Pokémon GO Cliff Lineup and Counters (January 2026)
Learn how to defeat GO Rocket Leader Cliff and which Pokémon they have during the month of January 2026. Includes Cliff’s current Pokémon line-up, best counters and teams to use, and rewards for defeating Cliff.
Fully updated with the start of Precious Pals: Taken Over.
Other GO Rocket guides: Giovanni lineup and counters, Sierra lineup and counters, Arlo lineup and counters, Team GO Rocket Grunt lineups
Cliff’s Pokémon Lineup
Cliff is one of the Team GO Rocket Leaders in Pokémon GO, next to Arlo, Sierra, and Giovanni. Rocket Leader Cliff is currently using the following Shadow Pokémon:
Slot #1
Cliff’s first Pokémon is always Shadow Magikarp.
Slot #2
Cliff’s second Pokémon is Shadow Skarmory, Cradily, or Annihilape.
Slot #3
Cliff’s third Pokémon is Shadow Tyranitar, Gallade, or Camerupt.
Best Pokémon for beating Cliff
To beat Cliff’s current Pokémon, you need to use their weaknesses and pick the best counters you can use to defeat each one. Cliff’s lineup is varied, but there is enough overlap to pick good counters. Here are some of the best Pokémon you can use against Cliff in Pokémon GO:
- With strong and quick Electric and Fairy-type charged moves, Zacian (Hero) is solid in this battle as it can handle Shadow Magikarp, Annihilape, Skarmory, Tyranitar, and Gallade with its usual moves, while also dishing out high neutral damage to others.
- Magikarp can be handled by almost any Pokémon given how weak it is, so you shouldn’t worry about Cliff’s lead, rather the second and third Pokémon.
- Primarina is absolutely stellar in this battle, using its strong Water and Fairy moves to cut down Annihilape and being particularly effective against any of the final Pokémon: Tyranitar, Gallade, or Camerupt. Its Water moves deal neutral damage to Skarmory, but you should switch out Primarina and ideally leave it for the last slot. You can even opt for Kyogre instead.
- Charizard/Moltres brings extra oomph to the mix as its Fire and moves successfully deal with Skarmory, Annihilape, and Machamp. But, you need to be careful about Rock attacks from Cradily and Tyranitar.
- Metagross is perfect for Cradily, Tyranitar, and with Earthquake, it even punishes Camerupt.
- Scizor can deal with a multitude of targets, including Cradily, Annihilape, and Tyranitar.
Note: In Trainer Battles, counters need not always be Pokémon that do super-effective damage. We include Pokémon that are more viable to defeat Cliff, rather than those who do maximum damage. Defeating Cliff rewards 3× Shadow Shards.
Shadow Magikarp counters
Shadow Magikarp is a pure Water-type Pokémon. It is weak to Electric and Grass, and is a weak Pokémon, making it perfect fodder to bait through shields while not losing too much HP.
You should always start with a strong Pokémon that can burn Cliff’s shields fast, while still having utility after rotation. Spam charge moves and bait shields whenever possible. Here is our recommendation:
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
 Magnezone |
Volt Switch, Wild Charge, Flash Cannon |
 Regieleki |
Lock-On, Thunder Cage |
 Electivire |
Thunder Shock, Thunder Punch |
 Alola Exeggutor |
Bullet Seed, Seed Bomb |
 Sceptile |
Bullet Seed, Leaf Blade |
Shadow Skarmory counters
Shadow Skarmory is a Steel/-type Pokémon. It is weak to Electric and Fire moves.
- Magnezone’s or Zacian (Hero)’s Wild Charge, Charizard’s Blast Burn, or Moltres’ Overheat are good enough to take out the troublesome Skarmory.
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
 Charizard |
Ember, Blast Burn |
Magnezone |
Volt Switch, Wild Charge |
 Moltres |
Fire Spin, Overheat |
 Hero Zacian |
Metal Claw, Wild Charge |
 Blacephalon |
Incinerate, Mind Blown |
 Therian Thundurus |
Volt Switch, Wildbolt Storm |
Shadow Annihilape counters
Shadow Annihilape is a Ghost/Fighting-type Pokémon. It is weak to Fairy, , Ghost, and Psychic-type moves, which opens up a wide variety of excellent counters.
Using any farmed Charged Moves by your first Pokémon is a wise decision.
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
 Primarina |
Charm, Disarming Voice, Hydro Pump |
Hero Zacian |
Metal Claw, Play Rough |
Moltres |
Fire Spin, Sky Attack |
 Staraptor |
Wing Attack, Fly |
 Xerneas |
Geomancy, Moonblast |
Moltres |
Wing Attack, Sky Attack |
Shadow Cradily Counters
Shadow Honchkrow is a Grass/Rock-type Pokémon. It is weak to Bug, Fighting, Ice, and Steel moves.
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
 Metagross |
Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash |
 Mamoswine |
Powder Snow, Avalanche |
Magnezone |
Volt Switch, Wild Charge |
 Scizor |
Fury Cutter, Iron Head, Night Slash |
 Lucario |
Force Palm, Aura Sphere |
 Conkeldurr |
Counter, Dynamic Punch |
Shadow Camerupt counters
Shadow Machamp is a Fire/Ground-type Pokémon. It is double weak to Water and also weak to Ground moves.
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
 Kyogre |
Waterfall, Origin Pulse |
 Gyarados |
Waterfall, Aqua Tail |
 Greninja |
Water Shuriken, Hydro Cannon |
 Swampert |
Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon |
 Garchomp |
Mud Shot, Earth Power |
Shadow Tyranitar counters
Tyranitar is a Rock and Dark-type Pokémon. It is weak to Fighting, Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water type moves. Note that it is double-weak to Fighting-type moves.
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
Lucario |
Force Palm, Aura Sphere |
 Terrakion |
Double Kick, Sacred Sword |
Conkeldurr |
Counter, Dynamic Punch |
 Machamp |
Counter, Dynamic Punch |
Primarina |
Charm, Disarming Voice |
Kyogre |
Waterfall, Origin Pulse |
Shadow Gallade counters
Shadow Gallade is a Psychic/Fighting-type Pokémon, so it is weak to Fairy, , and Ghost moves.
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
Primarina |
Charm, Disarming Voice |
Moltres |
Wing Attack, Sky Attack |
Staraptor |
Wing Attack, Fly |
 Altered Giratina |
Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball |
 Togekiss |
Air Slash, Dazzling Gleam |
How to battle Cliff in Pokémon GO?
To fight with Cliff in Pokémon GO, you need to first defeat six Team GO Rocket Grunts to collect enough Mysterious Components to build a Rocket Radar.
Activate the Rocket Radar and you will be able to see the location of a Rocket Leader. The game will not tell you which Leader you are facing, but you have a 33% chance for it to be Cliff.
Fighting Cliff is more difficult than fighting Grunts, as Leaders use higher level Pokémon than Grunts. In order to defeat Cliff, we consider using good counters mandatory.
You can rematch if you lose, and your Rocket Radar will be consumed if you win.
Rewards for defeating Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff
Trainers who manage to defeat Cliff – or any other Team GO Rocket Leader – will get a selection of rare rewards, including the chance to get a Team GO Rocket exclusive 12 km Strange Egg.
- Trainers receive 1,000 Stardust when defeating a Rocket Leaders,
- Trainers will receive two of the item bundles listed below when they defeat Team GO Rocket Leader like Cliff.
- Trainers have the opportunity to catch a Shadow Pokémon used by the Leader. It is always the first Pokémon used by the Leader.
- Shadow Pokémon from Rocket Leaders have a shiny chance of 1 in 64, if they are shiny eligible at the moment of defeating the Leader
Rewards for defeating Cliff in Pokémon GO
Defeating one of the Team GO Rocket Leader trio earns you two item bundles. If at least one of your Egg inventory slots is open, a 12km Strange Egg is guaranteed to replace one of those two bundles.
Receiving a Strange Egg does not have an effect on which item bundle drops alongside the egg.
A Strange Egg can drop into either your regular egg storage, or into your extra space if you already have 9 eggs.
Guaranteed
1000×
Stardust
Random drop of two of these:
4×
Revive
2×
Max Revive
4×
Hyper Potion
2×
Max Potion
1×
Unova Stone
1×
Egg 12 km
As an example, a typical reward drop might contain 4 Revives and 4 Hyper Potions. Similarly, a reward drop might contain 1 Strange Egg and 2 Max Revives, or 1 Unova Stone and 1 Strange Egg.
The post Pokémon GO Cliff Lineup and Counters (January 2026) appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.