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Giovanni in Pokemon Go
Image via Niantic

How to find and beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go (March 2025)

Prepare your team wisely.

Team Go Rocket serves multiple purposes in Pokémon Go, from acting as event bosses to tossing Grunts in your way for Field Research. No matter their goal, Giovanni is pulling the strings—and you need to put in some work to find him. 

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Hunting down the Boss Rocket in Pokémon Go is something you have to build up to, as it requires you to beat multiple Go Rocket Grunts and all three leaders to have a chance at finding him. This typically involves completing special Rocket-themed research during specific events. If you plan to battle Giovanni, you must prepare a strong team to deal with his rotating lineup of Shadow Pokémon. Here’s a full breakdown of how to find and defeat Giovanni in Pokémon Go to rescue his captured Shadow Pokémon.

How to find Team Boss Giovanni in Pokémon Go

Pokemon Go Team Rocket Grunts
Image via Niantic

The only way to track Giovanni down is by using an item, a Super Rocket Radar. This is a rare item you can only acquire after you’ve worked through the current Special Research, which focuses on battling Team Rocket members and their leaders. This Special Research is only available for a limited time. The most recent one to appear in Pokémon Go was in January 2025, and Giovanni captured Palkia, during the Fashion Week event.

The Special Research available during Fashion Week was featured a Special Research available to all players for a limited time. A portion of the Special Research required you to defeat Team Rocket Leaders Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra. After beating them, you’ll receive a Super Rocket Radar, allowing you to track Giovanni down. You might encounter a handful of his decoys along the way.

If you currently do not have a Super Rocket Radar or a Special Research that rewards one, you won’t be able to track down Giovanni. You’ll need to wait for the next Taken Over event. These occur at least once every season, so expect them to appear every three months. We have yet to have one for the current season, Might and Mastery. We expect it to occur sometime in the second month, in April 2025.

All Giovanni Pokémon counters in Pokémon Go

How to beat Giovanni’s first Pokémon

Persian in Pokemon Go
Persian is always Giovanni’s first Pokémon. Image via the Pokémon company, remix by Dot Esports.

The first Pokémon you can always expect Giovanni to use against you is Persian, a Normal-type. Persian is an iconic Pokémon for Giovanni to use and he has always used this Pokémon as his starting choice. Thankfully, because it’s a Normal-type, it’ll be weak against any Fighting-type Pokémon or a Pokémon with a Fighting-type move.

PokémonFast MoveCharged Moves
PersianFeint Attack (Dark-type)
Scratch (Normal-type)
Foul Play (Dark-type)
Night Slash (Dark-type)
Payback (Dark-type)
Play Rough (Fairy-type)
Power Gem (Ground-type)

Some strong recommendations you might want to consider using include Lucario, Terrakion, Conkeldurr, Machamp, Hariyama, Marshadow, Hisuian Decidueye, Cobalion, and Toxicroak, to name a few.

How to beat Giovanni’s second Pokémon

Rhyperior in Pokemon Go
Rhyperior is one of the weaker choices Giovanni could use against you. Image via the Pokemon Company, remix by Dot Esports

The second choice for Giovanni is slightly more random. Similar to the other Team Rocket leaders, there’s a chance this third Pokémon can be one of three choices: Kingdra, Nidoking, or Rhyperior. Kingdra is a Water and Dragon-type, Nidoking is a Ground and Poison-type, and Rhyperior is a Ground and Rock-type, which means there’s a wide variety of options you’ll have to consider countering for this next fight.

Kingdra is only weak against Dragon and Fairy-type moves, making it the toughest choice between these three options. Nidoking and Rhyperior share a weakness to Ground, Ice, and Water-type moves. If you can try finding a Pokémon that uses Water or Ground-type attacks, you have a good chance of taking down Giovanni’s second choice, but it’s going to be difficult to cover Kingdra, unless you have a Dragon or Fairy-type Pokémon in your pocket. You may have to bring them in if Giovanni beats you the first time, and you have to adjust your line-up.

PokémonFast MovesCharged Moves
KingdraDragon Breath (Dragon-type)
Waterfall (Water-type)
Water Gun (Water-type
Blizzard (Ice-type)
Hydro Pump (Water-type)
Octazooka (Water-type)
Outrage (Dragon-type)
NidokingDouble Kick (Fighting-type)
Fury Cutter (Bug-type)
Iron Tail (Steel-type)
Poison Jab (Poison-type)
Earth Power (Ground-type)
Earthquake (Ground-type)
Megahorn (Bug-type)
Sand Tomb (Ground-type)
Sludge Wave (Poison-type)
RhyperiorMud-Slap (Ground-type)
Smack Down (Rock-type)
Breaking Swipe (Dragon-type)
Earthquake (Ground-type)
Rock Wrecker (Rock-type)
Skull Bash (Normal-type)
Stone Edge (Rock-type)
Superpower (Fighting-type)
Surf (Water-type)

Some of the best Pokémon we’re going to recommend for this fight include Kyogre, Garchomp, Swampert, Gallade, Groudon, Gardevoir, Latios, Mamoswine, and Zarude. We’ll always recommend expecting to face off against Nidoking or Rhyperior, as you have a higher chance of countering those two than expecting a fight against Kingdra every time in Pokémon Go.

How to beat Giovanni’s third Pokémon

Shadow Palkia in Pokémon Go
Prepare to face off against Giovanni’s Palkia, a Dragon and Water-type. Image via the Pokémon Company. Remix by Dot Esports

The final Pokémon Giovanni uses is the captured Legendary Shadow Pokémon. This one switches out almost every time you face off against Giovanni, and it’s important to know ahead of time what to expect for this encounter. As of January 2025, Giovanni uses Palkia, the Legendary Dragon and Water-type.

PokémonFast MoveCharged Moves
PalkiaDragon Tail (Dragon-type)
Dragon Breath (Dragon-type)
Aqua Tail (Water-type)
Draco Meteor (Dragon-type)
Fire Blast (Fire-type)
Hydro Pump (Water-type)

Because you’ll have only one Pokémon to prepare against, it should be relatively straightforward to encounter, but it only has a few weaknesses. It only has two weaknesses, Dragon and Fairy-type. However, all Dragon-types are weak to each other, which means you’re better off relying on a Fairy-type Pokémon to take it on. Some of our recommendations are going to be Gardevoir, Dialga, Salamence, Xerneas, Tapu Lele, Togekiss, Primarina, or Sylveon.

After you defeat Giovanni, you have a chance to catch a Shadow version of Palkia that you can add to your collection. This is one of the rare opportunities to add this Legendary Shadow Pokémon to your collection outside of five-star Team Rocket raids. However, after you beat Giovanni, it uses up your Super Rocket Radar, and you’ll have to wait for the next event to receive another.


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Image of Adam Newell
Adam Newell
Assigning Editor
Assigning Editor. In 2015, Adam graduated from the University of Aberystwyth with a bachelor's in Media and Communications. Working in the industry for over ten years. If it has anything to do with Nintendo and Pokémon chances are you will see me talking about it, covering, and likely not sleeping while playing it.
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Zack Palm
Staff Writer
Zack Palm has been writing about video games for the past five years. He spends his free time trying to learn about a new board, reading high-fantasy series, or working on his latest DnD character.