Pokemon GO Giovanni Guide - Counters, Lineup, and Rewards for October 2026

Giovanni has a new Shadow Legendary this month, and it changes how you should build your team. Since the Harvest Festival: Taken Over event began on October 2, Giovanni ends every fight with Shadow Zekrom. This guide covers his full lineup, the best counters for each phase, how to get a Super Rocket Radar before the deadline, and what you win.

Giovanni's Current Lineup in Pokemon GO (October 2026)

Giovanni's team follows a three-phase structure. The first and last slots never change, and only the middle Pokemon rotates.

Shadow Persian always leads. Phase two is where things get unpredictable, since Giovanni picks randomly between three very different Pokemon. Phase three is Shadow Zekrom, which replaced Shadow Reshiram and is making its Pokemon GO debut.

Key Dates to Remember

Shadow Reshiram stayed with Giovanni from late June until this takeover. Going by that pattern, Shadow Zekrom will likely remain after October 5 too. Getting a new radar after October 7 will depend on future passes, so treat this weekend as your safest window.

Who Is Giovanni and How to Unlock Him

Giovanni leads Team GO Rocket and hides behind a Super Rocket Radar. Without one, you will just keep running into regular Grunts and Leaders.

The radar now comes through the GO Pass, not a special research story. This month, you unlock it by ranking up the free GO Pass: Harvest Festival, and it sits at the higher ranks. If you are new to the pass system, our Pokemon GO Pass guide explains how ranks and tiers work.

Two paid options speed this up:

Free players should rank up steadily through Monday. Remember that unclaimed rewards vanish after October 7 at 8:00 PM local time.

Best Counters for Each Giovanni Phase

Beating Shadow Persian

Persian is a pure Normal type, so it only has one weakness. Fighting type moves hit it hard, and nothing else really touches it well. Lucario works great here, especially with Power-Up Punch, because it also helps strip Giovanni's shields early. Machamp and Conkeldurr are solid backups if you do not have Lucario built up.

Watch out for Persian's fast attack though. If it rolls Feint Attack, it resists your Fighting type damage a little more than usual. If it uses Scratch instead, your fight becomes noticeably easier.

Handling Rhyperior, Machamp, or Kangaskhan

Since you never know which one you will face, building a flexible second Pokemon matters more than picking one hard counter.

• Rhyperior is Ground and Rock, so it takes heavy damage from Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Ice, and Steel moves.
• Machamp is pure Fighting, and it folds quickly against Fairy, Flying, or Psychic attackers.
• Kangaskhan is pure Normal, just like Persian, so it also only fears Fighting type moves.

Mewtwo is a strong pick for this slot because Psychic covers Machamp cleanly while still doing reasonable damage elsewhere. If you are unsure which attackers are worth investing in right now, our current Pokemon GO tier list breaks down the strongest options across every type. If Mewtwo is not available, a bulky Water or Ground attacker like Swampert handles Rhyperior comfortably.

Taking Down Shadow Zekrom

Shadow Zekrom is Dragon and Electric. It takes super effective damage from Dragon, Fairy, Ground, and Ice moves. It can run Dragon Breath or Charge Beam as a fast move, with Outrage, Flash Cannon, Wild Charge, Crunch, or Fusion Bolt as charged moves.

Ground types are your safest answer, because they are immune to all of Zekrom's Electric moves. Here's how the top picks compare:

Excadrill deserves a closer look, because most guides skip it. Its Steel and Ground typing shrugs off nearly Zekrom's entire moveset. Only Crunch lands for neutral damage. If you have one built with Mud Shot and Drill Run, it makes a very safe closer.

Dragon type attackers like Rayquaza or Dragonite deal massive damage too, but they take heavy hits in return from Outrage. If your Dragon attacker is not tanky, lead with a Ground type instead and save the Dragon for cleanup.

Raids can help you build these counters. Xerneas appears in five star raids until October 6, and Shadow Incarnate Landorus, a strong Ground attacker, takes over Shadow Raid weekends from October 7. Our raid schedule guide helps you plan those encounters.

Recommended Team Build Against Giovanni

A balanced three Pokemon team looks like this:

Swap Rhyperior for Excadrill if your Excadrill is better built. Both take no damage from Zekrom's Electric moves.

Powering up all three can take a lot of Stardust and Rare Candy. If you need more resources, a Pokemon GO top up can help you prepare your attackers faster. This lineup gives you Fighting coverage, Psychic flexibility, and a safe closer for the random Phase 2 matchup.

How to Find Giovanni

Finding Giovanni takes a bit more patience than fighting a regular Grunt. Here is the process:

1. Rank up the GO Pass: Harvest Festival to earn a Super Rocket Radar.
2. Equip the radar from your item bag before you start searching.
3. Follow the radar to the marked PokeStop. Giovanni only appears at PokeStops, not on balloons.
4. Battle him as many times as needed if you lose, since there is no limit on retries while the radar is active.

During the takeover, Team GO Rocket shows up more often at PokeStops, and balloons appear every two hours. That makes it a good time to clear Grunts and Leaders on the way.

Giovanni always shields the first two charged attacks you use. Leading with a fast charging move like Power-Up Punch burns those shields early, so your stronger attacks land later.

Giovanni Rewards Worth Fighting For

Every win pays out a solid bundle:

• 5,000 Stardust
• Three item bundles, drawn from Max Potions, Max Revives, or Unova Stones
• A guaranteed Shadow Zekrom encounter

There is one catch. Shadow Zekrom cannot be shiny right now, unlike Shadow Reshiram before it. So you don't need to repeat the fight hunting for a shiny.

Plan before you purify, too. Shadow and Purified Pokemon cannot fuse with Kyurem. If you want Black Kyurem later, use a regular Zekrom from raids for the fusion and keep the Shadow one as an attacker.

Make the Most of the Takeover Bonuses

The event adds a few bonuses that make Rocket fights more rewarding:

• Frustration removal: Use a Charged TM to remove Frustration from Shadow Pokemon until October 5.
• New Shadow Pokemon: Shadow Wimpod, Shadow Fomantis, and Shadow Sandygast join Grunt lineups.
• New Leader leads: Cliff opens with Shadow Cubone, Sierra with Shadow Pancham, and Arlo with Shadow Alolan Grimer. All three can be shiny.

The Frustration window is the one to act on now. Pick your best Shadow attackers, including your new Shadow Zekrom, and spend Charged TMs on them before Monday evening. Big celebrations often bring bonuses like this, as our Pokemon Horizons celebration guide showed.

A Few Practical Tips From Experience

Giovanni fights move fast, so preparation matters more than reaction speed. Power up your lead Pokemon fully before entering battle, and keep Revives and Max Potions ready in your bag.

Pay attention to the taunt text Giovanni sends before each phase. It hints at typing without confirming the exact Pokemon, and reading it can help you adjust your switch order on the fly.

This has been a busy year for Pokemon GO. If you missed the bonuses from the 10th anniversary event, use this takeover weekend to stock up on Stardust and Shadow attackers instead.

Conclusion

Giovanni continues to test even experienced Pokemon GO trainers, and Shadow Zekrom brings a fresh challenge this October. Build a team around Lucario, Mewtwo, and Rhyperior or Excadrill, and you cover every phase without major weaknesses. Rank up the Harvest Festival GO Pass before October 5, claim your Super Rocket Radar by October 7, and remove Frustration while you can. A well-built counter team makes the difference between repeated losses and a clean win.