How to Beat Giovanni in Pokemon GO (February 2022)

Say what you will about Giovanni and Team Rocket in general, but the man is nothing if not persistent. He’s been in the criminal game for over 20 years now, and that’s while also juggling his duties as a Gym Leader among other commitments. That’s probably why he has so many grunts and admins under his employ, because he needs them all to take care of everything he doesn’t have time for. It stands to reason, then, that when he actually takes the time to appear in front of you and propose a Pokemon battle, you’ve annoyed him enough that he actually rearranged his schedule. Well, let’s not be rude. Here’s how to beat Giovanni in Pokemon GO, specifically in his February 2022 incarnation.

How to Beat Giovanni in Pokemon GO (February 2022)

Like the Rocket Leaders, Giovanni has three rounds of potential Pokemon he can throw at you. The first round will always be his personal partner Pokemon, the second round will be a random selection from one of three Pokemon, and in a departure from the Rocket Leaders, the third round will always be an exceptionally powerful Legendary. Giovanni’s lineup includes:

• Round 1: Persian
• Round 2: Kingler, Nidoking, or Rhyperior
• Round 3: Shadow Lugia

First up is Persian, a pure Normal type. Persian isn’t anything you need to be especially worried about; its stats are all fairly average, and it doesn’t have any particular curveballs in its moveset. Any sufficiently strong Fighting type like Lucario or Conkeldurr can quickly do away with it, though if you don’t mind letting the fight drag out a bit, you can try something it’s neutral toward like a Grass type like Roserade or Rillaboom. We’ll explain why in a moment. 

Round two is when things get a little more complicated. Our options for this round are Kingler, a pure Water type, Nidoking, a Poison/Ground type, or Rhyperior, a Ground/Rock type. All three of these Pokemon are much stronger than Persian, with Rhyperior, in particular, having better base stats across the board. As such, exploiting weaknesses is much more important for this round. This is why it may be to your benefit to have a Grass type on deck for the first round, as both Kingler and Rhyperior are weak to Grass moves. If Giovanni throws out Nidoking, your second Pokemon should be an Ice type like Mamoswine or Galarian Darmanitan to exploit its weaknesses, as well as provide backup in the final round.

For round three, Giovanni will once again bust out his favorite illicit Legendary, Shadow Lugia, a Psychic/Flying type. If your Ice type is still in fighting shape, you can keep it on deck to wear Shadow Lugia down, but don’t expect them to be able to handle the whole job by themselves. Your third Pokemon, ideally, should be a Legendary of your own. Shadow Lugia has fairly high stats, so you’re going to need a Legendary or a third-tier evolution at minimum to match it. Your best possible Legendary picks would be Darkrai or Raikou. Their respective pure Dark and pure Electric typing give them resistance at most or neutrality at least to Shadow Lugia’s kit, balanced out by high attack stats and type superiority. In a pinch, Walrein, Typhlosion, or Aggron should be able to get the job done in lieu of a Legendary.