How to beat Cliff in Pokémon Go in September 2024
Team Go Rocket’s Cliff has returned to Pokémon Go with a variety of fresh Pokémon – and as usual he’s up to no good. His roster update in September 2024 has made him a tough opponent, but you’ll still need to defeat him to get one step closer to facing off with Giovanni.
Table of Contents
- Cliff’s Pokémon in September 2024 – Pokémon Go
- Best counters to Lileep – Pokémon Go Cliff
- Best counters to Kingdra – Pokémon Go Cliff
- Best counters to Aerodactyl – Pokémon Go Cliff
- Best counters to Marowak – Pokémon Go Cliff
- Best counters to Tyranitar – Pokémon Go Cliff
- Best counters to Cradily – Pokémon Go Cliff
- Best counters to Crobat – Pokémon Go Cliff
You can only encounter Cliff if you have an active Rocket Radar, so you’ll need to beat up a few grunts, relieve them of their Mysterious Parts, and construct a Rocket Radar with six of them. Once it’s activated, you can encounter Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra at PokéStops or on Rocket Balloons. Defeating all three Team Go Rocket bosses enables you to finally duel their superior, Giovanni.
This guide will tell you how to beat Cliff in Pokémon Go in 2024.
Cliff’s Pokémon in September 2024 – Pokémon Go
You can expect Cliff to always send out Shadow Lileep first. Afterwards, though, he has three potential options to fill the second and third slots in his battle team.
- Slot #1: Lileep
- Slot #2: Kingdra / Aerodactyl / Marowak
- Slot #3: Tyranitar / Cradily / Crobat
Best counters to Lileep – Pokémon Go Cliff
Lileep has plenty of weaknesses between Fighting, Bug, Steel, and Ice, most of which provide some synergies with later combatants Cliff may field. Choosing a Fighting-type here can help with Cradily or Tyranitar in the third slot, while fielding an Ice-type will make things easier against Aerodactyl, Marowak, Crobat, and Cradily. Even Steel-types have several uses, being able to cover Aerodactyl, Cradily, and Tyranitar – there are almost too many great options.
- Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Bullet Punch, Psychic, Meteor Mash
- Lucario (Steel, Fighting): Counter, Aura Sphere, Close Combat
- Baxcalibur (Ice, Dragon): Ice Fang, Avalanche, Outrage
Best counters to Kingdra – Pokémon Go Cliff
Kingdra is a bit of an outlier from Cliff's line-up. You can work around this opponent by bringing something with a Dragon-type move along.
- Baxcalibur (Ice, Dragon): Ice Fang, Avalanche, Outrage
- Kyurem (Ice, Dragon): Dragon Breath, Glaciate, Draco Meteor
- Abomasnow (Grass, Ice): Leafage, Weather Ball (Ice), Outrage
Best counters to Aerodactyl – Pokémon Go Cliff
Aerodactyl is one of the potential picks sharing weaknesses with Lileep and a few others in Cliff’s line-up, such as Ice and Steel.
- Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Bullet Punch, Psychic, Meteor Mash
- Baxcalibur (Ice, Dragon): Ice Fang, Avalanche, Outrage
- Kyurem (Ice, Dragon): Dragon Breath, Glaciate, Draco Meteor
Best counters to Marowak – Pokémon Go Cliff
Marowak is another potential victim for the Ice-type gang.
- Baxcalibur (Ice, Dragon): Ice Fang, Avalanche, Outrage
- Kyurem (Ice, Dragon): Dragon Breath, Glaciate, Draco Meteor
- Abomasnow (Grass, Ice): Leafage, Weather Ball (Ice), Outrage
Best counters to Tyranitar – Pokémon Go Cliff
Tyranitar has a fearsome appearance, but it does not lack weak points: Fighting, Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water all do bonus damage against it, so take your pick. As we mentioned before, you’ll want to bring a few of those in any case to cover Cliff’s other options.
- Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Bullet Punch, Psychic, Meteor Mash
- Lucario (Steel, Fighting): Counter, Aura Sphere, Close Combat
- Baxcalibur (Ice, Dragon): Ice Fang, Avalanche, Outrage
Best counters to Cradily – Pokémon Go Cliff
Cradily shares key weaknesses with Lileep, Aerodactyl, and Tyranitar, so you've got this one in the bag.
- Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Bullet Punch, Psychic, Meteor Mash
- Lucario (Steel, Fighting): Counter, Aura Sphere, Close Combat
- Baxcalibur (Ice, Dragon): Ice Fang, Avalanche, Outrage
Best counters to Crobat – Pokémon Go Cliff
Crobat, too, can be covered by your Ice-type Pokémon. Alternatively, a Metagross with some sort of Psychic-type move should fare well against it, too.
- Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Bullet Punch, Psychic, Meteor Mash
- Kyurem (Ice, Dragon): Dragon Breath, Glaciate, Draco Meteor
- Baxcalibur (Ice, Dragon): Ice Fang, Avalanche, Outrage
For more Pokémon Go, check out the overviews of the monthly Spotlight Hours and 5-Star Raids.