How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go (September 2025)

Giovanni is Team Rocket’s nefarious boss in Pokemon Go, and as one of the toughest fights in the game, he’s a real menace to beat, so you’ll need to work really hard if you want a chance to defeat him and save his Shadow Pokemon.

After valiantly fighting 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, though, 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, Kyogre, and many others, the villain currently features Shadow Tornadus – in its Incarnate form – in his team. Here, we’ll break down everything you need to know about his lineup and the best counters to help you defeat him and storm to victory on the battlefield.

Giovanni Pokemon Go lineup (September 2025)

Giovanni is the ultimate Team Go Rocket villain, and when facing him, he’ll always send out Shadow Persian as his first Phase and Shadow Tornadus (Incarnate Forme) as his final Shadow Boss Pokemon (the latter of which you can catch if you manage to beat him). Here’s his current lineup in Pokemon Go:

• Phase 1: Shadow Persian
• Phase 2: Shadow Rhyperior / Shadow Nidoking / Shadow Kangaskhan
• Phase 3: Shadow Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)

Giovanni’s lineup changed to a new set of ‘mon as part of the Psychic Spectacular: Taken Over event, which took place on September 16, 2025.

The Pokemon Company

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 and varied counters that can target his team’s weaknesses.

At the start of every battle, Giovanni always throws out his signature Pokemon, Persian. The second one he chooses is at random from the pool of three mentioned above. Finally, with those battles completed, you’ll then face Shadow Tornadus Incarnate Forme.

Let’s take a look at the weaknesses of all the Pokemon that Giovanni can use in battle and the best counters to bring home the win! The sections below include a mix of rare and more accessible counters, so every player should be able to stand a decent chance against him.

Giovanni counters – Phase 1

NIANTIC/DEXERTO

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.

Here are some of the best counters against Shadow Persian:

Giovanni counters – Phase 2

DEXERTO

Rhyperior counters

The fearsome Rhyperior is a dual Ground/Rock-type Pokemon, making it weak against Grass, Water, Fighting, Ground, Ice, and Steel-type moves, and resistant to Electric, Poison, Fire, Flying, Normal, and Rock-type attacks.

Here are some of the best counters to defeat Shadow Rhyperior:

Nidoking counters

Nidoking is a dual Poison/Ground-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water-type moves.  On the other hand, it is resistant to Electric, Poison, Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Rock-type attacks, so avoid those wherever possible.

Here are some of the best counters to help you defeat Shadow Nidoking:

Kangaskhan counters

Kangaskhan is a pure Normal-type Pokemon, which means its only weakness is Fighting-type attacks, while it is resistant to Ghost-type moves. 

Here are some of the best Shadow Kangaskhan counters to use:

Giovanni counters – Phase 3

DEXERTO

Tornadus (Incarnate Forme) counters

Giovanni’s final Pokemon, Tornadus, is a pure Flying-type creature, which means it’s weak against Electric, Ice, and Rock-type moves. On the other hand, it resists Bug, Fighting, Grass, and Ground-type attacks.

These are some of the top counters to defeat Shadow Tornadus Incarnate Forme in battle:

Pokemon Go boss guides

For more guides like this, check out our other boss guides (and bookmark them) because we update them each time their lineup changes in the game:

• How to beat Giovanni
• How to beat Leader Sierra
• How to beat Leader Arlo
• How to beat Leader Cliff
• How to beat all Rocket Grunts

Best team to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go

DEXERTO

The best team you can use to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go right now is Primal Kyogre, Lucario, and White Kyurem. There are plenty of other creatures that are equally effective, but this particular team should do well against all of your opponents.

• With Persian as the first pick, a strong Fighting-type Pokemon is a must. This can be Lucario, Terrakion, or even something like Blaziken or Heracross. This Fighting-type Pokemon can also help against Kangaskhan and even Rhyperior – if needed.
• For Rhyperior and Nidoking, you have plenty of options, as you can use Water, Ground, and Ice (will help with Tornadus, too). In this case, we recommend Primal Kyogre or Swampert.
• Finally, a powerful Ice-type can be used to stop Tornadus Incarnate Forme. You can go with White Kyurem if you have one, or Mamoswine. The Ice creature you pick can also be helpful against Rhyperior and Nidoking, though you’ll need it in full health to take on the Legendary.
  • Another way to play this is to use an Ice-type Pokemon against Rhyperior or Nidoking on Phase 2. This way, if it survives until Phase 3, it can start debilitating Tornadus, and then you can use a full-on Electric or Rock-type Pokemon – like Magnezone or Tyranitar – to give it the final blow.

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 Fighting, Water, and Ice-type Pokemon that can target each of Giovanni’s main weaknesses. You can also take a look at our weaknesses chart and match it accordingly to what you have.

Every Giovanni Shadow Boss ranked by difficulty

Ever since Giovanni and Team Go Rocket joined Pokemon Go in 2019, the nefarious boss has had a wide range of party members and Shadow Boss ‘mon. Starting with Articuno and other Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo, Lugia, and Groudon, eventually joining the ranks, there are a large number of creatures that players have faced at the hands of Giovanni over the years.

Considering stats, bulk, moveset, and other factors, we’ve made a handy graph explaining just how tough the latest boss is when stacked up against those from past lineups – and it’s looking like Shadow Tornadus Incarnate Forme is a fairly easy opponent in comparison:

DEXERTO

When a new Takeover rolls around and a new lineup is introduced, we’ll update this table with details on the current Shadow Boss and its placement.

How to find Giovanni

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, which you’ll need to equip in order to track down Giovanni’s hideout and battle him!

How to get a Team Rocket Special Research quest

Fighting Giovanni is already tough, but even getting to the Team Rocket boss can be something of a challenge in and of itself. Yes, you have to complete a series of Team Go Rocket Special Research quests to get there, but you also have to have those quests in the first place.

If you’re a new player, look out for the next Pokemon Go Team Go Rocket event. These allow players to start the most recent Special Research quests that reward Trainers with a Giovanni encounter.

If you are an existing or returning Pokemon Go player hoping to encounter Giovanni, check your Special Research quests for any of the following quest paths:

• Looming in the Shadows
• A Challenging Development
• The Take-Over Continues
• A Professor’s Work is Never Done
• The Shadowy Threat Grows
• An Inter-egg-sting Development
• The Higher They Fly
• A Seven-Colored Shadow
• Silent Schemes
• Field Notes: Team GO Rocket
• Ultra Beast Protection Efforts
• Shadowy Skirmishes
• From the Shadows
• A Shadowy Disturbance
• Showdown in the Shadows
• It’s a Rocket World
• Adventure Week: Taken Over

It’s important to note that while players can theoretically bank a number of these Special Research quests to eventually pull off multiple Giovanni encounters in a short span of time, the final Raid Pokemon players earn will always be the current one, not the one when the quest was first launched.

So, if you do not want to earn yourself the current Shadow Raid boss – currently Shadow Tornadus Incarnate Forme – it may be best to save the final Special Research reward for a time in the future when the final boss is a Pokemon you want to earn multiple copies of.

That’s everything you need to defeat Giovanni in September 2025. For more on all things Pokemon Go, check out our regularly updated Spotlight Hour, events schedule, and current Raid bosses guides. And if you’re brand new to the game, our how to play Pokemon Go guide will get you up to speed.