How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go March 2024: Shadow Groudon counters & weaknesses

Daniel Megarry
Pokemon Go Giovanni

Giovanni is the final boss of Pokemon Go‘s villainous Team Go Rocket, so you’ll need to pull out all the stops to beat him. To help trainers out, we’ve put together a guide featuring his current Pokemon lineup, their biggest weaknesses, and the best counters for his team.

After you’ve valiantly fought your way through Arlo, Cliff, Sierra, and plenty of Grunts, you’ll finally get the chance to take on Giovanni. The Team Go Rocket Boss is tough competition, so it’s important to take the time to plan ahead if you want to walk away a winner.

After battling with the Kanto region’s Legendary Mewtwo and then Kyogre, now the villain is adding Shadow Groudon to his team.

We will break down everything you need to know to help you defeat him and storm to victory on the battlefield.


Contents


Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Giovanni
The villainous Giovanni has teamed up with Groudon.

Giovanni Pokemon Go lineup (March 2024)

Giovanni’s lineup changes every now and then, but the star of his current team remains Shadow Groudon, which you’ll be able to catch if you manage to defeat him.

Here’s Giovanni’s current lineup in Pokemon Go:

  • Phase 1: Persian
  • Phase 2: Nidoking / Rhyperior / Garchomp
  • Phase 3: Shadow Groudon

Giovanni’s lineup changes every time there’s a Team Go Rocket Takeover. We don’t know when the next one will occur following the World of Wonders event, but we’ll update this page as soon as it happens.

How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go

Giovanni is an incredibly strong opponent in Pokemon Go, so if you want to defeat him, you’ll need to come prepared with some equally strong counters that can target his team’s weaknesses.

At the start of every battle, Giovanni always throws out his signature Pokemon, Persian. The second Pokemon he chooses is at random from a pool of three. Finally, you’ll face Shadow Groudon.

Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 1

Persian, one of Giovanni's phase in Pokemon Go
Giovanni will always start with Persian in Pokemon Go for his first Phase.

Persian counters

As a Normal-type Pokemon, Persian is weak against Fighting-type attacks and resistant to Ghost-type attacks, making it much easier to know exactly which Pokemon to utilize.

Use these counters against Persian in Pokemon Go to stand the best chance of winning:

Persian Counters
Terrakion Pokemon Go Terrakion Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move)
Conkeldurr Conkeldurr Counter (Fast Move) & Focus Blast (Charge Move)
Hariyama Hariyama Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move)
Lucario Lucario Counter (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move)
Machamp Machamp Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move)
Breloom Pokenon Go Breloom Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move)

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Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 2

pokemon go giovanni team nidoking garchomp rhyperior

Nidoking counters

As a dual Poison/Ground-type Pokemon, Nidoking is weak against Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water-type moves, and resistant to Electric, Poison, Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Rock-type attacks.

Here are some of the best counters to defeat Nidoking:

Nidoking Counters
Mewtwo Pokemon Go Mewtwo Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Psychic/Psystrike (Charge Move)
Kyogre Kyogre Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move)
Garchomp Garchomp Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Earth Power (Charge Move)
Glaceon Pokemon counter Glaceon Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Galarian Darmanitan Galarian Darmanitan Ice Fang (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Espeon, one of Crobat's best counters for leader Cliff in Pokemon Go Espeon Confusion (Fast Move) & Psychic (Charge Move)

Rhyperior counters

Rhyperior is a Ground/Rock-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Fighting, Ground, Steel, Water, Grass, and Ice.  On the other hand, Rhyperior is resistant to Normal, Flying, Poison, Rock, and Fire attacks, so avoid those wherever possible. It’s also immune to Electric-type moves.

Here are some of the best counters to help you defeat Rhyperior:

Rhyperior Counters
Mega Swampert Mega Swampert Water Gun & Hydro Cannon
Kartana Kartana Razor Leaf & Leaf Blade
Mega Sceptile Mega Sceptile  Bullet Seed & Leaf Blade
Mega Gyarados Mega Gyarados Waterfall & Hydro Pump
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Kyogre profile image Kyogre Waterfall & Origin Pulse
Zarude Zarude Vine Whip & Power Whip

Garchomp counters

Garchomp is a dual Dragon/Ground-type Pokemon, which means its weaknesses are Dragon, Fairy, and Ice-type attacks. It has particular vulnerability to Ice-type attacks, so focus on those where you can.

On the other hand, Garchomp is resistant to Electric, Fire, Poison, and Rock-type attacks, so they won’t do much damage at all if you use them in battle.

Here are some of the best Garchomp counters to use:

Garchomp Counters
Articuno in Pokemon Go Articuno Frost Breath (Fast Move) & Ice Breath (Charge Move)
Galarian Darmanitan Galarian Darmanitan Ice Fang (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Mamoswine Pokemon Go Mamoswine Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Glaceon Pokemon counter Glaceon Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move)
Dragonite Dragonite Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move)
Weavile Pokemon Go counters Weavile Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)

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Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 3

Pokemon Go Groudon

Shadow Groudon counters

Groudon is a Ground-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Water, Grass, and Ice attacks and resistant to Poison, Rock, and Electric-type moves. In order to beat it, you’ll need to focus on exploiting its weaknesses with both Fast and Charged super-effective attacks.

These are some of the top counters to defeat Groudon in battle:

Shadow Groudon Counters
Primal Kyogre Primal Kyogre Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move)
Mega Swampert Mega Swampert Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move)
Mega Sceptile Mega Sceptile Fury Cutter (Fast Move) & Frenzy Plant (Charge Move)
Meg Blastoise in Pokemon Go Raids Mega Blastoise Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move)
Mamoswine Shadow Mamoswine Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
galarian darmanitan Galarian Darmanitan Ice Fang (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)

Giovanni packs a punch and will be much harder to defeat than the other Team Go Rocket Leaders. It’s not enough to have the right counters with the best movesets – you also need to make sure they’re powered up enough to take on the challenge.

If you don’t see any Pokemon that you own in the tables above, simply choose your strongest Pokemon that can target each of Giovanni’s weaknesses. You can also take a look at our weaknesses chart and match it accordingly to what you have.

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Best team to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go

pokemon go giovanni team counter

One of the best teams you can use to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go right now is Terrakion, Mega Sceptile, and Galarian Darmanitan. While Giovanni’s previous team didn’t have much crossover regarding weaknesses, his new lineup is pretty easy to prepare for.

The first thing you’ll want on your team is a strong Fighting type like Terrakion, as Giovanni’s first Pokemon will always be Persian, and its only weakness is Fighting-type attacks.

Next up, we’d recommend a powerful Ice-type Pokemon like Galarian Darmanitan. With this strong Ice-type on your team, you’ll be able to target two of Giovanni’s potential Pokemon: Nidoking and Garchomp.

The only member of Giovanni’s lineup not covered by those two Pokemon is Rhyperior, but the Ground/Rock-type can be countered by the third team member: Mega Sceptile. Additionally, Mega Sceptile will be a great counter for Shadow Groudon, thanks to its Grass weakness.

The good thing about battling Giovanni (or any other Team Go Rocket member) is that you can rematch as many times as you need to until you win, so if you’ve brought a team that isn’t working you can simply readjust and try again.

How to find Giovanni in Pokemon Go

The only way to track down Giovanni is to work your way through a Team Go Rocket-related Special Research quest, like Shadowy Skirmishes. You’ll be able to claim these quests after you reach Level 8.

These Special Research quests require you to defeat multiple Grunts as well as the individual Leaders Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo. Once you’ve done all of these, you’ll eventually be given a Super Rocket Radar.

Equip the Super Rocket Radar, and you’ll be able to track down Giovanni’s hideout and battle him!

How to defeat Team Leaders in Pokemon Go

If you’re looking to take on the other Team Go Rocket Leaders, check out our guide to take down Arlo, our guide to defeat Cliff, and finally, our guide to beat Sierra.

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That’s everything you need to properly defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go. For more game content, check the list below:

Spotlight Hour schedule | Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | How to get Chatot in Pokemon Go and can it be Shiny?How to get Rotom in Pokemon Go and can it be Shiny? | Best Eevee evolution in Pokemon Go | Current Raid Bosses | Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Egg chart | How to get Remote Raid Passes

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About The Author

Daniel graduated from university with a degree in Journalism and English Language, before spending five years at GAY TIMES covering LGBTQ+ news and entertainment. He then made the switch to video game journalism where he produces news, features, and guides for Pokemon, Fortnite, Nintendo, and PlayStation games. Daniel also has a passion for any games with queer representation.