How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go: December 2024 counters

Even then, his team is made up of a rotation variety of strong Shadow Pokémon.

However, Giovanni's third Pokemon will always be the Shadow version of the tough Gen-4 Legendary, Heatran.

The hard effort will be worth it, though, since defeating Giovanni rewards you with bonuses like extra Stardust, a Unova Stone, healing items, and the chance to catch Shadow Heatran for yourself.

How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go: December 2024 counters

To beat Giovanni and his December 2024 line-up in Pokémon Go, you'll need a team of counters like a Fighting-type to defeat his Persian and Ground, Fighting or Water-type to take down his Heatran.

The tricky part of battling Giovanni, however, is that his second between those first and last Pokémon can be any one of three options, so you'll need to prepare counters of the following types for each potential team member:

First round:

• Persian (Normal-type)
  • Weakness: Counter with Fighting-type attacks

Second round:

• Kingdra (Water and Dragon-type)
  • Weakness: Counter with Dragon and Fairy-type-attacks
• Nidoking (Poison and Ground-type)
  • Weakness: Counter with Water, Psychic, Ground, and Ice-type attacks
• Rhyperior (Ground and Rock-type)
  • Weakness: Counter with Grass, Water, Fighting, Ground, Steel, and Ice-type attacks

Third round:

• Cresselia (Fire and Steel-type)
  • Weakness: Counter with Water, Ground, and Fighting-type attacks

Reckon you're a Pokémon master? Pit your wits against our Pokémon quiz below!

It’s worth noting that if Giovanni defeats you once, you can demand a rematch at the same location.

So, if he ends up using a second Pokémon you weren't prepared for, you can even leave the battle, switch out party members, and re-enter as long as you stay in the same location.

Best Persian counters in Pokémon Go

Shadow Persian is always the first Pokémon that Giovanni throws into battle. Being a Normal-type Pokémon, Shadow Persian is very weak against Fighting-type attacks. Any Fighting-type move that you dish out will do 160 per cent extra damage.

With this in mind, something like Machamp or Lucario would be strong counters! Lucario's Power-Up Punch or Machamp's Cross Chop would be solid attacks against Persian.

One thing you will not want to use is a Ghost-type Pokémon. Persian has a resistance to these ghoulish creatures, with their attacks doing 39 per cent less damage to Persian. So don't use any of those!

Best Kingdra counters in Pokémon Go

Giovanni's Kingdra only has two weaknesses, Dragon and Fairy types, but Pokémon Go has plenty of great counters like Palkia, Rayquaza, and Salamence.

However, while Dragon-type Legendaries and Pseudo-Legendaries can deal out the most damage, they'll be vulnerable to Kingdra's own moves of the same type, since it can use Dragon Breath as a Fast Attack and Outrage as a Charged Attack.

If you want a team that takes the least damage so you'll have a healthier party to take on Heatran, you should instead prioritise beating Kingdra with Fairy-type counters like Zacian (Crowned Sword form), Gardevoir, and Hatterene.

Best Nidoking counters in Pokémon Go

Thanks to its dual Poison and Ground typing, Giovanni's Shadow Nidoking has four weaknesses to exploit - Ground, Ice, Water and Psychic - which gives way to plenty of decent contenders to counter it with.

If you have plenty of Pokémon Go's most powerful Legendaries, Psychic types like Mewtwo and Hoopa (Unbound) are the best counters for Nidoking. Their high stats make them even more dangerous when combined with their 20 per cent STAB (same-type attack bonus).

If you're a casual player who hasn't caught that many Legendary Pokémon, standard counters like Galarian Darmanitan (Zen), Alakazam and Espeon can easily deal with Nidoking as well.

Best Rhyperior counters in Pokémon Go

Giovanni's Rhyperior has very strong stats, but its Rock and Ground-type gives it even more weaknesses than Nidoking for six in total: Water, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel and Ice.

To make the most of these weaknesses, using counters like the Water-type Kingler will deal the most damage, with Bubble as its Fast Attack and Crabhammers as its Charged Attack, since it's also not vulnerable to any of Rhyperior's attacks.

Kartana is also a strong choice as a Grass and Steel-type, but you'd need to be wary of Rhyperior using Superpower in its potential moveset since Kartana is weak to Fighting-type moves.

In this case, pure Grass-types like Roserade and Rillaboom are excellent back-ups to quickly beat Shadow Rhyperior if you use Razor Leaf and Gross Knot for both Pokemon's Fast Moves and Charged moves respectively.

Best Heatran counters in Pokémon Go

Shadow Heatran is another tough Sinnoh-born Legendary in Giovanni's arsenal, but is weak to Ground, Fighting and Water attacks, so using counters like Garchomp and Landorus (Therian) can make quick work of this Steel/Fire-type.

Although primarily thought of as a Dragon-type Pokémon, Garchomp is part-Ground, meaning it will still get a 20 per cent STAB (same-type attack bonus) for using Mud Shot as its Fast Attack and Earth Quake as its Charged Attack like Landorus, while being resistant to Heatran's Fire attacks too.

Other counters like Mamoswine and Excadrill can give out as much damage as Garchomp, if not more, but they'll be vulnerable to Heatran's various attacks due to their respective part-Ice and Steel typing.

If you've not been able to catch a Garchomp or Landorus yet, more common counters like Golurk or Donphan will still be very effective against Heatran as well.

If you challenge Giovanni multiple times, make sure to heal your best Pokémon between attempts and target each of his team members with the right counters, and you'll soon be able to beat him.

Pokémon Go is available to download on iOS and Android devices.

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