Team Go Rocket Leaders Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra, and the Team Go Rocket Boss Giovanni started to appear more frequently at PokeStops and in balloons. They always cause terror and disturbance in the peace of the good Trainers that try to save all Pokemon.
Team Go Rocket captures Pokemon and turns them to the evil side, making them Shadow Pokemon. The Shadow Pokemon are different than their regular Pokemon by the dark aura that surrounds them. They even have dark and scary eyes. If you manage to capture them, you can purify them with the purification method, giving you a Purified Shadow Pokemon with an increased CP.
Each team has leaders and a boss. The leaders are named Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra, and their boss is called Giovanni. Giovanni is a story of its own, meaning he is the most difficult one to defeat in a battle. Like difficult. You will need a few times to battle him, but only the lucky ones defeat him on the first try. That happens only when you have a really strong Pokemon line-up that you trust will bring you victory.
We are always here to help you, so we will post the list of Shadow Pokemon used by Giovanni, including the best counterparts to defeat each Pokemon. Giovanni uses Shadow Persian as his first choice, and Shadow Registeel last.
Giovanni Shadow Pokemon and Counters
Giovanni Shadow Pokemon lineup #1
Shadow Persian (can be shiny)
Best Counters:
- Mega Blaziken with Counter and Blaze Kick
- Mega Alakazam with Counter and Psychic
- Shadow Machamp with Karate Chop and Dynamic Punch
- Shadow Blaziken with Counter and Blaze Kick
- Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword
- Keldeo with Low Kick and Sacred Sword
- Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere
Giovanni Shadow Pokemon lineup #2
Shadow Garchomp
Best Counters:
- Mega Glalie with Frost Breath and Avalanche
- Mega Abomasnow with Powder Snow and Blizzard
- Shadow Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche
- Shadow Weavile with Ice Shard and Avalanche
- Galarian Darmanitan Standard with Ice Fang and Avalanche
- Glaceon with Ice Shard and Avalanche
- Weavile with Ice Shard and Avalanche
Shadow Nidoking
Best Counters:
- Mega Alakazam with Confusion and Psychic
- Mega Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon
- Shadow Mewtwo with Confusion and Psystrike
- Shadow Alakazam with Confusion and Psychic
- Hoopa Unbound with Confusion and Psychic
- Mewtwo with Confusion and Psystrike
- Alakazam with Confusion and Psychic
Shadow Cloyster
Best Counters
- Mega Blaziken with Counter and Focus Blast
- Mega Sceptile with Fury Cutter and Frenzy Plant
- Shadow Magnezone with Spark and Wild Charge
- Shadow Raikou with Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
- Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword
- Kartana with Razor Leaf and Leaf Blade
- Xurkitree with Spark and Discharge
Giovanni Shadow Pokemon lineup #3
Shadow Registeel
Best Counters:
- Mega Blaziken with Counter and Blast Burn
- Mega Charizard Y with Fire Spin and Blast Burn
- Shadow Moltres with Fire Spin and Overheat
- Shadow Entei with Fire Fang and Overheat
- Reshiram with Fire Fang and Overheat
- Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword
- Keldeo with Low Kick and Sacred Sword
- Chandelure with Fire Spin and Overheat
- Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere
That’s all you need to know about Giovanni and how to defeat him. Make sure to use the counters from our guide, we promise it would make things a lot easier.