Pokemon GO keys to beat Giovanni: From best counters to weakness

By Chris Burns/July 16, 2020 1:49 pm EST

Pokemon GO has a Team Rocket leader by the name of Giovanni in the game right this minute, and you're going to need to know how to beat him to go for the gold. This Pokemon GO master of evil has several different sets of potential Pokemon to choose from, so you're going to need to know all the possibilities – and it begins with Persian!

Giovanni's Pokemon

Team GO Rocket, or Team Rocket in Pokemon GO, has a wide variety of Pokemon you'll need to knock out. Giovanni has three potential sets of Pokemon he'll be able to choose from. His first Pokemon is always Persian. The second Pokemon in his lineup is one of three: Dugtrio, Nidoking, or Garchomp. The last Pokemon on Giovanni's team is always Suicune.

To beat Giovanni

If you're attempting to win in a battle against Giovanni in Pokemon GO, you've got a few options. You could just use your most massively powerful Pokemon. For many players, that's their only option. For you, though, the Pokemon master – you've got options.

Persian is weak against Fighting Pokemon moves and is highly resistant to Ghost Pokemon moves. If you have a Melmetal with Thunder Shock and either Thunderbolt or Super Power, use that! Otherwise, pick from the list:

Best Pokemon VS Persian:

• Melmetal

• Machamp

• Rhyperior (or Rhyhorn)

• Conkeldurr

• Lucario

• Regirock, Aggron, Giratina (non-Ghost moves)

Against Dugtrio you'll do well to pick a completely different Pokemon than you used above. Dugtrio is weak against Grass, Water, and Ice moves. Dugtrio is especially resistant to Electric, Poison, and Rock moves.

Best Pokemon VS Dugtrio:

• Gyarados

• Togekiss (or Togetic)

• Tropius

• Torterra

• Articuno

If you see Nidoking instead, you'll be battling a Pokemon that's weak against Ground, Water, Psychic, and Ice type moves. Nidoking is extra resistant to Electric and Poison moves.

Best Pokemon VS Nidoking:

• Empoleon

• Jirachi

• Dialga

• Kyogre

• Excadrill

Garchomp is particularly weak against Dragon, Fairy, and Ice moves. Avoid using Electric Pokemon to try to beat Garchomp – it's super resistant to Electric type moves!

Best Pokemon VS Garchomp:

• Togekiss (or Togetic)

• Articuno

• Gardevoir

• Dragonite

• Granbull

And for the most terrifying of dog-like creatures, Suicune, you're going to have a tough time matching up Pokemon in the lists above with what's best here. Suicune is weak against Electric and Grass type moves. Suicune is extra resistant against Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water type moves.

Best Pokemon VS Suicune:

• Raikou

• Magnezone

• Mew (Volt Switch and Wild Charge)

• Kyurem

• Mewtwo (Psycho Cut and Thunderbolt)

Strategy

Pick a Fighting type Pokemon VS Persian, then pick an ICE type Pokemon to take on the second round of Pokemon on Giovanni's team. All three possibilities on the squad in the second round are extra weak against Ice type moves. Water type moves are also good to bring to the party as the first two possible Pokemon in tier 2 are weak against water, and Garchomp has no special resistance against Water.

The big trick here is to pick a completely different Pokemon VS Suicune. You'll be pretty much set to beat the other two rounds with a super powerful Ice or Water type Pokemon, but once you get to Suicune, you've got a Pokemon that's extra resistant to Ice and Water (and Steel and Fire).

Here you'll want that one particularly powerful Electric or Grass Pokemon on your team. You might just want to go with a powerful Grass type Pokemon since no Pokemon in the entire collection here is especially resistant to Grass, and two of the three round 2 Pokemon are weak against Grass. So bring the heat – leafy style!