Team GO Rocket Boss Giovanni returns to Pokémon GO for May 2025, with a new line-up on the horizon. Giovanni has long provided the toughest AI test for trainers and continues to do so this month. With the new Taken Over event underway, Giovanni’s team sees some new members, including a rare Shadow Dialga you can rescue and capture from the criminal mastermind’s clutches.
To be able to face Giovanni this month, you will need to defeat six rocket Grunts, followed by all three Team GO Rocket leaders Arlo, Sierra and Cliff. Once you have beaten every Rocket leader, you will be able to hunt down Giovanni by spinning PokeStops and Gyms. After overcoming his decoys, you will eventually find him, but you need to be prepared if you want to beat him.
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Team Rocket Boss Giovanni Lineup & Counters (May 2025)
An Unchanged Line-up For Now
At the start of May 2025, Team GO Rocket Leader Giovanni’s Pokémon line-up stayed the same as it was in April 2025. However, starting on May 14, 2025, Giovanni’s team changed during the Taken Over event, leading to him to include Shadow Dialga as his final Pokémon instead of Shadow Palkia. While Giovanni still starts each battle with his trusty Shadow Persian, his other waves are unique for the rest of the month.
All of Giovanni’s Pokémon are Shadow variants, meaning their stats are boosted, making them even harder to defeat.
Giovanni will also always finish the battle with his strongest Pokémon, the Steel- and Dragon-type Dialga. That being said, his second Pokémon will change for each battle, and be one out of three potential options. These are his returning Poison- and Ground-type Nidoking, his familiar Ground/Rock-type Rhyperior, and a new face in a powerful Normal-type Kangaskhan.
Wave
Pokémon and Type
Weaknesses
Counters
1
(Shadow) Persian – Normal
Fighting
- Machamp
- Lucario
- Terrakion
- Conkeldurr
2
(Shadow) Nidoking – Poison/Ground
Ground, Ice, Psychic, Water
- Swampert
- Kyogre
- Lugia
- Mewtwo
2
(Shadow) Kangaskhan – Normal
Fighting
- Lucario
- Heracross
- Conkeldurr
- Blaziken
2
(Shadow) Rhyperior – Rock/Ground
Grass, Water, Fighting, Ground, Ice, Steel
- Swampert
- Kyogre
- Machamp
- Lucario
3
(Shadow) Dialga – Dragon/Steel
Fighting, Ground
- Excadrill
- Garchomp
- Groudon
- Swampert
Machamp is a fantastic Pokémon to start every battle against Giovanni with. Persian is only weak to Fighting-type attacks, so you should always lead with a Fighting-type Pokémon. The Gen 1 Machamp remains a powerhouse and most players should have a strong one due to its length of time in the game. It is also super-effective against Rhyperior or Kangaskhan if Giovanni chooses to use either of them.
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For another choice, your best option is to pick a Water-type Pokémon that will be able to make quick work of both Nidoking or Rhyperior, if they are chosen. Swampert is a great option due to being a powerhouse Water-type, as well as being able to take damage itself. The additional Ground-type of Swampert also makes it excellent against Shadow Dialga, whose Steel-type takes super-effective damage from moves like Earthquake or Mud Shot.
To conclude your team, consider using either another powerful Fighting, Water, or Ground-type who can also be used against Giovanni’s powerhouses. Having someone like Lucario, Heracross, Blaziken, Garchomp, or Kyogre are all excellent choices to counter Giovanni’s Ground, Steel, or Normal-types in whatever wave you find yourself facing off against.
Rewards For Beating Rocket Leader Giovanni (May 2025)
A Final Chance To Catch Shadow Palkia
Unfortunately, Palkia, who is one of the best Master League Cup Pokémon, will no longer be available to catch from Giovanni as of the end of May 2025. Yet, you are still rewarded with an encounter to catch Shadow Dialga after beating the Team Rocket mastermind after the team changes from the Taken Over event. This extremely rare Pokémon is just as powerful of an addition to any team as Palkia would have been.
You will receive all the rewards every time you defeat Giovanni in May 2025, meaning you can face him multiple times to earn more.
You also receive a number of useful items each time you defeat Giovanni. This includes a huge 5,000 Stardust, which is used in Pokémon GO to power up and increase the CP of any Pokémon that you have caught. This is rewarded along with three random items you will gain out of 4x Revives, 4x Max Revives, 4x Hyper Potions, 4x Max Potions, or an Unova Stone.
Giovanni’s line-up changes do remove previous opportunities, but many of the key rewards from his battle remain the same. With the ability to catch Shadow Dialga for yourself, the new boons you get from besting Team Rocket once again will likely last long after the Taken Over event in Pokémon GO ends, at least until the next one.