Pokémon GO Cliff Counters (September 2023)

Discover Cliff’s current Pokémon lineup, their weaknesses, and the top counters to use on your team to take them down. Cliff is one of the Team GO Rocket Leaders in Pokémon GO, next to Arlo, Sierra, and Giovanni.

Defeating Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff is no easy task, even for seasoned Trainers. Prepping your team is key! In this article, we’ll share the best counters and strategies to beat Cliff in Pokémon GO during September 2023. 

💡 Note: In Trainer Battles, counters need not always be Pokémon that do super-effective damage. We include Pokémon that are more viable to defeat Cliff, rather than those who do maximum damage. Defeating Cliff rewards 3× Shadow Shards.

Cliff’s Shadow Pokémon Line-Up

Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff has the following Shadow Pokémon in September 2023:

Pokémon #1	Pokémon #2	Pokémon #3
Aerodactyl (Shadow)	Slowking (Shadow)	Tyranitar (Shadow)
	Gallade (Shadow)	Mamoswine (Shadow)
	Cradily (Shadow)	Dusknoir (Shadow)

• Cliff’s first Pokémon is Shadow Aerodactyl
• Cliff’s second Pokémon can be Shadow Slowking, Shadow Gallade, or Shadow Cradily.
• Cliff’s third Pokémon can be Shadow Tyranitar, Shadow Mamoswine, or Shadow Dusknoir.

Best team to defeat Rocket Leader Cliff’s Pokémon

To beat Cliff’s current Pokémon, you need to exploit their weaknesses and use best counters you can use to defeat each one. He currently has quite a tricky  One of the best Teams you can use against Cliff in Pokémon GO is Lucario, Tyranitar, and Togekiss/Gengar. 

• Tyranitar, as a superior Dark and Rock-type, can help defeat Slowking and Aerodactyl to an extent. Your choice of charge moves should include Crunch and Stone Edge, and despite potential Water-based threats, having Tyranitar on your team will help a lot.
• An alternative opener would also be a strong Electric type, especially if Slowking follows Aerodactyl.
• Lucario is an excellent choice against Cliff. Mamoswine, Cradily, and Tyranitar are all weak to Fighting type moves, and if you use Power-Up Punch you can burn through those shields incredibly quickly. Lucario can be a great counter choice for all leaders, so consider powering one up to use regularly!
• Togekiss is a relatively safe choice to defeat Tyranitar and Gallade, with Fairy type moves. Another option would be a Gengar, as Slowking, Gallade and Dusknoir are all weak to Ghost type moves.

Best Pokémon to defeat Cliff’s Shadow Aerodactyl

Aerodactyl (Shadow)

Open with a strong opener that can burn shields efficiently while still having utility after rotation. Lucario with Counter and Power-Up Punch/Flash Cannon is a great choice. Power-Up Punch will burn the shields effectively, and Flash Cannon will do some damage once they are down. Spam and burn shields. Tyranitar is also a good choice, though it will burn through those shields slower.

Aerodactyl is a Rock and Flying-type Pokémon. It is weak to Electric, Ice, Rock, Steel, and Water type moves. It takes reduced damage from Fire, Flying, Bug, Normal, Ground, and Poison type moves.

Aerodactyl

Pokémon	Moves
Tyranitar	Smack Down/Bite, Stone Edge, Crunch
Lucario	Counter, Power-Up Punch, Flash Cannon
Rampardos	Smack Down, Rock Slide,
Raikou	Thunder Shock, Wild Charge, Shadow Ball
Magnezone	Charge Beam, Zap Cannon, Flash Cannon

Best Pokémon to defeat Cliff’s Second Pokémon

Cliff’s second Pokémon can be Shadow Slowking, Gallade or Cradily:

Follow up with a Pokémon that can burn through Cliff’s second choice quickly, be it through reusing your first Pokémon and charging up, or by simply destroying his pick. Your choice will depend on whether Cliff uses Slowking, Gallade or Cradily, as they have quite varied counters. It is an interesting group of Pokémon, with some varied counter choices.

Slowking counters

Slowking (Shadow)

Slowking is a Water and Psychic-type Pokémon. It is weak to Bug, Dark, Electric, Ghost, and Grass type moves. It takes reduced damage from Fighting, Fire, Ice, Psychic, Steel and Water.

Slowking Counters

Pokémon	Moves
Tyranitar	Bite, Stone Edge, Brutal Swing
Gengar	Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, Shadow Punch
Xurkitree	Spark, Discharge, Power Whip
Zekrom	Charge Beam, Wild Charge, Flash Cannon
Hydreigon	Bite, Brutal Swing, Dark Pulse

Gallade counters

Gallade (Shadow)

Gallade is a Psychic and Flying-type Pokémon. It is weak to Flying Ghost and Fairy type moves. It takes reduced damage from Fighting and Rock type moves. It can really hit hard, so be warned.

Gallade Counters

Pokémon	Moves
Gengar	Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, Shadow Punch
Togekiss	Charm, Ancient Power, Dazzling Gleam
Giratina	Shadow Claw, Shadow Force, Shadow Ball/Shadow Sneak
Gardevoir	Charm, Dazzling Gleam, Shadow Ball
Xurkitree	Spark, Discharge, Dazzling Gleam

Cradily counters

Cradily (Shadow)

Cradily is a Rock and Grass-type Pokémon. It is weak to Bug, Fighting, Ice and Steel type moves. It takes reduced damage from Electric and Normal type moves.

Cradily Counters

Pokémon	Moves
Metagross	Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash, Flash Cannon
Lucario	Counter, Power-Up Punch, Aura Sphere
Terrakion	Double Kick, Sacred, Sword, Close Combat
Darmanitan (Galarian)	Ice Fang, Avalanche, Super Power
Conkeldurr	Counter, Dynamic Punch, Focus Blast

Best Pokémon to defeat Cliff’s last Pokémon

Cliff’s last Pokémon can be Shadow Tyranitar, Mamoswine, or Dusknoir:

Finish by dealing large amounts of super effective damage, depending on what you are faced against. Mamoswine can be tricky, Tyranitar is a fairly common Pokémon for Cliff’s lineups, and Dusknoir is fairly easy.

Tyranitar counters

Tyranitar (Shadow)

Shadow Tyranitar is a Rock and Dark-type Pokémon. It is weak to Fighting, Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water type moves. It takes reduced damage from Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Normal, Poison, and Psychic type moves.

Tyranitar Counters

Pokémon	Moves
Terrakion	Double Kick, Sacred Sword, Rock Slide
Conkeldurr	Counter, Dynamic Punch, Stone Edge
Swampert	Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Earthquake
Lucario	Counter, Power-Up Punch, Shadow Ball
Machamp	Counter, Close Combat, Stone Edge

Mamoswine counters

Mamoswine (Shadow)

Mamoswine is an Ice and Ground-type Pokémon. It is weak to Fighting, Fire, Grass, Steel and Water type moves. It takes reduced damage from Electric and Poison type moves. Mamoswine can do some serious damage, so it is best to be prepared for it.

Mamoswine Counters

Pokémon	Moves
Reshiram	Fire Fang, Fusion Flare, Overheat
Terrakion	Double Kick, Sacred Sword, Close Combat
Kartana	Razor Leaf, Leaf Blade, Night Slash
Metagross	Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash, Flash Cannon
Darmanitan	Incinerate, Overheat, Rock Slide

Dusknoir counters

Dusknoir (Shadow)

Swampert is a Ghost-type Pokémon. It is weak to Dark and Ghost type moves. It takes reduced damage from Fighting, Poison, Normal, and Bug type moves.

Dusknoir Counters

Pokémon	Moves
Gengar	Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, Shadow Punch
Hydreigon	Bite, Brutal Swing, Flash Cannon
Tyranitar	Bite, Stone Edge, Brutal Swing
Chandelure	Hex, Shadow Ball, Poltergeist
Darkrai	Snarl, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball

How to battle Cliff in Pokémon GO?

To fight with Cliff in Pokémon GO, you need to first defeat six Team GO Rocket Grunts to collect enough Mysterious Components to build a Rocket Radar.

Activate the Rocket Radar and you will be able to see the location of a Rocket Leader. The game will not tell you which Leader you are facing, but you have a 33% chance for it to be Cliff.

Fighting Cliff is more difficult than fighting Grunts, as Leaders use higher level Pokémon than Grunts. In order to defeat Cliff, we consider using good counters mandatory. 

You can rematch if you lose, and your Rocket Radar will be consumed if you win.

Rewards for defeating Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff

Trainers who manage to defeat Cliff – or any other Team GO Rocket Leader – will get a selection of rare rewards, including the chance to get a Team GO Rocket exclusive 12 km Strange Egg.

• Trainers receive 1,000 Stardust when defeating a Rocket Leaders,
• Trainers will receive two of the item bundles listed below when they defeat Team GO Rocket Leader like Cliff.
• Trainers have the opportunity to catch a Shadow Pokémon used by the Leader. It is always the first Pokémon used by the Leader.
• Shadow Pokémon from Rocket Leaders have a shiny chance of 1 in 64, if they are shiny eligible at the moment of defeating the Leader

Rewards for defeating Cliff in Pokémon GO

Defeating one of the Team GO Rocket Leader trio earns you two item bundles. If at least one of your Egg inventory slots is open, a 12km Strange Egg is guaranteed to replace one of those two bundles.

Receiving a Strange Egg does not have an effect on which item bundle drops alongside the egg.

A Strange Egg can drop into either your regular egg storage, or into your extra space if you already have 9 eggs.

Guaranteed

1000× Stardust

Random drop of two of these:

As an example, a typical reward drop might contain 4 Revives and 4 Hyper Potions. Similarly, a reward drop might contain 1 Strange Egg and 2 Max Revives, or 1 Unova Stone and 1 Strange Egg.