"Rocket Leader Counters and Team Compositions Part 3, February 2020 edition"

#PokemonGO: TL;DRBurn Shields against the first pokemon with a type advantage quick moveUse fast charging charge moves to take advantage of the three second delayBuild a trio of Pokemon that have type advantage against all 7 potential enemy Pokemon-If you know which 3 Pokemon they're using, you can build a better teamPrioritize using Pokemon with strong resistances over strong offensesPrioritize resisiting quick moves over charge movesHigher CP Pokemon will do better than lower CP Pokemon in rocket battles. This might seem obvious, but just in case, prioritize higher level PokemonPut your lead in the 2nd slot, and when the battle begins quickly switch to it. Switching will stagger the enemy for a few seconds allowing you more time to build up your charge move.Rocket Leaders seem to be changing every 6 weeks. This is getting exhausting. The first set wasn't too bad, and the second wave could have been a lot worse, but wave three is a bit harder.According to this information from Silph Road the new lineups are:Arlo: Mawile | Charizard/Blastoise/Steelix | Salamence/Dragonite/ScizorCliff: Pinsir | Marowak/Omastar/Electivire | Tyranitar/Swampert/TorterraSierra: Beldum | Sharpedo/Lapras/Exeggutor | Houndoom/Shiftry/AlakazamBeldum is an easy lead, but Pinsir and Mawile can make short work of your Pokemon if you aren't careful. Highly recommend taking advantage of switching in.As before, it's important to keep in mind that strict DPS isn't going to do the trick. With only 3 Pokemon, you can't rely on DPS to carry you here. If you're going to rely on Charge moves, you'll need to remember to knock out both shields first. Defensive Pokemon are going to be more important than usual, so remember to use Pokemon that resist their attacks (especially their quick attacks) in addition to having super effective moves.Note that the Pokemon I use may not be at the same power level as the ones you use. I try to keep my Pokemon around 30-35, but some of the ones I've tested with have been pushed all the way to 40. I wouldn't recommend using anything under level 30.(L denotes Legacy Moves)Arlo:Mawile uses Fire, Ice, Ghost, or Dark fast moves and Fairy, Steel, Fighting, or Normal charge moves. There's no catch-all counter for Mawile, not really. Only a handful of Pokemon resist all 4 of those attacks, and those that do don't have the CP to compete. You'll want to use different counters based on what quick move it has. To make matters worse, it learns Power Up Punch, which can burn down your shields while also making Mawile's quick moves hit that much harder. This one more than any others, you'll want to switch in and take advantage of using charge moves to stun. This is gonna be its own section, because I'm still working on testing leads against this.I don't actually have a list of guaranteed counters for Mawile yet. Anyone who claims to is either smarter than me or hasn't tested that lead against every variation of Mawile. Pokebattler recommends Darmanitan with Fire Spin and Overheat, but Darmanitan will still go down to the wrong combination of moves very quickly. I suspect it's only good against Fire Fang and Ice Fang.I've compiled a list of Pokemon that I think might do well against Mawile, but haven't had a chance to test all of them yet. These won't be catch-alls, but hopefully they work agaisnt 2 or 3 possible fast moves.Poliwrath - Mud Shot/PuP (+Ice Punch)Garchomp - Mud Shot/Sand Tomb (+ another move ideally)Flygon - Mud Shot/Dragon Claw (+ Earth Power)Kingler - Mud ShotL /X Scissor (+ Crabhammer ideally)Swampert - Mud Shot/Muddy Water (+ Hydro Cannon)Toxicroak - Counter/Mud BombBlaziken - Fire Spin/Blaze Kick (+Blast Burn or Overheat)Magmortar - Fire Spin/Brick Break (+Fire Punch)Darmanitan - Fire Fang/Rock SlideSeismitoad - Mud Shot/Muddy WaterAgainst Fire Fang, you can useCharizard, Heatran,Moltres,Darmanitan,Against Bite I've had some success withMachampLucarioIf you do try something out on the list, let me know how it does.His second Pokemon will be either Charizard, Blastoise, or Steelix.Charizard uses Fire and Flying fast moves, and either Fire or Dragon charge moves. The same rock types we used against him last time should work this time too.Tyranitar (Smack Down L + Crunch)Alolan Golem (Rock Throw + Rock Blast)Rhyperior (Smack Down + Surf)Probopass (Rock Throw + Rock Slide)We can also use these Rock Pokemon against any Dragons Arlo might be using in the third slot, but if you don't have these and you know he has Charizard, you can try using your fancy new Terrakion, or give Waterfall + Surf Kyogre a whirl.Blastoise uses Dark or Water fast moves and Steel, Normal, Water, or Ice type charge moves.Virizion (Quick Attack + Leaf Blade)Hydreigon (Dragonbreath + Dragon Pulse)Dialga (Dragonbreath + Thunder)Dragonite (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Palkia (Dragonbreath + Draco Meteor)Magenzone (Charge Beam + Wild Charge)Most of the best counters against Blastoise are grass types, with Virizion topping the charts according to Pokebattler. This entire list would be grass types, except grass types are profoundly unhelpful against anything else Arlo uses (except arguably Steelix? But even then...) so you're better off using one of the other counters if you're going in blind. They won't be quite a good as a strong Grass type, but it's better to have a slightly worse matchup against Blastoise than a worthless Pokemon 2/3rds of the time.Steelix uses Dragon, Electric, or Steel fast moves and Ground, Dark, or Steel charge moves. Steelix is weak to Fire, Water, and Ground moves. You'll probably want to stick to Fire or Water though since Ground won't hit his other Pokemon very hard.Heatran (Fire Spin + Flamethrower)Entei (Fire Fang + Flamethrower)Blaziken (Counter + Blaze Kick/Blast Burn L )Kyogre (Waterfall + Surf)Excadrill (Mud Slap + Drill Run)Water types and Flying types are a liability now that Steelix has Thunder Fang. Fire types can run double duty, countering Steelix as well as Scizor.His third Pokemon will be either Salamence, Dragonite, or Scizor.Salamence uses Fire, Dragon, or Dark type and Fire, Dragon, or Water charge moves. You'll want to hit it with Rock or Dragon moves.Tyranitar (Smack Down L + Stone Edge)Giratina (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Hydreigon (Dragonbreath + Dragon Pulse)Rhyperior (Smack Down + Stone Edge)Dragonite (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Gyarados (Dragonbreath + Twister)Ice types are a liability in this fight since Salamence can run Fire quick moves. You can try running Togekiss here, but you'll be relying heavily on quick moves instead of stunning with charge moves.Dragonite uses Dragon or Steel quick moves and Dragon, Flying, or Normal charge moves. It's double weak to Ice, but Rock is also very good.Dialga (Dragonbreath, Draco Meteor)Togekiss (Charm, Ancientpower)Giratina (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Gyarados (Dragonbreath + Twister/Dragon Pulse L )Dragonite is a nightmare no matter how you slice it. Having a steel quick move means that the only truly "safe" Pokemon to use against it are Steel types, but Steel types don't have a place in the rest of the fight. If you're struggling to kill it on the 1st or 2nd try, consider swapping a Pokemon for Legacy Metagross, a Thundershock/Rock Slide Melmetal, or a double Ice Suicune.Scizor uses Steel or Bug fast moves and Steel, Dark, or Bug charge moves. You'll want to exploit it's double weakness to fire.Heatran (Fire Spin + Flamethrower)Blaziken (Counter + Blaze Kick)Entei (Fire Spin + Flamethrower)Dialga (Dragonbreath + Draco Meteor)Kill it with fire.A good combination of Pokemon for Arlo will need a Pokemon dedicated to taking out Mawile, since it probably won't survive very long once you win. You'll still want a fire move to use against Scizor and potentially Steelix, and some counters to the Dragons (although, as mentioned Ice types are a liability). I think running a Rock type to fight Charizard and the Dragons plus a Fire type to handle Scizor and Steelix is a good move, but you'll be weak to Blastoise. Admittedly, Arlo is the one I'm least prepared against due to his diverse team and host of resistant Pokemon. If you can find out what his lineup is ahead of time, you'll have a huge advantage.Cliff:Pinsir is Cliff's lead. It runs either Fighting or Bug quick moves and Fighting or Bug charge moves. Conventional wisdom suggest a Fire/Flying or Fire/Ghost type, but Charizard, Moltres, and Chandelure are quite frail. If you use them, consider switching them in first. Chandelure doesn't have the quickest Charge moves, so I wouldn't run that at all.Giratina Altered (Dragonbreath + Ancient Power)Togekiss (Air Slash + Ancient Power)Dragonite (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Charizard (Fire Spin + Dragon Claw)As always, the lowoer energy the charge move, the more shields we burn. Pokemon like Giratina A, Togekiss, and Dragonite manage to survive Pinsir's powerful quick attacks with minimal resistance and dish out heavy damage from fast attacks as well as hitting those shields. If you already have a Blast Burn Charizard, consider giving it a second move.His second Pokemon will be either Marowak, Omastar, or Electivire.Marowak uses either Fighting or Ground type fast moves and Ground type charge moves. Marowak is the easiest Pokemon to predict in the lot. Hit it with Grass or Water.Articuno (Ice Shard + Icy Wind/Ice Beam)Swampert (Mud Shot + Hydro Cannon L )Kyogre (Waterfall + Surf)Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant L )Torterra (Razor Leaf + Sand Tomb)Lugia, Dragonite, and togekiss are also top counters, but they don't do much against Cliff's other Pokemon. Articuno can hit Marowak and Torterra, a water type can hit Marowak, Onix, and TTar, a grass type can also hit Marowak, Onix, and TTar.Omastar uses Water or Ground fast moves and Water or Rock charge moves. It is 4x weak to Grass, but also 2x weak to ground, Fighting, and Electric.Torterra (Razor Leaf + Sand Tomb/Frenzy Plant L )Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant L )Swampert (Mud Shot + Muddy Water)Lucario (Counter + Power up Punch)Pretty straight forward. Grass type Pokemon are generally good against all of Cliff's possible 2nd Pokemon. Torterra makes a lot of sense. Roserade seems to be ranked highest on Pokebattler, but it's a glass cannon and takes a lot from a ground quick move so I'd avoid it. Better to use a Torterra.Electivire uses Electric or Fighting fast moves and Electric or Ice charge moves. It's only really weak against Ground, but the best counters are defensive.Giratina Altered (Dragonbreath + Dragon claw)Torterra (Razor Leaf + Sand Tomb or Frenzy Plant)Giratina Altered (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant L )If you're having trouble against Electivire, you can also try using Golurk, which is a hard counter but doesn't do much against Cliff's other Pokemon. Torterra and Venusaur will have trouble against Ice Punch if it has that and you've burned your shields.His third Pokemon will be either Tyranitar, Torterra, or Swampert.Tyranitar uses either Dark or Steel quick moves and either Dark, Fire, or Rock charge moves. Fighting does best against TTar, but you can also hit it with Ground, Grass, or Water.Lucario (Counter + Power up Punch)Kyogre (Waterfall + Surf)Torterra (Razor Leaf + Sand Tomb)Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant L )If you're having trouble against Tyranitar, you'll want to use a Fighting type. Lucario resists both of Tyranitar's quick moves and packs a lethal punch, but you could sub in Poliwrath if you needed to. If you need your Pokemon to pull double duty, consider a Grass or Water type.Torterra uses a Dark or Grass quick move and a Ground, Grass, or Rock charge move. The Grass quick move is Razor Leaf, a powerful DPS quick move that doesn't charge fast enough for you to need shields. Razor Leaf Torterra is one of the most difficult Rocket Pokemon to counter.Articuno (Ice Shard + Ice Beam/Icy Wind)Moltres (Fire Spin + Sky Attack L )Regice (Lock On + Blizzard)Dragonite (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Torterra was arguably one of the most difficult Pokemon to take down last time due to the prevalence of Razor Leaf. Eventually, I started putting a dedicated Torterra counter (Articuno) on my Cliff loadout just in case. Articuno can also hit Marowak, so it's not a bad idea to bring it along. Very few Pokemon can adequately dent it, but if you find yourself losing against a Cliff that brought Torterra, a common counter to consider is Drapion with Ice Fang + Sludge Bomb.Swampert uses a Water or Ground fast move and a Water, Ground, or Poison charge move. You'll want to use grass attacks to take it down quickly.Torterra (Razor Leaf + Sand Tomb/Frenzy Plant L )Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant L )Dragonite (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Any Grass type should do the trick. Leafeon and Roserade are non-legacy alternates and Tropius is strong if you have the regional.Going in blind against Cliff, I'll be running Giratina A/Torterra/Articuno. Giratina will make a strong lead, Torterra can cover any of Cliff's 2nd Pokemon as well as two out of three of his 3rd Pokemon. Articuno is a strong ace against a possible enemy Torterra.Sierra:Beldum has normal fast and charge moves and does very little damage. This is practically a free win. Use Dark type moves, or take this opportunity to burn shields and build charge on your main pokemon.Giratina Origin (Shadow Claw + Shadow Ball)Tyranitar (Bite + Crunch)Heatran (Fire Spin + Flamethrower)Scizor (Fury Cutter + X Scissor)You can beat Beldum with pretty much whatever you want, these are just the thigns that beat it the best. I like to lead Scizor because it resists normal moves and you can farm a little bit of energy for X Scissors down the road. Scizor is still King for this Leader.Her second Pokemon will be either Exeggutor, Sharpedo, or Lapras.Exeggutor uses a Grass or Psychic fast move and a Grass or Psychic charge move. It's weak to Fire, Dark, Ghost, and especially Bug.Scizor (Fury Cutter + X Scissor)Heatran (Bug Bite + Iron Head)Escavalier (Bug Bite + Megahorn)Hydreigon (Bite + Dragon Pulse)Scizor really shines here, which is going to be a running theme against Sierra. Escavalier is a cheap substitute. You can use Bug Bite with any of its charge moves and you'll probably win. Megahorn got a huge buff recently, and Acid Spray and Aerial Ace both hit super effective.Sharpedo uses Water or Dark fast moves and a Water, Dark, or Poison charge move. Consider Fighting, Electric, Grass, and Bug attacks against it.Scizor (Fury Cutter + X Scissor)Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant)Lucario (Counter + Power Up Punch or Close Combat)Magenzone (Spark + Wild Charge)There are better counters than Scizor, but it's use is so ubiquitous you may as well make it your Sharpedo counter too. The usual Grass and Fighting Pokemon will do, but beware Sharpedo's poison move against grass Pokemon. Electric Pokemon also work well here and can also hit Lapras.Lapras uses Water or Ice fast moves and Water, Ice, or Normal charge moves. Lapras is weak against Grass, Electric, Rock, and Fighting moves.Lucario (Counter + Aura Sphere/Power up Punch)Magnezone (Spark + Wild Charge)Melmetal (Thundershock + Rock Slide)Leafeon (Razor Leaf + Leaf Blade)Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant L )Lapras can be a struggle for a lot of people with its 5 possible charge moves. Recommend either Fighting or Electric to combat it. Electric can hit Sharpedo, but Fighting can hit Sharpedo, Shiftry, and Houndoom.Her third Pokemon will be either Shiftry, Gallade, or HoundoomShiftry uses a Dark or Grass fast move with a Dark, Grass, or Flying charge move. It has the same typing and weaknesses as Cacturne from earlier. Hit it with Fire, Fighting, or Bug.Scizor (Fury Cutter + X Scissor)Lucario (Counter + Aura Sphere/Power up Punch)Heatran (Bug Bite + Iron Head)Forretress (Bug Bite + Heavy Slam)Look, it's our friends from earlier! Moltres, Blaziken, Pinsir, Durant, and Heracross are also all good here. Have I mentioned Scizor yet?Houndoom uses Fire or Dark fast moves and Charge moves. Scizor is bad against this one. You'll want to use Fighting, Ground, Water, or Rock.Tyranitar (Smack Down L + Stone Edge)Terrakion (Rock Throw + Rock Slide)Kyogre (Waterfall + Surf)Hydreigon (Dragonbreath + Dragon Pulse)Tyranitar hits almost as many Pokemon as Scizor does. Solid choice. Terrakion is a close second.Alakazam uses Psychic fast moves and Fire, Psychic, Ghost, or Fighting charge moves. It's weak to Dark, Bug, and ghost.Scizor ( Fury Cutter + X Scissor)Escavalier (Bug Bite + Megahorn)Giratina A (Shadow Claw + Shadow Sneak)Giratina O (Shadow Claw + Shadow Ball)Darkrai (Snarl + Shadow Ball)Tyranitar (Smack Down L + Crunch)Metagross (Bullet Punch + Meteor Mash L )Alakazam is back and it's not gonna do much to your team since everything but Houndoom and Lapras lose to Scizor. Just use Scizor. Or Escavalier.My pick for a blind Sierra run would be Scizor/Machamp/Tyranitar. Her entire lineup goes down to a Bug Pokemon and a Fighting Pokemon. Tyranitar gives you a little bit of extra coverage against her Alakazam, Houndoom, Lapras with Ice moves, and Exeggutor with Psychic moves.Giovanni:Persian is Giovanni's Ace, and the Pokemon he always leads with. Persian has a Normal or Dark fast move and a Dark, Fairy, or Rock charge move. Fighting seems like the obvious choice, but if Persian has Scratch, it will make short work of any Fighting type you throw at it.Tyranitar (Smack Down L + Crunch)Machamp (Counter + Cross Chop)Lucario (Counter + Power Up Punch)Giratina Altered (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)If you're up against a Feint Attack, use Machamp or Lucario. If you're up against Scratch, use Giratina Altered form. If you don't know what he has, Tyranitar is going to be the bulkiest option. Prioritize taking down Persian's shields and doing a lot of damage to it. This is one fight where it makes sense to keep your lead in the back and switch into it. Since you know what his last Pokemon will be each month, I recommend putting that Pokemon in the front and switching out of it.Giovanni's second Pokemon will be Cloyster, Hippowdon, or Steelix.Cloyster has Ice quick moves and Ice or Water charge moves. It's the easiest one to fight for two reasons. The first is that you can double up on fighting Pokemon. It's much easier to take Persian down with two Fighting Pokemon (assuming the first one dies) and then blast Cloyster with whatever Fighting charge moves you have stored up. The second reason is it consistently has Ice fast moves, so you can use dedicated counters each time.Lucario (Counter + Power Up Punch or Close Combat)Machamp (Counter + Cross Chop)Heatran (Fire Spin + Stone Edge)Regice (Lock On + Focus Blast)Terrakion (Smack Down + Close Combat)Steelix uses Dragon, Electric, or Steel fast moves and Ground, Dark, or Steel charge moves. Steelix is weak to Fire, Water, and Ground moves. You've fought Arlo enough at this point to hopefully have a counter ready.Heatran (Fire Spin + Flamethrower)Entei (Fire Fang + Flamethrower)Blaziken (Counter + Blaze Kick/Blast Burn L )Excadrill (Mud Slap + Drill Run)Don't use Water types, since Thunder Fang is a thing and it'll be worthless against Raikou anyway.Hippowdon has Electric, Fire, Ice, or Dark fast moves and Normal, Ground, or Rock charge moves. This is the hardest Pokemon Giovanni has for you since you can't easily predict it. If it's using Electric, go Grass. If it's using Fire or Ice, go Water. If it's using Dark, good luck.Torterra (Razor Leaf + Sand Tomb or Frenzy PlantL )Venusaur (Vine Whip + Frenzy Plant L )Kyogre (Waterfall + Surf)Swampert (Mud Shot + Hydro CannonL )Empoleon (Waterfall + Hydro Cannon^ L)Hydreigon (Bite + Dragon Pulse)Raikou uses Electric fast moves and Electric or Ghost charge moves. Watch out for Shadow Ball. Ground is your best bet.Garchomp (Mud Shot + Earthquake or Sand Tomb or Outrage) Groudon (Mud Shot + Earthquake)Giratina Altered (Dragonbreath + Dragon Claw)Run Ground types with Ground moves and hopefully stun him enough with Charge Moves that he can't kill you.Good LuckDisclaimer, this is a work in progress. This is based heavily on calcs, sims, user feedback, and my own experiences. My goal is for this to help people, so any feedback here is good feedback. I'm capable of mistakes, so if you see one please let me know! The last one I posted and the one before that helped a lot of people, my hope is that this will too.EDIT: Added a Giovanni section. via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/2vS30YN