With April 2021 having begun, there are plenty of new things to enjoy in Pokemon GO. Collectors of legendary Pokemon however may want to challenge Giovanni after obtaining a Super Rocket Radar from the Tricky Pokemon 2021 timed research tasks. This is due to Giovanni recently gaining ownership of a new legendary Shadow Pokemon that players can battle, capture, and purify if they so choose.

For the entire month of April, Giovanni will have a Shadow Zapdos in Pokemon GO. Players can only challenge him however if they have gotten a Super Rocket Radar from the recent timed research tasks or from a string of special research tasks relating to Team GO Rocket.

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Being the boss of Team GO Rocket, the battle against Giovanni won't be easy for most players. In addition, while his first and final Pokemon will stay the same between different encounters this month, Giovanni's second Pokemon can be one of three different types. If players however have seen his second Pokemon and lose to Giovanni at any point, the second Pokemon will remain the same if players decide to rematch Giovanni within the same encounter.

First Party Member - Persian

Fitting with Giovanni's appearances throughout the Pokemon anime, Persian will always be Giovanni's first Pokemon. Persian is a pure Normal-type Pokemon, making it only weak to Fighting-type moves. This however also means that Persian only resists damage from Ghost-type moves.

Persian is Giovanni's weakest Pokemon, so players should make sure to deal with it quickly and not lose too much time or valuable health. If players want to make sure Persian spends essentially no time on the battlefield before being knocked out, the best Pokemon to use for the job are:

Lucario - Counter and Aura Sphere

Conkeldurr - Counter and Dynamic Punch

Machamp - Counter and Dynamic Punch

Breloom - Counter and Dynamic Punch

Blaziken - Counter and Focus Blast

With its status as the weakest Pokemon owned by Giovanni, players may want to take advantage of its presence and use any charge moves that can reasonably be charged quickly on Persian. This will cause Giovanni to waste one of his own protect shields early on a Pokemon that won't really benefit from them. Giovanni running out of protect shields by the time he sends out his last Pokemon will make the fight go much better with his stronger Pokemon no longer having critical protection.

Possible Second Party Member - Kangaskhan

Moving on to Giovanni's second party slot has Kangaskhan as one of the possible Pokemon to be sent out directly after Persian's defeat. It is also a pure Normal-type Pokemon, making it also weak to only Fighting-type moves and only resisting Ghost-type moves.

Thanks to Kangaskhan sharing the same exact typing as Persian, the two have similar recommended encounters. What makes them different however is in how Kangaskhan is capable of learning Ground, Fighting, and even a possible Dragon-type move. This means that the recommended Pokemon for the fight against Kangaskhan are:

Lucario - Counter and Aura Sphere

Conkeldurr - Counter and Dynamic Punch

Machamp - Counter and Dynamic Punch

Breloom - Counter and Dynamic Punch

Hariyama - Counter and Dynamic Punch

Possible Second Party Member - Nidoking

pokemon go how to beat giovanni

Nidoking is another Pokemon that Giovanni can use in his second party slot. It is a dual Poison and Ground-type Pokemon making it weak to Water, Ground, Ice, and Psychic-type moves. Meanwhile it also greatly resists damage from Fighting, Bug, Rock, Fairy, Electric, and Poison-type moves.

Being the final form of a three stage evolutionary line, Nidoking has plenty of potential in battle. It can additionally learn a large variety of moves including Poison, Ground, Steel, and Bug-type moves. Because of this, the best Pokemon to use against Nidoking in battle are:

Mewtwo - Confusion and Psystrike

Therian Landorus - Mud Shot and Earth Power

Kyogre - Waterfall and Surf

Latios - Zen Headbutt and Psychic

Mamoswine - Mud-Slap and Avalanche

Possible Second Party Member - Garchomp

Pokemon Garchomp

The last possible Pokemon that Giovanni can send out is Garchomp, a dual Dragon and Ground-type Pokemon. It is only weak to Ice, Fairy, and Dragon-type moves while greatly resisting damage from Rock, Poison, Fire, and Electric-type moves.

Being the pseudo-legendary Pokemon of the Sinnoh region, Garchomp has plenty of potential to overwhelm players' teams before they even get to Giovanni's final Pokemon. Many Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl players still have memories of Cynthia's Garchomp and the sheer amount of damage it did to players' teams in those game. It still has that potential here, but the best counters for this scary Pokemon are:

Ampharos - Volt Switch and Focus Blast

Drapion - Infestation and Aqua Tail

Alolan Muk - Bite and Dark Pulse

Snorlax - Zen Headbutt and Hyper Beam

Milotic - Dragon Tail and Surf

Third and Final Party Member - Zapdos

Pokemon Zapdos

Throughout all of April, Zapdos will be Giovanni's final Pokemon and the Pokemon players have the chance to capture after Giovanni's defeat. This legendary Pokemon is a dual Electric and Flying-type meaning that its only two weaknesses are to Ice and Rock-types. For resistances however, Zapdos resists damage from Ground, Fighting, Steel, Grass, Bug, and Flying-type moves.

Before fighting Zapdos, it is extremely important for players to try and save as much of their party members' health before the fight. Although Giovanni's second party member could potentially deal plenty of damage toward players' Pokemon, it will be nothing compared to how Zapdos can take down an already injured Pokemon. Being as healthy as possible will be the biggest key to this fight, but even then the fight won't be an easy one. Having protect shields will also greatly help players so that Zapdos doesn't take down their Pokemon with a single charge move.

To make the battle go easier, the best Pokemon that can be used against Zapdos in battle are:

Rhyperior - Smack Down and Rock Wrecker

Mamoswine - Powder Snow and Avalanche

Rampardos - Smack Down and Rock Slide

Terrakion - Smack Down and Rock Slide

Galarian Darmanitan - Ice Fang and Avalanche

After players finally defeat Zapdos and Giovanni himself, players will be able to attempt to capture Zapdos. To make sure the effort wasn't wasted, players should use whatever Golden Razz Berries or normal Razz Berries to help convince Zapdos to stay in its Pokeball. Once April 2021 is over, Giovanni will no longer have Zapdos, so now is the time to go after it.

Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.

MORE: Pokemon GO Complete Guide for General Tips, Tricks, & Strategies

Source: AOTF