How to beat Arlo in Pokemon Go (April 2024): Best counters & weaknesses

❘ Updated: 2024-03-13T14:18:24

Niantic

Facing Team Go Rocket Leader Arlo can be daunting for Pokemon Go players, so here’s the best strategy to beat his powerful Shadow Pokemon lineup in April 2024.

Defeating Team Go Rocket Leader Arlo in Pokemon Go is easier said than done as the sneaky NPC keeps the battle tricky with his lineup of powerful Shadow Pokemon.

Alongside Team Rocket Boss Giovanni and fellow Leaders Cliff and Sierra, Arlo is back with a new team starting from the World of Wonders: Taken Over event, so you need to prepare solid counters to beat him.

Here’s how to beat Team Go Rocket Leader Arlo’s April 2024 lineup, including a list of all the weaknesses and counters that will help you defeat Shadow Cacnea and other strong Pokemon.

How to beat Arlo in Pokemon Go
How to beat Arlo’s Shadow Cacnea in Pokemon Go
How to counter Arlo’s Charizard, Hypno, or Golurk in Pokemon Go
How to counter Arlo’s Dragonite, Salamence, or Scizor
Best team to defeat Arlo in Pokemon Go

How to beat Arlo in Pokemon Go

Arlo is considered the toughest Team Rocket Leader.

In Pokemon Go, Arlo will attack you with any three of the following species:

First Battle: Cacnea
Second Battle: Charizard / Hypno / Golurk
Third Battle: Scizor / Dragonite / Salamence

Shadow Cacnes is guaranteed to be the first Pokemon Arlo uses, so you can always prepare for this opening fight in Pokemon Go.

For the second battle, he can choose Charizard, Hypno, or Golurk, giving Arlo some serious wiggle room and a potential headache for yourself if you’re unprepared for any of them.

Finally, the third Pokemon is yet again a random choice, this time between Scizor, Dragonite, or Salamence. As long as you know which three foes you could come up against, then it gives you ample planning time.

How to counter Arlo’s Shadow Cacnea in Pokemon Go

pokemon go team rocket leader arlo shadow cacnea

Shadow Cacnea has a low Defense stat.

Arlo’s Shadow Cacnea in Pokemon Go is a pure Grass-type, which means it’s weak against Fire, Flying, Ice, and Poison-type moves.

Here are some of the best Pokemon to deal with Arlo’s Shadow Cacnea:

Glaceon with Ice Shard and Avalanche.
Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche.
Mega Blaziken with Fire Spin and Blaze Kick.
Weavile with Snarl and Triple Axel.
Talonflame with Incinerate and Flame Charge.

How to counter Arlo’s Charizard, Hypno, or Golurk in Pokemon Go

A testing second phase awaits you.

Charizard

Charizard is a Fire/Flying-type Pokemon that is weak against Rock, Electric, and Water-type attacks. It will resist Bug, Grass, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Steel-type moves, so stay away from those categories.

Here are the best counters to deal with Charizard when battling Arlo in Pokemon Go:

Rampardos with Smack Down and Rock Slide.
Mega Diancie with Rock Throw and Rock Slide.
Rhyperior with Smack Down and Rock Wrecker.
Mega Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stone Edge.
Mega Aerodactyl with Rock Throw and Rock Slide.
Tyrantrum with Rock Throw and Meteor Beam.

Hypno

As a pure Psychic-type Pokemon, Hypno is weak against Bug, Dark, and Ghost-type moves. Its typing makes it resistant only to Fighting and Psychic-type attacks, so you shouldn’t have much trouble picking counters.

You’ll find some of the best counters to take down Hypno listed below:

Mega Tyranitar with Bite and Brutal Swing.
Mega Gengar with Lick and Shadow Ball.
Chandelure with Hex and Shadow Ball.
Mega Houndoom with Snarl and Foul Play.
Hydreigon with Bite and Brutal Swing.

Golurk

Golurk is a dual Ground and Ghost-type Pokemon that’s weak against Dark, Ghost, Grass, Ice, and Water-type attacks. While focusing on those types, keep in mind that it’s also resistant to Electric, Fighting, Normal, Poison, Bug, and Rock-type moves.

That said, here are some of the best counters to take down Arlo’s Golurk:

Primal Kyogre with Waterfall and Origin Pulse.
Mega Tyranitar with Bite and Brutal Swing.
Mega Gengar with Lick and Shadow Ball.
Mega Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon.
Mega Sceptile with Bullet Seed and Frenzy Plant.

How to counter Arlo’s Dragonite, Salamence, or Scizor in Pokemon Go

Dragon-type Pokemon are great to face Arlo’s current lineup.

Dragonite

As a Dragon/Flying-type Pokemon, Dragonite is weak against Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Rock-type attacks. That means it can resist Grass, Ground, Bug, Fighting, Fire, and Water-type moves.

We recommend the following Pokemon and moves to take it on:

Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche.
Weavile with Ice Shard and Avalance.
Galarian Darmanitan with Ice Fang and Avalanche.
Baxcalibur with Ice Fang and Avalanche.
Mega Glalie with Frost Breath and Avalanche.

Salamence

Salamence is also a Dragon/Flying-type Pokemon weak against Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Rock-type attacks. Of course, it shares resistances with Dragontie, so it can take Grass, Ground, Bug, Fighting, Fire, and Water-type moves with ease.

With that said, here are some of the best counters to defeat Arlo’s Salamence:

Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche.
Weavile with Ice Shard and Avalance.
Galarian Darmanitan with Ice Fang and Avalanche.
Baxcalibur with Ice Fang and Avalanche.
Mega Glalie with Frost Breath and Avalanche.

Scizor

Fire is Scizor’s biggest and only weakness in Pokemon Go, and none of its attacks are effective against that type. Poison, Grass, Steel, Bug, Dragon, Psychic, Ice, Fairy, and Normal-type attacks won’t be very effective against Scizor because it’s a dual Steel and Bug-type Pokemon.

As for Fire-type Pokemon, there are many great prospects in Pokemon Go:

Arcanine with Fire Fang and Flamethrower.
Charizard with Fire Spin and Blast Burn.
Darmanitan with Fire Fang and Overheat.
Entei with Fire Fang and Overheat.
Moltres with Fire Spin and Overheat.

Best team to defeat Arlo in Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go teams that should be able to beat Arlo’s April 2024 lineup in almost every situation should feature some of the following: Mamoswine, Mega Blaziken, and Weavile.

If you’re looking for more Pokemon Go content, check out our other guides: