How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon GO (February 2025)

Giovanni is the closest thing Pokémon GO has to a final boss. He comes armed with a strong team of Pokémon, which you will need the perfect counters in order to defeat. Our guide will help you be prepared for the next time you face Giovanni in Pokémon GO.

There are several Pokémon that Giovanni could use in each of his three slots. We will break down the counters for each opportunity. You might have to fight him once to see what he has, then rematch with the best options for who is on his team.

Giovanni's lineup last changed on January 15, we have updated this guide to reflect this so you can prepare your team for his latest lineup. Some Pokémon are still being discovered. As of publication, the third of Giovanni's second stage Pokémon is yet to be confirmed. Stay tuned for updates.

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Perhaps the hardest part of beating Giovanni in Pokémon GO is finding him. The only way to encounter Giovanni is through a previous Team GO Rocket Special Research quest or the current Galarian Expedition Research.

These Special Research quests will see you battling grunts, then defeating each of Cliff, Sierra and Arlo. This will grant you a Super Rocket Radar. Once you equip the Radar, you can locate and fight Giovanni.

You can't get a Super Rocket Radar any other way than via the Special Research quests for Team Rocket.

Giovanni is one of the toughest fights in Pokémon GO. He has very strong Shadow Pokémon. You'll need to choose specific counters that target the weaknesses of his team.

Luckily, Giovanni always starts with the same signature Pokémon. Then, he will choose from a random pool of three for his second 'Mon. Finally, the current legendary Pokémon will be his final pick. This is will be Shadow Palkia. It has been things like Shadow Kyogre or Shadow Mewtwo in the past.

Shadow Persian is a Normal-type Pokémon. This makes it weak to Fighting-type attacks. You'll want to avoid using Ghost-type Pokémon as these won't be effective here.

Here are some of the best Fighting-type Pokémon to go against Giovanni's Shadow Persian.

For the second Pokémon, Giovanni will use any one of Rhyperior, Kingdra and Nidoqueen. If you have to fight him more than once, this Pokémon won't change. If you completely back out of an encounter, and encounter him a different time it could result in a different one of these three being used.

Shadow Rhyperior is a Rock and Ground-type Pokémon. That gives it a double weakness to Water and Grass-type attacks in addition to a weakness to Ice, Fighting, Ground and Steel type attacks. Here are the best Shadow Rhyperior counters in Pokémon GO:

Shadow Kingdra is a Water and Dragon-type Pokémon. That gives it a weakness to Fairy and Dragon-type attacks.

Here are some of the best Shadow Kingdra counters in Pokémon GO:

Shadow Nidoking is a Poison and Ground-type Pokémon. It has a weakness to Water, Ice, Ground and Psychic-type attacks.

Here are some of the best Shadow Nidoking counters:

The third stage of a battle with Giovanni in Pokémon GO will always be against a legendary Pokémon. This is the Pokémon you will be able to catch if you win the battle.

From January 15, Giovanni will have Shadow Palkia as his final Pokémon. Shadow Heatran will no longer be the final encounter for Giovanni.

This will be a very useful Pokémon for Raids, so if you are a big Raider, this could well be worth catching. Shadow Palkia is also very well ranked in the Master League.

Heatran is a Dragon and Water-type Pokémon and has a weakness to Dragon and Fairy-type attacks. It has a resistance to Steel-type attacks, and a double resistance to Fire and Water-type attacks.

Here are the best Shadow Heatran counters:

Here are the hundo CP values to keep your eye out for when encountering Shadow Palkia after successfully beating Giovanni:

Sometimes, it can be hard to pick an especially strong team to fight Giovanni in Pokémon GO as there can be such different types between all of his potential Pokémon.

However, his current team has a few Pokémon that share types and you can have a pretty good shot at winning the battle first time no matter what his second Pokémon ends up being. Rhyperior and Nidoking share a Ground-type weakness. Then, with Shadow Palkia being a guranteed encounter, make sure to have a Dragon-type counter in your team.

One of the best teams to fight Giovanni in Pokémon GO is currently:

This is even better if your Origin Forme Palkia has two Charged Attacks, Spatial Rend and Hydro Pump. Then, Lucario tackles Persian and Groudon covers several Ground-type weaknesses.

Don't forget that Windy or Rainy Weather can increase the IVs of the Shadow Palkia you encounter.

This team should give you a great chance at beating Giovanni in Pokémon GO. You can always tweak your team if needed after seeing what Pokémon he has.

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