Cliff is one of the Team Rocket leaders you can beat inPokémon GO, sporting a team of familiar faces you may remember following theGalarian Expedition: Taken Overevent. In December 2024, Team Rocket once again shows themselves as powerful trainers you can defeat for rare rewards. As a leader of the organization, Cliff drops even rarer treasures for you to collect by taking him down.
Those who foughtCliff in November 2024 inPokémon GOmay remember the structure of the Team Rocket leader’s team. However, before you may reach Cliff, you must firstdefeat six Team Rocket grunts and assemble the Rocket Radar. Only then will you be able to travel to a Poké Stop featuring a fight against Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra, which is determined randomly.
Cliff’s Lineup & Counters (December 2024)
Find The Right Types Against Cliff’s Team
Until the next Team Rocket Take Over event within the next month or so, Cliff’s team is unlikely to change from November to December 2024. However, while you could use the same counters as before, there are new strategies you can try to make the fight even easier. With new events andraid bosses inPokémon GOintroduced over the last month, there are more ways than ever to beat Cliff confidently.
As you may expect,Cliff uses three Pokémon across three wavesduring his battle. During the first wave, Cliff will always send out one Pokémon that never changes, no matter how many times you fight him. In the second and third waves, though, Cliff can choose one of three different Pokémon, drastically changing what counters work and don’t work against his team.
Cliff uses Shadow Pokémon, like the rest of Team Rocket whenever you fight them. Shadow variants are not to be confused with Gigantamax Pokémon fromMax Battles inPokémon GO, but they still have increased health and damage from their attacks.
You can never predict which Pokémon Cliff will use, as it’s always determined randomly as the fight continues. Check out this table below detailing which Pokémon Cliff could throw out, what their weaknesses are, and what counters in December 2024 may work best against them:
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Fighting, Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ground, Steel, Water
One of the best teams you can put together against Cliff in December 2024 isHeracross, Rhyperior, and Mamoswine. Heracross is one of the best Pokémon versus Cliff, as its Fighting/Bug-types counter the Team Rocket leader’s Zigzagoon, Tyranitar, and Obstagoon. Tyranitar in particular is very weak to the Fighting-type, as both its Rock and Dark-types cause it to take super-effective damage from Heracross' moves.
Rhyperior is an excellent, bulky Rock-type designed to take out Cliff’s Crobat and Aerodactyl with minimal effort. Likewise, Mamoswine can go up against Venusaur without too many issues, and content with Marowak. Although Marowak’s attacks deal neutral damage to Mamoswine, the latter Pokémon is far tankier, allowing it tosurvive for longer, so you have more chances to win the battle.
Rewards For Beating Cliff (December 2024)
Gain Currency And Two Item Bundles
Managing to defeat Cliff, or any member of Team Rocket’s leadership, willinstantly give you 1,000 Stardustto spend however you like. In addition, you also gain two different item bundles that could contain a collection of valuable items. These rewards can include:
You only get the Strange Egg if you have an Egg slot open in your inventory. Make sure you’ve hatched all the Eggs you can have before you start challenging a Team Rocket leader like Cliff.
Getting Eggs fast inPokémon GOwill help you earn rarer Pokémon as you complete other activities. Speaking of rare Pokémon, you alsohave the chance to catch Cliff’s Shadow Galarian Zigzagoonwhen you defeat him in battle. This Pokémon has a 1 in 64 chance of being Shiny, but you have to earn a Rocket Radar again to challenge Cliff for another chance of this happening.
When you emerge victorious from this battle, you can take steps to challenge Team Rocket’s true face, Giovanni, for even more rewards. Those who beat Cliff in December 2024 inPokémon GOwill want to take on Giovanni as well since the Rocket figurehead has a powerful Shadow Legendary Pokémon they can capture.
