How To Beat Giovanni In Pokémon GO (October 2026)

Published Oct 1, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT Matthew Danielson is a Senior Gaming Staff Writer for Screen Rant, using their expertise in fighting games, RPGs, and action titles to provide insight into your favorite experiences. Matthew does a bit of everything, including helping ideate new content surrounding the hottest games and classics that continue to stoke nostalgia. With multiple years of experience, Matthew is your go-to expert on a variety of topics, from detailed fighting game experience to the most nuanced builds for your favorite RPG. Matthew has worked for Screen Rant as a Gaming Senior Staff Writer since August 2022, and has been proud to release many articles that have helped people with unique problems while playing games. As a long-time fan of TTRPG games, Matthew is also a veteran DM for Dungeons and Dragons, having hosted numerous campaigns over nearly a decade. When it comes to Giovanni in Pokémon GO, the Team Rocket mastermind's team is one of the toughest to beat in a Pokémon battle. This is due to the sheer strength of Giovanni’s team, which tends to include a Legendary Pokémon he indoctrinated. However, random elements in the battle can also throw you off, making it hard to assemble a team of counters to overcome Giovanni's challenge. To fight Giovanni in the first place, you have to complete Special Rocket Research and defeat other members of Team Rocket with various Pokémon. Special Research will lead you to construct the Super Rocket Radar, a device that tracks down Giovanni once it learns to see through multiple of his decoys. The radar will let you challenge the real Giovanni as many times as you want until you win. Team Rocket Boss Giovanni Lineup & Counters (October 2026) New Taken Over Event Means A Fresh Team For The Rocket Criminal The beginning of October 2026 immediately kicks off with a Taken Over event, which sees all the Pokémon teams for Team Rocket change. Giovanni's other leaders, including Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra in Pokémon GO, now gain new Pokémon that reflect the Harvest Festival event taking place at the same time. This requires players to adjust their game plan against every Team Rocket foe until another Taken Over event comes along. Every member of Team Rocket's leadership uses Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO, as those pocket monsters are alternate forms of familiar creatures with stronger stats and powers compared to their normal selves. The previous version of Giovanni from last month had captured a Legendary from the Unova region, a trend he follows once again this time around. Bringing a Legendary Pokémon of your own to this battle is recommended, as it can usually match the power of whatever creature Giovanni has on his side this time. Similarly, Mega Evolutions and any other final form Pokémon on your roster can contend with the strongest Pokémon Giovanni wields. Giovanni's team consists of three waves, with the first and third wave always seeing the Team Rocket leader use the same Pokémon, no matter how many times you fight him. However, the second Pokémon on Giovanni's team is randomly selected from a group of three choices, easily throwing off counter plans if you aren't prepared. You have to pick a team that can broadly take down all of Giovanni's options equally. The table below goes over all of Giovanni's Pokémon for October 2026, including some counters that may exploit their weaknesses best: Wave Pokémon (Type) Weaknesses Best Counters 1 Shadow Persian (Normal-type) Fighting Mega Lucario Shadow Blaziken Mega Falinks Keldeo Mega Heracross 2 Shadow Machamp (Fighting-type) Fairy, Flying, Psychic Mega Mewtwo Mega Staraptor Mega Gallade Mega Alakazam Mega Salamence 2 Shadow Kangaskhan (Normal-type) Fighting Mega Lucario Shadow Blaziken Mega Falinks Keldeo Mega Heracross 2 Shadow Rhyperior (Ground/Rock-type) Ground, Water, Ice, Steel, Grass, Fighting Mega Chesnaught Mega Sceptile Mega Swampert Shadow Kyogre Mega Starmie 3 Shadow Zekrom (Electric/Dragon-type) Dragon, Fairy, Ground, Ice Mega Dragonite Mega Garchomp White/Black Kyurem Shadow Excadrill Shadow Mamoswine Ground-types are incredibly useful for fighting Giovanni this month, as they can negate the Electric-type attacks of the Shadow Zekrom, making it far less of a scary opponent. At the same time, having a good Fairy-type can get through some of Giovanni's Pokémon too, especially his Machamp and Zekrom under the right circumstances. Fighting, Water, Grass, and Ice are good elements for this fight too, as they all provide a counter to at least one of Giovanni's Pokémon. Here's a good example of a team to try if you're struggling to figure out which squad would work best against Giovanni: (Mega) Gallade Garchomp Swampert Both Garchomp and Swampert have the Ground-type to nullify Zekrom, but they also have very favorable match-ups against Giovanni's Rhyperior. Using a Mega version of Gallade can instantly be great against Giovanni's Machamp, Persian, and Kangaskhan, as the dual type Pokémon in Pokémon GO has the Psychic and Fighting types to deal super effective damage against those team members. Rewards For Beating Rocket Leader Giovanni (October 2026) Gain One Rare Encounter And Several Useful Battle Items You obtain 5,000 Stardust for beating Giovanni as your Super Rocket Radar gets used up, but this is far from the only reward you receive for your victory. Players who beat Giovanni gain a special encounter with his Shadow Zekrom, at least during this month. This gives you a chance to catch Zekrom for yourself, giving you a truly powerful Unova Pokémon to wield in other battles, such as Raids or Gym defenses. Winners also get three different item bundles for taking down Giovanni, which can stack with each other for even larger rewards. Among the items you can get, the following are the different bundles gained randomly when your Pokémon triumph: 4x Revive 4x Max Revive 4x Hyper Potion 4x Max Potion 1x Unova Stone With several new events planned for this month besides Taken Over, it's highly unlikely that Giovanni's team will change again before the month ends. Fighting the Team Rocket leader is always challenging in its own way, so it may take you multiple attempts to claim the rewards mentioned here. Thankfully, since the Radar is only consumed when you win, you can challenge Giovanni in Pokémon GO as many times as you want in October 2026 until you beat him. Systems Released July 6, 2016 ESRB e Developer(s) Niantic Publisher(s) Niantic Engine Unity Multiplayer Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op Cross-Platform Play Yes