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.
Arlo Pokemon Go lineaup (September 2024)
Arlo’s lineup changed during the Adventure Week: Taken Over event, which took place in August 2024. Here is his current lineup 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 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 as soon as it happens.
How to beat Arlo in Pokemon Go
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
Anorith counters
Anorith is a dual Rock/Bug-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Rock, Steel, and Water attacks. It’s also resistant to Normal and Poison-type moves, so don’t use those.
Here are some of the best Shadow Anorith counters:
| 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
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) | |
| Zekrom | Charge Beam (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) | |
| Electivire | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) | |
Crobat counters
Crobat is a dual Poison/Flying-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Electric, Ice, Psychic, and Rock-type attacks. On the other hand, it’s resistant to Bug, Fighting, Grass, Fairy, Ground, and Poison-type moves.
Here are some of the best counters to take down Shadow Crobat:
| Shadow Crobat Counters | ||
| Mega Alakazam | 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 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:
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| 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
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:
| 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, 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 | 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, 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) | |
Best team to beat Arlo in Pokemon Go
One of the best teams you can take into battle against Arlo in Pokemon Go right now is the trio of Mega Lucario, Magnezone, and Chandelure.
As a full-on Fighting type, Mega Lucario (or its regular version) is the ideal Pokemon to take care of Steelix and Snorlax. However, if you change its Fighting Fast Move for a Steel attack, you can even extend the coverage to also take down Anorith.
Magnezone will be in charge of fighting both Gyarados and Crobat, though you can also use Raikou if you happen to have one.
The trickiest part to figure out is the third spot, as you still need to cover Gardevoir and Scizor. For the latter one, Chandelure is a good Fire-type option, but if you use its dual typing, it can also help with Gardevoir.
In case you don’t want to take your chances using Chandelure, you can switch it to Metagross to give you coverage against Gardeovir and Anorith and hope Arlo never uses Scizor.
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.
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 September 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.
