Pokemon Go Arlo counters March 2024: Best Pokemon to use & weaknesses

Daniel Megarry
Pokemon Go Team Rocket Arlo Counters

The 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.

Contents

Artwork of Team Go Rocket and Shadow Snorlax in Pokemon Go
Arlo is one of the hardest Team Go Rocket Leaders.

Arlo Pokemon Go lineup (March 2024)

Arlo’s lineup changed in late January 2024. Here is his current lineup in Pokemon Go:

  • Phase 1: Shadow Bagon
  • Phase 2: Shadow Charizard / Shadow Hypno / Shadow Golurk
  • Phase 3: Shadow Dragon/ 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 Pokemon Go counters phase 1

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

Shadow Bagon counters

Bagon is a Dragon-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Ice, Fairy, and other Dragon-type attacks. It’s also resistant to Fighting, Water, Electric, Fire, and Grass-type moves, so don’t use those.

Here are some of the best Shadow Bagon counters:

Shadow Bagon Counters
Pokemon Go Groudon Groudon

Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Precipice Blades (Charged Move)

Gardevoir Gardevoir

Charm (Fast Move) & Dazzling Gleam (Charged Move)

Mamoswine Mamoswine

Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Rayquaza Rayquaza

Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charged Move)

Garchomp Garchomp

Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charged Move)

Salamence Salamence

Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charged Move)

Mamoswine is a very effective Pokemon for Arlo, as one will see later on. Per Pokemon Go Hub, Rayquaza, Garchomp, and Salamence are other strong options.

Arlo Pokemon Go counters 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 Pokemon Go Tyranitar

Smack Down (Fast Move) & Stone Edge (Charged Move)

Rampardos Pokemon Go Dex Rampardos

Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charged Move)

Rhyperior counter Rhyperior

Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charged Move)

Tyrantrum

Rock Throw (Fast Move) & Meteor Beam (Charged Move)

Terrakion Pokemon Go 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 Pokemon Go Tyranitar Bite (Fast Move) & Brutal Swing (Charged Move)
Gengar Gengar Lick (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
Chandelure Chandelure Hex (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
Hydreigon Hydreigon Bite (Fast Move) & Brutal Swing (Charged Move)
Darkrai Darkrai
Snarl (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)
Absol in Pokemon GO Raids 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
Pokemon Go Kyogre Kyogre

Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charged Move)

Tyranitar Pokemon Go Tyranitar

Bite (Fast Move) & Brutal Swing (Charged Move)

Mamoswine Pokemon Go Mamoswine

Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Gengar Gengar

Lick (Fast Move) & Shadow Ball (Charged Move)

Kartana Kartana

Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charged Move)

Swampert 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.

Arlo Pokemon Go 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 Pokemon Go Mamoswine

Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Weavile Pokemon Go counters Weavile

Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Gardevoir Gardevoir

Charm (Fast Move) & Triple Axel (Charged Move)

Glaceon Pokemon counter Glaceon

Frost Breath (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Kyurem in Pokemon Go 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 Pokemon Go Blaziken

Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move)

Charizard Charizard

Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Blast Burn (Charged Move)

Darmanitan Pokemon Go Darmanitan

Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)

Entei Pokemon Go Entei

Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charged Move)

Heatran Pokemon Go Heatran

Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Fire Blast (Charged Move)

Reshiram counter 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 Mamoswine

Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Weavile Pokemon Go counters Weavile

Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Gardevoir Gardevoir  Charm (Fast Move) & Triple Axel (Charged Move)
Glaceon Pokemon counter Glaceon

Frost Breath (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charged Move)

Kyurem in Pokemon Go 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 only Shadow Scizor being the lone exception.

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 find yourself struggling, you’ll be able to leave and switch up your team before you go back in 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 March 2024.

So, there you have it. All you need to know about defeating Arlo in Pokemon Go, and the best counters to use along the way! For more tips and tricks to become the very best, make sure to check out our other guides:

Spotlight Hour schedule | Current Raid Bosses | Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Cliff counters guide | Giovanni counters | How to get Remote Raid Passes | Sierra counters guide | How to catch Ditto | Pokemon Go shop| Best Shiny Pokemon in Go | Rocket Grunt counters guide

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About The Author

Daniel graduated from university with a degree in Journalism and English Language, before spending five years at GAY TIMES covering LGBTQ+ news and entertainment. He then made the switch to video game journalism where he produces news, features, and guides for Pokemon, Fortnite, Nintendo, and PlayStation games. Daniel also has a passion for any games with queer representation.