Trainers who enjoy battling have the option to face off against Team GO Rocket leaders once again this month in Pokemon GO, but some of the enemy faction leaders are switching up their lineups to keep trainers on their toes. The big bad, Giovanni, is going to be bringing the same shadow Legendary to the fight that appeared in August, but trainers may still want to brush up on the best counters ahead of time anyway.
Once players put in all the work to earn a Giovanni encounter, they'll want to take the time to prepare for the fight before it begins so they don't waste any resources. There's always a bit of a random element to the exact lineup, but players can learn enough ahead of time to prepare for the most versatile roster to deal with the current lineup. Be sure to consider whether it might be worth burning some Elite TMs head of time to get the ideal move sets in place before the fight.
Giovanni September 2022 Lineup
- Persian
- Nidoking or Rhyperior or Machamp
- Shadow Latios
Persian Counters
As always, Giovanni is very likely to kick off the battle with Persian. This Pokemon is a Normal-type, and players in Pokemon GO can usually defeat it very easily with a respectable Fighting-type counter.
- Lucario - Counter/Aura Sphere or Power-Up Punch
- Conkeldurr - Counter/Dynamic Punch
- Machamp - Counter/Cross Chop or Dynamic Punch
- Rhyperior - Mudslap/Stone Edge
- Tyranitar - Smack Down/Crunch
- Hariyama - Counter/Dynamic Punch
Nidoking Counters
Nidoking has a chance to appear in the second slot. This Team Rocket favorite is a dual Poison- and Ground-type, which means players can rely on Ground-, Water-, Psychic-, and Ice-types as the best counter possibilities.
- Kyogre - Waterfall/Hydro Pump
- Hoopa (Unbound) - Confusion/Psystrike
- Mamoswine - Mud Slap/Avalanche
- Rhyperior - Mudslap/Earthquake
- Swampert - Watergun/Hydro Cannon
- Mewtwo - Confusion or Psycho Cut/Psystrike
- Alakazam - Confusion/Psychic
Machamp Counters
The third possibility for Giovanni's second fighter is Machamp. This Gen 1 Fighting-type is nothing new to veteran players and can be defeated with a carefully selected Flying-, Psychic-, or Fairy-type counter-strategy.
- Mewtwo - Confusion or Psycho Cut/Psystrike
- Alakazam - Confusion/Psychic
- Hoopa (Unbound) - Confusion/Psystrike
- Moltres - Wing Attack/Sky Attack
- Rayquaza - Air Slash/Hurricane
- Deoxys - Zen Headbutt/Psycho Boost or Zap Cannon
Shadow Latios Counters
The final spot is once again reserved for a Shadow Legendary that players can earn an encounter with if they manage to survive the battle. Shadow Latios is in the spotlight once again after appearing in July, which means that players who battled last month should be prepared for the fight with the appropriate Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, or Ice-Type counters.
- Gengar - Shadow Claw/Shadow Ball
- Dialga - Dragon Breath/Draco Meteor
- Garchomp - Dragon Tail/Outrage
- Hydreigon - Dragon Breath/Brutal Swing
- Salamence - Dragon Tail/Outrage
That should be just about everything trainers need to know heading into the big fight this month. Be sure to keep in mind that sometimes players may need to treat the first attempt as information gathering and immediately re-enter after an early defeat with some additional information.
Pokemon GO is available now on mobile devices.