Defeating Sierra in Pokémon GO: Strategies for January 2025

Pokémon GO players are gearing up for another encounter with Team Rocket in January 2025, as familiar foes emerge from the shadows, including the cunning leader, Sierra. Many trainers may recall her lineup from the Galarian Expedition: Taken Over event of 2024. This time, however, players have the opportunity to strategize with new counters to tackle her formidable team, adding an exciting twist to the challenge.

To face Sierra, trainers must first defeat six Team Rocket Grunts, which allows them to construct the Rocket Radar. This Radar provides a pathway to confront one of Team Rocket’s leaders, with Sierra, Cliff, or Arlo available. Notably, players have a 33% chance of encountering Sierra. While her appearance isn’t guaranteed, being well-prepared to counter her lineup is essential.

Sierra’s Team & Counters in Pokémon GO (January 2025)

Prepare for Diverse Type Challenges

Trainers who participated in Shadow Raids will notice that Sierra incorporates Shadow Pokémon into her battles. This strategy is par for the course with Team Rocket leaders, as their Shadow Pokémon boast increased health and damage potential compared to standard Pokémon.

Sierra’s battle is structured into three distinct waves, making it feel like a multi-phase encounter. The first wave consistently features the same Pokémon, allowing for some predictability. However, in the second and third waves, she rotates between three possible Pokémon, making it challenging to forecast her next move.

Refer to the table below for a comprehensive breakdown of Sierra’s potential Pokémon and the best counters for each:

Wave	Pokémon	Type(s)	Weaknesses	Best Counters
1	(Shadow) Ralts	Fairy/Psychic	Ghost, Poison, Steel	Gengar Dusk Mane Necrozma Metagross Chandelure Excadrill
2	(Shadow) Steelix	Steel/Ground	Fighting, Fire, Ground, Water	Swampert Blaziken Garchomp Primal Kyogre Lucario
2	(Shadow) Sableye	Dark/Ghost	Fairy	Gardevoir Holy Cocoa Incarnate Form of Love Xerneas Granbull
2	(Shadow) Milotic	Water	Electric, Grass	Can Magnezon skeptical Xurkitree Venusaur
3	(Shadow) Houndoom	Dark/Fire	Fighting, Ground, Rock, Water	Swampert Blaziken Lucario Garchomp Diancie
3	(Shadow) Nidoqueen	Poison/Ground	Ground, Ice, Psychic, Water	Alakazam Swampert Garchomp Gallade Mamoswine
3	(Shadow) Gardevoir	Fairy/Psychic	Ghost, Poison, Steel	Gengar Dusk Mane Necrozma Metagross Chandelure Excadrill

Preparing for Sierra is intricate due to her diverse type lineup, which presents a myriad of strategic challenges. A recommended team composition includes:

Swampert
Magnezon
Gengar

Gengar serves as a powerful ace against Sierra’s Ralts and Gardevoir by exploiting their Fairy and Psychic weaknesses. Swampert, meanwhile, is adept at handling Sierra’s Shadow Steelix, Nidoqueen, or Houndoom, as these Pokémon are vulnerable to Water-type attacks. However, trainers should consider the Ground typing of Swampert when facing Milotic, as it resists Water-type moves; using a Mega-Evolved version is advisable for maximum effectiveness.

Magnezone will also be essential in countering Milotic effectively on Sierra’s team. Although there isn’t a direct counter for Sableye, this Pokémon presents less of a challenge compared to Milotic or Steelix, allowing trainers to focus their tactics on Sierra’s more potent threats.

Rewards for Beating Sierra in Pokémon GO

Obtain Item Bundles and a New Shadow Pokémon

Rewards for defeating Sierra in Pokémon GO — Custom image by Ben Williams

Upon successfully defeating Sierra, trainers earn 1,000 Stardust immediately. Additionally, victorious trainers gain access to a special encounter to capture Sierra’s Shadow Ralts, with a 1 in 64 chance of it being Shiny. Thus, multiple encounters with Sierra could yield potentially rare variants.

Defeating her also grants players two item bundles that include an Egg. The loot from these bundles may feature:

4x Revives
2x Max Revives
4x Hyper Potions
2x Max Potions
1x You Become Stone
1x 12km Strange Egg

Additionally, overcoming Sierra contributes to the completion of Special Rocket Research, progressing trainers closer to discovering Team Rocket’s mastermind, Giovanni. The rewards collected will not only aid in this quest but also be beneficial in other challenges, including Raids and ongoing Max Battles.

Source & Images