Giovanni Shadow Lugia counters — Pokémon Go guide

Giovanni is back in Pokémon Go and he’s brought Shadow Lugia with him. Our Pokémon Go Shadow Lugia guide details how to find Giovanni, beat him, and catch Shadow Lugia.

How to find Giovanni

To find the Team Go Rocket boss, you’ll need to use a Super Rocket Radar. You can obtain one by taking down Team Go Rocket leaders, but notably, one is available from the 15th step of the Misunderstood Mischief Special Research quest line right now.

Once you have the Super Rocket Radar, Giovanni will start appearing at Poké Stops and in Team Go Rocket balloons flying over you.

How to beat Giovanni

The most commonly used strategy to take down Giovanni is to use a high-CP Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch. This will deal super effective damage against his Persian, and it will quickly build up your charge move bar. Use the charge moves as soon as you can to get rid of Giovanni’s two shields. After this, just blast him with your strongest Pokémon that counter his to stop him.

However, lots of Giovanni’s fight is trial and error, depending on what Pokémon you have. If you’re failing to beat him, keep note of when you’re losing and adjust your team accordingly.

Giovanni’s team and counters

This time around, Giovanni will always use the following:

• Persian
• Kingler, Rhyperior, or Nidoking
• Shadow Lugia

We recommend the counters below, though you don’t have to use these Pokémon to win. Just make sure you make use of type advantages.

Best Persian counters

Persian is normal-type, making it weak against fighting-type Pokémon. We recommend any of the following:

• Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch
• Lucario with Counter and Power-Up Punch
• Tyranitar with Smack Down and Crunch

Best Kingler counters

Kingler is weak against grass- and electric-type moves. We recommend any of the following:

• Zapdos with Thunder Shock and Thunderbolt
• Roserade with Razor Leaf and Grass Knot
• Electivire with Thunder Shock and Wild Charge

Best Rhyperior counters

Rhyperior is weak against fighting-, ground-, steel-, and ice-type moves. It has quadrupled weakness against water- and grass-types, so you should definitely take advantage of any of the following:

• Roserade with Razor Leaf and Grass Knot
• Kyogre with Waterfall and Surf
• Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon

Best Nidoking counters

Nidoking is weak against ground-, water-, psychic-, and ice-type moves. Consider using any of the following:

• Kyogre with Waterfall and Surf
• Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earth Power
• Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche

Best Lugia counters

Lugia is weak against rock-, ghost-, electric-, ice-, and dark-type moves. Below are some examples of great counters:

• Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche
• Rhyperior with Smack Down and Rock Wrecker
• Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stone Edge

How to catch Shadow Lugia

After you beat Giovanni, you’ll get a chance to grab Shadow Lugia. Shadow Lugia will catch guaranteed as long as you land a ball, so make sure to use Pinap Berries to increase the amount of Lugia Candy you’ll get from the catch.