Team GO Rocket’s three Leaders — Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra — plus boss Giovanni all rotate their Shadow Pokémon lineups periodically, and August 2026 brought another refresh. Each Leader always leads with a fixed first Pokémon, then picks one of several possible options for their second and third slots, so beating them consistently means covering every possible combination rather than just the one you saw last time.
Arlo’s lineup
Arlo always opens with Shadow Tyrunt (Rock/Dragon), weak to Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, Ground, Ice, and Steel — Steel-types are especially efficient since they resist most of what Tyrunt throws back.
- Slot 2: Shadow Slowbro, Shadow Golurk, or Shadow Steelix — Dark or Ghost-type moves clear Slowbro fastest and carry into the rest of the lineup
- Slot 3: Shadow Scizor, Shadow Alakazam, or Shadow Charizard — if you draw Charizard, Rock-type moves hit for double damage
Recommended team: a Steel or Fairy-type lead into a flexible Dark/Ghost attacker for slot two, finishing with a Rock-type option in reserve in case Charizard shows up.
Cliff’s lineup
Cliff always opens with Shadow Axew, a pure Dragon-type weak to Dragon, Fairy, and Ice.
- Slot 2: Shadow Snorlax (Normal, weak only to Fighting) or Shadow Weezing (Poison, weak only to Ground and Psychic)
- Slot 3: Shadow Tyranitar, Shadow Gallade, or Shadow Camerupt
Recommended team: a Dragon or Ice-type lead, a strong Fighting-type for the Snorlax possibility, and a Fighting or Ground-type in reserve for Tyranitar/Camerupt.
Sierra’s lineup
Sierra always opens with Shadow Amaura, weak to Fighting types like Lucario, Terrakion, or Conkeldurr.
- Slot 2: Shadow Flygon, Shadow Blastoise, or Shadow Ferrothorn
- Slot 3: Shadow Houndoom, Shadow Steelix, or Shadow Milotic
Recommended team: a Fighting-type lead, followed by an Ice or Dragon-type for the Flygon/Ferrothorn possibilities, with a Fighting or Water-type held back for Houndoom or Steelix.
Giovanni’s lineup
Giovanni’s lineup is more fixed than the Leaders’: he opens with Shadow Persian (Normal, weak to Fighting) and always closes with Shadow Reshiram, weak to Dragon, Ground, and Rock.
- Slot 1: Shadow Persian — any strong Fighting-type attacker clears this quickly
- Slot 2: rotates among his broader Shadow roster, including Rhyperior, Nidoking, and Kangaskhan
- Slot 3 (always): Shadow Reshiram — Eternatus, Palkia (either form), and Garchomp with Dragon-type moves handle it efficiently
Recommended team: Lucario, Poliwrath, and Swampert covers most of Giovanni’s lineup comfortably; Mewtwo, Lucario, and Primal Groudon is the higher-investment alternative if you have access to Primal Groudon.
Where to find each Leader
Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra appear from Team GO Rocket Leader invites obtained by defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts and collecting the Mysterious Component drops needed to assemble a Rocket Radar. Giovanni requires a Super Rocket Radar, built from six Mysterious Components, and only appears once you’ve tracked down and defeated all three Leaders during his current appearance window.
Rescuing Shadow Pokémon after the fight
Every Leader and Giovanni battle ends with a chance to catch the Shadow Pokémon you just defeated. Catch rates are lower than a standard wild encounter, and running out of Poké Balls means losing that specific Shadow Pokémon for the current radar — so stock up before you go in, especially if you’re specifically hunting a Shadow Reshiram from Giovanni.
Quick reference
Arlo: Tyrunt → Slowbro/Golurk/Steelix → Scizor/Alakazam/Charizard. Cliff: Axew → Snorlax/Weezing → Tyranitar/Gallade/Camerupt. Sierra: Amaura → Flygon/Blastoise/Ferrothorn → Houndoom/Steelix/Milotic. Giovanni: Persian → rotating Shadow → Reshiram (always).
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