Pokémon GO Sierra Counters (May 2023)

As Pokémon GO Trainers know, taking down Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra can be quite a challenge. In this article, we’ll give you the top counters and winning strategies to beat Sierra in Pokémon GO in May 2023. Defeating Sierra rewards 3× Shadow Shards.

Check out this guide to learn about Sierra’s current Pokémon lineup, their weaknesses, and the best counters to have on your team to defeat them. Sierra is one of the Team GO Rocket Leaders in Pokémon GO, alongside Arlo, Cliff, and Giovanni.

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

Sierra’s current Pokémon line-up

Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra has the following Shadow Pokémon in May 2023:

• Sierra’s first Pokémon is Shadow Murkrow.
• Sierra’s second Pokémon can be Shadow Steelix, Shadow Swampert, or Shadow Staraptor.
• Sierra’s third Pokémon can be Shadow Houndoom, Shadow Dragonite, or Shadow Charizard.

Best team to defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra’s current Pokemon

To beat Sierra’s current Pokemon, you need to exploit their weaknesses and use best counters you can use to defeat each one. One of the best Teams you can use against Sierra in Pokémon GO is Tyranitar, Swampert, and Torterra.

Tyranitar, as a superior Dark and Rock-type, can help defeat Staraptor, Charizard, Dragonite, and Murkrow. 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.

We found Swampert to be an excellent choice for defeating Steelix, Houndoom and Charizard. There is something special about Hydro Cannon spam, and Earthquake is an excellent choice as a second move.

Torterra makes defeating Swampert a breeze, so we strongly recommend bringing it in case Sierra has Swampert as her second Pokémon.

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Best Pokémon to defeat Sierra’s Murkrow

Murkrow (Shadow)

Open with a strong opener that can burn Murkrow’s shields efficiently while still having utility after rotation. Spam and burn shields if possible, although most of the counters will defeat Murkrow with only 1 charge move.

Murkrow is a Dark and Flying-type Pokémon. It is weak to Electric, Fairy, Ice, and Rock type moves. It takes reduced damage from Dark, Ghost, Grass, Ground, and Psychic type moves.

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Best Pokémon to defeat Sierra’s Steelix, Swampert, and Staraptor

Follow up with a Pokémon that can burn through Sierra’s second Pokémon quickly, be it through reusing your first Pokémon and charging up, or by switching in a new pick.

Steelix counters

Steelix (Shadow)

Steelix is a Steel and Ground-type Pokémon. It is weak to Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Water type moves. It takes reduced damage from Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Normal, Psychic, Steel, Electric, Rock, and Poison type moves.

Swampert counters

Swampert (Shadow)

Swampert is a Water and Ground-type Pokémon. It is weak to Grass type moves. It takes reduced damage from Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock, and Steel type moves.

Staraptor counters

Staraptor (Shadow)

Staraptor is a Normal and Flying-type Pokémon. It is weak to Electric, Ice, and Rock type moves. It takes reduced damage from Bug, Grass, Ghost, and Ground type moves.

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Best Pokémon to defeat Sierra’s Houndoom, Dragonite, and Charizard

Finish by dealing large amounts of super effective damage, depending on what Pokémon you are faced against.

Houndoom counters

Houndoom (Shadow)

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

Charizard counters

Charizard (Shadow)

Charizard is a Fire and Flying-type Pokémon. It is weak to Rock, Electric, and Water type moves. It takes reduced damage from Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Ground, Steel, Bug, and Grass type moves.

Dragonite counters

Dragonite (Shadow)

Dragonite is a Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon. It is weak to Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Rock type moves. It takes reduced damage from Bug, Fighting, Fire, Water, Grass, and Ground type moves.

How to find Sierra in Pokémon GO?

To fight with Sierra 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 Sierra.

Fighting Sierra is more difficult than fighting Grunts, as Leaders use higher level Pokémon than Grunts. In order to defeat Sierra, 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 Sierra

Trainers who manage to defeat Sierra – 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 Sierra.
• Trainers have the opportunity to catch a Shadow Pokémon used by the Leader. It is always the first Pokemon 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

Reward mechanics

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.

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.

More Team GO Rocket Guides