Step into November 2025’s Pokémon Go battles fully prepared-Giovanni’s latest lineup is tougher than ever. Discover the ultimate counters and optimal team strategies to claim victory in this month’s high-stakes encounters. Ready to dominate?
How to find Giovanni in Pokémon Go
To find Giovanni in Pokémon Go, you need to complete Special Research tasks that lead you to confront him. He regularly appears as the boss of Team GO Rocket Leader battles, which are accessible through spending Rocket Radars or completing specific Field Research challenges. Keep an eye on the in-game news for updates on Giovanni’s availability and use counters that exploit his current team weaknesses for the best chance to defeat him.
Team Go Rocket boss Giovanni is typically only available to battle while completing Team Go Rocket Special Research. We get a new set of this type of research every few months, typically with a new Shadow legendary Pokémon as a reward at the very end.
From mid-September 2025, this quest is “Psychic Spectacular: Taken Over.”
As part of the quest, after beating all three Team Go Rocket leaders, you’ll get a Super Rocket Radar, allowing you to hunt down Giovanni.
Just like the leaders, Giovanni will appear in Team Go Rocket balloons or at taken over PokéStops with the Super Rocket Radar equipped. He won’t often be in the first that you encounter – there will be decoy grunts along the way – but keep trying and Giovanni will appear.
Once you find him and use the radar, you can battle him as many times as it takes to beat him – as long as you’re within distance of the PokéStop – which is great, because he is typically a pretty tough battle.
Pokémon Go Giovanni team line-up
In November 2025, Giovanni’s team in Pokémon Go continues to challenge even experienced Trainers with its rotating lineup. His current roster begins with his signature powerhouse, Persian, followed by a choice of three potential mid-battle Pokémon, and concludes with his latest Shadow Legendary encounter. Knowing which Pokémon he uses each month is crucial, as his selections change periodically, requiring updated strategies and counters to ensure victory and claim your Shadow Legendary reward.
Currently, Giovanni will have the following team:
- Persian (normal)
- Kangaskhan (normal), Rhyperior (ground/rock), OR Nidoking (poison/ground)
- Tornadus (flying)
You’ll kind of notice that if you bring a fighting-type, a grass-type, and a ground-type Pokémon, you should be mostly set to counter Giovanni this time around due to some nicely shared counters across his team. Not too shabby! For Tornadus, you’ll want ice-, electric-, or rock-type moves. We list some options for you below.
Pokémon Go Giovanni counters
Giovanni remains one of the toughest Team Rocket leaders in Pokémon Go, featuring powerful Pokémon that can challenge even the most prepared trainers. To take him down efficiently in November 2025, focus on strong counters like Mega Ampharos for his Persian, and use high-CP Fighting-type Pokémon such as Lucario or Conkeldurr against his final legendary Pokémon. Bringing Pokémon with moves effective against his lineup and leveraging shields wisely will help you secure victory and earn valuable rewards.
Because there are fewer potential party options for Giovanni than there are for the Rocket leaders, he’s actually easier to plan against, even if his Pokémon are much stronger. You will need to bring the strongest Pokémon you have, in addition to your A-game in order to take him down.
Opening Pokémon (Persian) counters
For Persian, bring a fighting-type Pokémon, such as:
- Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword
- Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch
- Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere
- Conkeldurr with Counter and Dynamic Punch
Second possible Pokémon counters
If he uses Kangaskhan during the second encounter, consider fighting-types such as:
- Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword
- Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch
- Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere
- Conkeldurr with Counter and Dynamic Punch
(Yes, these are the same Pokémon from the recommended list for Persian. You can bring two if Persian ends up taking one of them out.)
If he uses Rhyperior during the second encounter, consider grass-types such as:
- Decidueye with Leafage and Frenzy Plant
- Venusaur with Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
If he uses Nidoking as his second Pokémon, you can use water-, grass-, or ground-types like:
- Kyogre with Waterfall and Hydro Pump
- Primarina with Waterfall and Hydro Cannon
- Kartana with Razor Leaf and Leaf Blade
- Rillaboom with Razor Leaf and Grass Knot
- Groudon with Mud Shot and Precipice Blades
- Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power
Closing Pokémon (Tornadus) counters
For the final encounter against Tornadus, we recommend using an ice- or electric-type Pokémon, such as:
- Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche
- Galarian Darmanitan with Ice Fang and Avalanche
- Zekrom with Charge Beam and Fusion Bolt
- Electivire with Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
Best Pokémon and movesets to counter Shadow Persian in November 2025
The best Pokémon and movesets to counter Shadow Persian in Pokémon GO as of November 2025 are primarily Fighting-type Pokémon, given Shadow Persian’s weakness to Fighting moves.
Top counters include:
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Lucario with Counter (Fast Attack) and Power-Up Punch or Aura Sphere (Charged Attack)
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Conkeldurr with Counter and Dynamic Punch
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Machamp with Counter and Cross Chop
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Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword
These counters use fast-charging Fighting moves like Power-Up Punch and Dynamic Punch to quickly deplete Giovanni’s Persian shield and deal effective damage due to Fighting’s super effectiveness against Normal-type Persian. Using these Pokémon will maximize your efficiency in defeating Shadow Persian during Giovanni encounters.
Which Fighting-type Pokémon deal most DPS vs Shadow Persian
The Fighting-type Pokémon that deal the most DPS (damage per second) against Shadow Persian are, ranked by DPS:
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Mega Lucario with Force Palm (Fast Attack) and Aura Sphere (Charged Attack) – Top DPS at 48.45.
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Mega Blaziken with Counter and Focus Blast – DPS 37.95.
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Lucario with Force Palm and Aura Sphere – DPS 37.52.
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Mega Heracross with Counter and Close Combat – DPS 36.25.
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Shadow Conkeldurr with Counter and Dynamic Punch – DPS 35.99.
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Terrakion with Double Kick and Sacred Sword – DPS 34.96.
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Shadow Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch – DPS 34.42.
These Pokémon combine high DPS with Fighting-type moves that deal 160% damage against Persian, making them the most effective choices for countering Giovanni’s Shadow Persian quickly and efficiently. Moves like Counter, Force Palm, Dynamic Punch, and Aura Sphere are particularly strong in this matchup.
