How to beat Cliff in Pokemon Go (August 2024) – Counters & weaknesses

Squaring off against Team Go Rocket Leader Cliff is a major challenge for Pokemon Go players thanks to his fearsome Shadow lineup. But with the right counters in tow, you can grab the victory without trouble.

We’ve got you covered, as here’s his Shadow Pokemon lineup in August 2024, as well as the recommended counters to get the job done.

How to beat Cliff in August 2024

To beat Cliff in Pokemon Go, you’ll have to make sure that you have counters that can cover various types, both for defense and offense while dishing out super-effective damage.

Cliff Pokemon Go team in August 2024

• Lileep
• Kingdra / Marowak / Aerodactyl
• Tyranitar / Cradily / Crobat

Cliff’s team is very versatile, mixing fast-paced attacks with high-damage figures. This is quite challenging for most Pokemon Go players but using counters with high damage output is all you need.

Shadow Lileep is Cliff’s first combatant and it is decently bulky, calling for counters with powerful Fast Moves or attacks that charge up quickly.

Next, Cliff will use Kingdra, Marowak, or Aerodactyl. While some of the counters you use against Lileep work against Marowak and Aerodactyl, Kingdra may be scary.

Once the first two foes are done and dusted, you will face Tyranitar, Crobat, or Cradily. Unlike, Arlo and Sierra, Cliff has retained his final combatants from the last Season.

Lileep counters

• Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash.
• Dawn Wings Necrozma with Metal Claw and Sunsteel Strike.
• Dialga with Metal Claw and Iron Head.
• Mega Lucario with Force Palm and Power-Up Punch.
• Machamp with Counter and Cross Chop.

Lileep is a Rock/Grass-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Bug, Fighting, Ice, and Steel-type attacks. When picking your team for battle, you should also consider that it can resist Bug, Dark, and Rock moves.

Using leads to spam fast Charged Moves and leaving Cliff without shields early in the battle is a good strategy you can follow.

Kingdra counters

• Mega Gardevoir with Charm and Triple Axel.
• Togekiss with Charm and Ancient Power.
• Primarina with Charm and Disarming Voice
• Haxorus with Dragon Tail and Breaking Swipe.
• Mega Rayquaza with Dragon Tail and Breaking Swipe.

Kingdra is a dual Dragon/Water type, so it’s weak against Dragon and Fairy types. Keep in mind that it’s not weak to Ice, Grass, or Electric types, as most Pokemon Go trainers aren’t used to facing opponents with Kingdra’s type combination.

Using strong Fairy types with the Fast Move Charm is your best bet, but you can even opt for Dragon types with Breaking Swipe for a chance to debuff Kingdra’s offense.

Marowak counters

• Kyogre with Waterfall and Origin Pulse.
• Mega Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon.
• Gyarados with Waterfall and Aqua Tail.
• Mega Sceptile with Bullet Seed and Lefa Blade.
• Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche.

Marowak is a pure Ground-type species, which means it’s weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-type attacks. It has an underwhelming Attack stat of only 144, so beating it won’t be hard.

Aerodactyl counters

• Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash.
• Dusk Mane Necrozma with Metal Claw and Sunsteel Strike.
• Mega Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon.
• Mega Blastoise with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon.
• Mega Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stone Edge.

Aerodactyl could be the most troublesome to deal with, as its counter-compatibility with other members of Cliff’s lineup doesn’t match all too well and could mess up your strategy if you encounter it. But, the heavy damage from the counters stated above can get the job done without much effort.

Tyranitar counters

• Mega Lucario with Force Palm and Power-Up Punch.
• Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword.
• Conkeldurr with Counter and Dynamic Punch.
• Machamp with Counter and Close Combat.
• Mega Heracross with Counter and Close Combat.

Tyranitar is a Rock/Dark-type species, which means it’s weak against Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water-type moves. It’s double weak to Fighting-type moves, making it quite easy to beat.

Cradily counters

• Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash.
• Dawn Wings Necrozma with Metal Claw and Sunsteel Strike.
• Dialga with Metal Claw and Iron Head.
• Mega Lucario with Force Palm and Power-Up Punch.
• Machamp with Counter and Cross Chop.

Cradily, Lileep’s evolution, is also a Rock/Grass-type Pokemon, so the same counters you used at the beginning will work here as well.

Crobat counters

• Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash.
• Mega Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stome Edge.
• Rhyperior with Smack Down and Rock Wrecker.
• Mewtwo with Confusion and Psystrike.
• Mega Latios with Zen Headbutt and Psychic.

Crobat is a Poison/Flying-type species, meaning it’s weak against Psychic, Electric, Rock, and Ice-type attacks. With low bulk, you can make quick work of this Pokemon with the counters listed above.

Best team to defeat Cliff in Pokemon Go

A team composed of Mega Lucario, Mewtwo, and Metagross should work wonders against Cliff’s lineup.

Since you can only pick three Pokemon to face Cliff, you’ll need to cover different typings to be prepared for whatever he throws at you.

Don’t forget to check out how to defeat other Team Rocket Leaders Arlo, Sierra, and their Boss, Giovanni in Pokemon Go.