Giovanni is back for May 2022 with a new team and a potential reward of Shadow Latias available to catch in Pokémon GO. Make sure you use a Super Rocket Radar once you're ready to take Giovanni on, as that's the only way to find his hideout.
Guide for Giovanni in Pokémon GO May 2022
Unlike the other current bosses in Pokémon GO, Giovanni has two guaranteed Pokémon he will fight you with, and one other one that will rotate through three possibilities. The first Pokémon will always be Giovanni's Persian. The second will either be Honchkrow, Gyarados or Rhyperior. The final Pokémon will be Latias.
Persian Counters
The best and easiest way to take town Persian is to use Fighting-type Pokémon and moves, given Persian's Normal typing. Lucario, Rhyperior, Tyranitar and Machamp are all strong Pokémon that can dispatch Persian and take some hits from Giovanni's other Pokémon.
Second Pokémon Counters
Giovanni's potential rotation of Honchkrow, Gyarados or Rhyperior for his second Pokémon leaves no clear weakness that target all three. Honchkrow and Gyarados are both weak to Electric-type moves. Rhyperior is only really weak to Water and Grass moves, which is not very helpful against either of the other two Pokémon. The best strategy here would likely be to play the odds and pick an Electric-type Pokémon and to take your chances of winning with both it and the previous Pokémon you selected to take down Persian if Rhyperior gets sent out. Good options to pick would be Thundurus, Deoxys, Zekrom or Electivire. If you do want to plan for Rhyperior, Swampert, Empoleon, Torterra and Roserade will all take it down without too much trouble.
Latias Counters
Taking on a Legendary Pokémon is no joke, but you'll have to do it if you want to add your own Latias to your team. Hopefully by this point you will have two strong Pokémon to help finish the job if your Latias counter faints, but if you choose any of these Pokémon, you should be able to finish it off before anything chaotic happens. As a Psychic/Dragon-type, a fellow Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon is a good counter, like Dialga, or even the Pseudo-legendary Pokémon Garchomp. If you don't have those powerhouses available, a more readily available Gengar and Steelix should win you the battle.
