So, you want to know how to beat Team Go Rocket boss Giovanni in Pokémon Go this month? Well, you’re in the right place. Pokémon Go’s Giovanni made his return in November 2021 with legendary Shadow Lugia by his side. He’s possibly the toughest Team Go Rocket member to beat, but with the right counters and the know-how on what his weaknesses are, you’ll defeat him in no time. Luckily, we’ve put all that together for you right here.
In this Giovanni counter guide, we outline the best Pokémon team to take into battle. We’ve also listed the rewards you receive for defeating Giovanni, as well as how to level up your Ultra Hero medal, unlocking some nice new clothing along the way. Check out our Pokémon Go promo codes while you’re here if you need some freebies.
Now, let’s get into the best counters for Pokémon Go’s Giovanni.
What are the best Pokémon Go Giovanni counters for Persian?
Giovanni will always use Persian as his first Pokémon. Persian is a normal-type Pokémon meaning it’s weak to fighting moves and so the counters below are great choices.
| Sprite | Pokémon | Moves |
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Lucario | Counter and Power-up Punch or Aura Sphere |
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Machamp | Counter and Cross Chop or Dynamic Punch |
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Conkeldurr | Counter and Dynamic Punch or Focus Blast |
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Rhyperior | Mud Slap and Stone Edge or Rock Wrecker |
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Tyranitar | Smack Down and Brutal Swing or Stone Edge |
What are the best Pokémon Go Giovanni counters for Nidoking?
Nidoking is a Pokémon that’s weak to ground-, ice-, psychic-, and water-types. To beat it, we recommend any of the following to take into battle.
| Sprite | Pokémon | Moves |
 |
Mewtwo | Psycho Cut and Psychic |
|
Rhyperior | Mud Slap and Rock Wrecker |
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Glaceon | Ice Shard and Avalanche |
What are the best Pokémon Go Giovanni counters for Rhyperior?
Rhyperior is weak to fighting-, ground-, ice-, and steel-type attacks, you should take advantage of its double weakness to grass- and water-type attacks.
| Sprite | Pokémon | Moves |
 |
Kyogre | Waterfall and Surf |
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Swampert | Water Gun and Hydro Cannon |
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Samurott | Waterfall and Hydro Cannon |
What are the best Pokémon Go Giovanni counters for Garchomp?
The Garchomp that Giovanni uses is weak to dragon-, fairy-, and ice-type moves. Here are the counters we recommend.
| Sprite | Pokémon | Moves |
|
Glaceon | Dragon Tail and Outrage |
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Mamoswine | Powder Snow and Avalanche |
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Articuno | Frost Breath and Ice Breath |
What are the best Pokémon Go Giovanni counters for Shadow Regirock?
Finally, you need to take on Shadow Regirock and for this Pokémon, its weaknesses are fighting-, grass-, ground-, steel-, and water-type attacks, so any of the below options are great picks for your team.
| Sprite | Pokémon | Moves |
|
Machamp | Counter and Cross Chop |
|
Lucario | Counter and Aura Sphere |
|
Swampert | Water Gun and Hydro Cannon |
What rewards do I get for beating Pokémon Go’s Giovanni?
You get a whole bunch of rewards for defeating Pokémon Go’s Giovanni. For starters, you get 5,000 Stardust and an assortment of items, including max potions and max revives. A win also helps level up your Ultra Hero medal, which counts up how many times you defeat the boss of Team Go Rocket.
As mentioned, you’ll level up your Ultra Hero medal every time you defeat Giovanni. When you defeat him enough times, you unlock more clothing which we’ve listed below. So, if you’re looking to kit yourself out and you’ve assembled the ultimate team to take him down, then it might be worth investing some time.
- Defeat Giovanni five times + silver badge level – unlocks shoes
- Defeat Giovanni five times + silver badge level – unlocks pants
- Defeat Giovanni 20 times + gold badge level – unlocks shirt
- Defeat Giovanni 20 times + gold badge level – unlocks gloves
And that’s everything you need to know about defeating Pokémon Go’s Giovanni. For more content like this, we recommend you head over to our Pokémon Go event, Pokémon Go raid, Pokédex, and Pokémon Go best Pokémon guides.
