If you want to quickly defeat the Rocket Boss Arlo in Pokémon GO, you need the right counters. We at MeinMMO have looked at which monsters you should best use against Arlo’s team in April 2025 and what rewards await you.
Who is Arlo? Arlo is one of the Team GO Rocket bosses in Pokémon GO. You can battle him, as well as Sierra and Cliff, with the help of a full Rocket Radar. In this guide, we will cover the following points:
- Rocket Boss Arlo – Current Teams
- The best counters to defeat Arlo
- How to find Arlo
- Is the fight against Arlo worth it?
Rocket Boss Arlo – Current Teams in May 2025
Which monsters does Arlo use? To successfully battle Arlo, you should familiarize yourself with his monsters beforehand. In battle, the Rocket Boss has the option to use three Pokémon. He has access to a selection of 7 different monsters.
| Position | Pokémon |
| First Pokémon | Alolan Grimer |
| Second Pokémon | Lanturn Gyarados Diglett |
| Third Pokémon | Metagross Scizor Alolan Muk |
By clicking on our link in the previous table, you will be directly shown the best counters against Arlo’s deployed monsters.
The best counters to defeat Arlo
Once you have found Arlo, you can start your battle against his team. However, you should think carefully about which Pokémon you want to use beforehand. Below, we have summarized the best counters against the respective monsters using the overview from Pokébattler and Pokémon GO HUB.
Defeating Alolan Grimer – Best Counters Against the 1st Pokémon
In the first round, Arlo has only one Pokémon available: Alolan Grimer. This Poison and Dark-type Pokémon has only one weakness against Ground-type attacks.
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| (Shadow-)Groudon | Mud Shot and Precipice Blades |
| (Shadow-)Excadrill | Mud Slap and Fire Fang |
| (Shadow-)Garchomp | Mud Shot and Earth Power |
| Landorus (Therian Form) | Mud Shot and Desert Hurricane |
| (Shadow-)Mamoswine | Mud Slap and Body Slam |
Alternatively, use the following Mega Evolutions:
- Proto-Groudon with Mud Shot and Precipice Blades
- Mega-Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power
Defeating Lanturn, Gyarados, and Diglett – Best Counters Against the 2nd Pokémon
How to defeat Lanturn: The Psychic and Water Pokémon Lanturn is weak to Bug-, Dark-, Electric-, Ghost-, and Grass-type attacks, so you should use these in battle.
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| Necrozma (Dawn Wings) | Dark Claw and Shadow Ball |
| (Shadow-)Tyranitar | Bite and Dragon Tail |
| Katagami | Leaf Blade and Grass Knot |
| (Shadow-)Raikou | Thunder Shock and Zap Cannon |
| (Shadow-)Electivire | Thunder Shock and Zap Cannon |
Also suitable as Mega Evolutions:
- Mega-Tyranitar with Bite and Dragon Tail
- Mega-Sceptile with Leaf Blade and Flora Statue
- Mega-Gengar with Lick and Shadow Ball
How to defeat Gyarados: The Water-Flying Pokémon is the evolution of Magikarp. Due to its type, it is particularly weak against Electric-type attacks, as it has a double weakness to such attacks. It also has a single weakness to Rock-type attacks. Since Gyarados can use Water attacks and has a double weakness, you should use Electric monsters instead.
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| (Shadow-)Raikou | Thunder Shock and Zap Cannon |
| (Shadow-)Magnezone | Volt Switch and Zap Cannon |
| (Shadow-)Electivire | Thunder Shock and Zap Cannon |
| (Shadow-)Zapdos | Thunder Shock and Thunderbolt |
| Zekrom | Charge Beam and Fusion Flare |
Alternatively, use the following Mega Evolutions against Gyarados:
- Mega-Volcarona with Thunder Fang and Zap Cannon
- Mega-Ampharos with Volt Switch and Thunder Cannon
How to defeat Diglett: Diglett is a Ground-type Pokémon. It is weak against Water-, Ice-, and Grass-type attacks.
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| (Shadow-)Kyogre | Waterfall and Origin Pulse |
| Katagami | Leaf Blade and Grass Knot |
| (Shadow-)Snover | Ice Shard and Avalanche |
| (Shadow-)Venusaur | Vine Whip and Flora Statue |
| (Shadow-)Swampert | Water Gun and Hydro Cannon |
Additionally, you can also use the following Mega Evolutions:
- Proto-Kyogre with Waterfall and Origin Pulse
- Mega-Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon
- Mega-Sceptile with Leaf Blade and Flora Statue
Defeating Alolan Muk, Scizor, and Metagross – Best Counters Against the 3rd Pokémon
In the last Pokémon, Arlo can again choose from three different monsters: Alolan Muk, Scizor, and Metagross. Again, it’s random which Pokémon you will face.
How to defeat Alolan Muk: This Pokémon has the types Poison and Dark. Therefore, it has only one weakness against Ground-type attacks.
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| (Shadow-)Groudon | Mud Shot and Precipice Blades |
| (Shadow-)Excadrill | Mud Slap and Fire Fang |
| (Shadow-)Garchomp | Mud Shot and Earth Power |
| Landorus (Therian Form) | Mud Shot and Desert Hurricane |
| (Shadow-)Mamoswine | Mud Slap and Body Slam |
Also, use the following Mega Evolutions against Alolan Muk:
- Proto-Groudon with Mud Shot and Precipice Blades
- Mega-Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power
How to defeat Scizor: The Bug and Steel Pokémon Scizor is the evolution of Scyther and originates from the 2nd generation. It has a double weakness to Fire-type attacks.
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| (Shadow-)Heatran | Fire Spin and Lava Plume |
| (Shadow-)Gengar | Fire Spin and Overheat |
| (Shadow-)Blaziken | Fire Spin and Blast Burn |
| Reshiram | Fire Fang and Fusion Flare |
| (Shadow-)Moltres | Fire Spin and Overheat |
Also, use the following Mega Evolutions against Scizor:
- Mega-Blaziken with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
- Mega-Charizard Y with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
- Mega-Charizard X with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
How to defeat Metagross: The Steel-Psychic Pokémon is weak against Fire, Ground, Ghost, and Dark-type attacks.
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| Necrozma (Dawn Wings) | Dark Claw and Shadow Ball |
| (Shadow-)Tyranitar | Bite and Dragon Tail |
| (Shadow-)Heatran | Fire Spin and Lava Plume |
| Reshiram | Fire Fang and Fusion Flare |
| (Shadow-)Gengar | Fire Spin and Overheat |
In addition to Metagross, you can also use the following Mega Evolutions:
- Proto-Groudon with Mud Shot and Precipice Blades
- Mega-Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power
- Mega-Charizard X or Y with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
How to find Arlo
To battle Arlo, you first need a complete Rocket Radar. This consists of the 6 mysterious parts you receive when battling the individual Rocket Grunts. Once you have collected all 6 parts, you can assemble and activate the radar. It helps you find Arlo.
Once activated, the Rocket Radar will be displayed at the right edge of the game screen. You can recognize it by the red R. If you click on the radar, a map will open. There you can see your surroundings and at which stops a Rocket Boss is located. These are also marked with a red R.
If there is currently no Rocket Boss near you, you can also wait for a balloon. The bosses spawn similarly to the Team GO Rocket Grunts up to 4 times a day in a black balloon. A prerequisite for this is that you have activated your Rocket Radar.
How you can find Arlo and the other Rocket bosses is shown in the following video:
Can you specifically find Arlo? No, it is unfortunately not possible to specifically search for Arlo. The radar only indicates which stops a Rocket Boss is located at, but not which boss it is.
However, once you have found Arlo, he will stay at this stop all day. It is also random which boss you get in the balloons.
Is the fight against Arlo worth it?
Why you should fight against Arlo: At regular intervals, you will receive certain special research tasks in Pokémon GO, with which you can encounter the great Team GO Rocket Boss Giovanni. To complete the task, you must have battled and defeated these three Rocket bosses: Arlo, Sierra, and Cliff.
As a reward, you will receive a black Super Rocket Radar, which you can use to locate Giovanni. However, even if you do not currently have a corresponding task, it is still worthwhile to battle Arlo. You can do this by using a complete Rocket Radar, which you can assemble from the mysterious parts from the grunts.
With this, you can battle one of the three Rocket bosses Arlo, Sierra, and Cliff and look forward to some cool rewards. However, Giovanni cannot be tracked with this radar.
These are the rewards after a battle against Arlo
Which Shadow Pokémon does Arlo have? The current Pokémon is Alolan Grimer in its Shadow variant. You will receive this as a reward after defeating Arlo and have the opportunity to catch it. If you’re lucky, you might even encounter a shiny one. It is absolutely worth capturing this monster, as it evolves into a powerful Shadow Metagross.
Other rewards: However, the encounter with the Shadow Pokémon is not the only reward after a battle with Arlo. You will receive various items, just like in other Rocket battles. Additionally, you should ensure there is a free slot in your egg storage before the battle, as you can receive a 12 km egg as a reward from Rocket bosses.
These eggs are exclusively obtained through Arlo, Sierra, Cliff, and Giovanni. They often contain interesting and rare monsters. For this reason, it is worth hatching them. Which monsters can currently be found in 12 km eggs have been summarized here for you.
Which counters do you prefer to use against Arlo? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments here on MeinMMO and discuss this topic with other trainers.
