Pokémon GOoffers great rewards when you beat the Leaders of Team Rocket, including Sierra, one of the organization’s executives whose lineup in July 2024 has distinct counters you can exploit. Analyzing type match-ups for Sierra’s possible team members will help you plan for anyone on her roster. Those who learn to defeat Sierra fast can claim valuable items and even some of her Shadow Pokémon.

Similar to how you would summon Cliff orArlo inPokémon GO, Sierra can only be foundwhen you use the Rocket Radar item. This device must be made from rare Mysterious Components collected from defeated Rocket Grunts found in various places. Youmust have six Components to make a Radarbefore you have a chance to detect and challenge Sierra among the Team Rocket Leaders.

Cliff holding a Poke Ball and wearing a team rocket suit for June 2024

Sierra, like all the Team Rocket Leaders not named Giovanni, is most likely to spawn at PokeStops or Balloons when you use the Rocket Radar to try and find her.

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Sierra’s Team In Pokémon GO (July 2024)

Plan Against Some Familiar Foes

Those who remember Sierra’s June 2024 lineup of Pokémon will be happy to know thatSierra’s team has not changed in July 2024. Each of the three waves of Pokémon Sierra uses have stayed the same without any deviations, even as you reach the more challenging second and third team members. If you faced Sierra before, you can use many of your counters from back then to have a solid lineup of your own.

Once again, Sierrauses a team full of Shadow Pokémon, much stronger and darker variants of the pocket monsters you are familiar with. Although this does not change the weaknesses of any individual Pokémon in battle, it does increase their overall power to be far higher than regular iterations of the same creature. You’ll have to bring strong creatures from your collection to rival many of Sierra’s loyal companions.

Pokémon GO keyart with Pokémon Froslass

Some strong options to use against Sierra are rival Shadow Pokémon, Legendary Pokémon, or Pokémon on your roster who have access to aMega Evolution inPokémon GO.

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A trio of Pokemon GO players looking at a twilight sky with Necrozma, Rayquaza, Lapras, Elektrike, and Ponyta running across the landscape

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Pokémon GO Team Rocket Leader Sierra

Bug, Dark, Ghost

Tyranitar, Gengar, Chandelure, Hydreigon, Pheromosa

Sierra willalways start the fight with Shadow Trapinch, a slightly weaker Pokémon compared to the rest of your team. Do not let this draw you into a false sense of security, as the remaining waves of this battle are quite challenging compared to the first. The second and third waves will pick one Pokémon from three different options, making it hard to predict what Sierra will send into battle next.

Best Pokémon GO Counters For Sierra (July 2024)

Have Variety To Prepare For Any Situation

Sierra has consistently been one of the hardest Team Rocket Leaders to defeat since youcannot have a team that will always have super-effective attacks. Out of the seven possible Pokémon Sierra uses, you cannot plan for each of them with one team. As a result, you have toform a team of counters with plenty of varietyand adapt to whichever situation you’re presented with during the battle.

Your first Pokémon should be designed to take down Shadow Trapinch easily, so consider aWater or Grass-type Pokémonwho does not have a weakness to Ground-type moves. A Water-type like Blastoise orSwampert inPokémon GOcan easily take down the creature with their strong attacks. In addition, a Water-type with enough bulk can last until the third wave and do super-effective attacks against Sierra’s Houndoom if it shows up.

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The second choice for your team can be astrong Ice-typePokémon, such as Glaceon, Mamoswine, or Froslass. These snow-slinging combatants can easily deal with Sierra’s Honchkrow and Victreebel, who share a weakness to this type. Froslass in particular can be a strong choice since this Pokemon has the secondary Ghost-type to deal greater damage to Sierra’s possible Alakazam in the third wave.

A Psychic-type Pokémon is not a bad choice for your team either against Sierra. Someone like Alakazam or Mewtwo have powerful enough attacks to easily eliminate Sierra’s Victreebel due to its Poison typing.

The last member of your team for this battle can depend on your preference, but aFairy or Electric-type Pokémon could all fill this slot. Togekiss, for example, maybe an excellent team member to combat Sierra’s Sabeleye, who has very few weaknesses. An Electric-type like Magnezone or Raikou counters many of Sierra’s choices, including Milotic, who tends to have a ton of health compared to other Pokémon.

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Rewards For Defeating Sierra (July 2024)

Gain Interesting Item Bundles

Taking down every member of Sierra’s team in July 2024 will reward you with1,000 Stardust and two individual item bundles. These bundles may include Revives, Max Revives, Hyper Potions, Max Potions, or aUnova Stone inPokémon GO. Each set of items you receive is determined randomly, with the only exception being a12km Strange Egg thatonly appears when you have an available Egg inventory slot.

Stardust can be used to empower your Pokemon for other fights ahead, which may feature some of the other Team Rocket Leaders. You have a chance tocatch any of Sierra’s Shadow Pokémon when they are defeatedin battle against the criminal executive, so take advantage of this to gain some strong allies. Using Stardust on members of Sierra’s old team could help you have powerful new roster members without much of a grind.

There is a 1 in 64 chance that any of Sierra’s Shadow Pokémon may be Shiny variants, making them even rarer forms to catch when beaten from time to time.

Many of the items earned from this fight will help you take on the hidden team rocket leader, Giovanni. Those who manage to counter and beat Sierra’s lineup in July 2024 forPokémon GOwill be one step closer to battling the former Viridian City Gym Leader for even greater rewards.