How to defeat Arlo in Pokemon Go (February 2020)

The Team Rocket leaders have once again switched up their Pokemon lineups for February 2020. Here’s a detailed look on how to defeat Arlo in Pokemon Go.

The three powerful trainers were added to the mobile game in November 2019. They are similar to Team GO Rocket’s Grunts but are far more powerful. The Pokemon they use have a higher CP and can also use Protect Shields, which makes the battle extremely tricky to get through.

So far, Arlo, Cliff and Sierra have been switching up their Pokemon on a monthly basis. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the variety of species they use – another reason why defeating them can be a tough task.

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This means you need to have a variety of Pokemon at your own disposal, and it’s vital to know which species the Team Rocket leaders can use.

• Read More: Is this the end of legendary research breakthrough rewards?

Here, we’ve listed all of Arlo’s potential Pokemon, the types you should have to counter them and a few other tricks below.

Arlo

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Mawile

On paper Mawile should be Arlo’s easiest Pokemon to overcome but it is anything but. It’s large variety of moves makes it a bit of a nightmare to prepare for.

Luckily one committed trainer has shared a list of potentially decent counters to it. Thanks to LanAkou, we know a few Pokemon that would be great counters to Arlo’s Mawile.

• Poliwrath – Mud Shot/PuP (+Ice Punch)
• Garchomp – Mud Shot/Sand Tomb (+ another move ideally)
• Flygon – Mud Shot/Dragon Claw (+ Earth Power)
• Kingler – Mud Shot /X Scissor (+ Crabhammer ideally)
• Swampert – Mud Shot/Muddy Water (+ Hydro Cannon)
• Toxicroak – Counter/Mud Bomb
• Blaziken – Fire Spin/Blaze Kick (+Blast Burn or Overheat)
• Magmortar – Fire Spin/Brick Break (+Fire Punch)
• Darmanitan – Fire Fang/Rock Slide
• Seismitoad – Mud Shot/Muddy Water

If you’re up against Mawile’s Fire Fang then a powerful fire-type such as Charizard or Heatran might be a better option while, against Bite, Machamp and Lucario are worth considering.

Switching up Pokemon and using a charge-move to stun Mawile is also vital if you’re looking for a safer, simpler fight.

Charizard

Rock-type moves are the key to defeating Charizard. The likes of Smack Down, Rock Throw and Rock Slide are ideal moves here.

These will also work if Arlo uses either Salamence or Dragonite as his third Pokemon, too. If you know he isn’t then water-types are a natural alternative for Charizard.

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Blastoise

With Blastoise, it’s more about finding a strong Pokemon than the right-type. Too many grass and electric-types just aren’t strong enough to compete with it.

Virizion is the standout candidate here with a combination of Leaf Blade as its charge move and Quick Attack to get as many hits in as possible. Magnezone is another natural counter as it is guaranteed to have electric moves and has good defensive stats.

Elsewhere, Hydreigon, Dialga, Dragonite and Palkia can get the job done but not all trainers will have these at the ready.

Steelix

Steelix at such high CP is tough to defeat so once again a strong species is paramount. Fire-types such as Heatran, Entei and Blaziken top the list.

You can also use a strong water-type, which could also be effective against Charizard. Steelix is weak against ground-types, too, but they won’t do well against Arlo’s other Pokemon.

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Salamence

The dual flying and dragon-type has among the best attacking stats in all of Pokemon Go, so once again, a powerful counter is imperative.

• Read More: How to defeat Cliff in Pokemon Go

Rock and dragon-type moves are an absolute must which brings Tyranitar, Giratina, Hydreigon, Rhyperior, Dragonite and Gyarados to the forefront.

It’s also noted that while ice-types are strong against it, if Salamence has Fire Fang then this battle won’t end well for you.

Dragonite

The iconic Kantonian is doubly weak to ice-types moves, yet interestingly our expert over on Reddit hasn’t listed any ice-type counters. This is likely testament to just how strong Dragonite is and the importance of focusing on base stats and not just move counters.

Dialga, Togekiss, Giratina and Gyarados using primarily dragon and rock-type moves are what seems the best route to victory against Dragonite.

Scizor

In comparison to Salamence and Dragonite, Scizor is the Pokemon you’ll hope Arlo selects last. It’s double weakness to fire-type moves makes it a lot easier to defeat than Arlo’s other selections, and you can actually double up on fire if Steelix and Scizor are both used.

Arlo is undoubtedly an uphill task to defeat but with the right Pokemon, and a bit of luck, it’s certainly do-able. Knowing his Pokemon ahead of time is hugely beneficial here, too.

Strong Pokemon with fire, rock and dragon-types moves should put you in as good of a position as you can hope, so prioritize utilizing them above all else.