Pokemon GO: How to Beat Team Go Rocket Boss Giovanni (March 2021)

Once you defeat all the Team Go Rocket Leaders, it’s time to take on their boss. It won’t be an easy task, but here is how to beat Giovanni in Pokemon GO.

How to Beat Team Go Rocket Boss Giovanni in Pokemon GO

For being the boss of Team Go Rocket, this battle isn’t especially difficult if you have proper counters. In fact, it’s one of the most straightforward of these leader battles since Giovanni’s first and third Pokemon will always be set in stone. Here are all of Giovanni’s possible Pokemon:

• Pokemon 1
  • Persian (Normal)
• Pokemon 2
  • Nidoking (Poison/Ground)
  • Kangaskhan (Normal)
  • Garchomp (Dragon/Ground)
• Pokemon 3
  • Articuno (Ice/Flying)

Giovanni Battle 1

Persian
It makes sense — when it comes to lore — that Persian is Giovanni’s first Pokemon, but you would expect the head of Team GO Rocket to have a stronger mon. Persian isn’t anything special, so just overpower it with your Conkeldurr, Lucario, Machamp, etc.

Best Picks: Conkeldurr, Lucario, Machamp, Heracross, Hariyama

Battle 2

Nidoking
Nidoking is susceptible to Ice-, Gound-, Psychic-, and Water-type attacks, so you can pick a handful of different Pokemon here. Just make sure that you shield its first charge move so it doesn’t one-hit KO something like Jirachi or Empoleon.

Best Picks: Swampert, Kyogre, Empoleon, Mega Blastoise, Jirachi

Kangaskhan
If you’re lucky, then you’ll get another Normal-type Pokemon after Persian. You may not even need to switch out if your first Pokemon is a Fighting-type. The introduction of Megas also makes Mega Charizard Y a solid option here.

Best Picks: Machamp, Mega Charizard Y, Heracross, Conkeldurr, Shadow Machamp

Garchomp
Ice-types are solid against the other two possible Pokemon, but this is where you absolutely need to go with an Ice mon. Fairies are also a solid choice here since they deal heavy damage to Dragon-type Pokemon. Pretty much any mon that’s part flying and has super effective attacks will do well.

Best Picks: Togekiss, Articuno, Gardevoir, Granbull, Mamoswine

Giovanni Battle 3

Articuno
The Shadow versions of the Kanto Legendary birds are back! Articuno is the first of the bunch to fall into the clutches of Giovanni yet again. Steel-types and any Pokemon that resists Ice moves while using Rock-type attacks will give you the best chance to beat this Legendary Bird.

Best Picks: Heatran, Aggron, Melmetal, Mamoswine, Metagross

Best Pokemon Team

There are a ton of options for this battle up until you get to Mewtwo, but you can only pick three monsto go to battle with you. Here’s a solid team that should help you best Giovanni.

My ideal team for beating Giovanni is:

1. Conkeldurr (Counter|Dynamic Punch)
2. Articuno (Ice Shard|Ice Beam)
3. Heatran (Fire Spin|Stone Edge)

Secondary Team:

1. Machamp (Counter|Cross Chop)
2. Mamoswine (Powder Snow|Avalanche)
3. Aggron (Smack Down|Stone Edge)

That’s all there is to know about how to beat Team Go Rocket Boss Giovanni in Pokemon GO. Now that you’ve beaten Giovanni, it’s time to take on Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo all over again.

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