How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go August 2023: Shadow Regirock counters & weaknesses

Pokemon Go GiovanniNiantic

Giovanni is the final boss of Pokemon Go‘s villainous Team Go Rocket, which means you’re going to need to pull out all the stops to beat him. To help you out, we’ve put together a guide featuring his current lineup of Pokemon, their weaknesses, and the best counters to use on your team.

After you’ve valiantly fought your way through Arlo, Cliff, Sierra, and plenty of Grunts, you’ll finally get the chance to take on Giovanni. The Team Go Rocket Boss is tough competition, so it’s important to take the time to plan ahead if you want to walk away a winner.

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After battling with the Kanto region’s Legendary Mewtwo throughout 2022, Giovanni now has Shadow Regirock in his team. We’re going to break down everything you need to know to help you defeat him and storm to victory on the battlefield.


Contents


Giovanni and Shadow Regirock in Pokemon GoNiantic
The villainous Giovanni has teamed up with Regirock.

Giovanni Pokemon Go lineup (August 2023)

Giovanni’s lineup changes every now and then, but the star of his current team remains Shadow Regirock, which you’ll be able to catch if you manage to defeat him.

Here’s Giovanni’s current lineup in Pokemon Go:

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  • Phase 1: Persian
  • Phase 2: Nidoking / Rhyperior / Garchomp
  • Phase 3: Shadow Regirock

Giovanni’s lineup changes every time there’s a Team Go Rocket Takeover. We don’t know when the next one will take place, but we’ll update this page as soon as it happens.

How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go

Giovanni is an incredibly strong opponent in Pokemon Go, so if you want to defeat him, you’ll need to come prepared with some equally strong counters that can target his team’s weaknesses.

At the start of every battle, Giovanni will always throw out his signature Pokemon, Persian. The second Pokemon he chooses is at random from a pool of three. Finally, you’ll face Shadow Regirock.

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Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 1

Persian, one of Giovanni's phase in Pokemon GoNiantic / The Pokemon Company
Giovanni will always start with Persian in Pokemon Go for his first Phase.

Persian counters

As a Normal-type Pokemon, Persian is weak against Fighting-type attacks and resistant to Ghost-type attacks, making it a lot easier to know exactly which Pokemon to utilize.

Use these counters against Persian in Pokemon Go to stand the best chance of winning:

Persian Counters
Terrakion Pokemon Go Terrakion Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move)
Conkeldurr Conkeldurr Counter (Fast Move) & Focus Blast (Charge Move)
Hariyama Hariyama Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move)
Lucario Lucario Counter (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move)
Machamp Machamp Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move)
Breloom Pokenon Go Breloom Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move)

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Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 2

Phase two of Giovanni's lineupNiantic / The Pokemon Company
Giovanni’s Phase 2 will be Nidoking, Rhyperior, or Garchomp.

Nidoking counters

As a dual Poison/Ground-type Pokemon, Nidoking is weak against Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water-type moves, and resistant to Electric, Poison, Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Rock-type attacks.

Here are some of the best counters to defeat Nidoking:

Nidoking Counters
Mewtwo Pokemon Go Mewtwo Psycho Cut (Fast Move) & Psychic/Psystrike (Charge Move)
Kyogre Kyogre Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move)
Garchomp Garchomp Mud Shot (Fast Move) & Earth Power (Charge Move)
Glaceon Pokemon counter Glaceon Ice Shard (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Galarian Darmanitan Galarian Darmanitan Ice Fang (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Espeon, one of Crobat's best counters for leader Cliff in Pokemon Go Espeon Confusion (Fast Move) & Psychic (Charge Move)

Rhyperior counters

Rhyperior is a dual Ground/Rock-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak to Fighting, Grass, Ground, Ice, Steel, and Water-type attacks but especially weak against Grass and Water-type attacks.

On the other hand, Rhyperior is resistant to Electric, Fire, Flying, Normal, Poison, and Rock-type attacks, so avoid those wherever possible.

Here are some of the best counters to help you defeat Rhyperior:

Rhyperior Counters
Kyogre Kyogre Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move)
Kartana Kartana Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charge Move)
Swampert Swampert Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move)
Samurott Samurott Waterfall (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move)
Kingler Pokemon Go Kingler Bubble (Fast Move) & Crabhammer (Charge Move)
Zarude Zarude Vine Whip (Fast Move) & Power Whip (Charge Move)

Garchomp counters

Garchomp is a dual Dragon/Ground-type Pokemon which means its weaknesses are Dragon, Fairy, and Ice-type attacks. It has particular vulnerability to Ice-type attacks, so focus on those where you can.

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On the other hand, Garchomp is resistant to Electric, Fire, Poison, and Rock-type attacks, so they won’t do much damage at all if you use them in battle.

Here are some of the best Garchomp counters to use:

Garchomp Counters
Articuno in Pokemon Go Articuno Frost Breath (Fast Move) & Ice Breath (Charge Move)
Galarian Darmanitan Galarian Darmanitan Ice Fang (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Mamoswine Pokemon Go Mamoswine Powder Snow (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)
Glaceon Pokemon counter Glaceon Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move)
Dragonite Dragonite Dragon Tail (Fast Move) & Outrage (Charge Move)
Weavile Pokemon Go counters Weavile Ice Share (Fast Move) & Avalanche (Charge Move)

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Giovanni Pokemon Go counters phase 3

Regirock in Giovanni's team in Pokemon GoNiantic / The Pokemon Company
Giovanni’s Phase 3 Pokemon will always be Shadow Regirock.

Shadow Regirock counters

Regirock is a Rock-type Pokemon, which means it’s weak against Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water-type attacks and resistant to Fire, Flying, Normal, and Poison-type attacks.

These are some of the top counters to defeat Regirock in battle:

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Regirock Counters
Terrakion Pokemon Go Terrakion Double Kick (Fast Move) & Sacred Sword (Charge Move)
Kartana Kartana Razor Leaf (Fast Move) & Leaf Blade (Charge Move)
Kyogre Kyogre Waterfall (Fast Move) & Origin Pulse (Charge Move)
Swampert Swampert Water Gun (Fast Move) & Hydro Cannon (Charge Move)
Lucario Lucario Counter (Fast Move) & Aura Sphere (Charge Move)
Conkeldurr Conkeldurr Counter (Fast Move) & Dynamic Punch (Charge Move)

Giovanni packs a punch and will be much harder to defeat than the other Team Go Rocket Leaders. It’s not enough to have the right counters with the best movesets – you also need to make sure they’re powered up enough to take on the challenge.

If you don’t see any Pokemon that you own in the tables above, simply choose your strongest Pokemon that can target each of Giovanni’s weaknesses. You can also take a look at our weaknesses chart and match it accordingly to what you have.

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Best team to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go

Galarian Darmanitan, Terrakion, and Kyogre appearing in the best team to beat Giovanni in Pokemon GoNiantic / The Pokemon Company
The right team will make defeating Giovanni a lot easier.

One of the best teams you can use to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go right now is Terrakion, Kyogre, and Galarian Darmanitan. While Giovanni’s previous team didn’t have much crossover when it came to weaknesses, his new lineup is actually pretty easy to prepare for.

The first thing you’ll want on your team is a strong Fighting-type like Terrakion, as Giovanni’s first Pokemon will always be Persian and its only weakness is Fighting-type attacks. Regirock also has a weakness to Fighting-types, so Terrakion has double the potential here.

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Next up, we’d recommend a powerful Water-type Pokemon like Kyogre. With this Legendary on your team, you’ll be able to target three of Giovanni’s potential Pokemon: Nidoking, Rhyperior, and Regirock. All three of these are vulnerable to Water-type attacks, especially Rhyperior.

The only member of Giovanni’s lineup not covered by those two Pokemon is Garchomp, so your final team member should be dedicated to this fearsome opponent. The good news is that it’s extra-weak to Ice-type attacks, so choose a strong Ice-type Pokemon like Galarian Darmanitan.

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The good thing about battling Giovanni (or any other Team Go Rocket member) is that you can rematch as many times as you need to until you win, so if you’ve brought a team that isn’t working you can simply readjust and try again.

How to find Giovanni in Pokemon Go

The only way to track down Giovanni is to work your way through a Team Go Rocket-related Special Research quest, like Shadowy Skirmishes. You’ll be able to claim these quests after you reach Level 8.

These Special Research quests require you to defeat multiple Grunts as well as the individual Leaders Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo. Once you’ve done all of these, you’ll eventually be given a Super Rocket Radar.

Equip the Super Rocket Radar, and you’ll be able to track down Giovanni’s hideout and battle him!

How to beat Team Leaders in Pokemon Go

If you’re looking to take on the other Team Go Rocket Leaders, check out our guide to take down Arlo, our guide to defeat Cliff, and finally, our guide to beat Sierra.

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So, there you have it, everything you need to know about the best counters to beat Giovanni and Shadow Regirock in Pokemon Go for August 2023.

For all of the best tips and tricks to become the very best, make sure to check out our other guides:

Spotlight Hour schedule | Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Best Eevee evolution in Pokemon Go | Current Raid Bosses | Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Egg chart | How to get Remote Raid PassesHow to catch a Ditto in Pokemon Go | Pokemon Go shop contents | Promo codes for free items | Rocket Grunt counters

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