Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo is a formidable opponent in Pokemon Go, and battling his Shadow squad demands the ideal team composition. This guide outlines Arlo’s latest lineup, their weaknesses, and effective counters to help you emerge victoriously.
One of the thrilling aspects of Pokemon Go is engaging in battles against Team Go Rocket. These villains take over PokeStops in the game’s world, deploying their Shadow Pokemon to challenge anyone who dares to interact with them.
Victorious trainers have the opportunity to capture Shadow Pokemon, which can be ‘purified’ to enhance their CP or retained as Shadow Pokemon for their superior attack stats, perfect for competitive play or mastering Raid battles.
This guide presents Arlo’s current Pokemon lineup, their inherent weaknesses, and the best counters to help your team defeat them.
Arlo is recognized as one of the hardest Team Go Rocket Leaders.
Arlo’s Pokemon Go Lineup (September 2024)
During the Adventure Week: Taken Over event in August 2024, Arlo’s lineup experienced a change. Here’s his current composition in Pokemon Go:
- Phase 1: Shadow Anorith
- Phase 2: Shadow Gyarados / Shadow Crobat / Shadow Steelix
- Phase 3: Shadow Snorlax / Shadow Gardevoir / Shadow Scizor
Arlo’s roster alters with each Team GO Rocket Takeover. The date of the next takeover is uncertain, but updates will be provided on this page as they come.
How to Defeat Arlo
By defeating enough Team GO Rocket Grunts at PokeStops, you can assemble a Rocket Radar, enabling you to find and battle Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra at random.
Let’s explore all the Pokemon Arlo can utilize during battle, their weaknesses, and the best counters to defeat each one.
Arlo Pokemon Go Counters Phase 1
Anorith Counters
Anorith, being a dual Rock/Bug-type Pokemon, is weak to Rock, Steel, and Water attacks. It holds resistance to Normal and Poison-type moves, so avoid using those.
Here are some of the top counters for Shadow Anorith:
| Shadow Anorith Counters | ||
| Dusk Mane Necrozma |
Metal Claw (Fast Move) & Sunsteel Strike (Charged Move) |
|
| Primal Kyogre |
Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charged Move) |
|
| Metagross |
Bullet Punch (Fast Move) & Meteor Mash (Charged Move) |
|
| Mega Swampert |
Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charged Move) |
|
| Rampardos |
Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move) |
|
| Tyranitar |
Smack Down (Fast Move) & Stone Edge (Charged Move) |
|
Arlo Pokemon Go Counters Phase 2
In phase two, Arlo will select either Shadow Gyarados, Shadow Crobat, or Shadow Steelix.
Gyarados Counters
As a Water/Flying-type Pokemon, Gyarados is weak against Electric and Rock-type attacks, yet it is resistant to Ground, Bug, Fighting, Fire, Steel, and Water-type moves.
Here are the recommended 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) |
|
| Zekrom |
Charge Beam (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) |
|
| Electivire |
Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) |
|
Crobat Counters
Crobat, being a dual Poison/Flying-type Pokemon, is weak against Electric, Ice, Psychic, and Rock-type attacks. However, it resists Bug, Fighting, Grass, Fairy, Ground, and Poison-type moves.
Here are effective counters to take down Shadow Crobat:
| Shadow Crobat Counters | ||
| Mega Relationship | Confusion (Fast Move) & Psychic (Charged Move) | |
| Mewtwo | Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Psystrike (Charged Move) | |
| Rampardos | Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move) | |
| Rhyperior | Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charged Move) | |
| Raikou | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) | |
| Magnezone | Spark (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) | |
Steelix Counters
Steelix, a Steel/Ground-type Pokemon, is weak against Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Water-type attacks. It has numerous resistances, including Poison, Electric, Rock, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Normal, Psychic, and Steel-type moves.
Here are the best counters to utilize against Shadow Steelix:
| Shadow Steelix Counters | ||
| Mega Lucario |
Force Palm (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charged Move) |
|
| Primal Groudon |
Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charged 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) |
|
Arlo Pokemon Go Counters Phase 3
In the third phase, Arlo will use Shadow Gardevoir, Shadow Snorlax, or Shadow Scizor.
Snorlax Counters
Snorlax is a Normal-type Pokemon, making it weak to Fighting-type attacks, while being resistant to Ghost-type moves.
Here are some of the top counters for Shadow Snorlax:
| 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) |
|
Gardevoir Counters
Gardevoir is a dual Psychic/Fairy-type Pokemon, making it weak to Ghost, Poison, and Steel-type attacks. It also resists Dragon, Fighting, and Psychic-type moves.
Here are the best counters for Shadow Gardevoir:
| Shadow Gardevoir Counters | ||
| Dusk Mane Necrozma |
Metal Claw (Fast Move) & Sunsteel Strike (Charged Move) |
|
| Dawn Wings Necrozma |
Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charged Move) |
|
| Metagross | Bullet Punch (Fast Move) & Meteor Mash (Charged Move) | |
| Mega Gengar |
Lick (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move) |
|
| Chandelure |
Hex (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move) |
|
| Mewtwo |
Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move) |
|
Scizor Counters
Scizor is a dual Bug/Steel-type Pokemon with a sole weakness to Fire-type attacks. It possesses numerous resistances, including Grass, Poison, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Normal, Psychic, and Steel-type moves.
Here are the top counters to utilize against Shadow Scizor:
| 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) |
|
Best Team to Beat Arlo
The optimal team to defeat Arlo consists of Mega Lucario, Magnezone, and Chandelure.
A powerful lineup you can deploy against Arlo in Pokemon Go currently features Mega Lucario, Magnezone, and Chandelure.
Mega Lucario, as a pure Fighting type, is perfect for countering Steelix and Snorlax. Alternatively, swapping its Fighting Fast Move for a Steel attack can add further versatility against Anorith.
Magnezone is assigned to handle Gyarados and Crobat, although Raikou is also a viable option if available.
The most challenging choice is the third slot as it needs to address both Gardevoir and Scizor. Chandelure serves as an excellent Fire-type option against Scizor and can also apply pressure against Gardevoir due to its dual typing.
If you would prefer not to use Chandelure, switching to Metagross provides coverage against both Gardevoir and Anorith while avoiding Scizor entirely.
Remember, you can rematch Arlo as many times as needed until you secure the victory, allowing you to make adjustments to your team as you see fit.
All Arlo Shadow Bosses Ranked by Difficulty
Since Arlo and Team GO Rocket became a part of Pokemon Go in 2019, the various bosses have exhibited varying member lineups and Shadow Boss Pokémon.
By assessing their stats, bulk, movesets, and other vital attributes, we’ve compiled a guide detailing the difficulty level of every instance of Giovanni’s Shadow Boss Pokémon encountered thus far.
How to Locate Arlo
You can track down Arlo only by defeating a minimum of six different Team GO Rocket Grunts to collect six separate Mysterious Components. Once obtained, these will combine to form a Rocket Radar.
With an active Rocket Radar, when approaching Team GO Rocket members at PokeStops or by interacting with a Team GO Rocket Balloon, you’ll encounter either Sierra, Cliff, or Arlo.
Continue engaging with these members until you spot Arlo; then you can battle and attempt to defeat him to earn the chance for a Shadow Anorith.
How to Defeat Team Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go
Giovanni, their leader, continues to be present as well for September 2024.
This concludes everything you need to know to effectively defeat Arlo in Pokemon Go. For more help, explore how to obtain Remote Raid Passes, along with the latest Spotlight Hour schedule.
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