Best Counters for Giovanni in Pokemon GO (November 2026)

Want to know how to beat Giovanni and his team in November 2025? This guide provides the best strategies, counters, and move combinations to help you defeat the Team Rocket Leader and his Shadow Pokémon.

Get ready for the next Team Rocket Takeover in Pokémon GO! See the updated Pokémon lineup and discover the best counters to Giovanni’s team, including the strong Shadow Tornadus Incarnate.

Pokemon GO – All Giovanni Shadow Pokemon (November 2025)

Giovanni’s battle lineup remains the same as before. To reach him, players must first defeat Arlo, Sierra, and Cliff. After winning those battles, a Super Rocket Radar will guide you to Giovanni and his team of Shadow Pokémon. He uses a different team in each of the three rounds of combat.

Round Pokemon
First Shadow Persian
Second
  • Shadow Rhyperior
  • Shadow Kangaskhan
  • Shadow Nidoking
Third Shadow Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)

Keep in mind that the second battle with Giovanni is unpredictable – he’ll have one of the Pokémon mentioned earlier, so be sure to prepare your team with effective counters beforehand.

Pokemon GO: How To Beat Giovanni (November 2025)

To win against Giovanni in Pokémon GO (as of November 2025), players should choose from these top Pokémon counters. They’re the most effective choices for defeating his Shadow Pokémon throughout the battle.

  • Machamp or Mega Lucario are the optimal Fighting-types that counter Persian. Machamp is particularly good since it can take down Persian really fast, and it’s also optimized to fight Shadow Rhyperior and Shadow Kangaskhan. Mega Lucario is a powerhouse with ridiculous TDO, and can swipe Giovanni’s entire team by itself if trainers are skilled.
  • Swampert and Kyogre are good choices to deal STAB damage to Shadow Nidoking and Shadow Rhyperior, (weak to Water-type moves) but Kyogre is the bulkiest of the two and carries a bit more power, so choose it over Swampert if the budget allows it.
  • Black Kyurem, with Ice Fang as a Fast Move and Ice Burn (462.5 TDO) as a Charged Move, is currently the best Ice-type attacker in Pokemon GO. Shadow Tornadus Incarnate takes x2 damage from Ice-type moves.

If some of the Pokémon mentioned earlier are too expensive or require too much effort to train, players can find more affordable options below.

Shadow Persian Counters

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
Mega Lucario Force Palm Aura Sphere
Machamp Counter Close Combat
Lucario Force Palm Aura Sphere
Shadow Conkeldurr Counter Dynamic Punch
Urshifu Counter Dynamic Punch

Shadow Rhyperior Counters

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
Swampert Force Palm Aura Sphere
Kyogre Waterfall Origin Pulse
Quaquaval Waterfall Hydro Cannon
Kartana Razor Leaf Leaf Blade
Zarude Vine Whip Power Whip

Shadow Kangaskhan Counters

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
Mega Lucario Force Palm Aura Sphere
Machamp Counter Close Combat
Lucario Force Palm Aura Sphere
Shadow Conkeldurr Counter Dynamic Punch
Urshifu Counter Dynamic Punch

Shadow Nidoking Counters

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
White Kyurem Ice Fang Ice Blast
Kyogre Waterfall Origin Pulse
Garchomp Mud Shot Earth Power
Mewtwo Psycho Cut Psystrike
Alakazam Confusion Psychic

Shadow Tornadus Incarnate Forme Counters

Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move
White Kyurem Ice Fang Ice Blast
Shadow Raikou Thunder Shock Wild Charge
Xurkitree Thunder Shock Discharge
Zekrom Charge Beam Wild Charge
Tyranitar Smack Down Stone Edge

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2025-11-08 16:06