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.
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.
Table of contents
How to find Team Boss Giovanni in Pokémon Go
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 October 2024, and Giovanni captured Heatran, during the Galarian Expedition event.
The Special Research available during the Galarian Expedition was steps nine through 11 of the season’s main quest, Galar Calling. When you reached step 11, you had 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, Dual Destiny.
All Giovanni Pokémon counters in Pokémon Go
How to beat Giovanni’s first Pokémon
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.
| Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Persian | Feint 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
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.
| Pokémon | Fast Moves | Charged Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdra | Dragon Breath (Dragon-type) Waterfall (Water-type) Water Gun (Water-type |
Blizzard (Ice-type) Hydro Pump (Water-type) Octazooka (Water-type) Outrage (Dragon-type) |
| Nidoking | Double 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) |
| Rhyperior | Mud-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, to name some of the best choices. 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
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 Heatran, the Legendary Steel and Fire-type Pokémon.
| Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Heatran | Bug Bite (Bug-type) Fire Spin (Fire-type) |
Earth Power (Ground-type) Flamethrower (Fire-type) Fire Blast (Fire-type) Iron Head (Steel-type) Magma Storm (Fire-type) Stone Edge (Ground-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. Its biggest weakness is Ground-type moves, but it also takes extra damage from Fighting and Water-type attacks. Some of the best Pokémon you can use against Heatran in Pokémon Go are Groudon, Garchomp, Landorus, Swampert, Rhyperior, Kyogre, Excadrill, Hippowdon, and Flygon.
After you defeat Giovanni, you have a chance to catch a Shadow version of Heatran 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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