Video Games

How to beat Cliff in Pokémon Go in May 2024

Teach this buff boy a lesson with these counters

Marco Wutz

Niantic

Team Go Rocket’s Cliff has returned to Pokémon Go with a variety of fresh Pokémon – and as usual he’s up to no good. His roster update in May 2024 has made him a tough opponent, but you’ll still need to defeat him to get one step closer to facing off with Giovanni.

Table of Contents

  1. Cliff’s Pokémon in May 2024 – Pokémon Go
  2. Best counters to Machop – Pokémon Go Cliff
  3. Best counters to Kingdra – Pokémon Go Cliff
  4. Best counters to Aerodactyl – Pokémon Go Cliff
  5. Best counters to Gallade – Pokémon Go Cliff
  6. Best counters to Tyranitar – Pokémon Go Cliff
  7. Best counters to Cradily – Pokémon Go Cliff
  8. Best counters to Crobat – Pokémon Go Cliff

You can only encounter Cliff if you have an active Rocket Radar, so you’ll need to beat up a few grunts, relieve them of their Mysterious Parts, and construct a Rocket Radar with six of them. Once it’s activated, you can encounter Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra at PokéStops or on Rocket Balloons. Defeating all three Team Go Rocket bosses enables you to finally duel their superior, Giovanni.

This guide will tell you how to beat Cliff in Pokémon Go in 2024.

Cliff’s Pokémon in May 2024 – Pokémon Go

You can expect Cliff to always send out Shadow Machop first. Afterwards, though, he has three potential options to fill the second and third slots in his battle team.

  • Slot #1: Machop
  • Slot #2: Kingdra / Aerodactyl / Gallade
  • Slot #3: Tyranitar / Cradily / Crobat

Best counters to Machop – Pokémon Go Cliff

Humanoid Pokémon Machop on Fighting-type background.
Machop is Cliff's first pick for battle. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

As a pure Fighting-type Pokémon, Machop is vulnerable to Psychic, Fairy, and Flying attacks – and bringing a Psychic-type attacker will cover a few other potential picks down the line.

  • Mewtwo (Psychic): Psycho Cut, Psystrike, Shadow Ball
  • Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Zen Headbutt, Psychic, Meteor Mash
  • Alakazam (Psychic): Psycho Cut, Psychic, Shadow Ball

Best counters to Kingdra – Pokémon Go Cliff

Seahorse-like Pokémon Kingdra on Water-type background.
Kingdra is a potential second choice for Cliff. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Kingdra is a bit of an outlier from Cliff's line-up, though there is enough overlap with Gallade to formulate a plan: Bringing a Dragon-type with both Dragon- and Flying-type moves.

  • Rayquaza (Dragon, Flying): Air Slash, Dragon Ascent, Breaking Swipe
  • Salamence (Dragon, Flying): Dragon Tail, Outrage, Draco Meteor
  • Dragonite (Dragon, Flying): Dragon Tail, Outrage, Draco Meteor

Best counters to Aerodactyl – Pokémon Go Cliff

Dinosaur-like Pokémon Aerodactyl on Rock-type background.
Aerodactyl is a potential second choice for Cliff. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Aerodactyl shares a few weaknesses with potential third slot pick Cradily, enabling you to defeat it with similar counters.

  • Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Zen Headbutt, Psychic, Meteor Mash
  • Rhyperior (Rock, Ground): Smack Down, Rock Wrecker, Surf
  • Kyogre (Water): Waterfall, Surf, Origin Pulse

Best counters to Gallade – Pokémon Go Cliff

Humanoid Pokémon Gallade on Fighting-type background.
Gallade is a potential second choice for Cliff. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Gallade can be covered with some of the Pokémon you fielded against Kingdra.

  • Rayquaza (Dragon, Flying): Air Slash, Dragon Ascent, Breaking Swipe
  • Salamence (Dragon, Flying): Dragon Tail, Outrage, Draco Meteor
  • Dragonite (Dragon, Flying): Dragon Tail, Outrage, Draco Meteor

Best counters to Tyranitar – Pokémon Go Cliff

Godzilla-like Pokémon Tyranitar on Rock-type background.
Tyranitar is a potential third choice for Cliff. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Tyranitar has a fearsome appearance, but it does not lack weak points: Fighting, Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water all do bonus damage against it, so take your pick. Fighting and Steel are required to counter other Pokémon Cliff has in any case, so sticking with those is a good idea.

  • Lucario (Fighting, Steel): Counter, Power-Up Punch, Shadow Ball
  • Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Zen Headbutt, Psychic, Meteor Mash
  • Kyogre (Water): Waterfall, Surf, Origin Pulse

Best counters to Cradily – Pokémon Go Cliff

Plant-like Pokémon Cradily on Rock-type background.
Cradily is a potential third choice for Cliff. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Cradily shares key weaknesses with Aerodactyl, so you've got this one in the bag.

  • Lucario (Fighting, Steel): Counter, Power-Up Punch, Shadow Ball
  • Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Zen Headbutt, Psychic, Meteor Mash
  • Terrakion (Fighting, Rock): Double Kick, Sacred Sword, Close Combat

Best counters to Crobat – Pokémon Go Cliff

Bat-like Pokémon Crobat on Poison-type background.
Crobat is a potential third choice for Cliff. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Some earlier picks have their uses against Crobat as well, such as the dependable Metagross.

  • Mewtwo (Psychic): Psycho Cut, Psystrike, Shadow Ball
  • Metagross (Psychic, Steel): Zen Headbutt, Psychic, Meteor Mash
  • Rhyperior (Rock, Ground): Smack Down, Rock Wrecker, Surf

For more Pokémon Go, check out the overviews of the monthly Spotlight Hours and 5-Star Raids.

Published
Marco Wutz

MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg