How To Beat Giovanni In Pokémon GO (August 2026)
There are few foes as intimidating as Giovanni from Pokémon GO, mainly due to how unpredictable the Team Rocket mastermind's team of Pokémon can be. Without the right counters, you won't be able to claim the various rewards offered for taking down Giovanni, which include a rare Pokémon to catch for yourself. However, when you muster the right team to challenge Giovanni, he can be much easier to defeat.
There have not been any new "Taken Over" events revolving around Team Rocket this month, so Giovanni's past team remains the same, along with his battle requirements. Players must participate in Special Research and defeat other Team Rocket leaders to acquire the Super Rocket Radar, which will help them track down Giovanni. After fighting some decoys, Giovanni will appear, allowing you to fight him until you achieve victory.
Team Rocket Boss Giovanni Lineup & Counters (August 2026)
Follow Old Patterns By Picking Pokémon With Specific Type Advantages
Giovanni uses a team entirely composed of Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO, which sport higher damage and health compared to "normal" pocket monsters. This makes type match-ups even more strict than usual, as one super-effective attack could spell a knockout for a Pokémon on your team. Bringing Mega Evolutions, Legendary Pokémon, or Shadow Pokémon of your own is a great way to deal with Giovanni, as it gives you the strongest creatures to contend with his enhanced ones.
Pokémon with more than one type are very useful in fights against Giovanni, as the Team Rocket leader tends to rarely use a consistent spread of Pokémon that only one element can counter.
Players who contend with Giovanni have to make it past three waves of Pokémon opponents, including one Shadow Legendary Pokémon the criminal leader has sided with. Giovanni's first and third waves are always the same Pokémon, but the second wave is randomized, featuring one of three different Pokémon Giovanni could use. The variety in this wave makes Giovanni unpredictable, meaning your team has to be prepared for every possible outcome.
The table below goes over every Pokémon on Giovanni's team for August 2026, including what counters work best against them to help assemble your own team:
|
Wave |
Pokémon (Type) |
Weaknesses |
Best Counters |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Shadow Persian (Normal-type) |
Fighting |
|
|
2 |
Shadow Machamp (Fighting-type) |
Psychic, Fairy, Flying |
|
|
2 |
Shadow Rhyperior (Ground/Rock-type) |
Ground, Water, Ice, Steel, Grass, Fighting |
|
|
2 |
Shadow Kangaskhan (Normal-type) |
Fighting |
|
|
3 |
Shadow Reshiram (Fire/Dragon-type) |
Dragon, Ground, Rock |
|
It may be best to bring at least one Fighting and Ground-type to the battle against Giovanni, as those types will help counter multiple Pokémon on his team. Giovanni's Shadow Reshiram is by far his strongest Pokémon, so having a Pokémon resistant to Fire or Dragon-type attacks is also a great strategy for winning. Water-types or Rock-types have strong resistances to almost everything Giovanni's team can do, except for his Shadow Machamp.
For those having a hard time putting a team together, here's an example group of three Pokemon you can use to fight against Giovanni in August 2026:
- (Shadow) Rhyperior
- (Shadow) Palkia
- (Shadow) Salamence
This team consists of powerful dual-type Pokémon in Pokémon GO who can outspeed or outlast any of Giovanni's Pokémon, while also taking advantage of key weaknesses. For example, a Rhyperior can deal heavy damage to Shadow Reshiram, while using its Rock-type affinity to take reduced damage from the Legendary's attacks. At the same time, Palkia is a great Legendary of your own to use, countering Giovanni's Rhyperior and Reshiram simultaneously.
Meanwhile, having Salamence is great for Reshiram too, but also against some of Giovanni's second wave options. Salamence can easily take out Giovanni's Machamp, while a Rhyperior can resist Shadow Kangaskhan or a rival Rhyperior. With Palkia covering your tracks with overwhelming Water and Dragon-type moves, Giovanni's team will fall to yours quickly.
Rewards For Beating Rocket Leader Giovanni (August 2026)
Claim Various Items And One Legendary Encounter
Defeating Giovanni will grant you 5,000 Stardust right away, giving you a good amount of in-game currency to spend as you please. The biggest reward, though, comes from what happens to Giovanni's Shadow Reshiram after you beat it. Players who defeat Giovanni get a chance to capture Shadow Reshiram for themselves, in a special encounter that takes place right after the battle.
Shadow Reshiram has a 1.5% to be a Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon GO, but it may take multiple battles against this version of Giovanni's team to unlock such a rare variant.
Taking down Giovanni also grants players one of three item bundles, which can stack together for large collections of useful tools. Unfortunately, Giovanni no longer drops a Strange Egg as he did in the past, leaving players only with various battle items. The items you can get in the reward bundles from Giovanni's defeat include:
- 4x Revive
- 4x Max Revive
- 4x Hyper Potion
- 4x Max Potion
- 1x Unova Stone
Capturing Shadow Reshiram makes the Unova Stone seem like an apt reward, but you get these bundles randomly once Giovanni has been beaten. There is an equal chance to get any individual item bundle, so don't worry about getting one more often than another. With no "Taken Over" events planned for August 2026 as of this time of writing, it's doubtful Giovanni's team will change anytime soon in Pokémon GO, giving you a great opportunity to gain these rewards through familiar opponents.