NianticSierra is one of the more formidable Team Go Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go, presenting a challenging battle for Trainers seeking to prove their skills. To make things easier, here are all the details on Sierra’s lineup, their weaknesses, and the best counters to use as of August 2025.
Trainers can grab Mysterious Components by defeating Team Go Rocket Grunts in Pokemon Go at invaded PokeStops. Once you have six of them, you’ll be able to construct a powerful Rocket Radar, leading you straight to Team Go Rocket’s Leaders: Cliff, Arlo, and this guide’s focus, Sierra.
While the Grunts can be taken down with relative ease, the Team Go Rocket Leaders aren’t quite as simple, and each boasts its own arsenal of unique ‘mons to engage in combat against. Ultimately, it’s vital to take stock when trying to beat Leader Sierra’s lineup and prepare ahead of time to know which counters are best to use.
Sierra Pokemon Go lineup (August 2025)
Sierra is a difficult Leader to challenge. Plus, for August, her lineup changed during the Delightfut Days: Taken Over event.
She’ll send out Shadow Totodile first, followed by two of six potential options across phases two and three. Here’s her current lineup in Pokemon Go:
- Phase 1: Shadow Totodile
- Phase 2: Shadow Ferrothorn / Shadow Mismagius / Shadow Staraptor
- Phase 3: Shadow Camerupt / Shadow Drapion / Shadow Houndoom
NianticHow 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
DEXERTOTotodile counters
Totodile is a pure Water-type Pokemon, making it weak to Electric and Grass-type moves. On the other hand, it resists Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water-type moves, so avoid using those.
Here are some of the best counters to defeat Shadow Totodile:
Pokemon | Best Moveset |
|---|---|
Electivire  | Thunder Shock & Wild Charge |
Kartana  | Razor Leaf & Leaf Blade |
Sierra Pokemon Go counters – Phase 2
The Pokemon Company / DexertoFerrothorn counters
Ferrothorn is a Grass/Steel–type Pokemon, which makes it weak against Fighting and Fire-type attacks. It’s resistant to Dragon, Grass, Electric, Fairy, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, Steel, and Water-type moves.
Here are some of the best counters to use against Shadow Ferrothorn:
Pokemon | Best Moveset |
|---|---|
Blaziken  | Fire Spin & Blast Burn |
Chandelure  | Fire Spin & Overheat |
Mismagius counters
Mismagius is a pure Ghost-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Dark and Ghost-type attacks, and resistant to Bug, Fighting, Normal, and Poison-type moves.
Here are some of the best Shadow Mismagius counters you can use:
Pokemon | Best Moveset |
|---|---|
Absol  | Snarl & Brutal Swing |
Chandelure | Hex & Shadow Ball |
Staraptor counters
Staraptor is a dual Normal/Flying-type ‘mon, which means it’s weak to Electric, Ice, and Rock-type attacks but resistant to Bug, Ghost, Grass, and Ground moves.
Here are some of the best Shadow Staraptor counters you can use:
Pokemon | Best Moveset |
|---|---|
Electivire | Thunder Shock & Wild Charge |
Manectric  | Thunder Fang & Wild Charge |
Sierra Pokemon Go counters – Phase 3
The Pokemon Company / DexertoCameupt counters
Camerupt is a dual Fire/Ground-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Ground and Water-type attacks, and it’s resistant to Electric, Poison, Bug, Fairy, Fire, Fighting, and Steel-type moves.
Here are some of the best counters to defeat Shadow Camerupt:
Pokemon | Best Moveset |
|---|---|
Blastoise  | Water Gun & Hydro Cannon |
Garchomp  | Mud Shot & Earth Power |
Drapion counters
Drapion is a dual Poison/Dark-type Pokemon, which means it’s only weak to Ground-type attacks. It’s also resistant to Dark, Ghost, Grass, Poison, and Psychic-type moves.
Here are some of the best Shadow Drapion counters for your team:
Pokemon | Best Moveset |
|---|---|
Primal Groudon  | Mud Shot & Precipice Blades |
Garchomp | Mud Shot & Earth Power |
Houndoom counters
Houndoom is a dual Dark/Fire-type Pokemon, 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:
Pokemon | Best Moveset |
|---|---|
Primal Kyogre  | Waterfall & Origin Pulse |
Primal Groudon | Mud Shot & Precipice Blades |
Pokemon Go boss guides
For more guides like this, check out our other boss guides (and bookmark them) because we update them each time their lineup changes in the game:
- How to beat Giovanni
- How to beat Leader Sierra
- How to beat Leader Arlo
- How to beat Leader Cliff
- How to beat all Rocket Grunts
Best team to beat Sierra in Pokemon Go
DEXERTOOne of the best teams you can use when battling Sierra in Pokemon Go consists of Raikou, Chandelure, and Primal Groudon.
- The most important part of your team here is a Pokemon with Ground-typing like Primal Groudon or Garchomp, as they’ll be helpful countering Camerupt, Drapion, and Houndoom.
- Another way to approach this is by using Swampert with Water Gun and Earthquake, as it will also target Camerupt and Houndoom’s weakness to Water.
- An Electric-type team member is a must, so go with Raikou, Electivire, or Xurkitree to take down Totodile and Staraptor.
- As for Ferrothorn and Mismagius, they have different weaknesses: Fighting and Fire vs Dark and Ghost, respectively. However, you can use Chandelure with Fire Spin and Shadow Ball to target both.
- If you don’t have a Chandelure, see what Sierra throws you on Phase 2 and select another Pokemon from the best counter tables.
If you’ve only got a few of the ‘mon on our list – or just don’t have any of our recommendations – our best advice is to take in your strongest Electric, Ground, and Fire or Dark-type Pokemon into battle, to have a chance of winning through sheer force.
Remember that if you lose against Sierra, you’ll be able to challenge her to a rematch as many times as you need until you win. This is ideal when she throws out something you’re not prepared for, as you can rework your team before heading back into battle.
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 lineups to challenge Trainers. 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 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:
DEXERTOHow 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 at Poke Stops or by clicking on a Team Go Rocket Balloon, you’ll come across either Sierra, Cliff, or Arlo.
- Keep tapping on these encounters until you see Sierra’s avatar.
- Once you’ve found her avatar, you can then battle and defeat Sierra to earn yourself a Shadow Trapinch.
That’s everything you need to defeat Sierra in Pokemon Go properly. For additional help, make sure to check out our beginner’s guide of how to play Pokemon Go, the Spotlight Hour schedule, events schedule, and which Pokemon are featured in the current Raid boss schedule.
