Team Rocket leaders arrive once again in February 2025 forPokémon GO, with Cliff returning as one of the captains of the criminal organization you can beat in battle. Rare rewards await anyone who can counter Cliff’s team, but his changing roster can be difficult to adjust to. With the recentFashion Week: Taken Overevent altering Cliff’s lineup, you may find trouble trying to fight this elite trainer.
Before you can challenge Cliff, you firsthave to complete Special Research tied to building the Rocket Radar. This device is put together by collecting six Mysterious Parts, which are rewarded to you when you defeat Team Rocket Grunts at various PokéStops. Activating the Radar will give you the location of a Team Rocket leader, who could either be Cliff, Sierra, orArlo inPokémon GO.
Cliff’s Lineup & Counters (January 2025)
Find The Best Type Match-Ups For A New Roster
As of 2025,Cliff’s lineup of Pokémon has changed ever since theFashion Week: Taken Overevent. As of this time of writing, theteam from that event remains the sameone you’ll face this month. AnotherTaken Overevent inPokémon GOcould take place at any point during February 2025 though, so ensure to stay up-to-date with ongoing announcements to see if Team Rocket is making any new plans.
Pokémon GO: Lunar Year 2025 Event Guide
The Lunar Year 2025 event provides worthwhile opportunities for trainers to bag themselves rare shiny Pokémon and bonuses in Pokémon GO.
Like previous months, Cliff usesShadow Pokémon, which are stronger variants of the pocket monsters you may be used to. Cliff will have three different Pokémon on his team, used in three waves of battle you have to overcome. During the first wave, Cliff will always use the same Pokémon, but during the second and third waves, he has a chance to use one of three possible team members.
The table below shows which Pokémon you could fight when facing Cliff, what type they are, and what counters best exploit their unique weaknesses:
1
2
3
Fairy, Flying, Psychic
The nice thing about Cliff’s team this month is thatit features multiple Pokémon from the same evolutionary line. The Pokémon of these evolution paths don’t gain another type, meaning one counter could work for multiple Pokémon Cliff could use. Here is a sample team of strong counters that account for nearly every option Cliff has:
You should always use onestrong Psychic-type Pokémonagainst Cliff’s team, as that type counters half of the Pokémon the Team Rocket leader could use. Be careful though, as Cliff’s Tyranitar has Dark-type moves that can deal super-effective damage to Psychic-types.
Dawn Wings Necrozma might be a difficult Legendary to obtain, but it is the perfect Pokémon to take down Cliff. With Psychic and Ghost-type moves,this version of Necrozma can eliminate Cliff’s Crobat, Annihilape, Machoke, and Machamp by targeting those Pokémon’s vulnerabilities. Likewise, Swampert’s Water/Ground typing can help it take down Cubone, Marowak, and Tyranitar.
Having a Tyranitar of your own gives your team considerable bulkwhile also taking off some pressure from Dawn Wings Necrozma. Tyranitar’s Rock-type attacks can be a second counter to Cliff’s Crobat, giving you multiple options to adjust to whatever the Team Rocket Leader decides to do.
Rewards For Beating Cliff (January 2025)
Gain Multiple Item Bundles For Victory
Defeating Cliff immediately rewards you with 1,000 Stardust, but this is the least of your earnings for besting a Team Rocket leader. Youreceive two item bundles that could contain different items, with most being Potions or Revives. However, there are some other options you could get, including:
The Strange Egg is always part of the item bundles, but this will only drop from the Cliff fight if you have an available Egg slot in your inventory.
Another reward you get from defeating Cliff isthe opportunity to catch his Shadow Cubonein an encounter that takes place after the battle. This Pokémon has achance to be Shiny inPokémon GO, so you may want to fight Cliff multiple times to find this variant.
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Bird watchers unite, as the Shiny variants of the Galarian Legendary Bird trio have begun appearing in the wild in Pokémon GO.
The rewards from Cliff will be useful in battling the other two Team Rocket Leaders, who you need to challenge to find Giovanni. Once you beat Cliff inPokémon GO, you’re able to start forming the Rocket Radar again in February 2025 to keep gaining rewards from defeated criminal leaders.
