In Pokémon Go, you'll find that to get specific Pokémon, you'll have to defeat the Team GO Rocket grunts and bosses. The leaders (Cliff, Arlo, Sierra, and Giovanni) are often the most difficult, but provide the greatest rewards. In this guide, we will focus on how to defeat Giovanni and which counters are best against his new Pokémon.
Quick Notes
- The counters we include aren't synonymous with weaknesses. Sometimes these counters will be mentioned for things other than being the opponent's weakness. Other examples may include their movesets or the fact that they're naturally resistant to their opponent.
- These lists are not ranked from best to worst. While we can provide the best counters to use in any match, there is no guarantee which order they should fall. The effectiveness of each Pokémon largely depends on your play style and battle technique. This being the case, we have instead opted to list the counters alphabetically.
- Best team setup: There are a few Pokémon types that we recommend adding to your team, since they do well against many of the Pokémon in Giovanni's lineup. It's best to have some combination of the team listed below. Still, if you only have two of them, hold fairly well against him.
- Any strong Electric Pokémon
- Any strong Water or Ground Pokémon
- Any strong Fighting Pokémon
Round 1 Pokémon
The following list has all the options for this gym leader to use as their first Pokémon.
Persian
- Type: Normal
- Weak Against: Fighting
- Resistant Against: Ghost
- Notes: If you don't have any of the Pokémon listed below, we recommend using a Fighting Pokémon against Persian since it does well against many of Giovanni's other Pokémon.
| Pokémon | Fast Attack | Charge Attack |
|---|---|---|
| Conkeldurr | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
| Lucario | Counter | Aura Sphere |
| Machamp | Counter | Cross Chop |
| Hariyama | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
| Blaziken | Counter | Focus Blast |
Round 2 Pokémon
The following list has all the options for this gym leader to use as their second Pokémon.
Nidoking
- Type: Poison, Ground
- Weak Against: Ground, Ice, Psychic, Water
- Resistant Against: Electric, Poison, Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Rock
| Pokémon | Fast Attack | Charge Attack |
|---|---|---|
| Landorus | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
| Hoopa | Confusion | Psychic |
| Kyogre | Waterfall | Surf |
| Metagross | Zen Headbutt | Psychic |
| Mewtwo | Psycho Cut | Psystrike |
Round 3 Pokémon
The following list has all the options for this gym leader to use as their third Pokémon.
Lugia
- Type: Psychic, Flying
- Weak Against: Dark, Electric, Ghost, Ice, Rock
- Resistant Against: Fighting, Ground, Grass, Psychic
- Notes: Electric Pokémon are weak against a couple of Giovanni's other Pokémon, but they are great against Lugia. It's best to charge your Electric Pokémon early, then swing hard when Lugia comes out.
| Pokémon | Fast Attack | Charge Attack |
|---|---|---|
| Zekrom | Charge Beam | Wild Charge |
| Thundurus | Volt Switch | Thunderbolt |
| Magnezone | Spark | Wild Charge |
| Electivire | Thundershock | Wild Charge |
| Raikou | Thundershock | Wild Charge |
Once you've found Giovanni (which is no easy task!), you'll now be equipped to handle his Pokémon in battle! Check back with this page for occasional updates when they update Pokémon Go!
Want to see how to counter Pokémon of each type? Check out our lists of Water Pokémon Weaknesses!
So, Could I Use A Magneton Instead Of Magnezone Cuz I dont Have A Magenetic lure