How to Beat Arlo in Pokémon GO (December 2024)

It makes me weirdly happy that Team Rocket’s collective fashion sense has evolved at least somewhat beyond skin tight black bodysuits and bullwhips. No, really, remember in Gen 1? All the Rocket Grunts carried huge bullwhips, it was super weird. Take a look at Arlo; he’s got the body suit, but he also knows how to accessorize with the vest and big glasses. That style carries over into his skill as a Trainer. Here’s how to beat Arlo in Pokémon GO, specifically in his November 2021 incarnation.

How to Beat Arlo in Pokémon GO (December 2024)

To beat Arlo in Pokémon GO, you’ll need to know his Pokémon lineup to come prepared. Like his fellow Rocket Admins, Arlo has one designated sidekick Pokémon that he’ll always throw at you first, followed by two pools of three different Pokémon he could pull. Here’s how Arlo’s lineup looks:

• Phase One: Gligar
• Phase Two: Mawile, Lapras, or Cradily
• Phase Three: Scizor, Snorlax, or Gardevoir

Gligar is an easy win. Just bring any decent Ice type like Mamoswine, Glaceon, or Alolan Sandslash, and you’ll make quick work of it. Of course, due to weird type coverage, your Ice types won’t be able to pull double duty on type superiority alone, so you might want to bring Mamoswine just because it’s the sturdiest and can help whittle down the other phases if necessary.

Phase two is a bit irritating, as there’s little-to-no crossover between Mawile, Lapras, and Cradily’s weaknesses. However, if we take both phase two and phase three into account together, there is one Pokémon you could bring to take on Mawile, then have it double up against Scizor or Gardevoir: Heatran. Heatran’s Fire moves will work against Mawile and Scizor, while it can take down Gardevoir with Steel moves.

This still leaves the matter of Lapras, Cradily, and Snorlax, but luckily, we’ve got a type superiority match on these three: Fighting types. All three are weak against Fighting moves, though I would recommend someone especially sturdy like Hariyama to endure both Lapras or Cradily and Snorlax, the latter more so.

For more related guides, learn how to beat Arlo, Cliff, Sierra, and Giovanni. You can also check out our Pokemon GO Rocket Grunts guide to learn a thing or two.