Need to take down Cliff in Pokémon GO in July 2024? Here’s everything you need to know.

Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff is one of the three Team GO Rocket bosses in the game. The Rocket bosses are a real challenge in Pokémon GO. You'll need a strong team of the best counters in order to beat Cliff in Pokémon GO.

We've gathered all the information you need about his most recent line-up's, their weaknesses and the best counters you can use to take them down.

All esports.gg Team GO Rocket Guides:

How to find Cliff in Pokémon GO

In order to find Cliff in Pokémon GO, or any of the other Team GO Rocket Leaders, you need a special item to help you track them down. That item is the Super Rocket Radar.

You can get a Super Rocket Radar in a few ways:

  • Defeating 6 Team GO Rocket Grunts to collect enough Mysterious Components to build one.
  • Purchasing a Super Rocket Radar directly in the in game shop, or as part of a box.
  • As a reward for completing Timed and Special Research quest lines.

Once you have a Super Rocket Radar, pressing on it will bring up a map of nearby Team GO Rocket Leader hideouts. Leaders will also appear in Hot Balloons once your Radar is active too.

You cannot see which Leader is in a Stop or Balloon until you click on it. So, to find the Team GO Rocket Leader you want, you might have to check several.

Leader Cliff Lineup - July 2024

Here is the current line up for Cliff in Pokémon GO as of July 2024. There are three phases.

  • Phase 1: Shadow Machop
  • Phase 2: Shadow Aerodactyl or Shadow Kingdra or Shadow Gallade
  • Phase 3: Shadow Crobat or Shadow Tyranitar or Shadow Cradily

Pokémon GO reshuffle the Team GO Rocket Leader lineups whenever there is a Team GO Rocket Takeover event in the game. We don't yet know when the next event will be, but check back here when there is for an updated Cliff lineup.

How to beat Cliff in Pokémon GO

In order to beat Cliff in Pokémon GO, you'll need to have a Super Rocket Radar, locate Cliff at a PokéStop or a Team GO Rocket Balloon, and defeat their Pokémon.

Shadow Pokémon do a lot of damage, and Cliff's Pokémon are a lot higher CP than normal Pokémon. You'll need a finely tuned team of strong counters in order to take Cliff down.

In addition, Cliff can have a range of Pokémon, with a different set every time you fight her. Ideally, you want Pokémon that can cover multiple potential Pokémon in Cliff's lineup. Here are all the Pokémon you might face and the best counters to take them on.

Best Cliff counters in Pokémon GO:

For the first Pokémon, this will always be the same Pokémon no matter how many times you take on Cliff. This is also the Pokémon that you will encounter after the battle, with a 1/256 chance of being shiny.

Shadow Machop Counters

Shadow Machop is a fighting-type Pokémon. That gives it a weakness to Fairy, Flying and Psychic-type attacks. Here are the best Shadow Machop counters in Pokémon GO:

Rayquaza
Air Slash & Dragon Ascent
Dawn Wings Necrozma
Psycho Cut & Moongeist Beam
Mewtwo
Psycho Cut & Psystrike
Tapu Lele
Confusion & Natures Madness
Togekiss
Charm & Dazzling Gleam

Cliff Pokémon GO Counters Phase Two:

Shadow Aerodactyl Counters

Shadow Aerodactyl is a Rock and Flying-type Pokémon. That gives it a weakness to Water, Electric, Ice, Rock and Steel-type attacks. Here are the best Shadow Aerodactyl counters in Pokémon GO:

Dusk Mane Necrozma
Metal Claw & Sunsteel Strike
Xurkitree
Thunder Shock & Discharge
Metagross
Bullet Punch & Meteor Mash
Kyogre
Waterfall & Origin Pulse
Rampardos
Smack Down & Rock Slide

Shadow Kingdra Counters

Shadow Kingdra is a Water and Dragon-type Pokémon. That gives it a weakness to Fairy and Dragon-type attacks. Here are the best Shadow Kingdra counters in Pokémon GO:

Origin Forme Palkia
Dragon Tail & Spacial Rend
Origin Forme Dialga
Dragon Breath & Roar of Time
Togekiss
Charm & Dazzling Gleam
Rayquaza
Dragon Tail & Outrage
Zekrom
Dragon Breath & Outrage

Shadow Gallade Counters

Shadow Gallade is a Fighting and Psychic-type Pokémon. That gives it a weakness to Flying, Ghost and Fairy-type attacks.

Dawn Wings Necrozma
Moongeist Beam
Rayquaza
Air Slash & Dragon Ascent
Yveltal
Gust & Oblivion Wing
Dusk Mane Necrozma
Shadow Claw & Sunsteel Strike
Blacephalon
Astonish & Shadow Ball

Cliff Pokémon GO Counters Phrase Three:

Shadow Crobat Counters

Shadow Crobat is a Poison and Flying-type Pokémon. That gives it a weakness to Electric, Ice, Psychic and Rock-type attacks. Here are the best Shadow Crobat counters in Pokémon GO:

Mewtwo
Psycho Cut & Psystrike
Xurkitree
Thunder Shock & Discharge
Dawn Wings Necrozma
Psycho Cut & Sunsteel Strike
Zekrom
Charge Beam & Fusion Bolt
Rampardos
Smack Down & Rock Slide

Shadow Tyranitar Counters

Shadow Tyranitar is a Rock and Dark-type Pokémon. It has a LOT of weaknesses. Shadow Tyranitar is double weak to Fighting-type attacks, and then also has a weakness to Water, Grass, Ground, Bug, Steel and Fairy-type attacks.

Here are the best Shadow Tyranitar counters in Pokémon GO:

Terrakion
Double Kick & Sacred Sword
Conkeldurr
Counter & Dynamic Punch
Togekiss
Charm & Dazzling Gleam
Kyogre
Waterfall & Origin Pulse
Dusk Mane Necrozma
Metal Claw & Sunsteel Strike

Shadow Cradily Counters

Shadow Cradily is a Rock and Grass-type Pokémon. That gives it a weakness to Ice, Fighting, Bug and Steel-type Pokémon. Here are the best Shadow Cradily counters in Pokémon GO:

Dusk Mane Necrozma
Metal Claw & Sunsteel Strike
Terrakion
Double Kick & Sacred Sword
Conkeldurr
Counter & Dynamic Punch
Dawn Wings Necrozma
Metal Claw & Moongeist Beam
Origin Forme Dialga
Metal Claw & Roar of Time

What is the best team to beat Cliff in Pokémon GO? (July 2024)

With so many different Pokémon to prepare for, and lots of different combinations it can be hard to find an ideal catch all team. You want to start your battle with a broad team that covers as many of Cliff's potential Pokémon as possible in Pokémon GO.

Helping this is Tyranitar. It has so many weaknesses, that there are a lot of Pokémon that counter it. This makes building a flexible team to take on Cliff a bit easier. Of course, the beauty of taking on Cliff in Pokémon GO is that if you lose, you can keep your Super Rocket Radar or battle Cliff again. Then, you can adjust your team accordingly.

Here is the best initial team to use when fighting Cliff in Pokémon GO:

  • Dawn Wings Necrozma
  • Xurkitree
  • Dusk Mane Necrozma

Now, not all Trainers will have both forms of Necrozma's fusions. However, if you do, they make a great combination for all the Pokémon that Cliff currently has in his arsenal.

This should cover most of the Pokémon that Cliff can throw at you in Pokémon GO at the moment. Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest esports news and more Pokémon GO guides.