Pokémon GO
This post was updated with details on the equipment I used in each fight.
Pokémon GO Fest Day 2 is here, and it all revolves around large-scale Team Rocket invasions: balloons, Pokestops, leaders, and more. While grunts shouldn’t be that difficult to eliminate, completing the “Direct Rocket to Victory” special investigation will require you to eliminate all four leaders: Cliff, Sierra, Arlo, and Giovanni.
Fortunately for us, each leader seems to have an established lineup for the event, making it much easier to eliminate them. Early reports also suggest that they’ve received significant nerfs from their pre-event states, so even if you’ve been fighting with them before, you should be able to complete the special investigation. Three of these lineups were on the Pokemon GO Blog, but Serebii is thanked for Giovanni’s:
Saw: Beldum, Houndoom and Zapdos
Beldum is Steel and Psychic, and I would recommend bringing in a strong Fire guy to counter the steel part of that. Charizard, Moltres, Flareon, Entei, or Chandelure should do the trick. For Houndoom, the fight, the water or the rock will do it: Machamp, Kyogre or Tyranitar will knock him down. For Zapdos, Rock-type or Ground-type will be great counters: think of Tyranitar, Rhyperior, Mamoswine or one of their new Garchomps.
My team: Entei, Kyogre, Rock Tyranitar
Cliff: Pinsir, Tyranitar and Articuno
Pinsir is a type of bug, so Fire will handle it well: Moltres, Charizard, Flareon. The types of flight will also suffice. For Tyranitar, the fighting types reign supreme: bring someone like Machamp or Lucario and everything will be fine. When it comes to Articuno, Rock, or Fire: You can get your Pinsir counter back if it did well in the first fight, or end things with a Golem or Tyranitar.
My team: Entei, Machamp, Rock Tyranitar
Arlo Mawile, Scizor and Moltres
This is the guy who was giving me so much trouble recently, but nerfs should make it easier today. Mawile needs fire, so use whoever you did for the other two: Charizard, Moltres, Entei, Chandelure or something like that. You can launch that type of fire directly at Scizor, which is both bug and steel. For Moltres, use Rock or Water: Tyranitar, Kyogre, Rhyperior, Golem or someone else should handle it well.
My team: Entei, Moltres, Rock Tyranitar
Giovanni: Persian, Sandslash, Mewtwo
The big guy shouldn’t be that difficult to knock down. Persian is a normal type, so focus on the fight: Machamp, Lucario, Blaziken or someone like that. Sandlsash is of the pure soil type, so Water or Grass will handle it well: Kyogre, Venasaur, Gyarados and Swampert would work. And for Mewtwo, your best player against a psychic type is a dark or ghost type. So go with a biting / crisp Tyranitar, a Gengar with Shadow Punch, or a Weavile with Snarl and Foul Play. You should be able to handle it smoothly.
My team: Machamp, Kyogre, Dark Tyranitar
With all of that, you should have plenty of powerful new Pokémon Shadow, as well as Victini, your mythical Pokémon for the event.
