Team Go Rocket Boss Giovanni and his Shadow Regice are the hardest opponents you’ll face in Pokemon Go in March 2023, so knowing their weaknesses and the best counters to use is more important than ever.
When you’ve 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 victoriously.
After battling with the Kanto region’s Legendary Mewtwo throughout 2022, Giovanni now has Shadow Regice in his team. We’re going to break down everything we know about his lineup, weaknesses, and the best counters to take you to victory.
Contents
- Giovanni Pokemon Go lineup (March 2023)
- How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go
- Phase 1
- Phase 2
- Phase 3
- Best team to defeat Giovanni
- How to find Giovanni
- How to beat Team Rocket Leaders
Giovanni Pokemon Go lineup (March 2023)
Giovanni’s lineup changes every now and then, but the current star of his team is Shadow Regice, 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 / Kingler / Kingdra
- Phase 3: Shadow Regice
The latest Team Go Rocket Takeover event took place on March 25, where Giovanni’s lineup changed to include Shadow Regice. We’ll update this page if any more changes happen in the future.
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 will always throw out his signature Pokemon, Persian. The second Pokemon he chooses is at random from a pool of three. Finally, you’ll face Shadow Regice.
Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 1
Persian counters
As a Normal-type Pokemon, Persian is weak against Fighting-type attacks and resistant to Ghost-type attacks, making it a lot 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 | Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move) | |
| Conkeldurr | Counter (Fast Move) & Focus Blast (Charge Move) | |
| Hariyama | Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move) | |
| Lucario | Counter (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move) | |
| Machamp | Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move) | |
| Breloom | Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move) | |
Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 2
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 | Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Psychic/Psystrike (Charge Move) | |
| Kyogre | Waterfall (Fast Move) & Surf (Charge Move) | |
| Garchomp | Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Earth Power (Charge Move) | |
| Glaceon | Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move) | |
| Galarian Darmanitan | Ice Fang (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move) | |
| Espeon | Confusion (Fast Move) & Psychic (Charge Move) | |
Kingler counters
Kingler is a Water-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Electric and Grass-type moves. It’s resistant to Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water-type attacks.
Here are some of the best counters to help you defeat Kingler:
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| Kingler Counters | ||
| Xurkitree | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Power Whip (Charge Move) | |
| Zekrom | Charge Beam (Fast Move) & Wild Beam (Charge Move) | |
| Raikou | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
| Electivire | Thunder Shock (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
| Roserade | Bullet Seed (Fast Move) & Leaf Storm (Charge Move) | |
| Magnezone | Spark (Fast Move) & Wild Charge (Charge Move) | |
Kingdra counters
Kingdra is a dual Dragon/Water-type Pokemon so its weaknesses are Dragon and Fairy-type moves while its resistances are Fire, Steel, and Water-type attacks.
Here are some of the best Kingdra counters to use:
| Kingdra Counters | ||
| Rayquaza | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move) | |
| Dialga | Dragon Breath (Fast Move) & Draco Meteor (Charge Move) | |
| Salamence | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move) | |
| Garchomp | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move) | |
| Dragonite | Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move) | |
| Gardevoir | Charm (Fast Move) & Dazzling Gleam (Charge Move) | |
Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 3
Shadow Regice counters
Regice is an Ice-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Fighting, Fire, Rock, and Steel-type attacks and resistant to Ice-type attacks.
These are some of the top counters to defeat Regice in battle:
| Regice Counters | ||
| Terrakion | Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move) | |
| Reshiram | Fire Fang (Fast Move) & Fusion Flare (Charge Move) | |
| Metagross | Bullet Punch (Fast Move) & Meteor Mash (Charge Move) | |
| Chandelure | Fire Spin (Fast Move) & Overheat (Charge Move) | |
| Lucario | Counter (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move) | |
| Conkeldurr | Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (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.
Best team to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go
One of the best teams you can use to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go is Conkeldurr, Galarian Darmanitan, and Garchomp.
While those Pokemon should give you a good chance of beating Giovanni, there’s always a chance that you’ll be caught off guard. That’s because there’s not much crossover with his lineup’s weaknesses, so it’s almost impossible to cover all bases.
The only guarantee is that his first and last Pokemon will both be weak against Fighting-type attacks, so it’s essential to have a strong Fighting-type like Conkeldurr on your team. Make sure it has a Fighting-type moveset like the one we’ve recommended above.
From that point on, it’s just a case of finding out what his middle Pokemon is going to be. If it’s Nidoking, an Ice-type like Galarian Darmanitan is a great choice. If it’s Kingler, go with an Electric-type like Xurkitree. Finally, if it’s Kingdra, go for a Dragon-type like Garchomp.
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.
How to beat 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.
So, there you have it, everything you need to know about the best counters to beat Giovanni and Shadow Regice in Pokemon Go for March 2023.
For all of the best tips and tricks to become the very best, make sure to check out our other guides:
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