Pokémon GO: How To Fight Rocket Leader Giovanni | Legendary Shadow Pokémon Guide

The evil leader of Team Rocket has arrived in Pokémon GO. Giovanni, the reoccurring villain of the Pokémon series can be defeated in a Trainer Battle, and doing so will earn you a powerful Legendary Shadow Pokémon. It’s a great reward, and below I’ll explain all the steps required to find this bad guy.

What is Team GO Rocket? The newest incarnation of the Pokémon thieves has landed in Pokémon GO, and new Leaders are everywhere. By fighting standard grunts — they appear all over the place naturally — you can track down HQs and do battle with one of the new GO Rocket leaders. Even better, you can work together with your community to discover GO Rocket HQs. When one is discovered, everyone in the area can check it out.

Finding Giovanni himself is actually pretty complicated, so let’s breakdown what you need to know in the full guide below.

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How To Battle Team GO Rocket Leader Giovanni

[Requirements: Before getting started, you must be Level 8 or higher to fight Team GO Rocket, and you must complete the ‘A Troubling Situation’ to unlock the ‘Looming in the Shadows’ Special Research.]

To fight the big boss of Team GO Rocket, you’ll need to complete four steps. Each step involves two major additions to Pokémon GO — Leader Hideouts and Rocket Radar. Here’s the quick summary.

Defeat Team Rocket Grunts to gain Mysterious Components and locate Leader Hideouts to unlock the Rocket Radar.
Equip Rocket Radar to battle Rocket Leaders at Invaded Pokestops.
Defeat grunts and leaders to complete the ‘Looming in the Shadows’ Special Research to get the Super Rocket Radar.
Use Super Rocket Radar to find Giovanni and defeat him.

Each step is a little more complicated than that, so let’s break down each step and I’ll explain exactly how the system works.

Defeating Giovanni can earn you a chance to catch a Legendary Shadow Pokémon! The leaders all have additional rare Shadow Pokémon as well, so it’s worth hunting them down even if you don’t want to deal with Giovanni.

How To Battle Team GO Rocket Leaders

Before you can track down Giovanni, you’ll need to defeat Team Go Rocket Leaders — it’s one of the steps for ‘Looming in the Shadows’, the Special Research you need to complete to find Giovanni.

To battle Team GO Rocket Leaders, explore the map to encounter Rocket Grunts at invaded Pokestops. Defeating Grunts will earn you Mysterious Components — 6 Mysterious Components crafts the Rocket Radar.

NOTE: Rocket Radars can be purchased from the Item Shop after crafting your first Radar. Rocket Radars are only used up if you defeat a Rocket Leader. If you lose, you can continue to attempt to battle them.

Equip the Rocket Radar and follow it to a Leader Hideout. Leader Hideouts spawn on Pokestops at random, and can only be seen when the Rocket Radar is equipped. Tap the Rocket Radar button below your radar to make Leader Hideout locations appear on your map.

Rocket Leaders have special rare Shadow Pokémon, and like normal Grunts, you can catch the Shadow Pokémon after the trainer battle is complete.

How To Battle Giovanni

To battle Giovanni, the leader of Team GO Rocket, you’ll need to complete the ‘Looming in the Shadows’ Special Research. This is only available if you’ve completed ‘A Troubling Situation’ Special Research. Complete a Research Step to earn the Super Rocket Radar.

Now you can equip the Super Rocket Radar and start hunting Giovanni! He’s slippery — you’re likely to encounter grunts disguised as the real boss. Keep fighting fakes to eventually encounter the true Giovanni.

Giovanni always has a Legendary Shadow Pokémon, so defeating him in battle can net you a supremely powerful (and rare!) Pokémon. It’s worth all the trouble.

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