Pokemon GO: How to Beat Giovanni (March 2021)

Pokemon GO players will face a variety of tough battles throughout the game, but one of the toughest challenges is the boss of Team GO Rocket. If players want to complete some of the Team GO Rocket special research tasks, they will eventually need to face Giovanni themselves.

As to be expected with the boss and head of Team GO Rocket, Giovanni will pull no punches against Pokemon GO players no matter their level. In addition to his strong team, Giovanni will also use a powerful legendary Pokemon in his battle with players being able to rescue it if they succeed in the fight.

Unlike the other heads of Team GO Rocket, only Giovanni's second Pokemon will be different every encounter. This makes it much easier to strategize around his team and prepare even without losing to him beforehand.

First Party Member - Persian

No matter what, Giovanni's first Pokemon will be the pure Normal-type Pokemon, Persian. Its typing makes it only weak to Fighting-type moves while also only resisting damage from Ghost-type moves.

The best Pokemon to use against Persian are:

Lucario - Counter and Aura Sphere
Conkeldurr - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Breloom - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Machamp - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Blaziken - Counter and Focus Blast

Possible Second Party Member - Kangaskhan

The first possible Pokemon Giovanni can use as his second Pokemon is Kangaskhan. Kangaskhan is a pure Normal-type Pokemon, just like Persian. This means that it shares the same Fighting-type weakness and Ghost-type resistance.

Due to the shared typing between Persian and Kangaskhan, the same counters are recommended for Kangaskhan, being:

Lucario - Counter and Aura Sphere
Conkeldurr - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Breloom - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Machamp - Counter and Dynamic Punch
Blaziken - Counter and Focus Blast

Possible Second Party Member - Nidoking

Another possible Pokemon that Giovanni can use as his second Pokemon is Nidoking. This Pokemon is a dual Poison and Ground-type, making it weak to Water, Ground, Ice, and Psychic-type moves while resisting damage from Fighting, Bug, Rock, Fairy, Electric, and Poison-type moves.

Even though Nidoking has a lot of resistances, there are still plenty of Pokemon that are capable of taking advantage of its weaknesses. Some of these Pokemon are:

Mamoswine - Mud-Slap and Avalanche
Mewtwo - Confusion and Return
Excadrill - Mud Shot and Earthquake
Delphox - Zen Headbutt and Psychic
Mr. Rime - Confusion and Psychic

Possible Second Party Member - Garchomp

The last Pokemon that Giovanni can have in his second party slot is Garchomp. It is a dual Dragon and Ground-type Pokemon, making Garchomp weak to Ice, Fairy, and Dragon-type moves. Defensively, it benefits from resisting damage from Rock, Poison, Fire, and Electric-type moves.

As many players from the Sinnoh region know from experience, Garchomp is nothing to scoff at. Players need to make sure to take it out as soon as possible before it can get off too much damage. Some of the best Pokemon to bring up against it are:

Galarian Darmanitan - Ice Fang and Avalanche
Black Kyurem - Dragon Tail and Blizzard
Mamoswine - Powder Snow and Avalanche
Weavile - Ice Shard and Avalanche
Glaceon - Frost Breath and Avalanche

Final Party Member - Mewtwo

The final Pokemon that Giovanni will have will be the legendary Pokemon, Mewtwo. This legendary Pokemon is a pure Psychic-type, making it weak to Bug, Dark, and Ghost-type Pokemon. Mewtwo also resists damage from Fighting and Psychic-type moves.

Being as powerful as it is, players will need to bring their A-game against Mewtwo. Some of the best Pokemon that can take it on are: