How To Beat Giovanni In Pokémon GO (February 2026)

There are few Trainers in Pokémon GO as challenging as Giovanni, the hidden leader of Team Rocket. February 2026 sees a major shift in the criminal mastermind's thinking, as a recent Taken Over event has shaken up the approach you may have had to winning battles against the shadowy figure. However, with the right counters, you'll still be able to beat Giovanni by exploiting his new team's main weaknesses.

The only way to fight Giovanni is to complete Special Research tied to Team Rocket. Doing this will earn you the Super Rocket Radar, a device that allows you to hunt down fake Giovannis until you discover the real one. Thankfully, you can challenge Giovanni as many times as you want once you find him, as the Super Rocket Radar only goes away when you win a battle against him.

Team Rocket Boss Giovanni Lineup & Counters (February 2026)

Recognize New Weaknesses To Changed Pokémon On The Team Rocket Leader's Roster

Like the other times you may have fought Giovanni, the Team Rocket leader has three waves of Pokémon, with the first and third always having the same pocket monster. That being said, the second wave has Giovanni choose one of three different Pokémon, mixing up what counters you might need. As of February 2026, one of these second wave of Pokémon has changed, throwing another wrench into possible plans.

The table below goes over each wave of Giovanni's team, including which Pokémon he uses and what counters work best against their weaknesses:

Macahmp and Incarnate Forme Thundurus are Giovanni's new team members, with Persian, Kangaskhan, and Rhyperior remaining from previous months. While he no longer has the Poison/Ground-type Nidoking, some Pokémon that countered that pick are still useful here, especially during the second wave of Giovanni's fight. However, given the nature of Giovanni's Legendary, you have to be careful assembling your own team.

Here is a great example team of counters for facing off against Giovanni in February 2026:

• Mamoswine
• Gallade
• Chesnaught

Mamoswine is the perfect counter to Giovanni's Thundurus, resisting its Ice-type moves while using Ice-type attacks of its own to exploit the Legendary's Flying-type vulnerability. Meanwhile, Gallade's Psychic/Fighting-type helps it breeze past Persian or Kangaskhan, while using its unique dual typing to resist and exploit Machamp's Fighting-type at the same time.

Finally, Chesnaught can overtake Rhyperior easily with its Grass or Fighting-type moves, helping you stay prepared against Giovanni's second wave. As a strong Grass and Fighting-type in Pokémon GO, Chesnaught has the stats to overcome Rhyperior's natural bulk. While not perfect against a potential Machamp, Chesnaught's additional Fighting-type works like Gallade's, giving you another flexible counter to Persian and Kangaskhan.

Rewards For Beating Rocket Leader Giovanni (February 2026)

Claim Bundles Of Useful Items For Your Next Battles

The moment you are victorious against Giovanni, you'll be gifted 5,000 Stardust as in-game currency to spend on what you like. Immediately after the fight, you are also thrust into an encounter with Giovanni's captured Incarnate Forme Thundurus, giving you a chance to capture the Legendary Pokémon. This Electric/Flying-type is incredibly powerful, and may suit you well in future Raids or Gym battles.

Defeating Giovanni also gives you three different item bundles, with each containing one set of possible items from a list. For example, you may get three bundles of Max Revives, three bundles of Max Potions, a Unova Stone, or some combination of each. Here are all the items that could show up in the bundles rewarded to you:

• 4x Revive
• 4x Max Revive
• 4x Hyper Potion
• 4x Max Potion
• 1x Unova Stone

Gaining a Shadow Legendary encounter in Pokémon GO is arguably the main reason why players challenge Giovanni so often within the game. The item bundles are nice too, even if you have to complete a number of steps to fight Giovanni for those rewards. Facing the Team Rocket leader enough times might even land you a Shiny Thundurus, even if the odds are fairly slim.

The changes to the former Viridian Gym leader's roster may not seem significant, but the addition of a new Legendary and a shift to one Pokémon is more than enough to re-evaluate how to approach this battle. With February 2026 marking a change to the Giovanni fight in Pokémon GO, this team will likely stick around for some time, so it's worth knowing what counters it sooner rather than later.