If you’re trying to bulk out your Pokédex in Pokémon Go with Legendary Shadow Pokémon, you’re going to want to keep an eye out for the Team Go Rocket boss Giovanni. He’s a bit fiddly to find, a tough fight, and his line-up changes every few months, but he’s worth it if you’re after as many rare Pokémon as possible.
As part of the Psychic Spectacular: Taken Over event in Pokémon Go, Giovanni’s line-up last got updated in September 2025, with his Legendary switching to Shadow Giratina.
With his line-up often changing, below we’ve put together the best Giovanni Counters, helping give you the edge against one the toughest bosses in the game. And also tips for finding him and the rewards for beating him.
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Finding the Team Go boss can be a bit fiddly and firstly requires you to get hold of a Super Rocket Radar. Here’s how to find Giovanni:
- Complete the Psychic Spectacular: Taken Over Special Research quest from Professor Willow. This quest will see you beating Arlo, Cliff and Sierra By beating the Team Go Rocket Leaders, you’ll get given a Super Rocket Radar.Equip the Super Rocket Radar and head to a PokeStop, and then there’s a chance you’ll encounter Giovanni.
Watch out though, you might have to visit a few PokeStops before you find him. And you might also encounter a few decoy grunts along the way.
Once you’ve encountered him, you can fight him as many times as needed until finally capturing his Legendary Shadow Pokémon.
Giovanni Line-up
Giovanni’s choice of Pokémon rotates every few months, meaning you will often find yourself battling different Pokémon. Giovanni’s current team is as follows:
Best Giovanni counters
Once you find Giovanni, prepare yourself for a tough fight. His Pokémon are a lot stronger than the previous Team Go Rocket fights, so make sure your team is just as powerful. Don’t be deterred if it takes two, or even three attempts to take him down!
Here’s the Giovanni Counters we recommend:
Slot 1: Primal Kyogre, Mega Garchomp, your strongest Water or Ground-typeSlot 2: Mega Lucario (Force Palm, Aura Sphere) or strongest Fighting-typeSlot 3: Regieleki or strongest Electric-type, can also use strongest Ice or Rock-type How to beat Giovanni
Before we jump into the strategy for beating Giovanni, It’s important to remember that, like the previous Team Go Rocket Leaders, Giovanni has two Protect Shields at his disposal – this means a debut Pokémon that has two quick Charged moves, and can withstand some damage, will set you up nicely for removing his shields and for the rest of the fight.
Best Persian Counter
💡Lottie’s Pro Tip
Try to avoid using your shields. Yes, you may need to sacrifice a Pokémon, but it will be helpful when facing Giovanni’s Shadow Legendary.
Persian will always come up first and is weak against Fighting, so having a Mega Lucario with Force Palm and Aura Sphere, or Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword are your best bets here. Failing that, Machamp and Lucario are cheaper, more attainable counters.
However, the secret technique to beating Persian is to put your fighter in the second slot and then immediately switch to it. This is because Giovanni experiences a two-second delay every time you switch Pokémon, giving you two sweet seconds to lay into Persian before it retaliates.
Best Rhyperior, Nidoking and Kangaskhan Counters
Giovanni’s second Pokémon can be one of three, either Rhyperior, Nidoking or Kangaskhan.
The best Rhyperior counters are Primal or Shadow Kyogre, Kartana, Mega Swampert or your strongest Water-type or Grass-type as it’s particularly weak against these two types. If you can, a stronger Water-type would be the better choice but if you’ve got a high-performing Grass-type like Kartana then that works too. Good choices include Zarude, Kyogre, and Sky Forme Shaymin. Shadow wise, you could use Shadow Swampert, Shadow Kyogre, or Shadow Venusaur.
The best Nidoking counters are Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon and Mega Garchomp (as well as Shadow Mewtwo). However, if you don’t have these then your strongest Psychic-type, Ground-type, or Water-type will do as it’s weak to these. Good choices include Mewtwo, Lunala and Therian Forme Landorus. Shadow wise, you could pick Shadow Groudon, Shadow Kyogre, Shadow Garchomp or Shadow Gyarados.