How to beat Sierra in Pokemon Go May 2021: Best counters

If you’re struggling to defeat Team Go Rocket Leader Sierra in Pokemon Go, we’ve got the best counters to take into battle and lead you to victory.

In Pokemon Go, trainers can collect Mysterious Components by defeating Team Go Rocket Grunts at invaded Pokestops within the game. Once you have six of them, you’ll be able to form a Rocket Radar which leads you straight to the Team Go Rocket Leaders.

Unlike the Grunts, who can be taken down fairly easily, trainers will have a difficult fight ahead of them when it comes to Team Go Rocket’s Leaders. There are four in total: Cliff, Arlo, Giovanni, and Sierra, and all of them have unique Pokemon to battle with.

Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo make up the Team Go Rocket Leaders.

Team Go Rocket are back in play

There was a recent issue (which has now been resolved by Niantic) that saw Team Go Rocket being removed temporarily from the game. Now that they’re back in play, players can take down the likes of Cliff and Giovanni once more.

Right now, though, we’re focusing on Sierra. Her lineup in Pokemon Go changes every now and then, but these are the creatures she’ll send out in May 2021, as well as the best counters that trainers should have on their team to succeed.

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We’ve featured a mix of stronger Legendaries and more common alternatives, so there should be something here to meet every trainer’s needs, and all of them are solid choices.

Sierra Phase 1: Carvanha

In the first phase of this battle, Sierra will always send out Shadow Carvanha. It’s a dual Water/Dark-type Pokemon, meaning it’s weak to Grass, Bug, Fighting, Electric, and Fairy-type moves.

Carvanha counters

• Raikou – Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
• Breloom – Counter and Seed Bomb
• Sirfetch’d – Counter and Leaf Blade
• Machamp – Karate Chop and Dynamic Punch
• Electivire – Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
• Togekiss – Charm and Ancient Power

Sierra will always start with Carvanha.

Sierra Phase 2: Mismagius/Hippowdon/Porygon-Z

In the second phase of this battle, things get a little more tricky to prepare for, as Sierra will send out one of the following three Pokemon at random: Mismagius, Hippowdon, or Porygon-Z.

Mismagius is a Ghost-type, so it’s weak against Dark and Ghost-types. Hippowdon is a Ground-type, so it’s weak against Grass, Ice, and Water-types. Porygon-Z is a Normal-type, so it’s weak against Fighting-types only.

Mismagius counters

• Tyranitar – Bite and Crunch
• Gengar – Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball
• Weavile – Snarl and Foul Play
• Krookodile – Snarl and Crunch
• Chandelure – Hex and Shadow Ball
• Muk – Dark Pulse and Sludge Wave

Hippowdon counters

• Kyogre – Waterfall and Surf
• Kingler – Bubble and Crabhammer
• Roserade – Razor Leaf and Solar Beam
• Mamoswine – Powder Snow and Avalanche
• Gyarados – Waterfall and Hydro Pump
• Sceptile – Bullet Seed and Frenzy Plant

Porygon-Z counters

• Lucario – Counter and Aura Sphere
• Machamp – Karate Chop and Dynamic Punch
• Conkeldurr – Counter and Dynamic Punch
• Blaziken – Counter and Focus Blast
• Breloom – Counter and Dynamic Punch
• Heracross – Counter and Close Combat

Sierra’s Phase 2 Pokemon will be Mismagius, Hippowdon, or Porygon-Z.

Sierra Phase 3: Walrein/Flygon/Houndoom

The final phase of this battle is the trickiest one. There are three potential Pokemon that Sierra will send out: Houndoom, Flygon, or Walrein. They all have dual typing, meaning you’ll need to plan ahead for various move sets.

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Houndoom is a Dark/Fire-type, so it’s weak against Fighting, Ground, Rock, and Water-types. Flygon is a Ground/Dragon-type, meaning it’s weak against Dragon, Fairy, and Ice-types. Walrein is an Ice/Water-type, so it’s weak against Electric, Fighting, Grass, and Rock-types.

Walrein counters

• Lucario – Counter and Aura Sphere
• Machamp – Counter and Dynamic Punch
• Electivire – Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
• Conkeldurr – Counter and Dynamic Punch
• Rampardos – Smack Down and Rock Slide
• Magnezone – Spark and Wild Charge

Flygon counters

• Mamoswine – Powder Snow and Avalanche
• Clefable – Charm and Moonblast
• Gardevoir – Charm and Shadow Ball
• Weavile – Ice Shard and Avalanche
• Glaceon – Frost Breath and Avalanche
• Vanilluxe – Frost Breath and Blizzard

Houndoom counters

• Kyogre – Waterfall and Surf
• Tyranitar – Smack Down and Crunch
• Conkeldurr – Counter and Dynamic Punch
• Rampardos – Smack Down and Rock Slide
• Machamp – Counter and Dynamic Punch
• Kingler – Bubble and Crabhammer

Sierra’s Phase 3 Pokemon will be Walrein, Flygon, or Houndoom.

Team Go Rocket Leader Sierra is a difficult battle for almost any trainer, but if you take advantage of each Pokemon’s weaknesses with the counters we’ve listed above, you should be able to take her down eventually.

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Don’t worry if you don’t have any of our recommended counters, though. Study the weaknesses of each of Sierra’s Pokemon and create a team with your most powerful types to take into battle for a good shot at success.

If you’re looking to battle other members of Team Go Rocket, we’ve also got guides to beating Team Go Rocket Leader Cliff and beating Team Go Rocket Leader Arlo which should help you out.