How to find Giovanni in Pokemon GO (April 2022)

Giovanni has returned to Pokemon GO with a new trick up his sleeve. As many players know, Giovanni challenges the player with his Shadow Legendary Pokemon that players have a chance to catch after defeating him. As of the new All-Hands Rocket Retreat event, Giovanni has a new member on his team.

Unlike the other leaders of Team GO Rocket, Giovanni has been present in the Pokemon franchise since its very beginning. First debuting in Pokemon Red and Blue for the Nintendo Game Boy, Giovanni served as the leader of Team Rocket. He is also the mysterious eighth Gym Leader of the Kanto Region in Viridian City.

Giovanni's incarnation in Pokemon GO is by far his most fearsome. Due to him wielding multiple Shadow Pokemon and Legendary Pokemon, Giovanni is much more powerful than most other versions of Giovanni players are familiar with. But how can players challenge this powerful foe?

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Steps for challenging Giovanni in Pokemon GO

Giovanni as he appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As many may know, players need to acquire a specific item before they even have a chance to see Giovanni in Pokemon GO. The Super Rocket Radar is one of the most valuable items to get in the game as it allows players to challenge Giovanni. Finding one of these is a grueling task that many players can struggle with.

Luckily, Niantic has given players a way to obtain a Super Rocket Radar for a limited time. By completing the fourth stage of the Silent Schemes Special Research, players will be able to get one of these items. The 15 Rocket Radars obtained through completing the previous step help with completing this stage.

After defeating Team GO Rocket's three other leaders, Arlo, Sierra, and Cliff, they can claim their reward: a Super Rocket Radar. When players have a Super Rocket Radar in their inventory, the next member of Team GO Rocket they encounter through a GO Rocket Pokestop or Hot Air Balloon will be Giovanni.

Looking at the Silent Schemes tasks, the only one players may have trouble with is the one in the first stage. "Win a Raid" is a common task for players to accomplish in Pokemon GO. However, it may be difficult for players to coordinate with their friends to find and battle in a Raid. Luckily, there are ways to work around this.

There are tons of online social media communities in applications like Facebook where Pokemon GO players go to exchange friend codes and find Raids. Players can also wait for One-Star Raids to spawn near their location. One-Star Raids are incredibly easy to take on with one player, so this is an easy task for lucky players.

Once players win their Raid Battle, the rest of the tasks are incredibly straightforward. Tasks like "Defeat Team GO Rocket grunts" and "Catch Shadow Pokemon" tie in directly with Pokemon GO's gameplay, so players will not need to go out of their way to accomplish these tasks.