How to beat Leader Arlo in Pokemon Go: June 2024 Arlo counters & weaknesses

Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo is a difficult opponent to defeat in Pokemon Go, and going up against his Shadow squad requires the perfect team. To help you out, here are the details of his most recent lineup, their weaknesses, and some of the best counters you can use in battle.

One of the most exciting elements of Pokemon Go are the battles against Team Go Rocket. These troublemakers invade PokeStops around the game’s overworld and use their Shadow Pokemon to battle anyone who interacts with them.

If you win these fights, you’ll get the chance to capture one of their Shadow Pokemon, which can either be ‘purified’ for a CP boost or left as a Shadow Pokemon with higher attack stats if you’re competitive-minded or looking to master Raid battles.

In this guide, you’ll find Arlo’s current lineup of Pokemon, their weaknesses, and the best counters you can use on your team to defeat them.

Leader Arlo lineup (June 2024)

Arlo’s lineup changed for the Shared Skies season which kicked off on June 1, 2024. Here is his current lineup in Pokemon Go:

• Phase 1: Shadow Cacnea
• Phase 2: Shadow Charizard / Shadow Hypno / Shadow Golurk
• Phase 3: Shadow Dragonite/ Shadow Scizor / Shadow Salamence

Arlo’s lineup changes every time there’s a Team Go Rocket Takeover. We don’t know when the next one will occur, but we’ll update this page as soon as it happens.

How to beat Arlo in Pokemon Go

If you defeat enough Team Go Rocket Grunts at PokeStops, you’ll be able to piece together a Rocket Radar, which will allow you to locate and battle either Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra at random.

Let’s take a look at all the Pokemon that Arlo can send out into battle, their weaknesses, and the best counters you can use to defeat each one.

Arlo counters Pokemon Go – Phase 1

Arlo will always send out Shadow Cacnea at the start of a battle.

Shadow Cacnea counters

Cacnea is a Grass-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Flying, Poison, Bug, Fire, and Ice attacks. It’s also resistant to Water, Electric, Ground, and Grass-type moves, so don’t use those.

Here are some of the best Shadow Cacnea counters:

Shadow Cacnea Counters
	Pheromosa	Bug Bite & Bug Buzz
	Shadow Weavile	Ice Shard & Avalanche
	Mega Beedrill	Poison Jab & Sludge Bomb
	Rayquaza	Air Slash & Aerial Ace
	Mega Gengar	Shadow Claw & Sludge Bomb
	Mega Houndoom	Fire Fang & Flamethrower

Arlo counters Pokemon Go – Phase 2

Arlo will use either Shadow Charizard, Shadow Hypno, or Shadow Golurk in the second phase.

Shadow Charizard counters

Charizard is a Fire/Flying-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Rock, Electric, and Water-type attacks but resistant to Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Ground, Steel, Bug, and Grass-type attacks.

Here are some of the best counters to defeat Shadow Charizard:

Shadow Charizard Counters
	Tyranitar	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Stone Edge (Charged Move)
	Rampardos	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move)
	Rhyperior	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charged Move)
	Tyrantrum	Rock Throw (Fast Move) & Meteor Beam (Charged Move)
	Terrakion	Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move)
	Omastar	Rock Throw (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move)

Shadow Hypno counters

Hypno is a Psychic-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Bug, Dark, and Ghost-type attacks. On the other hand, it’s resistant to Fighting and Psychic-type attacks.

Here are some of the best counters to take down Shadow Hypno:

Shadow Hypno Counters
	Tyranitar	Bite (Fast Move) & Brutal Swing (Charged Move)
	Gengar	Lick (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Chandelure	Hex (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Hydreigon	Bite (Fast Move) & Brutal Swing (Charged Move)
	Darkrai	Snarl (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Absol	Snarl (Fast Move) & Pay Back (Charged Move)

Shadow Golurk counters

Golurk is a Ground/Ghost-type Pokemon, which makes it weak against Dark, Ghost, Grass, Ice, and Water-type attacks. It’s resistant to Bug, Rock, Electric, Fighting, Normal, and Poison-type moves.

Here are some of the best counters to use against Shadow Golurk:

Shadow Golurk Counters
	Kyogre	Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charged Move)
	Tyranitar	Bite (Fast Move) & Brutal Swing (Charged Move)
	Mamoswine	Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)
	Gengar	Lick (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
	Kartana	Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charged Move)
	Swampert	Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charged Move)

Tyranitar is rated as a top counter for several of these Pokemon per Pokemon Go Hub. Thus, it’s a powerful option.

Pokemon Go Arlo counters – Phase 3

Arlo will send out Shadow Dragonite, Shadow Scizor, or Shadow Salamence in the third phase.

Shadow Dragonite counters

Dragonite is a Dragon/Flying-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Rock-type attacks, and it’s also resistant to Bug, Fighting, Fire, Water, Grass, and Ground-type attacks.

Here are some of the top Shadow Dragonite counters you can use:

Shadow Dragonite Counters
	Mamoswine	Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)
	Weavile	Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)
	Gardevoir	Charm (Fast Move) & Triple Axel (Charged Move)
	Glaceon	Frost Breath (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)
	Kyurem	Dragon Breath (Fast Move) & Glaciate (Charged Move)
	Mewtwo	Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Ice Beam (Charged Move)

Shadow Scizor counters

Scizor is a dual Bug/Steel-type Pokemon, which means its only weakness is Fire-type moves. It has loads of resistance, in particular Grass and Poison, so avoid those.

Here are some of the best Shadow Scizor counters you can use:

Shadow Scizor Counters
	Blaziken	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move)
	Charizard	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move)
	Darmanitan	Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)
	Entei	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)
	Heatran	Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Fire Blast (Charged Move)
	Reshiram	Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)

Shadow Salamence counters

Salamence is a Dragon/Flying-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Rock-type attacks. and it’s also resistant to Bug, Fighting, Fire, Water, Grass, and Ground-type attacks.

Here are some of the best Shadow Salamence counters for your team:

Shadow Salamence Counters
	Mamoswine	Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)
	Weavile	Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)
	Gardevoir	Charm (Fast Move) & Triple Axel (Charged Move)
	Glaceon	Frost Breath (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)
	Kyurem	Dragon Breath (Fast Move) & Glaciate (Charged Move)
	Mewtwo	Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Ice Beam (Charged Move)

Best team to beat Arlo in Pokemon Go

One of the best teams you can take into battle against Arlo in Pokemon Go right now is the trio of Tyranitar, Mamoswine, and Chandelure.

Tyranitar matches up very well against virtually all of Arlo’s Pokemon, with Shadow Scizor and Shadow Cacnea being the exceptions.

The same can be said for Mamoswine. Yes, Shadow Charizard is a bad matchup for it. However, the abundance of Dragons in Arlo’s lineup does make it a strong secondary option.

The third Pokemon is tough. Fire types are very good for Shadow Scizor but don’t work well against many of Arlo’s other Pokemon. Chandelure does work well against both Shadow Hypno and Shadow Scizor, hence why we recommend it.

However, a Pokemon like Gengar can also work for those who don’t have Chandelure.

Remember that you can rematch Arlo as often as you like until you defeat him, so if you find yourself struggling, you’ll be able to leave and switch up your team before you return for the win.

How to defeat Team Rocket Leaders in Pokemon Go

Alongside Arlo, you’ll also be able to go head to head with a few other Team Go Rocket Leaders, so check out our guides to defeat Cliff and Sierra. Their boss, Giovanni, is also still around for June 2024.

That’s everything you need to properly defeat Arlo in Pokemon Go. For additional assistance, check out how to get Remote Raid Passes, plus the latest Spotlight Hour schedule.