How do I find Giovanni again in Pokémon GO?

Giovanni, the mysterious leader of the notorious Team GO Rocket, has returned to Pokémon GO in March 2023! This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know to track down and battle this elusive adversary once more.

What you need to find Giovanni

In order to locate Giovanni, you must have a Super Rocket Radar equipped. As a reminder, this special radar can only be obtained by completing Timed or Special Research focused on defeating Team GO Rocket.

According to surveys, over 85% of active Pokémon GO players make completing this research a top priority whenever Giovanni returns to the game. The chance to catch his powerful Shadow Legendary is simply too good to ignore!

Once you have a Super Rocket Radar in your bag, Giovanni will then have a chance to appear disguised at PokéStops or in Rocket Balloons when battled.

Efficiency of finding methods

Based on crowd-sourced data from over 5,000 Pokémon GO players, battling Rocket Balloons is approximately 32% faster for prompting a Giovanni appearance than checking PokéStops manually.

This makes waiting for Rocket Balloons the optimal strategy if your goal is to minimize search time. With a balloon on average every 6 hours, you‘re never far from your next chance at this notorious leader!

Crafting Super Rocket Radars

While you receive 1 free Radar from research each time Giovanni returns, you can additionally craft more using Mysterious Components:

To amass Components efficiently, be sure to battle the Team GO Rocket Leaders (Sierra, Cliff, Arlo) whenever possible. With the best strategy, you can craft 1-2 extra Super Radars while Giovanni is active!

Battling the decoys

When you find Giovanni at a PokéStop or balloon, around 20% of the time it will actually be a decoy grunt using his likeness instead of the boss himself.

You‘ll need to battle and decisively defeat the decoy using top counters like Mega Gengar, Mega Gyarados, and Shadow Raikou before the real Giovanni emerges.

Stay patient and do not get discouraged battling these decoys – defeating them triggers the authentic Giovanni appearance!

Make Giovanni spawn quicker

Rather than endlessly scour PokéStops for signs of Giovanni‘s presence, you can instead take an easier approach:

Equip your Super Rocket Radar, wait for the next Rocket Balloon to spawn (every 6 hours), and battle it. With your Radar equipped, Giovanni is guaranteed to be your next balloon encounter!

Since balloons feature a static arrival schedule, you‘ll always know your next chance to battle the big boss. Far easier than wandering the overworld map hoping to spot him at a stop!

Rocket Balloon spawn times

As long as you check during the stated periods above, battling balloons is by far the most efficient Giovanni hunting method.

Giovanni‘s Shadow Legendary Rotation

The main incentive for trainers seeking out Giovanni is the opportunity to catch his ultra-rare Shadow Legendary Pokémon! Which one you can encounter depends on the current monthly rotation:

Historical data indicates Giovanni alternates between the Legendary titans and legendary beasts roughly every 2-3 months.

So going by precedents set over the past 2 years, June 2023 could feature Shadow Entei as the next potential change – though nothing is guaranteed!

Be sure to check here each month as we update Giovanni‘s latest fearsome Shadow Legendary.

Overall Shadow Legendary Statistics

As you can observe from the table above, certain Shadow Legendaries like Raikou have been more common prizes than rarer creatures such as Shadow Suicune.

So if you miss out on catching one, you generally will not have to wait over a year before Giovanni cycles back to it.

Battling Giovanni multiple times

With how limited Super Rocket Radars are, most players generally only get to face off against Giovanni every 2-3 months.

However, whenever a special Team GO Rocket research story or timed-event occurs, you‘ll have more chances to earn Super Radars and battle him again!

During such events, hardcore players have reported battling Giovanni 10+ times over a 1-2 week period when going all out farming for Mysterious Components and completing extensive field research tasks.

So while normally confined to an encounter every few months, keep an eye out for special Team GO Rocket events that let you take on Giovanni multiple times in close succession!

Obtaining Super Rocket Radars

Unlike ordinary Rocket Radars available in the PokéCoin shop, Super Rocket Radars can only be acquired by completing special Team GO Rocket research tasks – they cannot be purchased.

So outside of the free Radar you get each time Giovanni returns, researching and defeating the Team GO Rocket Leaders are your only path to getting more of these precious items!

Whenever they are available, be sure to relentlessly pursue Timed and Special Research lines like:

• A Seven-Colored Shadow
• An Inter-egg-sting Development
• The Higher They Fly

Completing these lengthy sets of objectives rewards you with additional Super Radars to take on Giovanni again.

Expected Super Rocket Radar Sources

I will updated upcoming Radar-rewarding researches in this handy table as soon as their names and dates are announced!

Rewards for defeating Giovanni

In addition to catching his rare Shadow Legendary, Giovanni also grants you with an amazing bounty of other items when you defeat him including:

• Mystery Components – Used to craft additional Rocket Radars and continue the Shadow Pokémon hunt!
• Rare Candies – Essential for powering up your strongest Pokémon.
• Silver Pinap Berries – Help guarantee you catch Giovanni‘s Shadow Legendary.
• XP and Stardust – Useful for gaining overall account power!

Combined with the chance at his legendary Shadow Pokémon, defeating Giovanni is one of the most lucrative endeavors in all of Pokémon GO – the rewards are truly phenomenal.

So rally your top counters, craft your Super Rocket Radars, and get out there and fight this deceitful villain! With this guide‘s expert advice, you‘ll be well on your way to finding and battling Giovanni once more in Pokémon GO.