How To Beat Giovanni In Pokémon GO (September 2026)

Sep 02, 2026 - 01:14

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Encountering Giovanni during the Season of Light in Pokémon GO

Published Sep 1, 2026, 5:30 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.

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September 2026 is another month when Pokémon GO players can challenge the criminal Team Rocket for various rewards. Facing off against Grunts and Leaders in this organization all leads to different Special Research completion, culminating in a chance to face Team Rocket's true mastermind. Leader Giovanni has the strongest team in the group, including a taken-over Legendary, making his battle a huge milestone within the game.

Giovanni is not easy to find, requiring you to complete a variety of tasks to build the Super Rocket Radar item. This device will lead you to several Giovanni decoys, but eventually point toward the real Team Rocket leader. Like past Giovanni challenges in Pokémon GO, Giovanni's team can change based on the Pokémon he's found, yet the structure of his battle always remains the same.

Team Rocket Boss Giovanni Lineup & Counters (September 2026)

Bring The Best Squad Of Pokémon To Defeat Specific Foes

Giovanni's battle is separated into three phases, with each section determined by what Pokémon he decides to use. The first and third waves always feature the same Pokémon every time, but the second wave is unpredictable, as Giovanni could throw out one of three different Pokémon. What Pokémon Giovanni decides to use in Wave 2 is completely random, making it impossible to gather a team for a single outcome.

Every Pokémon Giovanni uses is a Shadow Pokémon, or a stronger version of the normal Pokémon it once was. For example, a Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO has higher health and deals more damage than its usual variant.

One of the best strategies to counter Giovanni's team is to bring Pokémon with strong forms, whether it's final evolutions, Mega Evolutions, or even your own Legendary Pokémon. These Pokémon can make fighting Giovanni a breeze, especially in the first couple of waves. Having a Legendary to fight Giovanni's own captured Legendary can be useful too, as it evens out the strength between both creatures most of the time.

For those looking to build a team of specific counters against Giovanni, check out the table below to see his team and what Pokémon might work best against it:

Wave

Pokémon (Type)

Weaknesses

Best Counters

1	Shadow Persian (Normal-type)	Fighting	Mega Mewtwo X Blaziken Lucario Mega Falinks Heracross
2	Shadow Kangaskhan (Normal-type)	Fighting	Mega Mewtwo X Blaziken Lucario Mega Falinks Heracross
2	Shadow Machamp (Fighting-type)	Psychic, Flying, Fairy	Mega Alakazam Mega Gallade Mega Delphox Mega Skarmory Mega Gardevoir
2	Shadow Rhyperior (Rock/Ground-type)	Ground, Water, Ice, Steel, Grass, Fighting	Mega Starmie Mega Swampert Mega Chesnaught Mega Blastoise Zarude
3	Shadow Reshiram (Fire/Dragon-type)	Dragon, Ground, Rock	Mega Dragonite Garchomp Palkia Salamence Mega Tyranitar

Although Giovanni's team hasn't changed since last month, between August and September 2026, the Pokémon available for players has dramatically increased. After their reveal in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Pokémon GO has added new Mega Evolutions from the spin-off, giving players much stronger counter options than before. Some new Pokémon transformations from Legends: Z-A are perfect against the Team Rocket leader, due to unique typings or general strength.

If you are interested in using a new team that focuses on what Legends: Z-A added, here is an example selection of Pokémon you may want to assemble:

Mega Chesnaught/Dragonite
Blaziken
Garchomp

Blaziken is the ultimate Pokémon to stop Giovanni's Kangaskhan and Persian, with its fast-paced Fighting-type moves exploiting the weaknesses of those Pokémon while it resists Reshiram's Fire-type moves. At the same time, Garchomp can help defeat Reshiram or Machamp, even if it doesn't have a strict type advantage against the latter Pokémon. The ace up your sleeve here is Mega Dragonite or Chesnaught, who can tear through Giovanni's Reshiram or Rhyperior with ease.

Rewards For Beating Rocket Leader Giovanni (September 2026)

Bundles Of Item Rewards Help Players Win Their Next Battles

Pokémon GO Shadow Reshiram from Taken Over event

Players receive 5,000 Stardust for taking down Giovanni, which is already a great reward on its own. However, defeating the Team Rocket leader also allows you to encounter his Shadow Reshiram, giving you an opportunity to add a Legendary to your collection. This Reshiram could be a powerful ally for future battles, including perhaps another battle against Giovanni later down the line.

Most of the Team Rocket battles allow you to capture the ace Shadow Pokémon on that Rocket opponent's team. However, the Shiny odds of any Shadow encounter from those fights are slim, with only a 1 in 64 chance of players finding a Shiny variant.

Along with the Shadow Reshiram, anyone who beats Giovanni also gets three different bundles of items. Mainly battle items meant to be used for Gyms, Raids, or even other Team Rocket fights, there are five unique bundles you could get after Giovanni goes down. Each bundle can stack, meaning players can get one or more combinations of:

4x Revive
4x Max Revive
4x Hyper Potion
4x Max Potion
1x Unova Stone

The Unova Stone perhaps feels the most relevant after Reshiram, yet any of these items could play a key role in your upcoming battles. As events in the game continue in September 2026, more fights are inevitably ahead of players, and perhaps ones that are less predictable than those against Team Rocket. Nevertheless, managing to beat Giovanni in Pokémon GO is no easy feat, and deserves reward just as much as accomplishing another task in the game.