Pokémon Go: How to find and beat Giovanni (April 2021)

The mastermind behind Team Rocket has revealed himself once again, and now trainers have the chance to battle the legendary Giovanni! This time around Giovanni has captured the legendary Kanto bird trio, and now they’re under his control as shadow Pokémon. To free them you’ll need to fight him over the course of three months, with each time presenting a different opportunity to catch one of the legendary birds for yourself.

Today’s guide will be looking at the April 2021 encounter, which is Giovanni with a Zapdos. We’ll show you how to start the research to find Giovanni and we’ll also help you form a solid line-up to take down his powerful shadow Pokémon, so let’s get started with our Pokémon Go guide on how to find and beat Giovanni!

How to Find Giovanni

In order to get a shot at challenging the head of Team Rocket, you’ll need to complete limited time special or timed research, whichever one is relevant during the event period. For March, April, and May 2021 there will be one special research per month that, when completed, rewards you a Super Rocket Radar, a consumable item that allows you to battle Giovanni.

Each battle with Giovanni will net you a chance at catching one of the legenedary elemental birds of Kanto: Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno, so it’s well worth the effort to take down Giovanni.

Related | Pokemon Go: Garchomp’s strengths and weaknesses

How to Beat Giovanni

Since Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket, you can expect him to not go down easily. Giovanni has a potential of using five different Pokémon, with two of them guaranteed to show up every time you fight him. Oh, and they are also shadow versions! Here’s a list of his Pokémon so that you know what to expect.

Note that your Super Rocket Radar is only consumed when you actually defeat Giovanni. If you challenge him and lose, you’ll be able to retry freely so don’t worry about losing the radar.

Pokémon 1: Persian

Giovanni always sends out Persian first, a normal-type Pokémon, so you should bring Pokémon that know how fighting moves. Popular choices include Machamp, Melmetal, Rhyperior, and Lucario. One important aspect of this fight is to use Pokémon that have fast charging special moves – preferably ones that are super effective against your opponents!

Giovanni will use his shields to block your first two special moves, so it’s important to try to burn through them as fast as you can, hence why fast charging specials are helpful here.

Pokémon 2: Kangaskhan/Nidoking/Garchomp

Kangaskhan can be one of Giovanni’s second Pokémon. Kangaskhan is another normal-type Pokémon, so the same Pokémon that you used to take down Persian might also do the trick here as well. Machamp is still a great choice here, and other popular picks include Dragonite, Gyarados, and Togekiss. Kangaskhan can potentially use dark, dragon, ground, and fighting-type moves, so a flying-type Pokémon can take reduced damage.

Nidoking is a dual-type poison and ground Pokémon, which means you should bring Pokémon that have water, psychic, ice, or ground moves. Steel Pokémon do a great job at resisting Nidoking as it uses poison, steel, and ground moves.

Finally, Garchomp is the last potential Pokémon in Giovanni’s second slot. Garchomp is a dual-type dragon and ground Pokémon, which makes it especially vulnerable to ice-type moves! Bring your favorite ice Pokémon like Glaceon or Mamoswine. If you can’t fit any ice Pokémon onto your team, Garchomp is also weak to dragon and fairy moves, though not as much as ice.

Related | Can Slugma be shiny in Pokemon GO?

Pokémon 3: Zapdos

Giovanni’s final Pokémon is Zapdos, the legendary electric and flying-type Pokémon. Zapdos is weak to both rock and ice-type moves, so that ice Pokémon you used for Garchomp will work wonders here. Grass, electric, dragon, and ground-type Pokémon resist Zapdos’ electric moves, so keep that in mind too.

With some careful team planning, you should be able to take down Giovanni with little problems! If you have any other tips or tricks to share, let us know in the comments below!