How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go

The legendary Boss of Team Go Rocket Giovanni is ready to do battle in Pokémon Go this January 2024. Find out how to counter his team, including the powerful Dark Kyogre.

Giovanni is the essential and indisputable leader of Team Rocket Go, and in fact, he is the most threatening enemy of this evil organization.

It poses a formidable challenge, but also the promise of an encounter with a legendary Pokémon to add to your collection. Indeed, Giovanni always has a legendary dark monster to save, and who can then accompany you in Raid or PvP League.

Before getting your hands on a powerful dark Pokémon, you will nevertheless have to successfully defeat Giovanni, and the latter is not an opponent to be taken lightly. To triumph over the leader of Team Go Rocket without difficulty, careful preparation is essential. Here is all the information you will need to effectively counter Giovanni’s team.

Summary

What Pokémon does Giovanni use?
Phase 1
- Cons of Persian
Phase 2
- Counters of Nidoking
- Rhinastoc Contres
- Contres de Carchacrok
Phase 3
- Kyogre Contres
The best team composition to beat Giovanni

What Pokémon does Giovanni use in Pokémon Go?

Before you rush headlong into Giovanni, it’s better to know what awaits you. There’s no question of facing it without Pokémon perfectly designed to take advantage of its weaknesses.

Here are Giovanni’s possible combinations:

Pokémon 1	Pokémon 2	Pokémon 3
Persian	Nidoking	Kyogre
	Rhinastoc
	Carchacrok

Phase 1: Dark Persian in Pokémon Go

Persian

Image	Type	Resistors	Weaknesses
Normal	Spectre	Combat

Giovanni will always start the fight by sending his trusty Persian. A smooth entry since it is very easy to defeat the cat with any powerful Fighting Pokémon.

Here is a selection of the best Pokémon to defeat Persian:

Cons of Persian
Bétochef	Riposte and Exploforce
Hariyama	Riposte and Dynamo-Fist
Mackogneur	Riposte and Aurasphere
Lucario	Riposte and Dynamo-Fist
Terrarium	Double Foot and Holy Blade

Phase 2: Nidoking, Rhinastoc or Carchacrok

Nidoking

Image	Type	Resistors	Weaknesses
Poison / Sol	Fighting, Rock, Insect, Fairy, Poison, Electric	Ground, Water, Psychic, Ice

Nidoking’s dual Poison/Ground type offers him a whole range of resistances, but also 4 nice weaknesses: Ground, Water, Psychic and Ice.

We advise you to opt for an Ice Pokémon in order to cover as many of Giovanni’s options as possible. Indeed, the boss of Team Go Rocket could also send Garchomp which is also weak against the Ice type.

Here is a selection of the best Pokémon to defeat Nidoking:

Counters of Nidoking
Darumacho de Galar	Frostfang and Avalanche
Mammochon	Powder and Avalanche
Dimoret	Ice Shards and Avalanche
Givrali	Frozen Breath and Avalanche
Lippoutou	Frozen Breath and Avalanche

Rhinastoc

Image	Type	Resistors	Weaknesses
Sol / Roche	Normal, Flying, Rock, Fire, Poison, Electric	Water, Plant, Fight, Ground, Steel, Ice

Rhinastoc is a very easy Pokémon to counter in Pokémon Go, since it has no less than 6 weaknesses, including a double Water and Grass weakness.

For this fight against Giovanni, we recommend a Grass-type Pokémon that can also face Kyogre.

Here is a selection of the best Pokémon to defeat Rhinastoc:

Rhinastoc Contres
Katagami	Grass Trach and Leaf Blade
Chapignon	Seed Ball and Grass Knot
Rosed	Grass Slicer and Sun Thrower
Sucreine	Magik Leaf and Grass Knot
Stretch	Seed Ball and Sun Launcher

Carchacrok

Image	Type	Resistors	Weaknesses
Dragon / Sol	Poison, Rock, Fire, Electric	Ice, Dragon, Fairy

Garchomp is a Pokémon with formidable offensive potential. However, its double Ice weakness makes it absolutely powerless against Pokémon like Galarian Darumacho or Mammochon.

Here is a selection of the best Pokémon to defeat Garchomp:

Contres de Carchacrok
Darumacho de Galar	Frostfang and Avalanche
Mammochon	Powder and Avalanche
Dimoret	Ice Shards and Avalanche
Givrali	Frozen Breath and Avalanche
Lippoutou	Frozen Breath and Avalanche

Phase 3: Kyogre

Kyogre

Image	Type	Resistors	Weaknesses
Water	Steel, Water, Fire, Ice	Electric, Plant

Kyogre is a formidable legendary Pokémon. While its Water type may seem sadly common, that means it only displays two weaknesses: Electric and Grass.

In order to capitalize on the weaknesses of other monsters on Giovanni’s team, we advise you to field a Grass-type Pokémon against Kyogre.

Here is a selection of the best Pokémon to defeat Kyogre:

Kyogre Contres
Katagami	Grass Trach and Leaf Blade
Chapignon	Seed Ball and Grass Knot
Rosed	Grass Slicer and Sun Thrower
Sucreine	Magik Leaf and Grass Knot
Stretch	Seed Ball and Sun Launcher

The best team composition to beat Giovanni

Once again, Giovanni did not revise his type chart properly and assembled a team that was shaky to say the least. Indeed, its Pokémon share many weaknesses, making it easy to put together an optimized team to beat it.

First, you’ll need a Fighting-type Pokémon. Giovanni will always send Persian as his first Pokémon. This one will be an easy target for my Combat monster. Subsequently, this same Pokémon will be very effective against Rhinastoc.

For your second Pokémon, choose the Grass type. This Pokémon will be responsible for defeating the terrible Kyogre, but it can also be called upon to face Rhinastoc.

Finally, take an Ice-type Pokémon with you. The latter will have the difficult task of eliminating two formidable options from phase 2: Nidoking or Garchomp.

With a team composed of Fighting, Grass and Ice types, you will easily be able to defeat every Pokémon that Giovanni can send your way.

Here are some examples of typical teams to beat Giovanni:

Keldeo, Katagami, Kyurem
Lucario, Jungko, Mammochon
Mackogneur, Roserade, Givrali

With such a composition, you should be able to defeat the Team Go Rocket Boss without much difficulty.

It’s not Giovanni who scares you, but rather the other leaders of Team Rocket? Check out our other Pokémon Go guides:

How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go – Guide January 2024