Defeat Giovanni in Pokémon GO! A guide on how to defeat the Team GO Rocket boss Giovanni in Pokémon GO. This page describes how to find Giovanni, how to defeat him and which Pokémon are the best counters for Giovanni’s Pokémon.
Giovanni has returned, equipped with Shadow Latios and a select few Shadow Pokémon. Our guide has been updated accordingly.
💡 Note: In Trainer Battles, counters need not always be Pokémon that do super-effective damage. We include Pokémon that are more viable to defeat Giovanni, rather than those who do maximum damage.
Table of Contents
Giovanni’s Pokémon Lineup
GO Rocket Leader Giovanni uses the following Pokémon: Persian as his first Pokémon, Nidoking, Machamp or Rhyperior as his second Pokémon and Shadow Latios as his final Pokémon.
Countering Giovanni’s Shadow Pokémon
Persian
Persian
Weak to Fighting, resist Ghost.
Persian uses Dark and Normal fast moves, and it uses Dark, Rock or Fairy charge moves. This combination makes Lucario, Machamp, Buzzwole and Galarian Zapdos some of the best counters for Shadow Persian. Melmetal needs to have Super Power Fighting to be effective. The aim with Persian is to get those shields down as quickly as possible, if it has Scratch it is going to hit hard, so be warned!
Recommended counters
| Pokémon | Fast move |
|---|---|
Lucario
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Buzzwole
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Zapdos (Galarian)
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Machamp
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Hariyama
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Tyranitar
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Nidoking
Nidoking
Giovanni’s Shadow Nidoking is weak to Ground, Ice, Psychic and Water types. There are many powerful options for these types, so Shadow Nidoking shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Recommended counters
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
Rhyperior
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Empoleon
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Excadrill
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Jirachi
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Swampert
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Rhyperior
Rhyperior
Giovanni’s Shadow Rhyperior is 2x weak to Grass and Water moves, but also 1x weak to Ground, Fighting, Ice and Steel! We will use these weaknesses heavily to counter it, while also leaning into Pokémon which take reduced damage from its fast moves.
Rhyperior’s pool of charge moves is pretty wide and scary, so it’s better to shield and defeat it before he has a chance to use it.
Recommended counters
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
Torterra
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Kyogre
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Swampert
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Gyarados
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Shaymin (Sky)
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Wild pick: Empoleon with Waterfall and Hydro Cannon
Machamp
Machamp
Giovanni’s Shadow Machamp is weak to Fairy, Psychic and types. Your best bet is to stick with those high damage Fairy counters as Machamp doesn’t really have answer to a Fairy type like Gardevoir. However, Rock Slide can deal massive damage to Togekiss and other types; so be wary of that. Mewtwo is always reliable.
Recommended counters
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
Mewtwo
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Gardevoir
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Togekiss
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Sylveon
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Rayquaza
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Wild picks: Moltres, Primarina, Honchkrow.
Latios
Latios
Giovanni’s Shadow Latios is weak to Bug Dark Dragon Ice Fairy and Ghost. As such, there are a wide range of counters to choose from. With access to Dragon type moves, it may be worth skipping your dragon counters as it will quickly decimate them. However, certain new dragons in the town are worth going with if Shadow Latios is using Psychic moves.
Recommended counters
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
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Togekiss
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Primarina
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Sylveon
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Gardevoir
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Ninetales (Alola)
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Other options include Togekiss with Fairy moves, any other powerful Dragon types or Dark type like Weavile or Darkrai.
How to find Giovanni
In order to find Giovanni, you need to complete a currently active Special Research. Depending on the time you played, this can vary. Once you complete a particular step of the special research, you will get a Super Rocket Radar. It works like a regular Rocket Radar, but it tracks Giovanni, not GO Rocket leaders.
The Super Rocket Radar doesn’t immediately lead you to Giovanni; it displays locations of both decoy Grunts disguised as Giovanni and Giovanni’s actual Hideout. You’ll need to approach each PokéStop and investigate yourself to find where Giovanni’s hiding.
You can receive Giovanni Special Research once per month. Currently, Giovanni has returned with Shadow Latias as part of the All-Hands Rocket Retreat Event.
