We're into another month and another team for Team Rocket boss Giovanni in Pokémon Go.

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With a trio of Shadow Pokémon, Giovanni's August team can dish out a huge amount of damage, and if you're not ready for him, you'll be in for a nasty shock.

Of course, you'll have to take down Giovanni's Grunts and Team Rocket Leaders before you get the chance to battle him.

So, if you're after the best counters for Giovanni's August 2025 line-up, read on!

How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon Go: August 2025 counters

To beat Giovanni and his June 2025 line-up in Pokémon Go, you'll need to fill your party with the following counters:

  • Bring a Fighting-type to counter Persian, Kangaskhan and Rhyperior
  • Bring an Ice-type to counter Rhyperior, Nidoking and Giratina
  • Bring a Fairy/Ghost/Dark/Dragon-type to counter Giratina

Below are the Pokémon you can expect to see in each round. This time, only round two has an element of mystery to it.

First round:

  • Persian (Normal-type)
    • Weakness: Counter with Fighting-type attacks

Second round:

  • Kangaskhan (Normal-type)
    • Weakness: Counter with Fighting-type attacks
  • Rhyperior (Ground and Rock-type)
    • Weakness: Counter with Grass, Water, Fighting, Ground, Steel, and Ice-type attacks
  • Nidoking (Poison and Ground-type)
    • Weakness: Counter with Water, Ice, Psychic, and Ground-type attacks

Third round:

  • Altered Shadow Giratina (Dragon and Ghost-type)
    • Weakness: Counter with Ice, Fairy, Ghost, Dark and Dragon-type attacks

It’s worth noting that if Giovanni defeats you once, you can demand a rematch at the same location.

So, if he ends up using a second Pokémon you weren't prepared for, you can even leave the battle, switch out party members, and re-enter as long as you stay in the same location.

Best Persian counters in Pokémon Go

Shadow Persian is always the first Pokémon that Giovanni throws into battle. Being a Normal-type Pokémon, Shadow Persian is very weak against Fighting-type attacks. Any fighting-type move that you dish out will cause 160 per cent extra damage.

With this in mind, something like Machamp or Lucario would be strong counters! Lucario's Power-Up Punch or Machamp's Cross Chop would be solid attacks against Persian.

One thing you will not want to use is a Ghost-type Pokémon. Persian has a resistance to these ghoulish creatures, with their attacks doing 39 per cent less damage to Persian. So don't use any of those!

Best Kangaskhan counters in Pokémon Go

Luckily, Kangaskhan is a Normal-type, just like Persian, so you probably won't need to change very much.

Just like before, Machamp or Lucario are your best options.

That being said, this month, it might be worth bringing both, as you'll see later on...

Best Rhyperior counters in Pokémon Go

Giovanni's Rhyperior has very strong stats, but its Rock and Ground-type gives it a ton of weaknesses with six in total: Water, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel and Ice.

To make the most of these weaknesses, using counters like the Water-type Kingler will deal the most damage, with Bubble as its Fast Attack and Crabhammer as its Charged Attack, since it's also not vulnerable to any of Rhyperior's attacks.

Kartana is also a strong choice as a Grass and Steel-type, but you'd need to be wary of Rhyperior using Superpower in its potential moveset since Kartana is weak to Fighting-type moves.

In this case, pure Grass-types like Roserade and Rillaboom are excellent back-ups to quickly beat Shadow Rhyperior if you use Razor Leaf and Gross Knot for both Pokémon's Fast Moves and Charged moves respectively.

Again, your Machamp and Lucario from Persian will both work wonders here.

Best Nidoking counters in Pokémon Go

Giovanni's Nidoking may not have quite as many weaknesses as Rhyperior, but it shares a couple thanks to its Ground typing, meaning you can kill two birds with one stone

Kingler will again be an excellent shout here, as the same Bubble and Crabhammer that will demolish Rhyperior will do plenty of damage to Nidoking too, although not quite as much as Nidoking is only 2x weak to Water.

Really, any Water Pokémon will do - Vaporeon is another great shout simply because they're quite easy to obtain if you don't have a solid Water Pokémon already, while some Psychic-types like Espeon or Gardevoir could be a great shout too.

Best Giratina counters in Pokémon Go

Shadow Dialga is a Dragon and Ghost-type Pokémon, so it has a fair few weaknesses: Ice, Dragon, Ghost, Dark and Fairy.

Ideally, Kyurem would be the best choice as its dual Ice and Dragon-type will both demolish Giratina, but its Ice-type in particular will cover Rhyperior and Nidoking too.

If you haven't got a Kyurem, there are still plenty of other options.

Dragon-types like Shadow Palkia, Shadow Salamence or Shadow Garchomp are all great options.

On the Fairy-type front, Dawn Wings Necrozma is another excellent choice.

If you challenge Giovanni multiple times, make sure to heal your best Pokémon between attempts and target each of his team members with the right counters, and you'll soon be able to beat him.

Pokémon Go is available to download on iOS and Android devices.

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Authors

Alex RaisbeckGaming writer
Ben Williams
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