Giovanni is a tough foe, and a lot of players struggle to take him down. With the right Pokémon, it is possible to defeat this opponent - and you are free to fight it multiple times once it appears. We'll share any tips we can to help you win below and help you claim your first Legendary Shadow Pokémon. Anyone Can Do It, You Just Need The Right Strategy.
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How to fight Giovanni
Before you can fight Giovanni, you must summon him. Summoning Giovanni is a complicated process, so let's break it down to make the steps as easy as possible. Team Rocket Balls will only appear for level 35+ players.
- Defeat Team Rocket Grunts in balloons or overgrown Pokestops to earn mysterious components. Use 6 mysterious components to craft 1 rocket radar.
- Use Rocket Radar to summon Team Rocket Leaders into balloons. Repeat the process to fight the three rocket team leaders and complete the special search "Looming In The Shadows" and get the Super Rocket radar.
- Use the Super Rocket Radar to summon Giovanni into a balloon.
Once you've summoned Giovanni by equipping and activating the Super Rocket Radar, you'll be able to fight his Pokémon team. You can only summon Giovanni once per month. He's a tough opponent, so here are my recommendations for fighting him.
Giovanni's battle tips
- Giovanni's Pokémon Team
Giovanni has only slight variations in his lineup of Pokémon. It will always send the Persian first and Raikou last, and can have Cloyster, Hippowdon, or Steelix as a second Pokémon.
To counter Persian, I recommend Machamp () for a quick Persian defeat. Giovanni will raise shields early, so Machamp's Cross-Chop is ideal for clearing those shields with multiple hits. A strong Machamp will quickly finish the first round.
The second round is when the going gets tough. Giovanni will summon Rhyperior, Steelix, or Kingler - fight Giovanni once as a test to see what his second Pokemon is, then adjust your team accordingly. Rhyperior is weak to fight, so that you can continue to use Machamp or switch to a Water or Grass type. Steelix is also weak in Combat / Ground / Water, and Kingler is weak for Grass / Electric. With the right team, you can cover multiple matches.
The final fight is always against the Monthly Legendary Pokémon - it changes every month. For now, the opponent is Entei so a Pokémon with strong Water / Rock / Ground type attacks will win.
To make your life easier, you can start each turn with a tough Pokémon that can absorb damage, then quickly swap out for a new Pokémon to spread the damage. Giovanni needs to take a break after a quick exchange, so that you can launch a few attacks immediately.
With the right combinations, anyone can beat Giovanni and claim the legendary monthly Shadow Pokémon. Good luck, trainers!
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