In Pokémon GO,you’ll find that to get specific Pokémon, you have to defeat the Team GO Rocket grunts and bosses. The leaders — Cliff, Arlo, Sierra, and Giovanni — are often the most difficult but provide the greatest rewards. In this guide, I will focus on how to defeat Giovanni in Pokémon GO and which counters are best to use against his new Pokémon.
Where to find Giovanni in Pokémon GO
To find and battle Giovanni, players must get their hands on aSuper Rocket Radar. To do so, you must first defeat the three Team GO Rocket leadersArlo,Cliff, andSierra. To find these three leaders, you must battle Team GO Rocket grunts and pick up a Mysterious Component after their victory. Combining six of these Mysterious Components leads you to one of the leaders.
Quick Notes
Best Team Setup Against Giovanniin Pokémon GO
Listed below are the potential Pokémon that players can be up against when fighting Giovanni. Based on these potential options, one of the best team setups is a team made up of a strong Fighting-type Pokémon (covers Persian, Cloyster, and Shadow Registeel), and a strong Ice-Type Pokémon (covers Garchomp and Nidoking).
Round 1 of Giovanni’s battle
Giovanni can bring a few different Pokémon into battle, but he almost always starts with aPersian.
Persian
Best Pokémon and moves to use against Giovanni’s Persian in Round 1
Giovanni always starts out with his signature Persian in Round 1, which is a Normal-type Pokemon. This means you’ll want to useFighting-type movesto take it out easily.
Related:Pokémon Go: 41-50 Leveling Guide
Round 2 of Giovanni’s battle
The Pokémon listed below for Round two are all of the Pokémon that Giovanni can have as his second battler. The Pokémon areCloyster,Garchomp, andNidoking.
Cloyster
Best Pokémon and moves to use against Giovanni’s Cloyster in Round 2
As a Water and Ice-type, Cloyster is weak to Rock, Electric, Grass, and Fighting-type moves. While all of these can be effective, it’s recommended to stick with Fighting-types like Terrakion, since they also do well against Persian and Shadow Registeel.
Garchomp
Best Pokémon and moves to use against Giovanni’s Garchomp in Round 2
Fortunately, Nidoking is also weak to Ice. This makes Pokémon like Mamoswine great options to bring to this battle.
Nidoking
Best Pokémon and moves to use against Giovanni’s Nidoking in Round 2
The Poison type that Nidoking has makes it really susceptible to the strong Psychic Pokémon on many teams. Shadow Mewtwo and Mega Alakazam are chief among these, but even more common options like Espeon do well against Nidoking.
Related:Rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO
Round 3 of Giovanni’s battle
Giovanni’s current Round 3 Pokémon isShadow Registeel, a tough opponent with quite a few resistances.
Shadow Registeel
Best Pokémon and moves to use against Giovanni’s Shadow Registeel in Round 3
Despite having several weaknesses, the quickest way to deal with Registeel is with strong Fire-types, like Mega Charizard and Mega Blaziken. Fighting-types only have added utility here since they also beat Persian and Cloyster.
Once you’ve found Giovanni (which is no easy task), you’ll now be equipped to handle his Pokémon in battle! Check back with this page for occasional updates when Giovanni’s lineup changes.
Want to see how to counter Pokémon of each type? Check out our lists ofWater Pokémon Weaknesses!
