Team GO Rocket Grunt Lineups and Guide (May 2025)
A complete guide to Team GO Rocket Grunts Pokémon and how to defeat them during the month of May 2025. This page shows all Team GO Rocket Grunt lineups, the best counters for each Grunt, catchable Pokémon and shiny Shadow Pokémon you can get.
Fully updated with the start of the Crown Clash: Taken Over (May 2025).
Rocket Leader Lineups
Team GO Rocket Grunts—as well as their leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo—are using different Shadow Pokémon.
| Leader | 1st Pokémon | 2nd Pokémon | 3rd Pokémon |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 Shadow Horsea |
||
 |
 Shadow Trapinch |
||
 |
 Shadow Gible |
||
 |
 Shadow Persian |
 Shadow Dialga |
Normal-type Grunt
Taunt 
– “Normal doesn’t mean weak.”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable Pokémon in this encounter are Shadow Bunnelby, Bidoof, Slakoth (
), Vigoroth, Diggersby, or Rattata.
Best counters for Normal-type Grunt are Fighting-type Pokémon like Machamp, Lucario, and Conkeldurr.
Flying-type Grunt
Taunt – “Battle against my Flying-type Pokémon!”
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Pidgey, Tailow, Zubat (), Swellow, or Gligar ().
Best counters for Flying-type Grunt are Electric and Rock-type Pokémon like Raikou, Xuriktree, Rhyperior, and Tyranitar.
Fire-type Grunt
Taunt – “Do you know how hot Pokémon fire breath can get?”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Tepig, Camerupt, or Darumaka.
Best counters for Fire-type Grunt are Water and Ground-type Pokémon like Kyogre, Swampert, Feraligatr, Gyarados, Garchomp.
Water-type Grunt
Taunt – “These waters are treacherous”
Female Water Grunt
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Oshawott, Spheal, or Barboach.
Best counters for Water-type Grunt are Electric and Grass-type Pokémon like Raikou, Xuriktree, Venusaur, Sceptile, Zarude.
Male Water Grunt
Catchable in this encounter is Shadow Magikarp.
Best counters for the Magikarp Grunt are Electric-type Pokémon like Raikou, Xuriktree, and Zekrom.
Grass-type Grunt
Taunt – “Don’t tangle with us!”
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Snivy, Hoppip, or Seedot ().
Best counters for Grass-type Grunt are Fire and Bug-type Pokémon like Charizard, Heatran, Pinsir, Heracross, etc.
Electric-type Grunt
Taunt – “Get ready to be shocked!”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Joltik, Mareep, Magnemite (), Alolan Geodude, Voltorb, or Electabuzz.
Best counters for the Electric-type Grunt are Ground-type Pokémon like Groudon, Garchomp, Excadrill. The problem are Joltik and Galvantula who are weak to Fire and Rock.
Ice-type Grunt
Taunt – “You’re gonna be frozen in your tracks.”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Piloswine, Amaura, or Sneasel ().
Best counters for the Ice-type Grunt are Fire, Steel, Rock and Fighting-type Pokémon. There are many different counters for Ice, just pick whatever is at hand! For Water/Ice types like Spheal, Electric is also a good option.
Fighting-type Grunt
Taunt – “This buff physique isn’t just for show!”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Mankey, Machop (), Makuhita, Gurdurr, Hitmontop, or Hitmonlee.
Best counters for the Fighting-type Grunt are Fairy, and Psychic-type Pokémon, but your safest bet is Psychic here.
Poison-type Grunt
Taunt – “Coiled and ready to strike!”
Catchable Pokémon in this encounter are Shadow Trubbish, Tentacool (), Skorupi (), Nidorina, or Nidorino.
Best counters for the Poison-type Grunt are Ground and Psychic-type Pokémon like Groudon, Garchomp, Mewtwo, Alakazam, etc.
Ground-Type Grunt
Taunt – “You’ll be defeated into the ground!”
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Sandshrew, Drilbur, Gligar, Rhydon, Donphan, or Vibrava.
Best counters for the Ground-type Grunt are Grass-type Pokémon like Venusaur, Sceptile, Zarude. Vibrava, Flygon, and Torterra are not weak to Grass, so use Ice-type Pokémon there.
Psychic-type Grunt
Taunt – “Are you scared of psychics that use unseen power?”
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Inkay or Ralts ().
Best counters for the Psychic-type Grunt are Dark, Ghost, and Bug-type Pokémon. This fight is typically easy, given how many popular Raid bosses were Psychic types.
Bug-type Grunt
Taunt – “Go, my super bug Pokémon!”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Scyther (), Shadow Pineco (), Ledyba, Karrablast, Shelmet, or Anorith ().
Best counters for Bug-type Grunt are usually Fire and Rock-type Pokémon. If you encounter Bug/Flying Pokémon focus on Rock-type attackers, otherwise use Fire attackers.
Rock-Type Grunt
Taunt – “Let’s rock and roll!”
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Tyrunt, Amaura, Roggenrola, Cranidos, and Shieldon.
Best counters for the Rock-type Grunt are Fighting-type Pokémon like Lucario, Conkeldurr, and Machamp. Archen and Archeops are not weak to Fighting-type attacks, so use Electric there.
Ghost-type Grunt
Taunt – “Ke…ke…ke…ke…ke…ke!”
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Gastly, Golett, Duskull, Dusclops, Haunter, or Sableye ().
Best counters for the Ghost-type Grunt are Dark and Ghost-type Pokémon, like Tyranitar, Gengar, Dawn Wings Necrozma, and Absol.
Dragon-Type Grunt
Taunt – “ROAR! … How’d that sound?”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable Pokémon in this encounter are Shadow Dratini (), Shadow Bagon (), Tyrunt, Dragonair, Gabite, or Alolan Exeggutor.
Best counters for the Dragon-type Grunt are Ice, Dragon and [fariy]-type Pokémon, like White Kyurem, Mamoswine, Rayquaza, Gardevoir.
Dark-type Grunt
Taunt – “Wherever there is light, there is also shadow.”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable in this encounter are Shadow Cacnea (), Alolan Rattata, or Carvanha ().
Best counters for the Dark-type Grunt are Fighting-type Pokémon. However, Alolan Muk is weak to Ground, and Cacnea to Fire-type attacks.
Steel-type Grunt
Taunt – “You’re no match for my iron will!”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable Pokémon at the end of this encounter are Shadow Alolan Sandshrew, Beldum (), Skarmory, Lairon, or Metang.
Best counters for the Steel-type Grunt are Fire and Fighting-type Pokémon like Charizard, Entei, Reshiram, etc. Skarmory, Scizor and Metang resists Fighting moves, so be careful.
Fairy-type Grunt
Taunt – “Check out my cute Pokémon!”
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
|---|---|---|
Catchable at the end of this encounter are Shadow Snubbull, Mawile (), Kirlia.
Best counters for the Fairy-type Grunt are Steel-type Pokémon, but you can also use Poison Pokémon for pure Fairy types. The only exception is Mawile, who is weak to Fire and Ground!
Very Difficult Grunts
Taunt – “Don’t bother – I’ve already won.”
Taunt – “Get ready to be defeated!”
Taunt – “Winning is for winners!”
| Female grunt | ||
|---|---|---|
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
| Male grunt | ||
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
The decoy female Grunt has the following details:
Taunt – “Fooled ya, twerp.”
| Female grunt | ||
|---|---|---|
| Slot #1 | Slot #2 | Slot #3 |
Female Grunts using any of these taunts use a difficult lineup that starts with Snorlax. Male Grunts using these taunts use different stages of Starter Pokémon. Catchable at the end of this encounter: Shadow Snorlax (female grunt), and Snivy, Tepig, or Oshawott (male grunt). Catchable from the decoy grunt is Shadow Bellsprout ().
- Snorlax is always tough and Fighting types like Machamp or Lucario are the way to go. Bring a Metagross to deal with Gardevoir which is also solid for Snorlax.
- Having an Electric type like Magnezone or Electivire (with added Ice Punch) can also help you arrest the incoming Dragonite or Gyarados in the last slot.
- This is definitely the most tricky of all the grunts, so be prepared!
Detailed GO Rocket Grunt Mechanics
Team GO Rocket Grunts are one of the most common enemies you will fight in Pokémon GO, as they tend to take over PokéStops, steal items, and convert Pokémon into Shadow Pokémon. You can find them at PokéStops and flying in the Team GO Rocket Hot Air Ballon.
Grunts are a common enemy, but they still can be difficult to defeat unless you know which counters to use. Luckily, each type of Grunt has a recognisable taunt which gives you a hint at which Pokémon they will use.
- Grunts will randomly select one 1 Pokémon from each of the 3 columns (#1 – 3) to build a team. Before starting the Team Rocket Battle encounter in Pokémon GO, the Grunt will taunt you. We use this taunt line to figure out which type of Pokémon he / she will use in the fight.
- Team Rocket Grunts do not use shields, which gives you an additional edge in these battles. You should shield against every Charge move they use (the charged attack the Shadow Pokémon use in battle is not Frustration, but a regular move from their move pool).
- Every Pokémon that faints on your team reduces the number of Premier Balls you will get for the Shadow Pokémon catch encounter. It’s in your best interest to switch low HP Pokémon before they faint. There is a slight delay in Rocket Grunts attacking after charge moves are used or Pokémon are switched, which you can take advantage of to make your victory that much easier.
- Your Pokémon are not automatically healed after the battle. If you lose, you can re-match and the Grunt will have the same Pokémon again. There’s no penalty for rejoining.
- You can walk away from the Poke Stop once the encounter starts. There’s no distance limit on how far you can move (or at least we never reached it). We tested this up to almost 500 meters (0.31 miles).
These taunts indicate the strongest Pokémon you will face, not the one you can catch. The Team Rocket grunt gives hints on the type of their third Pokémon. You will always be catching either the first or the second Pokémon that they used
Don’t forget to check out our Team GO Rocket Leaders guides for Sierra, Arlo, Cliff, and Giovanni – we’ve got the perfect strategy guides to help you win against Rocket Leaders as well.
Recommended team for defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts
3kkology here, updating this guide for everyone to use to take down Go Rocket invasions. I wanted to provide my dedicated Go Rocket team that I use for efficiency when taking down large invasion of Go Rocket grunts.
It can be annoying to look at this guide for every grunt and remember what Pokémon is best for each encounter. This is the team that I use for every Go Rocket encounter and it has yet to fail me. Feel free to copy and try for yourself.
| Pokémon | Fast Move | Charge Moves |
|---|---|---|
 Rhyperior |
|
|
 Charizard |
|
|
 Lucario |
|
|
The lead is Rhyperior. Lucario Power-up Punch is very powerful because of the delay in attacking by grunt Pokémon after using charge moves. Charizard is great for similar reason because of Dragon Claw and the fire type attacks over good coverage. You can really limit the amount of fast moves the Go Rocket grunt can get off. This team is very well rounded for all grunt encounters. With a lack of Gyarados and Dragonites in this round of grunt encounters, this team is great against all grunts.
Shiny Shadow Pokémon from Team GO Rocket Grunts
Shadow Pokémon caught from Grunts are shiny eligible in Pokémon GO. Since the Team GO Rocket Takeover Event event, select Pokémon caught from Team GO Rocket Grunts have a chance to be Shiny, allowing Trainers to collect Shiny Shadow Pokémon much easier than before.
Credits and thank you
We wish to say thank you to everyone that contributed their data to our Team Rocket Battles research project. This guide is made possible solely on the merit of the data you provided! Thank you! If you want to join our Discord server, please do so, we are planning to hold more research projects in near future.
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