How to beat Sierra in Pokemon GO in June 2023: Best counters, lineups, and more

Wherever Pokemon GO players tread, Team GO Rocket is never far behind. The sinister organization makes a habit of taking over Pokestops and gyms while surveilling the skies in their balloons and corrupting Pocket Monsters into their shadow forms. Among the Rockets is Sierra, one of the team's three leaders.

Alongside Arlo and Cliff, Sierra makes up the three highest-ranking members of the wicked Pokemon GO group. The trio works directly under Giovanni. Much like Team GO Rocket's grunts, Sierra and her fellow leaders change their battle lineups at regular intervals.

If Pokemon GO fans encounter Sierra during their journey, it's a good idea to have a counter team ready to defeat her current lineup.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

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Sierra's current lineup in Pokemon GO

Sierra's current team configuration in Pokemon GO features a fairly diverse collection of different Pocket Monsters of various elemental types. As always, her trusted Shadow Houndoom is available in her team, but many of her other picks are arrivals that trainers may not have encountered before. However, the game's 3v3 battle format means she can't use all seven of her available creatures.

In the current lineup, Sierra will always begin with Shadow Murkrow before sending out her other two options.

Here is Sierra's current team in Pokemon GO:

• Slot One - Murkrow
• Slot Two - Steelix, Swampert, or Staraptor
• Slot Three - Houndoom, Dragonite, or Charizard

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Recommended team to beat Sierra's lineup in Pokemon GO

Since Sierra has one Pokemon she'll always use in this loadout and six options that vary depending on the encounter, players should be capable of countering as many different elemental types as possible with the three Pocket Monsters they place on the battlefield. Fortunately, there are plenty of picks that should be able to defeat many of Sierra's potential choices.

Here is the counter team for Sierra as of June 1, 2023:

• Slot One - Tyranitar (Smack Down, Crunch, Stone Edge)
• Slot Two - Abomasnow (Powder Snow, Weather Ball (Ice), Energy Ball)
• Slot Three - Kyogre (Waterfall, Surf, Blizzard)

With the team listed above, players should have a potent blend of durability, damage potential, and the capability to counter nearly any pick Sierra makes. Shadow Murkrow can be easily dispatched by the entire team, but Tyranitar and Abomasnow can defeat it quickly, thanks to their Rock and Ice-type moves, respectively.

Meanwhile, Abomasnow's combined Grass/Ice-type arsenal gives it the ability to defeat Swampert, Staraptor, and Dragonite. If Sierra selects Steelix, Houndoom, or Charizard, Kyogre can take care of business with its Water-type moves. Having access to Blizzard will allow this Legendary Pokemon to also deal with Dragonite and Staraptor if needed.

Lastly, if players need a little extra assistance taking care of Sierra's Shadow Houndoom, Dragonite, or Charizard, Tyranitar can counter them as well. Thanks to its hard-hitting Rock-type assault, both Fire and Flying-type foes will take super effective damage. Furthermore, Tyranitar benefits substantially from its solid defensive stats to shrug off opposing attacks.