Pokemon GO: How To Beat Cliff (December 2023)

Pokemon GO players get to battle the Team GO Rocket grunts, leaders, and the main boss regularly. Among the different leaders, Cliff has some of the most potent Shadow Pokemon in his battle roster. One needs extensive meta-knowledge and powerful counters to win against the Team GO Rocket leader.

Cliff’s Pokemon GO battle roster comprises 7 Shadow Pokemon, and the battle has 3 rounds. While the battle with Cliff is highly challenging, locating the leader is also tricky. Trainers must defeat multiple grunts and collect 6 Mysterious Components. Once the required number of Mysterious Components are collected, trainers can finally assemble a Rocket Radar, which helps to find Cliff’s location. That said, this guide explores Cliff’s Shadow Pokemon and their counters for December 2023.

How to Beat Cliff in Pokemon GO

The Pokemon GO Team GO Rocket leader, Cliff, possesses a battle roster of 7 distinct Shadow Pokemon. The battle has 3 rounds, and Cliff always starts with 1 Shadow Pokemon in the first round. The leader has 3 potential picks for each of the later rounds, making the battle an extremely unpredictable match. Players need proper meta-knowledge and carefully selected counters to go against Cliff.

Cliff’s First Phase Counters

Cliff always begins with Shadow Dratini for the battle’s first phase. It is a potent Dragon-type Pokemon with boosted offensive prowess as a Shadow monster.

Shadow Dratini

• Type: Dragon
• Weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy, and Ice-type moves
• Resistances: Electric, Fire, Grass, and Water-type moves

Cliff’s Second Phase Counters

The battle’s second phase comes up with significant uncertainty. Cliff’s Pokemon choice is not constant like in the first phase, so Pokemon GO players must prepare to battle against the likes of Shadow Slowking, Shadow Cradily, or Shadow Gallade. One must analyze the game’s meta to counter these opponents effectively.

Shadow Slowking

• Type: Water and Psychic
• Weaknesses: Bug, Dark, Electric, Ghost, Grass-type
• Resistances: Fighting, Fire, Ice, Psychic, Steel, Water-type moves

Shadow Cradily

• Type: Rock and Grass
• Weaknesses: Bug, Steel, Ice, and Fighting-type
• Resistances: Electric and Normal-type moves

Shadow Gallade

• Type: Psychic and Fighting
• Weaknesses: Ghost, Flying, and Fairy-type
• Resistances: Fighting and Rock-type moves

Cliff’s Third Phase Counters

The third phase also proves to be a battle of prediction. Cliff has three choices he can pick for the final phase: Shadow Dusknoir, Shadow Mamoswine, or Shadow Tyranitar. Pokemon GO trainers must carefully select counters that can go toe-to-toe with the Team GO Rocket leader’s roster.

Shadow Dusknoir

• Type: Ghost
• Weaknesses: Dark and Ghost-type
• Resistances: Fighting, Normal, Bug, and Poison-type moves

Shadow Mamoswine

• Type: Ice and Ground
• Weaknesses: Water, Fire, Grass, Steel, and Fighting-type moves
• Resistances: Electric and Poison-type

Shadow Tyranitar

• Type: Rock and Dark
• Weaknesses: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Ground, Water, Steel, and Grass-type moves
• Resistances: Psychic, Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Normal, and Poison-type