Team Go Rocket Grunts are recurring villains in the world of Pokémon Go. 'Villains' might be a bit strong - they’re mostly minor nuisances that either slow down gameplay or give you something to do a couple of times a day, thanks to Team Go Rocket Balloons.
Either way, beating Team Go Rocket Grunts is the first step on your path to collecting Shadow Pokémon - the second-strongest designation in Pokémon Go, after Mega Pokémon - taking down the Team Go Rocket Leaders Arlo, Serra and Cliff, and then taking down the OG himself, Giovanni.
On this page, we’ll talk you through each Grunt (there’s a lot of them and they each run different Pokémon), along with some general tips, tricks and everything else you need to be the very best, like Arlo never was…
Battling and catching Guzzlord in Pokémon Go The line-up that the Team Go Rocket Grunts pick changes everyone once in a while, meaning that if you’ve not played in a couple of months, the Pokémon that the Grunts throw out against you will likely have changed. While this means that you need to keep checking back to see who is packing what, it also means that the potential rewards are likely to change.
Below, we have a list of the different types of the Team Go Rocket Grunts, and the counters you’ll want to bring to defeat them, as of November 2024. We also have a handy all-rounder recommendation for those who like to keep things simple.
For the sake of ease, click the link below to jump to the Grunt you currently need help with.
If you’re looking for an all-round team that will have you covered in all situations, we have a recommendation for you. However, there are some caveats to be aware of before you commit to this.
This is an expensive route to victory, as it revolves around finding a perfect 15/15/15 Rhyperior, Lucario and Charizard. You then have to max them out and give them a second Charged move each, in order to do maximum damage and give appropriate coverage for anything that Team Go Rocket throws at you.
The upside to this is that you only have to focus on three Pokémon, instead of almost 60. You also don’t have to think, or check the table below every time you come across a new Grunt.
The downside, first and foremost, is that this is very resource intensive, and if one of these Pokémon gets a move change that nukes its viability, or if something better comes along, you have to cut your losses and build a new Pokémon/team.
With that all in mind, our recommendation is as follows:
You’ll want to lead with Rhyperior and either spam Mud Slap if it is advantageous, or swap into either Charizard or Lucario, depending on the match-up. Remember, swapping Pokémon will afford you a brief delay, as the Grunt stops and considers its life choices (or at least finishes the brief delay programmed into the game).
Lucario’s Power-up Punch is particularly helpful because it is quick to fire off, snowballs as Lucario gets stronger, and causes the same delay as when you changed Pokémon. Shadow Ball is simply coverage.
As for Charizard, more coverage is always great. Plus, the fact that it can be Mega Evolved for a huge attack boost is not to be overlooked. Whether you go X or Y is up to you, but this combo leans more in to the X territory, with its Dragon-type Charged attack.
If you’re looking for something more specific, however, here are our type-based recommendations as of November 2024.
Remember, for each Grunt, there are up to three choices they can make for each of their three Pokémon, leaving you with a lot of different possible options.
Bug-type weaknesses: Fire, Flying and Rock-type attacks
Bug-type resistances: Ground, Grass and Fighting-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Scyther, Shadow Caterpie or Shadow Venipede
Pokémon 2: Shadow Anorith, Shadow Shelmet or Shadow Karrablast
Pokémon 3: Shadow Scizor, Shadow Forretress or Shadow Beedrill
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Scyther, Shadow Anorith, Shadow Caterpie, Shadow Venipede, Shadow Shelmet or Shadow Karrablast. Shadow Scyther remains the most interesting of these, as a high-IV one is a chance for a perfect Purified Mega Scizor.
Best counters to the Bug-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Mega Charizard and Moltres are the two obvious candidates, as Fire/Flying-type Pokémon - if you come up across Scizor or Forretress, which are double-weak to Fire-type attacks, even better. Reshiram would be a good third Pokémon, though you likely won’t need it!
Dark-type weaknesses: Bug, Fairy and Fighting-type attacks
Dark-type resistances: Psychic, Ghost and Dark-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Cacnea or Shadow Alolan Rattata
Pokémon 2: Shadow Alolan Muk or Shadow Alolan Raticate
Pokémon 3: Shadow Alolan Muk or Shadow Skuntank
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Cacnea or Shadow Alolan Rattata.
Best counters to the Dark-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Ground-type attackers will be your go to here, so we recommend Groudon and Garchomp to use against everything except the rats. Bring a Fairy or Fighting-type to use against the rats if you want, but they're not going to be that hard to beat if you want to stick to just mono-ground types. A Primal Groudon, for instance, will make incredibly short work of this Grunt.
Decoy-type weaknesses: N/A
Decoy-type resistances: N/A
Pokémon 1: Shadow Bellsprout
Pokémon 2: Shadow Raticate or Shadow Bellsprout
Pokémon 3: Shadow Raticate or Shadow Snorlax
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Bellsprout - this is the only way to catch this Pokémon.
Best counters to the Decoy-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: This Grunt is really here for two reasons: the first is to annoy you, the second is to offer you a Shadow Bellsprout. Should you want one (you probably don’t), this is your only chance to get one. Bring your strongest Fire and Fighting-types. Since Shadow Snorlax is such a monster, you might even want to consider triple Fighting. Or, you know, you can skip it and fight something else entirely.
Dragon-type weaknesses: Ice, Dragon, Fairy-type attacks
Dragon-type resistances: Water, Grass, Fire and Electric-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Dratini or Shadow Gible
Pokémon 2: Shadow Dragonair, Shadow Gabite or Shadow Alolan Exeggutor
Pokémon 3: Shadow Salamence or Shadow Dragonite
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Gible or Shadow Dratini (whichever Pokémon they use first). Of these, Dratini is the most interesting, thanks to Dragonite’s prowess in Master League.
Best counters to the Dragon-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Dragon beats Dragon, but their Dragons will hit harder than your Dragons. Instead, bring your strongest Ice-type attackers - this will be doubly effective against the Flying Dragons, too. We recommend Kyurem, Baxcalibur or Galarian Darmanitan if you have them, or Mamoswine if you’re short on options.
Electric-type weaknesses: Ground-type attacks
Electric-type resistances: Steel, Flying and Electric-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Magnemite, Shadow Blitzle or Shadow Joltik
Pokémon 2: Shadow Alolan Geodude, Shadow Voltorb or Shadow Electabuzz
Pokémon 3: Shadow Galvantula, Shadow Ampharos or Shadow Luxray
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Magnemite, Shadow Joltik or Shadow Blitzle, Shadow Alolan Geodude, Shadow Voltorb or Shadow Electabuzz. Shadow Electabuzz is the most interesting, since Shadow Electivire is an excellent Raid attacker.
Best counters to the Electric-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Triple Garchomp? As a Dragon/Ground-type, it’s super resistant to Electric-type attacks and there’s nothing here that counters it… Failing that you’re looking at Primal Groudon, Ursaluna or Therian Landorus.
Expert-type weaknesses: N/A
Expert-type resistances: N/A
Like with the Water-type Grunt, the Expert-level grunts come in two flavours: Male and Female. Which one you’re fighting should be fairly obvious…
The Male Grunt uses a mix of Grass, Fire and Water-type Pokémon. The Female is a nightmare that can run the dreaded triple Shadow Snorlax team. Your team will want to change depending on which Grunt you’re up against.
Male Grunt
Pokémon 1: Shadow Chikorita, Shadow Cyndaquil or Shadow Totodile
Pokémon 2: Shadow Bayleaf, Shadow Quilava or Shadow Croconaw
Pokémon 3: Shadow Meganium, Shadow Typhlosion or Shadow Feraligatr
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Chikorita, Shadow Cyndaquil or Shadow Totodile (whichever Pokémon they used first). Shadow Feraligatr is incredible in Great and Ultra League.
Best counters to the Male Expert-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: You’re looking for your strongest Grass, Water and Fire-types here. Mega Evolve one of them and then pick the other two around that. For Fire, you’re looking at Mega Charizard, Reshiram or Heatran. For Water, you’re looking at Primal Kyogre, Palkia or Greninja. For Grass, you’re looking at Mega Sceptile, Kartana or Zarude.
Remember, you can immediately swap to your best counter as the match begins without the first-mover penalty that you get in PVP as Grunts can’t swap Pokémon, and take a minor delay when you do so!
Female Grunt
Pokémon 1: Shadow Snorlax
Pokémon 2: Shadow Gardevoir, Shadow Poliwrath or Shadow Snorlax
Pokémon 3: Shadow Dragonite, Shadow Gyarados or Shadow Snorlax
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Snorlax - this is the only way to catch this Pokémon.
Best counters to the Female Expert-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: This is undoubtedly the most difficult Grunt in Pokémon Go, especially when the triple tank match-up comes your way. Ideally, you want your strongest Fighting-type - if you have it, the newly released Mega Lucario is going to be incredible here, otherwise use Sacred Sword Terrakion or your best Counter user - along with a strong Electric-type (Xurkitree ideally) and a strong Ice-type (Kyurem). If you come up across a triple Shadow Snorlax, you will likely want to bring a team of triple Fighting, and make the most of every delay you can bring to the match. Good luck!
Fairy-type weaknesses: Poison and Steel-type attacks
Fairy-type resistances: Dragon (2x), Fighting, Dark and Bug-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Mawile, Shadow Snubbull or Shadow Alolan Vulpix
Pokémon 2: Shadow Kirlia, Shadow Snubbull or Shadow Granbull
Pokémon 3: Shadow Alolan Ninetales, Shadow Gardevoir or Shadow Granbull
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Mawile, Shadow Snubbull or Shadow Alolan Vulpix. Shadow Mawile is the best pickup here, since the purified version has a Mega Evolution.
Best counters to the Fairy-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Mawile is going to be a pain, as its Steel-typing nullifies both Fairy-type weaknesses. With that in mind, bring a Mega Charizard or similar Ground-type attacker (make sure it’s not a Dragon-type like Garchomp). That said, Steel-types will be handy against Shadow Alolan Ninetales, if you run into it - Metagross will do nicely. Let’s round it out with a strong Poison-type, just to be covered - we recommend Nihilego.
Fighting-type weaknesses: Fairy, Flying and Psychic-type attacks
Fighting-type resistances: Rock, Dark and Bug-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Timburr, Shadow Mankey or Shadow Machop
Pokémon 2: Shadow Hitmontop, Shadow Gurdurr or Shadow Hitmonchan
Pokémon 3: Shadow Conkeldurr, Shadow Toxicroak or Shadow Infernape
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Timburr, Shadow Mankey, Shadow Machop, Shadow Hitmontop, Shadow Gurdurr or Shadow Hitmonchan. Shadow Machop is the one to look out for, as an army of Shadow Machamp hits incredibly hard.
Best counters to the Fighting-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Shadow Conkeldurr is no joke - unless you’re a Shadow Mewtwo, in which case you’re laughing. Beyond that, you should look towards Lunala, Hoopa, Zacian or Xernas. Mega Rayquaza would also be an easy win.
Fire-type weaknesses: Ground, Rock and Water-type attacks
Fire-type resistances: Steel, Ice, Grass, Fire, Fairy and Bug-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Torchic, Shadow Darumaka or Shadow Vulpix
Pokémon 2: Shadow Combusken, Shadow Houndoom or Shadow Ninetales
Pokémon 3: Shadow Houndoom, Shadow Darmanitan or Shadow Typhlosion
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Torchic, Shadow Darumaka or Shadow Vulpix. Unsurprisingly, the Shadow starter Pokémon (Torchic) is what you should be hoping for.
Best counters to the Fire-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Water is your obvious option - Primal Kyogre will make short work for you, as will Swampert. If you want to go the Rock/Ground route, look towards Rhyperior and Garchomp. Primal Groudon is obviously an option if you have one with Precipice Blades.
Flying-type weaknesses: Electric, Ice and Rock-type attacks
Flying-type resistances: Ground (2x), Grass, Fighting and Bug-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Pidgey, Shadow Starly
Pokémon 2: Shadow Gligar, Shadow Zubat or Shadow Staravia
Pokémon 3: Shadow Dragonite
Catchable Pokémon: Anything except Shadow Dragonite. Shadow Pidgey evolves into Shadow Pidgeot, which is decent in Ultra League, or can be purified for Mega Evolution if you prefer. Shadow Starly evolves into Shadow Staraptor, which also has PVP uses.
Best counters to the Flying-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Everything here is weak to Ice-type attacks, and all but Shadow Gligar are weak to Rock-type attacks! This means that it's time to bust out Kyurem and Mamoswine (which covers both bases) - between the two, you should have no problems.
Grass-type weaknesses: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice and Poison-type attacks
Grass-type resistances: Water, Ground, Grass and Electric-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Treecko or Shadow Cacnea
Pokémon 2: Shadow Grovyle, Shadow Ferrothorn or Shadow Lileep
Pokémon 3: Shadow Cacturne or Shadow Meganium
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Treecko or Shadow Cacnea. Shadow starters are always the one to hope for.
Best counters to the Grass-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: If there was ever an excuse to bust out Mega Charizard, it is this - Grass-type Pokémon are weak to both Fire and Flying, which Charizard has STAB on. Snover is also double-weak to Fire, which is a great bonus. If you need more recommendations, we suggest Reshiram and Heatran for Fire, or Rayquaza and Yveltal for Flying.
Ground-type weaknesses: Grass, Ice and Water-type attacks
Ground-type resistances: Electric, Rock and Poison-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Rhyhorn, Shadow Wooper or Shadow Drilbur
Pokémon 2: Shadow Rhyhorn, Shadow Vibrava or Shadow Graveler
Pokémon 3: Shadow Whiscash, Shadow Flygon or Shadow Torterra
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Rhyhorn, Shadow Wooper, Shadow Drilbur, Shadow Vibrava or Shadow Graveler. These are all fine - Shadow Quagsire is great in Great League, Shadow Excadrill is reasonable in Ultra and Master League, and Rhyperior is not only a Master League Pokémon, but one of our all-rounder recommendations!
Best counters to the Ground-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: There’s a bit of eclectic mix of secondary types here, meaning that this could be one of the tougher battles for the unprepared trainer. Start with your strongest Grass-type - Kartana or Zarude, ideally. That will work against Drilbur and Rhyhorn, and be devastating to Wooper and Whiscash.
Next, you want a Water-type: Kyogre or Swampert, ideally. This will cover you against Alolan Diglett, Drilbur and Rhyhorn, but will be useless against whatever comes third...
...Which is why your third slot needs to be an Ice-type attacker. Drilbur, Rhyhorn, Vibrava, Torterra and Flygon are all weak against Ice-type attacks.
So, to recap: you want a Grass, Water and Ice-type attacker, with Grass and Ice being the most important of the three.
Ghost-type weaknesses: Dark and Ghost-type attacks
Ghost-type resistances: Normal (2x), Fighting (2x), Poison and Bug-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Duskull, Shadow Drifloon or Shadow Golett
Pokémon 2: Shadow Dusclops or Shadow Sableye
Pokémon 3: Shadow Froslass, Shadow Gengar or Shadow Alolan Marowak
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Misdreavus, Shadow Duskull, Shadow Drifloon, Shadow Sableye, Shadow Dusclops or Shadow Golett. Shadow Sableye is the only interesting option here, thanks to PVP, and the eventual Mega Sableye, should you be on the hunt for a hundo.
Best counters to the Ghost-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Ghost beats Ghost, so leave yours at home - the Grunts will hit harder. Dark-types, meanwhile, can be brutal - especially if they know Brutal Swing.
This means that your best bets are likely to be Tyranitar and Hydreigon with the aforementioned attack, especially if your Tyranitar is Mega Evolved. Hoopa Unbound, Darkrai and Yveltal are all excellent options, too. Be aware that Sableye is only weak to Fairy, so you might want to pack a Pokémon that can take it down!
Ice-type weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, Rock and Steel-type attacks
Ice-type resistances: Ice-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Alolan Sandshrew, Shadow Snorunt or Shadow Sneasel
Pokémon 2: Shadow Froslass, Shadow Alolan Ninetales or Shadow Glalie
Pokémon 3: Shadow Froslass or Shadow Abomasnow
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Alolan Sandshrew, Shadow Snorunt or Shadow Sneasel. All of these are decent options.
Best counters to the Ice-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: This is a potentially tough fight, given that there are a lot of strong Pokémon here to contend with. Shadow Froslass is the biggest issue, as its Ghost-typing turns Fighting from a weakness into a resistance. Alolan Ninetails is similarly ambivalent about your Fighting-types, but has a double-weakness to Steel.
Ideally, you want to bring your strongest Fire-type attackers, like Mega Charizard and Reshiram (both neutral to Ice-type attacks), or Heatran (which is resistant to Ice). If you’re hurting for strong Fire-types, you can manage with Steel-types such as Dialga; just leave your Metagross at home because Froslass can quickly wreck it with its Ghost-type attacks.
Normal-type weaknesses: Fighting-type attacks
Normal-type resistances: Ghost-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Glameow, Shadow Bidoof or Shadow Stantler
Pokémon 2: Shadow Rattata, Shadow Meowth or Shadow Purugly
Pokémon 3: Shadow Ursaring, Shadow Exploud or Shadow Stantler
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Glameow, Shadow Bidoof, Shadow Stantler, Shadow Meowth, Shadow Rattata or Shadow Purugly. None of these are particularly exciting.
Best counters to the Normal-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Normal does not mean weak, but it does mean weak to Fighting. This Grunt is basically allergic to gym sweat, and famously folds anything running Counter - Machamp, Mega Lucario and the like. If you have anything with Sacred Sword (Terrakion being the prime example), these will also be useful, but probably not necessary.
Poison-type weaknesses: Ground and Psychic-type attacks
Poison-type resistances: Poison, Grass, Fighting, Fairy and Bug-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Hisuian Sneasel, Shadow Croagunk or Shadow Koffing
Pokémon 2: Shadow Nidorina or Shadow Nidorino
Pokémon 3: Shadow Toxicroak, Shadow Weezing or Shadow Amoonguss
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Hisuian Sneasel, Shadow Croagunk or Shadow Koffing. None of these are particularly exciting in Pokémon Go, however.
Best counters to the Poison-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: This likely won’t be a tough battle for experienced players. For Ground, look towards Rhyperior and Garchomp. Primal Groudon is obviously an option if you have one with Precipice Blades. For Psychic - Mewtwo is the obvious answer, but whichever your strongest Psychic-type is. There are a lot of options here, so you should be fine.
Psychic-type weaknesses: Bug, Dark and Ghost-type attacks
Psychic-type resistances: Psychic and Fighting-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Gothita or Shadow Solosis
Pokémon 2: Shadow Wobbuffet, Shadow Gothorita or Shadow Duosion
Pokémon 3: Shadow Gallade, Shadow Metagross or Shadow Reuniclus
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Gothita or Shadow Solosis. Neither is particularly exciting.
Best counters to the Psychic-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Dark and Ghost are your two options here. Look towards Tyranitar or Hydreigon with Brutal Swing for Dark-types, and Lunala, Giratina Origin or Chandelure for Ghost-types.
Rock-type weaknesses: Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel and Water-type attacks
Rock-type resistances: Poison, Normal, Flying and Fire-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Roggenrola, Shadow Archen or Shadow Tirtouga
Pokémon 2: Shadow Cranidos, Shadow Shieldon or Shadow Graveler
Pokémon 3: Shadow Golem, Shadow Archeops or Shadow Carracosta
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Roggenrola, Shadow Archen and Shadow Tirtouga. Shadow Boldore (Roggenrola’s final evolution) is pretty unexciting. Archen and Tirtouga are also unexciting, but both are rare spawns, so if you need the Candy to add the evolutions to your Pokédex, this is a potential way to try to get it.
Best counters to the Rock-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: The best Rock-type counters are Terrakion, Keldeo and Kartana - the first two with Sacred Sword and Kartana with strong Grass-type attacks. Water-types such as Swampert and Kyogre will also be incredibly helpful here.
Steel-type weaknesses: Fighting, Fire and Ground-type attacks
Steel-type resistances: Poison (2x) Steel, Rock, Psychic, Normal, Ice, Grass, Flying, Fairy, Dragon and Bug-type attacks
Pokémon 1: Shadow Alolan Digglet or Shadow Alolan Sandshrew
Pokémon 2: Shadow Skarmory
Pokémon 3: Shadow Empoleon
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Alolan Digglet or Shadow Alolan Sandshrew. Sandshrew is the better option, as Shadow Alolan Sandslash is pretty hot in Great League.
Best counters to the Steel-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Ouch, that’s a lot of resistances… Fortunately, all you really need here are strong Fire and Fighting-type attackers. This means Mega Charizard, Reshiram or Heatran for Fire, and Terrakion, Keldeo or Lucario for Fighting. Make sure you bring at least one non-Fighting type, in case you run into Shadow Empoleon; its Water-typing will wreck a mono-Fire team.
Water-type weaknesses: Electric and Grass-type attacks
Water-type resistances: Water, Steel, Ice and Fire-type attacks
This Grunt is a little different in that there are two versions: Male and Female.
Male Grunt
Pokémon 1: Shadow Magikarp
Pokémon 2: Shadow Magikarp
Pokémon 3: Shadow Magikarp or Shadow Gyarados
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Magikarp - this is the only way to catch this Pokémon.
Best counters to the Male Water-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Electric-types for the win, so bring Xurkitree, Zekrom or Therian Thunderus for a quick and easy win. Remember, the quicker you beat this grunt, the more Premier Balls you get!
Female Grunt
Pokémon 1: Shadow Mudkip, Shadow Shellder or Shadow Barboach
Pokémon 2: Shadow Marshtomp, Shadow Cloyster or Shadow Crawdaunt
Pokémon 3: Shadow Whiscash, Shadow Carracosta or Shadow Feraligatr
Catchable Pokémon: Shadow Mudkip, Shadow Shellder or Shadow Barboach. Shadow Mudkip evolves into a powerhouse in PVP, so you should be happy if you get one!
Best counters to the Female Water-type Grunt in Pokémon Go: Unlike the Male Grunt, this one knows what it is doing… Electric-types are helpful once again, but Shadow Whiscash is there to throw a spanner in the works. It is resistant to Electric but double-weak to Grass.
So, we’re looking at an Electric-type, a Grass-type and then a spare, bringing your strongest backup. Again, Xurkitree, Zekrom or Therian Thunderus will be your primary attackers here. For Grass, you’re looking at Kartana ideally, or Zarude or Sky Shaymin failing that.
If you’ve never battled Team Go Rocket before, don’t worry, it’s a fairly simple path to victory, nine times out of ten.
You simply need to identify which Grunt you’re facing, pick the right team to counter their team, and then destroy them with the callous silence employed by Red back in the day.
Start by finding a Grunt - they’re hanging around the darkened PokéStops (purple from a distance, black when up close). Clicking on the Pokéstop or Balloon they’re occupying will start an encounter, where they will give you a Monkey Island-style one-liner that heavily hints at what they’re bringing to the party. If they mention how hot Pokémon breath is, expect Fire-type Pokémon, for example.
For the sake of ease, here’s a list of the 18 basic-level Grunts and their opening gambits.
There are also three expert-level Grunts to be aware of, along with a Decoy (who sometimes replace Giovanni at a Pokéstop, but never in a Balloon) and technically Jessie and James (who sometimes replace Grunts in Rocket Balloons). Their opening Gambits are as follows:
You’ll also know if it’s Jessie and James, thanks to their trademark Meowth Balloon, along with their names and faces appearing as you might expect.
The act of battling Team Go Rocket is fairly simple. Pick three Pokémon for 1-on-1 battles, as you would in PVP, accounting for their types above. Be aware that some Grunts will pick dual-type Pokémon, like a Water-Steel type to counter your Grass-type counters! Check our suggested counters at the top of the page if you need help!
What follows is a level-matched battle; you don’t need to worry about Level 50 Counters if you’re just starting out. Simply tap the screen to attack and build up energy for your Charged move at the bottom of the screen. Once the gauge is full, hit the Charged move button and follow the on-screen prompts, based on the move’s type.
You both start the match with two Shields. If the opposing Pokémon is using a Charged move, you will be given an option to use one of your remaining Shields. Despite having them, Grunts never use their Shields.
So, should you use yours? Absolutely! There is no drawback to using a shield, and you get fewer Premier Balls after the battle if your Pokémon faint, so always use a shield if given the option.
It’s also worth noting that Grunts suffer a brief cooldown after a Charged move or when you change Pokémon, during which time they can’t attack. Use that information to your advantage!
At the end of the battle, one of two things will happen.
If you lose, you will be offered a rematch and some advice from your Team leader. This gives you the opportunity to plan your counters a little better, and work around any surprise Pokémon that got around your line-up.
Remember to use any Revives and Potions when you’re done, so you’re not frantically spamming your phone next time you lobby up and wonder where your best Pokémon are.
If you won, you will be give 500 Stardust and a Mysterious Component. Collect six of these to create a Rocket Radar and battle a Team Go Rocket Gym Leader.
You will also be given a number of Premier Balls based on how many of your Pokémon were left standing. If you come up across the Grunt who simply has three Magikarp, instead you get a number based on how quickly you steamrolled them.
These Premier Balls work the same way they do in Raids. The Grunt will drop one of their catchable Shadow Pokémon, and you can only use the Premier Balls to try to catch them. You can still use Berries as normal, so make sure you do so if you’re having a hard time!
Lastly, beating Team GO Rocket Grunts will help rank up your Hero medal. Ranking this up will also help give you additional Premier Balls for catching future Shadow Pokémon.
Good luck battling Team Rocket Grunts in Pokémon Go!