The first players of Pokémon GO have encountered the boss of Team GO Rocket. They fought against Giovanni after they were able to complete further stages of the special research.
This is how to face Giovanni: To battle the boss of Team Rocket Go, you need to complete the special research “A Long Shadow”. The goal is to reach stage 4 of 6 to obtain the Super Rocket Radar. With this, you can track Giovanni.
However, you must have spun 5 PokéStops on different days first. So, a bit of preparation is needed before you can jump into battle.
The first players have now succeeded, and therefore we only now know what Pokémon Giovanni uses.
This is how the battle against Giovanni goes
These Pokémon he uses: Giovanni uses, just like the other bosses, set monsters. In total, he has 5 Pokémon to choose from, of which he sends 3 into battle.
| First Pokémon | Second Pokémon | Third Pokémon |
| Snorlax | Rhydon Hippopotus Dugtrio | Articuno |
Which monster can one catch then? After the battle, you can only catch Articuno. It is the first legendary shadow Pokémon available in the game.
How difficult will the battle be? The battle is comparable to the other bosses. Here, however, you don’t have to prepare for so many different Pokémon. It will still not be particularly easy.
How to defeat Giovanni? First, you should use a fighting Pokémon to take out Snorlax. Here we recommend Lucario with the fast charge move Counter so Giovanni’s shields are used up quickly. An alternative is Machamp.
After that, you can continue battling Rhydon with Lucario. Fighting is also good against it. If Giovanni chooses Hippopotus or Dugtrio, then you should switch to a Grass or Water Pokémon. We recommend Swampert with Water moves. Swampert would then also be good against Rhydon.
Finally, Articuno comes, which has a double weakness against Rock. Therefore, we recommend Tyranitar with the two Rock moves. This way, you can counter Articuno easily.
What do you get after the battle with Giovanni? You can still complete the special research afterward. However, there are not particularly interesting items available anymore.
You then have to wait for the next month, when Giovanni returns with a new special research.
If you have problems with the other Rocket bosses, check our counter guide:
