How to Defeat Giovanni in Team GO Rocket Takeover – Pokemon GO

Team GO Rocket Takeover has begun and the map in Pokemon GO is now under the control of Grunts or Leaders. Trainers are tasked with entering skirmishes and purifying as many Shadow Pokemon as possible. At the very end, Trainers will need to defeat Giovanni in order to take his Legendary.

The Team GO Rocket Boss is one of the toughest battles in the game, not only because his team does tons of damage, but also because the battle must be done solo. That means having a decent team to counter Giovanni is integral to his defeat. Keep reading below to see all of the possible Pokemon that Giovanni has and some potential counters.

Pokemon GO – How to Defeat Giovanni in the Team GO Rocket Takeover

Depending on the takeover event, Giovanni can have a different lineup of Pokemon to worry about. This time, the first and third Pokemon will always be the same. You’ll have to roll the dice for the second option, but if you prepare right, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Pokemon #1 – Persian

This is how the battle will always start and it’s a toss-up for how much damage the Persian will do. Sometimes it’s moderate and other times it will shred through your team. Just start this part of the battle with a Fighting-type like Machamp who can do tons of damage and burn through shields super fast. Giovanni will always use shields, so burning them down is incredibly important. Using a Pokemon with long charges can cost you the fight.

Pokemon #2 – Nidoking, Cloyster, Garchomp

On the second Pokemon, you might run into some trouble. Giovanni can throw any one of these three Pokemon out onto the field and they all have different counters. For Nidoking, you’ll want Ground, Water, Ice, or Psychic-types. Against Cloyster, you can opt for Fighting, Grass, Electric, or a Rock-type. Then on Garchomp who may be the toughest, Trainers can go for Ice-types like Mamoswine of Weavile.

Pokemon #3 – Shadow Registeel

While the Team GO Rocket Takeover event is live in Pokemon GO, Giovanni will have Shadow Registeel as his final Pokemon. In this case, Fighting, Fire, or Ground-types will all leave a dent. Charizard, Lucario, and Mamoswine are just a few options that can decimate Registeel and bring you to the Encounter with the Legendary, effectively sending Giovanni away in Pokemon GO.

Related: How to Catch Shiny Rayquaza in Pokemon GO

If you lose the first battle or two, don’t worry because you can just jump right back into the fight. So if you don’t have the right counters, just back out and restart your lineup. Within no time you can easily take Giovanni down.

And that’s all. For more of the latest news, updates, and guides, head over to the dedicated Pokémon GO section of our site.