How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go: Best counters, team lineup, and strategy (January 2025)

The Team Rocket boss, Giovanni, knows his way around the battlefield, especially with his elite ensemble of creatures. We’re here to help you defeat him in Pokémon Go by showing you the best Giovanni counters, team lineup, and strategies for January 2025.

How to defeat Giovanni in Pokémon Go

Once you activate the Super Rocket Radar, you can pinpoint Giovanni’s location at PokéStops or Team Rocket balloons. His lineup recently changed with the Adventure Week update, showcasing his new ace Pokémon, Shadow Cresselia. Before heading into battle, it’s essential to equip the right team members. Depending on your Pokémon Go selection, here are a few ways you can decide on a group for Giovanni:

Best team lineup for Giovanni in Pokémon Go

You can equip Machamp/Lucario, Tyranitar, and Xerneas to get the best team lineup for Giovanni in Pokémon Go. The first round mandates a Fighting Type Pokémon, where Machamp or Lucario comes into play. Both Pokémon effectively counter Giovanni’s Persian and Kangaskhan, who are vulnerable to Fighting-type Pokémon.

Xerneas can be used for the other two second-round possibilities, with Honchkrow and Kingdra. As a Dark and Dragon-type, respectively, both are weak to Xerneas’ Fairy-type attacks. Once these two are down, you can send Tyranitar against Shadow Cresselia. Tyranitar will resist most of the corrupted Lunar Pokémon attacks as a Dark-type, so you should have enough of an advantage to score a win. It can also be helpful for Honchkrow, which has an additional weakness in its rock-type moves.

If you don’t have any of these Pokémon in your collection, we’ll give you a few alternatives to counter Giovanni:

Best counters against Giovanni in Pokémon Go

No matter what, Persian will always be the first Pokémon shown in Giovanni’s fight. So, taking advantage of its weakness in Fighting Types is best. The three most popular choices amongst the community for this match are Annihilape, Machamp, and Lucario. Plus, these creatures can go against Kangaskhan, allowing you to hit two birds with one stone.

The next round could bring out Honchkrow, Kangaskhan, or Kingdra. Kangaskhan and Honchkrow share a weakness with Fairy Types like Xerneas. But since getting a Legendary is pretty challenging, you can opt for other Fairy creatures, such as Togekiss. While Electric-types can be helpful in this battle, only Honchkrow has this weakness.

As the last boss of Pokémon Go’s Giovanni battle, Shadow Cresselia will increase the challenge even further. Use Dark, Bug, or Ghost Types against this formidable foe. Besides Tyranitar, Incineroar is an excellent alternative, but the others on the list can prove just as viable.