Pokemon GO Sierra July 2022: How to Beat

Sierra has upgraded her team in Pokemon GO, meaning trainers will have to adjust their own accordingly.
Sierra has upgraded her team in Pokemon GO, meaning trainers will have to adjust their own accordingly. / Photo courtesy of The Pokemon Company.

Sierra has upgraded her team in Pokemon GO, meaning trainers will have to adjust their own accordingly.

Like the other Team GO Rocket Executives, Sierra changes her team periodically to keep up with whichever Pokemon Team GO Rocket is currently obsessed with. We've detailed her current team as of July 10 and the counter choices trainers can use against it.

Pokemon GO Sierra July 2022: How to Beat

Sierra will always start with one Pokemon, and then choose her second and third from respective pools of available species.

First Pokemon: Squirtle

Squirtle is a first form water-type and the pre-evolved form of Blastoise. Most trainers will recognize it as one of the three starter Pokemon in the Kanto region. Its best counter choices include grass-types and electric-types, such as:

  • Zekrom (Charge Beam + Wild Charge)
  • Electivire (Thunder Shock + Wild Charge)
  • Zarude (Vine Whip + Power Whip)
  • Roserade (Razor Leaf + Leaf Storm)

Second Pokemon: Blastoise, Blaziken, Lapras

Much like Cliff, Sierra's second Pokemon pool includes two species with similar weaknesses and one wildcard. Blastoise and Lapras are both water-types with Lapras adding on an extra ice-type. Toegther, they also share weaknesses to electric and grass-types ⁠— like Squirtle ⁠— meaning the first chosen Pokemon can carry over.

Or, trainers can choose another counter for security, including:

  • Therian Thundurus (Thunder Shock + Thunder Bolt)
  • Tangrowth (Vine Whip + Power Whip)

As well as these few specifically for dual-type Lapras:

  • Lucario (Counter + Aura Sphere)
  • Raikou (Volt Switch + Wild Charge)
  • Rampardos (Smack Down + Rock Slide)

Meanwhile, Blaziken is a fire and fighting-type, giving it a decent weakness against psychic, flying, water, and ground-types including:

  • Mewtwo (Confusion/ Psycho Cut + Psychic)
  • Kingler (Bubble + Crabhammer)
  • Therian Landorus (Mud Shot + Earthquake)

Third Pokemon: Drapion, Houndoom, Nidoqueen

Round three looks like it will be the most challenging ⁠— but looks can be decieving. All three of these Pokemon share a single weakness: ground-types! Ground-types are Drapion's only weakness, but these Pokemon can also fell fire-type Houndoom and Poison-type Nidoqueen.

The best ground-types for this part of the fight are:

  • Groudon (Mud Shot + Earthquake)
  • Rampardos (Smack Down + Rock Slide)
  • Rhyperior (Mud Slap + Earthquake)
  • Excadrill (Mud Slap + Earthquake/Drill Run)

Best Team for Sierra: Zekrom, Zarude, Rampardos

The strategy here is to cover all the available bases, meaning trainers should search for where type-advantages overlap. These overwhelmingly occur with grass, electric, and ground-types in Sierra's July 2022 team, meaning trainers should prioritize creating a team with those types present.

For our example team, we've chosen Zekrom, Zarude, and Rampardos ⁠— but any combination bearing similar types will do. Zekrom and Zarude can handle phases one and two or, if Blaziken appears, switch to Rampardos which can then be used against both it and phase three.