How to Beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go: All Giovanni Counters (December 2021)

In Pokémon Go, you'll find that to get specific Pokémon, you'll need to defeat Team GO Rocket grunts and bosses. Leaders (Cliff, Arlo, Sierra, and Giovanni) are often the most difficult, but offer the greatest rewards. In this guide, we'll focus on how to beat Giovanni and the best counters against his new Pokemon.

Quick Notes

• The counters we include are not synonymous with weaknesses. Sometimes these counters will be mentioned for reasons other than the weakness of the opponent. Other examples may include their movesets or the fact that they are naturally resistant to their opponent.
• These lists are not ranked best to worst. Although we can provide the best counters to use in any match, there is no guarantee in what order they should fall. The effectiveness of each Pokémon largely depends on your playstyle and fighting technique. That said, we have instead chosen to list the counters in alphabetical order.
• Best Team Setup: We recommend adding a few Pokemon types to your team, as they do well against many Pokemon in Giovanni's lineup. It is best to have a combination of the team listed below. Still, if you only have two, hold your own against him pretty well.
  • Any Strong Electric Pokémon (For Kingler and Lugia)
  • Any Strong Water Pokémon
  • Any powerful fighting Pokémon

Pokémon Round 1

The following list contains all the options this Gym Leader can use as their first Pokémon.

Persian

• Type : Normal
• Weak Against: Fighting
• Resistance Against: Ghost
• Notes: If you don't have any of the Pokemon listed below, we recommend using a Fighting Pokemon against Persian as it does well against many of Giovanni's other Pokemon.

Related: Pokémon Go: 41-50 Leveling Guide – Pro Game Guides

Pokémon Round 2

The following list contains all the options this Gym Leader can use as a second Pokémon.

Kingler

• Type: Water
• Weak against: Electric, Grass
• Resistance against: Fire, Ice, Steel, Water

Nidoké

• Type : Poison, Sol
• Weak against: Ground, Ice, Psychic, Water
• Resistance against: Electric, Poison, Insect, Fairy, Fighting, Rock

Rhyperior

• Type : Sol, Roche
• Weak Against: Fighting, Grass, Ground, Ice, Steel, Water
• Resistance Against: Electric, Poison, Fire, Flying, Normal, Rock
• Notes: Water Pokemon are best against Rhyperior as both of its types are weak against Water attacks. Water Pokemon are also strong against a few of Giovanni's other Pokemon.

Pokémon Round 3

The following list contains all the options this Gym Leader can use as a third Pokémon.

Lugia

• Type: Psychic, Flying
• Weak against: Dark, Electric, Ghost, Ice, Rock
• Resistance against: Fighting, Ground, Grass, Psychic
• Notes: Electric Pokemon are weak against a few of Giovanni's other Pokemon, but are great against Lugia. It's best to charge your Electric Pokémon early, then hit hard when Lugia comes out.

Once you find Giovanni (not an easy task!), you will now be equipped to handle his Pokémon in battle! Check back to this page for occasional updates when they update Pokémon Go!

Want to see how to counter Pokémon of each type? Check out our lists of Water Pokémon weaknesses!