Pokémon GO: How to beat Giovanni

Team GO Rocket boss Giovanni has returned to Pokémon GO in May 2025 with a fresh line-up, fielding a mightily angry Shadow Dialga in battle as his Legendary Pokémon.

You’ll need to face and defeat his underlings Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra to get your hands on a Super Rocket Radar from the current Rocket Special Research before you can battle Giovanni. Once you’ve collected and activated this rare piece of hardware, you can find the suave-looking villain waiting for you at a nearby PokéStop. Alternatively, he'll approach you from the air by riding a Rocket Balloon.

Once you’ve defeated Giovanni, you’ll be able to complete your Rocket Special Research and catch his current Legendary companion — as of the Crown Clash: Taken Over event in May 2025 that’s Shadow Dialga.

This guide will tell you how to beat Giovanni in Pokémon GO in 2025 with Dialga as his Legendary Pokémon.

Giovanni’s current Pokémon

Giovanni always starts a battle with his beloved and majestic Persian, ending it with his trump card, Dialga. He has a couple of Pokémon to choose from for the second position, which is randomly determined before the battle.

• Slot #1: Persian
• Slot #2: Kangaskhan / Rhyperior / Nidoking
• Slot #3: Dialga

Best counters to Giovanni's Persian in Pokémon GO

Persian is a Normal-type, which means you'll want to use Fighting-type moves to cause the greatest amount of damage. It's recommended to use a Pokémon with quick energy generation first to exhaust the opponent's shields early on.

• Lucario (Fighting, Steel): Counter, Power-Up Punch, Aura Sphere
• Machamp (Fighting): Counter, Close Combat, Stone Edge
• Conkeldurr (Fighting): Counter, Dynamic Punch, Focus Blast

Best counters to Giovanni's Kangaskhan in Pokémon GO

Kangaskhan is another Normal-type Pokémon, so you’d be quite lucky to face it following the opening skirmish against Persian — whichever Pokémon you used to tame the cat will do fine against this one.

• Lucario (Fighting, Steel): Counter, Power-Up Punch, Aura Sphere
• Machamp (Fighting): Counter, Close Combat, Stone Edge
• Conkeldurr (Fighting): Counter, Dynamic Punch, Focus Blast

Best counters to Giovanni's Rhyperior in Pokémon GO

Rhyperior shares some weaknesses with Nidoking, making Water- or Ice-type attackers a fantastic choice to cover two of Giovanni's options for the second slot at once.

• Kyogre (Water): Waterfall, Surf, Origin Pulse
• Swampert (Water, Ground): Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Earthquake
• Mamoswine (Ground, Ice): Powder Snow, Avalanche, High Horsepower

Best counters to Giovanni's Nidoking in Pokémon GO

Giovanni's iconic Nidoking can be countered by Ground-, Ice-, Psychic-, and Water-type moves, so your counter choice can be identical to the one you’d send out against Rhyperior.

• Kyogre (Water): Waterfall, Surf, Origin Pulse
• Swampert (Water, Ground): Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Earthquake
• Mamoswine (Ground, Ice): Powder Snow, Avalanche, High Horsepower

Best counters to Giovanni's Dialga in Pokémon GO

Fortunately, Dialga unifies the weakness of Giovanni’s first and second slots, making Fighting- as well as Ground-type Pokémon fantastic options against it.

• Lucario (Fighting, Steel): Counter, Power-Up Punch, Aura Sphere
• Excadrill (Ground, Steel): Mud-Slap, Scorching Sands, Earthquake
• Groudon (Ground): Mud Shot, Precipice Blades, Earthquake

In short: Defeating Giovanni and Shadow Dialga is easiest by fielding a team consisting of one Fighting-type, one Water-type, and one Ground-type Pokémon.