Pokemon Go’s infamous Team Rocket leader, Giovanni remains in the game to fight with the legendary Shadow Lugia in February 2022.
With the correct combination of counters, you’ll be able to beat Giovanni along with your Shadow Pokemon in no time.
Giovanni from Team Rocket is a tough opponent in Pokémon Go, so it’s important to know how to beat him.
In November 2021, during the Festival of Lights event, Giovanni came back to this game with a new group of tough opponents.
After going up against one of the Legendary Bird Trio in Kanto at the start of 2021, Giovanni now has Shadow Lugia on his team.
We’ll talk about what we know about his team, where they’re weak, and the best ways to beat them.
Beating Giovanni in Pokemon GO
Trainers need to use their best Pokemon in fight and upgrade their counters to be able to beat both Giovanni and Shadow Lugia.
Also, you’ll need to know how he lines up and make sure your team is strong enough to take advantage of his weaknesses.
When Giovanni uses his Lugia to beat his Lugia in the third phase, his Pokemon will be pretty easy to beat in the first two phases. Giovanni is expected to bring the following team to battle:
- Phase 1: Persian
- Phase 2: Kingler / Rhyperior / Nidoking
- Phase 3: Shadow Lugia
The Most Effective Giovanni Pokemon Counters/phases
His initial Pokemon, the Persian, is not a good combat-type Pokemon So any Pokemon could be appropriate in this initial encounter.
But five Pokemon are the best by their fast and powerful Moving styles to be considered.
- Lucario: Counter (Fast Move), Aura Sphere (Charged Move)
- Melmetal: Thunder Shock (Fast Move), Thunderbolt (Charged Move)
- Machamp: Counter (Fast Move), Cross Chop (Charged Move)
- Rhyperior: Mud Slap (Fast Move), Stone Edge (Charged Move)
- Conkeldurr: Counter (Fast Move), Dynamic Punch (Charged Move)
The next task is to take on his Kingler and Rhyperior and Nidoking lineup.
Kingler and Rhyperior can be quickly handled with the same lineup making this fight considerably easier to fight.
It also means that Trainers have an excellent probability of bringing an exciting new Pokemon to the field after Giovanni releases Nidoking.
- Thundurus (Therian Form): Volt Switch (Fast Move), Thunderbolt (Charged Move)
- Zarude: Vine Whip (Fast Move), Power Whip (Charged Move)
- Roserade: Razor Leaf (Fast Move), Solar Beam / Grass Knot (Charged Move)
- Raikou: Volt Switch (Fast Move), Wild Charge (Charged Move)
If Giovanni releases Nidoking You’ll need to carry Groundwater, Ground Psychic as well as Ice Pokemon to fight this battle.
Since certain types of Pokemon are fairly popular They should have no issue defending against Nidoking’s attacks in they meet in their Shadow Lugia encounter.
- Swampert: Mud Shot (fast Move), Hydro Cannon (Charged Move)
- Kyogre: Waterfall (Fast Move), Surf (Charged Move)
- Mewtwo: Psycho Cut (Fast Move), Psystrike (Charged Move)
- Garchomp: Mud Shot (Fast Move), Earth Power (Charged Move)
Then, we get to Shadow Lugia battle in which it’s vulnerable against Rock, Ghost, Electric, Ice, and Dark-type Pokemon. Utilizing a ground or fighting type Pokemon will not be a good idea for trainers in this particular battle, particularly since Lugia is quite powerful.
Large counters can benefit trainers but it can result in losing HP quickly and having very low Defense statistics if you know the best Pokemon to choose from. The presence of one or two Legendary Pokemon can help alleviate this issue and help boost the counters of Shadow Lugia.
- Zacian: Snarl (Fast Move), Wild Charge (Charged Move)
- Rhyperior: Smack Down (Fast Move), Rock Wrecker (Charged Move)
- Magnezone: Volt Switch (Fast Move), Wild Charge (Charged Move)
- Melmetal: Thunder Shock (Fast Move), Rock Slide (Charged Move)
- Yveltal: Snarl (Fast Move), Dark Pulse (Charged Move)
It is important to remember the fact that Rhyperior and Melmetal were previously mentioned in counters, therefore it’s best not to utilize these counters if Shadow Lugia is significantly damaged through other Pokemon.
When the Pokemon is utilized during the initial phase of the battle, it can be brought into the fight with Shadow Lugia.
The Best Team to Beat Giovanni
The team you fight with must be based on the Trainers’ style of play. With all kinds of Pokemon that are recommended to bring to the field, trainers should only take the three most effective Pokemon.
- Phase 1: Machomp
- Phase 2:Kyogre
- Phase 3: Magnezone
Machomp will be able to deal with Persian and could be used later in the fight. Kyogre’s dual abilities are efficient when battling Kingler, Rhyperior, or Nidoking.
Magnezone is a great alternative to Shadow Lugia If your Machomp is healthy it is likely that the Pokemon will be able to take on Shadow Lugia.
If trainers are unable to defeat Giovanni in their first attempt You can ask for a second match immediately.
This could be a chance for Trainers to shake their strategies for fighting and utilize the most effective counters to capitalize on Giovanni’s weaknesses to overcome Giovanni.
2nd Best Team to Defeat Giovanni in Pokemon Go
One of the most effective teams you could utilize to take on Giovanni can be Tyranitar, Kyogre, and Magnezone.
Tyranitar can help you take the battle to Persian easily as well as be used as a backup when fighting Lugia.
Then, Kyogre is extremely effective in defeating two of Giovanni’s likely third Pokemon, Nidoking and Rhyperior.
Complete your team with Magnezone which is a fantastic counter to the two Pokemon, Kingler as well as Lugia.
How to Find Giovanni in Pokemon Go?
Before you attempt to locate Giovanni You’ll need to follow these steps:
- Beat the Team Rocket Grunts at PokeStops to collect six Mysterious Components and earn the Team Rocket Radar.
- Get the Radar and eliminate the additional Team GO Rocket Leaders, Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra (you’ll discover them at PokeStops or floating over on the ground with hot balloons).
- Be sure you finish Special Research tasks such as removing others in the team, beating Grunts or others Team Rocket tasks until you are awarded the Super Rocker Radar.
- Use it It’s up to you to look through several PokeStops to eliminate any possibilities of Giovannis that are decoys until you find the actual one.
How do you be able to beat the Team Leaders of Pokemon Go?
So, there you have it, everything you need to know about the best counters to beat Giovanni and Shadow Lugia in Pokemon Go.
