Video Games

How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go in November 2024

Defeat Shadow Heatran and claim it for yourself

Marco Wutz

Niantic

Looking dapper as always, Giovanni has returned to Pokémon Go in November 2024, fielding a mighty Shadow Heatran in battle as his Legendary Pokémon.

Table of Contents

  1. Giovanni’s Pokémon in November 2024 – Pokémon Go
  2. Best counters to Persian – Pokémon Go Giovanni
  3. Best counters to Kingdra – Pokémon Go Giovanni
  4. Best counters to Rhyperior – Pokémon Go Giovanni
  5. Best counters to Nidoking – Pokémon Go Giovanni
  6. Best counters to Heatran – Pokémon Go Giovanni

You’ll need to face and defeat his stooges Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra to get your hands on a Super Rocket Radar from the current Rocket Special Research before you can battle Giovanni. Once you’ve collected this piece of hardware and activated it, you can find the suave-looking villain waiting for you at a nearby PokéStop. Alternatively, he'll approach you riding a Rocket Balloon.

Once you’ve successfully dueled Giovanni, you’ll be able to complete your Rocket Special Research and will be able to catch his current Legendary companion.

This guide will tell you how to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go in 2024 with Heatran as his Legendary Pokémon.

Giovanni’s Pokémon in November 2024 – Pokémon Go

Giovanni always starts a battle with his beloved and majestic Persian, ending it with his trump card, Heatran. He has a couple of Pokémon to choose from for the second position, which is randomly determined before the battle.

  • Slot #1: Persian
  • Slot #2: Kingdra / Rhyperior / Nidoking
  • Slot #3: Heatran

Best counters to Persian – Pokémon Go Giovanni

Cat-like Pokémon Persian on Normal-type background.
Persian is Giovanni's starter Pokémon. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Persian is a Normal-type, which means you'll want to use Fighting-type moves to cause the greatest amount of damage. It's recommended to use a Pokémon with quick energy generation first to exhaust the opponent's shields early on.

  • Lucario (Fighting, Steel): Counter, Power-Up Punch, Aura Sphere
  • Machamp (Fighting): Counter, Close Combat, Stone Edge
  • Tyranitar (Rock, Dark): Smack Down, Brutal Swing, Stone Edge

Best counters to Kingdra – Pokémon Go Giovanni

Seahorse-like Pokémon Kingdra on Water-type background.
Kingdra is a potential second choice for Giovanni. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

This draconic seahorse is weak to both Dragon- and Fairy-type moves. You could opt for a Water- and Fairy-type hybrid in this case to cover the rest of Giovanni’s roster as well.

  • Gardevoir (Psychic, Fairy): Charm, Dazzling Gleam, Psychic
  • Togekiss (Fairy, Flying): Charm, Dazzling Gleam, Flamethrower
  • Primarina (Water, Fairy): Charm, Moonblast, Hydro Pump

Best counters to Rhyperior – Pokémon Go Giovanni

Bipedal Pokémon Rhyperior on Rock-type background.
Rhyperior is a potential second choice for Giovanni. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Rhyperior shares some weaknesses with Nidoking and Heatran, making Water- or Ice-type attackers a fantastic choice to cover two of Giovanni's options for the second slot at once.

  • Kyogre (Water): Waterfall, Surf, Origin Pulse
  • Swampert (Water, Ground): Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Earthquake
  • Mamoswine (Ground, Ice): Powder Snow, Avalanche, High Horsepower

Best counters to Nidoking – Pokémon Go Giovanni

Bipedal Pokémon Nidoking on Ground-type background.
Nidoking is a potential second choice for Giovanni. / Niantic / The Pokémon Company

Giovanni's iconic Nidoking can be countered by Ground-, Ice-, Psychic-, and Water-type moves.

  • Kyogre (Water): Waterfall, Surf, Origin Pulse
  • Swampert (Water, Ground): Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Earthquake
  • Mamoswine (Ground, Ice): Powder Snow, Avalanche, High Horsepower

Best counters to Heatran – Pokémon Go Giovanni

Artwork of the Pokémon Heatran on a fiery background.
Heatran is Giovanni's third and final choice. / Niantic

Heatran easily falls victim to Water- and Ground-type moves, which is very convenient, since the same types cover Rhyperior and Nidoking as well.

  • Kyogre (Water): Waterfall, Surf, Origin Pulse
  • Swampert (Water, Ground): Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Earthquake
  • Mamoswine (Ground, Ice): Powder Snow, Avalanche, High Horsepower

Summing things up, you’ll want to create a team containing one Fighting-type, one Fairy-type, and one Water- or Ground-type Pokémon – that will give you all the options you need to defeat Giovanni.

For more Pokémon Go, check out the overviews of the monthly Spotlight Hours and 5-Star Raids.

Published |Modified
Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg

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