Pokemon Go: Cliff’s Team Rocket gym leader guide (Best counters)

Pokémon Go now lets players battle against Team Rocket bosses, with each of them using different Pokémon.

Battling the bosses is a mandatory step in the monthly Team Rocket Special Research, so if you want a Shadow Legendary Pokémon, you’ll have to take them on.

Cliff is one of the Team Rocket gym leaders. He uses a mix of normal- and ground-type Pokémon, with some other types thrown in there.

How do I find Cliff?

Take down Team Rocket grunts at PokéStops to get six Mysterious Components. After obtaining six, they’ll piece together into a tracker to find a Team Rocket leader. You’ll battle one of the three gym leaders at various PokéStops marked by the tracker. You won’t know which gym leader is there, but their locations only change once per day so you should have plenty of time to find the one you’re looking for.

What Pokémon does Cliff use?

Cliff uses three Pokémon, and while his first is always the same, his second and third Pokémon will vary. His possible team members are listed below

• First Pokémon: Meowth
• Second Pokémon: Sandslash/Snorlax/Flygon
• Third Pokémon: Tyranitar/Infernape/Torterra

What Pokémon should I use against Cliff?

Cliff uses a lot of ground- and normal-types, so using water- and fighting-types are a safe bet.

• Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch (Best on Cliff’s normal-types like Meowth and Snorlax)
• Swampert with Mud Shot and Hydro Cannon (Best on Cliff’s ground- and fire-types like Infernape, Sandslash, and Flygon)
• Blaziken with Fire Spin and Blast Burn (Best on Cliff’s grass-type, Torterra)

Cliff’s third Pokémon can heavily vary in type, so while Machamp and Swampert will help cover your bases, taking a fire-type like Moltres, Blaziken, or Chandelure might be a good idea if you get matched up against Torterra.

For help on how to take down the other Team Rocket leaders, check out our other guides:

• Team Rocket Arlo guide
• Team Rocket Sierra guide