (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move)

Sierra Pokemon Go counters phase 3

Sierra will use Shadow Houndoom, Shadow Nidoqueen, or Shadow Gardevoir during the third phase.

Houndoom counters

Houndoom is a dual Dark/Fire-type which means it’s weak against Fighting, Ground, Rock, and Water-type attacks. It’s resistant to Dark, Fire, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Psychic, and Steel-type moves.

These are some of the top counters for Shadow Houndoom:

Shadow Houndoom Counters
	Primal Kyogre	Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move)
	Primal Groudon	Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charge Move)
	Mega Lucario	Force Palm (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move)
	Rampardos	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charge Move)
	Terrakion	Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move)
	Rhyperior	Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charge Move)

Nidoqueen counters

Nidoqueen is a dual Poison/Ground-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water-type attacks, and it’s resistant to Electric, Poison, Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Rock-type moves.  

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

Shadow Nidoqueen Counters
	Mewtwo	Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Psystrike (Charge Move)
	Primal Kyogre	Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move)
	Primal Groudon	Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charge Move)
	Mega Swampert	Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move)
	Mamoswine	Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
	Excadrill	Mud-Slap (Fast Move) & Scorching Sands (Charge Move)

Gardevoir counters

Gardevoir is a dual Psychic/Fairy-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Ghost, Poison, and Steel-type attacks. It’s also resistant to Dragon, Fighting, and Psychic-type moves.

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

Shadow Gardevoir Counters
	Dusk Mane Necrozma	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charge Move)
	Dawn Wings Necrozma	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charge Move)
	Metagross	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charge Move)
	Mega Gengar	Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charge Move)
	Chandelure	Hex (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charge Move)
	Mewtwo	Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charge Move)

Best team to beat Sierra in Pokemon Go

One of the best teams you can use when battling Sierra in Pokemon Go consists of Xurkitree, Primal Groudon, and Mewtwo. Be aware that this team needs modifications to work, so be careful.

• The most important part of your team here is an Electric-type Pokemon like Xurkitree, which is a helpful counter to Sierra’s second phase of battle, with Electric and Fairy attacks that can take down both Sableye and Milotic.
• Primal Groudon provides a strong cover for the stages involving Steelix, Houndoom, and Nidoqueen.
  • If you don’t have Primal Groudon, you can use its regular version or a more accessible option like Excadrill.
• Mewtwo is a strong hard-hitter, in charge of taking down Ralts and Gardevoir while also being able to stand its ground against Nidoqueen.
  • If you don’t have Mewtwo, you can go with Cursola, Mega Gengar, or Dawn Wings Necrozma, too.

Overall, our best advice is to take in your strongest Pokemon to have a chance of winning through sheer force. Even if you lose, you’ll be able to understand what Sierra’s lineup is to plan a better team using the counters in this guide.

Every Sierra Shadow Boss ranked by difficulty

Team Go Rocket first appeared in Pokemon Go back in 2019, and since then their teams have had plenty of Pokemon rotations to challenge the players and keep them interested.

Unlike the Grunts, the Team Go Rocket Leaders – Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra – can be quite tough to beat, mainly due to their final Shadow Pokemon, the one used in phase three.

After analyzing Sierra’s team over the years, along with her final Pokemon’s stats, bulk, moveset, and other factors, here’s how tough to beat she’s been so far:

How to find Sierra

The only way to track down Sierra is to beat six Team Go Rocket Grunts and earn all six parts of the Mysterious Component. Once you have the six parts of the device, they’ll 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 tapping on these encounters until you see Sierra’s avatar. Then you can battle and defeat Sierra to earn yourself a Shadow Ralts.

How to beat Team Go Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go

As well as Sierra, you’ll need to go head to head with the other Team Go Rocket Leaders, so check out our guides to beat Arlo, defeat Cliff, and finally, take down Giovanni.

That’s everything you need to properly defeat Sierra in Pokemon Go. For additional help, make sure to check out how to play Pokemon Go, the Spotlight Hour schedule, and which Pokemon are the current Raid bosses.