As one of several Team Rocket GO leaders in Pokemon GO, defeating Cliff is an important part of the ongoing quest to take them down. Once all Rocket Radar pieces have been assembled, Team Rocket GO leaders will start appearing at Pokestops and in balloons to challenge the player to a fight. Once all of them have been defeated, players will be expected to fight Giovanni. Here's everything a player needs to know about countering Cliff in Pokemon GO.
Pokemon GO: Cliff Line-Up (April 2023)
Cliff's line-up changes regularly, with the latest update being March 25, 2023. The following is the current line-up for April, with Larvitar being the only Pokemon that doesn't change:
- Phase One: Larvitar (Ground/Rock-type)
- Phase Two: Kingdra (Water/Dragon-type), Sceptile (), Skarmory ()
- Phase Three: Gyarados (Water/Dragon-type), Swampert (Water/Ground-type), Tyranitar (Ground/Rock-type)
Pokemon GO: Cliff Counters (April 2023)
While not quite as strong as Giovanni's, Cliff's Pokemon will still pose a serious threat to players that are unprepared for his attacks. Players should consider the type effectiveness of each Pokemon and the power level. Type effectiveness is the most important, but the power level still plays a role.
Phase One Counters
Cliff's first Pokemon is Larvitar, a Ground/Rock-type that is weak against Grass, Ground, Ice, Fighting, Steel, and Water-type attacks. In the first round, players should focus on applying shield pressure so that Cliff's more powerful Pokemon don't have anything to block with. Players should consider the following Pokemon:
|
Pokemon |
Type |
Moves |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Breloom |
Grass/Fighting |
Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move) |
|
Swampert |
Water/Ground |
Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charged Move) |
|
Roserade |
Grass/Poison |
Bullet Seed (Fast Move) & Grass Knot (Charged Move) |
|
Kartana |
Grass/Steel |
Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charged Move) |
|
Zarude |
Dark/Grass |
Vine Whip (Fast Move) & Power Whip (Charged Move) |
|
Conkeldurr |
Fighting |
Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move) |
Phase Two Counters
In the second phase, Cliff has three Pokemon to choose from, so players will need to adjust their team depending on which one Cliff sends out. Luckily, the game sets the line-up for each encounter, so players can plan accordingly after the first battle if things don't go to plan. Players should choose a Pokemon that appears on the most lists, if possible. In this case, Reshiram, Chandelure, and Darmanitan are great counters for both Sceptile and Skarmory.
Sceptile:
|
Pokemon |
Type |
Moves |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Galarian Darmanitan |
Ice |
Ice Fang (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move) |
|
Reshiram |
Dragon/Fire |
Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move) |
|
Chandelure |
Ghost/Fire |
Incinerate (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move) |
|
Darmanitan |
Fire |
Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move) |
|
Honchkrow |
Dark/Flying |
Peck (Fast Move) & Sky Attack (Charged Move) |
|
Nihilego |
Rock/Poison |
Acid (Fast Move) & Sludge Bomb (Charged Move) |
Skarmory:
|
Pokemon |
Type |
Moves |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Electivire |
Electric |
Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) |
|
Electric |
Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Discharge (Charged Move) |
|
|
|
Reshiram |
Dragon/Fire |
Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Fusion Flare (Charged Move) |
|
|
Darmanitan |
Fire |
Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move) |
|
Zekrom |
Electric/Dragon |
Charge Beam (Fast Move) & Fusion Bolt (Charged Move) |
|
|
Chandelure |
Ghost/Fire |
Incinerate (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move) |
Kingdra:
|
Pokemon |
Type |
Moves |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rayquaza |
Dragon/Flying |
Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charged Move) |
|
Salamence |
Flying/Dragon |
Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charged Move) |
|
Dragonite |
Dragon/Flying |
Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charged Move) |
|
Steel/Dragon |
Dragon Breath (Fast Move) & Draco Meteor (Charge Moved) |
|
|
Garchomp |
Ground/Dragon |
Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charged Move) |
|
Gardevoir |
Psychic/Fairy |
Charm (Fast Move) & Dazzling Gleam (Charged Move) |
Phase Three Counters
Cliff also has three potential Pokemon for the third phase. These will be the most powerful of the three, but if players deplete Cliff's shield resource and use super-effective moves, these Pokemon should not present too much of a problem. Players should consider the following counters:
Swampert:
|
Pokemon |
Type |
Moves |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Kartana |
Grass/Steel |
Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charged Move) |
|
|
Zarude |
Dark/Grass |
Vine Whip (Fast Move) & Power Whip (Charged Move) |
|
|
Roserade |
Grass/Poison |
Bullet Seed (Fast Move) & Solar Beam (Charged Move) |
|
Tapu Bulu |
Grass/Fairy |
Bullet Seed (Fast Move) & Solar Beam (Charged Move) |
|
Venusaur |
Grass/Poison |
Vine Whip (Fast Move) & Solar Beam (Charged Move) |
|
|
Breloom |
Grass/Fighting |
Bullet Seed (Fast Move) & Grass Knot (Charged Move) |
Gyarados:
|
Pokemon |
Type |
Moves |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Xurkitree |
Electric |
Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Discharge (Charged Move) |
|
Magnezone |
Steel/Electric |
Spark (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) |
|
Rampardos |
Rock |
Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move) |
|
|
Zekrom |
Dragon/Electric |
Charge Beam (Fast Move) & Fusion Bolt (Charged Move) |
|
|
Electivire |
Electric |
Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charged Move) |
|
Rhyperior |
Ground/Rock |
Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charged Move) |
Tyranitar:
|
Pokemon |
Type |
Moves |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Breloom |
Grass/Fighting |
Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move) |
|
|
Conkeldurr |
Fighting |
Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move) |
|
(Mega) Alakazam |
Psychic |
Counter (Fast Move) & Focus Blast (Charged Move) |
|
Lucario |
Steel/Fighting |
Counter (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charged Move) |
|
Machamp |
Fighting |
Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charged Move) |
|
|
Kartana |
Grass/Steel |
Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charged Move) |
Pokemon GO is available now on mobile devices.