How to Beat Leader Sierra in Pokemon GO (February 2022)

You know, it’s kind of nice how the Team GO Rocket admins switch up the Pokemon they use from time to time. Back in the day, all Rocket stooges only had a couple of Pokemon they always used constantly, like Zubat or Raticate. Diversifying is good for any organization, even criminal ones. Of course, diversified or not, the Rocket Leaders like Sierra are still making a mess of things, so let’s go ahead and put a stop to that. Here’s how to beat Leader Sierra in Pokemon GO.

Pokemon GO Sierra Pokemon Lineup (February 2022)

As usual, Sierra has one partner Pokemon she’ll always throw out first, followed by two phases of a random selection from one of three Pokemon. Sierra’s current team lineup for Pokemon GO is:

• Phase 1: Poliwag
• Phase 2: Exeggutor, Lapras, or Sharpedo
• Phase 3: Houndoom, Shiftry, or Swampert

How to Beat Leader Sierra in Pokemon GO (February 2022)

Starting off, Poliwag shouldn’t give you any trouble. It’s a pure Water type, so any sufficiently strong Grass or Electric type will work just fine. For the sake of what’s coming later, though, a Grass type might be a more viable pick, just because many of Sierra’s potential Pokemon have Grass weaknesses. As for ideal picks, Leafeon, Venusaur, Roserade, or Tangrowth will all work here.

The best pick for phase 2 depends heavily on which Pokemon Sierra throws out. If she throws out Exeggutor, a Grass/Psychic type, your best bet would be either a Fire type like Darmanitan or Moltres, or a Bug type like Pinsir or Yanmega. On the other hand, if Sierra throws out Lapras or Sharpedo, you can have your Grass type pull double duty. This is a bit of a risky play, though, as both Lapras and Sharpedo know Ice moves, which Grass types are weak against. For an alternate play, try a Fighting type like Lucario or Conkeldurr, as both Lapras’ Ice typing and Sharpedo’s Dark typing can be exploited by Fighting moves. In fact, you should have a Fighting type on deck anyway for a reason that will become apparent in a moment.

For phase 3, it’s once again a matter of what Sierra throws out. If she employs Houndoom or Shiftry, this is when you’ll want that Fighting type. Both Houndoom and Shiftry have Dark typing, which, again, is weak to Fighting moves, and neither of their other types are particularly effective against Fighting types either, so it’s a pretty cut-and-dry counter. If Sierra throws out Swampert, this is when you’ll want that Grass type back, as Swampert’s Water/Ground typing means that Grass is the only thing you can counter it with.

So, in short, your ideal counter team would contain a Grass type for Poliwag and Swampert, a Fire type for Exeggutor, and a Fighting type for everyone else. With this perfect counter team, Sierra won’t be able to stop you when you fight her in Pokemon GO.