Team Rocket has made their way to Pokemon Go, alongside their nefarious boss Giovanni. One of the toughest fights in the game, Giovanni is a real menace, and you’ll need to work hard if you ever want a chance to defeat him and save his Shadow Pokemon.
After valiantly fighting your way through Arlo, Cliff, Sierra, and plenty of Grunts, you’ll finally get the chance to take on Giovanni. The Team Go Rocket Boss is tough competition, so it’s important to take the time to plan ahead if you want to walk away a winner.
After battling with the Kanto region’s Legendary Mewtwo and then Kyogre and Groudon, now the villain is adding Shadow Cresselia to his team. We will break down everything you need to know to help you defeat him and storm to victory on the battlefield.
Giovanni Pokemon Go lineup (September 2024)
Giovanni’s lineup changes every now and then, but the star of his current team is Shadow Cresselia, which you’ll be able to catch if you manage to defeat him.
Here’s Giovanni’s current lineup in Pokemon Go:
- Phase 1: Shadow Persian
- Phase 2: Shadow Honchkrow / Shadow Kangaskhan / Shadow Kingdra
- Phase 3: Shadow Cresselia
Giovanni’s lineup changes every time there’s a Team Go Rocket Takeover. The most recent changes were part of 2024’s Pokemon Go Adventure Week Taken Over event.
TIP: In our analysis, we recommend beating other Grunt Leaders this month because there’s one Pokemon you can catch that’s better than all of Giovanni’s for your Go Battle League team.
How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go
Giovanni is an incredibly strong opponent in Pokemon Go, so if you want to defeat him, you’ll need to come prepared with some powerful counters that can target his team’s weaknesses.
At the start of every battle, Giovanni always throws out his signature Pokemon, Persian. The second Pokemon he chooses is at random from a pool of three. Finally, you’ll face Shadow Cresselia.
Giovanni counters phase 1
Persian counters
As a Normal-type Pokemon, Persian is weak against Fighting-type attacks and resistant to Ghost-type attacks, making it much easier to know exactly which Pokemon to utilize.
Use these counters against Persian in Pokemon Go to stand the best chance of winning:
| Persian Counters | ||
| Terrakion | Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move) | |
| Conkeldurr | Counter (Fast Move) & Focus Blast (Charge Move) | |
| Hariyama | Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move) | |
| Lucario | Counter (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move) | |
| Machamp | Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move) | |
| Breloom | Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move) | |
Giovanni counters phase 2
Honchkrow counters
The fearsome bird Pokemon Honchkrow is dual Flying and Dark-type, making it weak against Rock, Electric, Ice, and Fairy-type moves, and resistant to Dark, Ghost, Psychic, Grass, and Ground-type attacks.
Here are some of the best counters to defeat Honchkrow:
| Honchkrow Counters | ||
| Shadow Rampardos | Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Slide (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Tyranitar | Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move) | |
| Tapu Koko | Volt Switch (Fast Move) & Nature’s Madness (Charge Move) | |
| Magnezone | Volt Switch (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
| Shadow Rhyperior | Smack Down (Fast Move) & Rock Wrecker (Charge Move) | |
| Shadow Raikou | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
Kangaskhan counters
Kangaskhan is a Normal-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Fighting-type moves. On the other hand, Rhyperior is resistant to Ghost-type attacks, so avoid those wherever possible.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Here are some of the best counters to help you defeat Kangaskhan:
Kingdra is a dual Water/Dragon-type Pokemon, which means its weaknesses are Dragon and Fairy, while it is resistant to Fire, Steel, and Water-type moves.
Here are some of the best Kingdra counters to use:
| Kingdra Counters | ||
| Origin Forme Palkia | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Spacial Rend (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Salamence | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Gardevoir | Charm (Fast Move) & Dazzling Gleam (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Latios | Dragon Breath (Fast Move) & Dragon Claw (Charge Move) | |
| Shadow Dragonite | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Dragon Claw (Charge Move) | |
| Haxorus | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Breaking Swipe (Charge Move) | |
Giovanni counters phase 3
Shadow Cresselia counters
Giovanni’s final Pokemon, Cresselia, is a pure Psychic-type Pokemon, meaning it is weak against Bug, Dark, and Ghost-type Pokemon. This also means it resists Fighting, and Psychic-type moves.
These are some of the top counters to defeat Cresselia in battle:
| Shadow Cresselia Counters | ||
| Mega Tyranitar | Smackdown (Fast Move) & Crunch (Charge Move) | |
| Yveltal | Snarl (Fast Move) & Dark Pulse (Charge Move) | |
| Guzzlord | Snarl (Fast Move) & Crunch (Charge Move) | |
| Dawn Wings Necrozma | Shadow Claw (Fast Move) & Moongeist Beam (Charge Move) | |
| Mega Absol | Snarl (Fast Move) & Dark Pulse (Charge Move) | |
| Incineroar | Snarl (Fast Move) & Darkest Lariat (Charge Move) | |
Giovanni packs a punch and will be much harder to defeat than the other Team Go Rocket Leaders. It’s not enough to have the right counters with the best moves – you also need to make sure they’re powered up enough to take on the challenge.
If you don’t see any Pokemon that you own in the tables above, simply choose your strongest Pokemon that can target each of Giovanni’s weaknesses. You can also take a look at our weaknesses chart and match it accordingly to what you have.
Best Pokemon against Giovanni in Pokemon Go
The best team you can use to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go right now is Lucario, Tyranitar, and Incineroar. There are plenty of Pokemon that are more effective against individual threats, but this particular team is easy to build and should do well against almost all of your opponents.
With Persian as the first pick and the possibility of Kangaskhan as the second, a strong Fighting-type Pokemon is a must. This can be Lucario, Terrakion, or even something like Conkeldurr. If you get Honchkrow as the second Pokemon, you can even consider Shadow Weavile.
Tyranitar is a great threat to Honchkrow thanks to its Rock-type moves. It can also use its Dark-type tricks to cause problems for Cresselia, making it a potential great fit.
Finally, Incineroar can not only be a huge threat to Cresselia thanks to its Dark-type moves, but it can even learn Fighting-type moves such as Double Kick which will be effective against Persian, Honchkrow, and Kangaskhan. But, if Kingdra is your opponent, maybe swap for something else like Salamence.
How to find Giovanni in Pokemon Go
The only way to track down Giovanni is to work your way through a Team Go Rocket-related Special Research quest, like Shadowy Skirmishes. You’ll be able to claim these quests after you reach Level 8.
These Special Research quests require you to defeat multiple Grunts as well as the individual Leaders Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo. Once you’ve done all of these, you’ll eventually be given a Super Rocket Radar.
Equip the Super Rocket Radar, and you’ll be able to track down Giovanni’s hideout and battle him!
How to defeat Team Leaders in Pokemon Go
If you’re looking to take on the other Team Go Rocket Leaders, check out our guide to taking down Arlo, our guide to defeating Cliff, and finally, our guide to beating Sierra.
That’s everything you need to properly defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go. For additional assistance, make sure to check out the latest Spotlight Hour schedule and the current Raid bosses.
