Pokemon GO Arlo counters, team, and weakness (April 2023) - How to beat Arlo

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Arlo in Pokémon GO.
April 4, 2023: The Rocket Takeover may have ended, but the Arlo counters remain the same for now.

Unless you have a monster team already, you're going to need to know the best Pokemon GO Arlo counters before you pick a fight with him. He's the coolest of the group, but his Pokemon aren't to be underestimated. Taking on Leader Arlo is no easy feat, so you'll want to prepare by powering up some of the Pokemon below.

Read on to train up the best Pokemon you can bring to the fight with Arlo. He, like the rest of the leaders, switches up his team whenever there's a Rocket Takeover event, causing the best counters to switch, too.

Pokemon Go Leader Arlo team (April 2023)

First Pokémon Second Pokémon Third Pokémon Reward
Nidoran (m)Crobat, Steelix, CradilyCharizard, Scizor, ArmaldoNidoran (M)

Arlo rejigged his team for the February 2023 Rocket Takeover event, swapping back to his Nidoran for the first slot. In his second, look forward to Crobat, Steelix, or Cradily. As a last resort, he'll bring out Charizard, Scizor, or Armaldo.

Counters for Arlo's first Pokemon

Nidoran (m)

Pokémon Fast Move Charged Move
MewtwoConfusionPsychic
AlakazamConfusionPsychic
EspeonConfusionPsychic
AzelfExtrasensoryFuture Sight
DeoxysZen HeadbuttDark Pulse

There's not much to say about this one. Being a Poison-type Pokemon, just come at it with any of the powerful Psychic or Ground-type creatures you're bringing to the fight. Usual meta picks like Rhyperior and Mewtwo will work just fine.

Counters for Arlo's second Pokemon

Crobat

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
RampardosSmack DownRock Slide
RhyperiorSmack DownRock Wrecker
TyranitarRock ThrowStone Edge
LycanrocRock ThrowStone Edge
GolemRock ThrowStone Edge

As a Flying/Poison-type Pokemon, Crobat is weak against Flying, Rock, Ice, and Psychic attacks. Assuming it doesn't use a Dark-type move, another Pokemon like Mewtwo will work wonders here. Or just hit it hard with Rhyperior.

Steelix

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
LucarioCounterAura Sphere
ReshiramFire FangOverheat
ChandelureIncinerateOverheat
BlazikenCounterBlast Burn
MachampCounterDynamic Punch
ConkeldurrCounterDynamic Punch

Steelix won't stand a chance against a good Fire, Ground, or Fighting-type Pokemon. As usual, you'll want a defensive pick to resist its own hard-hitting attacks, but a few saved charge attacks from a Focus Blast Lucario or Dynamic Punch Machamp will do the trick.

Cradily

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
MetagrossBullet PunchMeteor Mash
LucarioCounterAura Sphere
BreloomCounterDynamic Punch
MachampCounterDynamic Punch
ConkeldurrCounterFocus Blast
BlazikenCounterFocus Blast
MewtwoConfusionIce Beam

Cradily has been a pain since the day it made its debut in the third-generation games, and it's still a pain here. Being a Rock/Grass-type Pokemon, its weaknesses are spread thin.

To deal with it effectively, you'll want a Ice-type attack. Thankfully, a classic Ice Beam Mewtwo will work wonders. Failing that, Fighting, Bug, and Steel attacks will work just as well, so Genesect, Lucario, and Machamp are great secondary picks.

Pokemon GO's Arlo.
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Counters for Arlo's third Pokemon

Scizor

Pokémon Fast Move Charged Move
ReshiramFire FangOverheat
DarmanitanFire FangOverheat
MoltresFire SpinOverheat, Fire Blast
BlazikenFire SpinBlaze Kick, Blast Burn
HeatranFire SpinFire Blast, Flamethrower

While incredibly dangerous given its lightning-fast attacks, Scizor is a very brittle bug.

Its dual Fire-type weakness means having any decent Fire-type Charged Move ready to rock as soon as it comes out will typically knock it out in one go. Moltres is a good answer to this, but Darmanitan (Normal) and Reshiram are two potent Pokémon as well.

Charizard

Pokémon Fast Move Charged Move
RampardosSmack DownRock Slide
RhyperiorSmack DownRock Wrecker
TyranitarRock ThrowStone Edge
LycanrocRock ThrowStone Edge
GolemRock ThrowStone Edge

To make things nice and easy with your Rock and Ground-type Pokémon, Charizard can cap off the fight. It can't do much against your Pokémon, but you can punish its typing with any good Rock moveset. Rampardos, Rhyperior, and Tyranitar are the best for this, but a good Lycanroc or Golem can pitch in as well.

Armaldo

Pokémon Fast Move Charged Move
KyogreWaterfallHydro Pump
MetagrossBullet PunchMeteor Mash
RampardosSmack DownRock Slide
RhyperiorSmack DownRock Wrecker
GenesectMetal ClawMagnet Bomb

Like Cradily, Armaldo can be a struggle. Its more offense-minded, so you'll want to put it down with some stored Charged Attacks before it tears you apart. Like its other fossil friend, it's weak to Steel-type attacks, making Lucario and Genesect two notable picks. Rock works just as well, so Rhyperior and Rampardos are two good options.

How do I battle Arlo in Pokemon GO?

To challenge Arlo to a battle, you'll first need to defeat six Team Rocket Grunts to collect enough Mysterious Components to build the Rocket Radar. Use that and you'll be able to see the location of a Rocket Leader.

Be warned, though. Battling a Rocket Leader is a different story from taking on their lowly Grunts. Leaders use strong, high-level monsters. Pokemon GO Alro counters are necessary to get the win, but the random nature of his potential team makes choosing your best Pokemon a real struggle.

Using super-effective moves is virtually mandatory, and bringing bulky Pokémon can often be an even better idea than filling your team with powerful attackers that can't take a hit.

For more Pokemon GO guides, we have the same for each of the Team GO Rocket leaders, so check out our Cliff counters, Sierra counters, and the best Giovanni counters, too. He's bringing Shadow Registeel to the final battle.

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