Defeating Persian in Pokemon GO

With Giovanni back in Pokemon GO, many players are getting around their best battle teams to take him and his powerful new ally, Shadow Lugia, on in battle. While many trainers are focusing on how to take down the powerful legendary Pokemon, Giovanni's other Pokemon may slip under the radar when preparing for the encounter, leaving them defenseless against his other Pokemon.

Veterans of the franchise know that Giovanni is not truly Giovanni unless his trusty Persian is by his side. Feeding into the stereotype of the evil mastermind always petting the cat in their lap while addressing their subordinates, Giovanni has been known to have a Persian with him since the franchise's debut, and Pokemon GO is no different.

Knowing how to deal with not just one of Giovanni's Pokemon but the first one he sends out can make the battle against him much easier.

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Countering Persian in Pokemon GO

Giovanni and his trusty Persian as they appear in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The first thing to keep in mind when going against any Pokemon in Pokemon GO is its typing. Persian is a pure Normal-type Pokemon. This means that Persian only resists Ghost-type attacks and only takes super effective damage from Fighting-type attacks. Normal-type attacks also deal significantly less damage against Ghost, Rock, and Steel-type Pokemon.

Persian's stats are terrible in Pokemon GO. There is simply no other way to put it. Even for a fully evolved Pokemon, Persian is just a bad Pokemon. Persian was built around the niche of critical hits in its debut generation. Back in Pokemon Red and Blue, where Persian originated, critical hits were determined by the speed stat of a Pokemon. This mechanic was quickly taken out of the game, and Persian has been useless ever since. In Pokemon GO, Persian has an attack stat of 150, a defense stat of 136, and a stamina stat of 163.

The best strategy to use when dealing with Persian is not simply to overpower it as that would require a Fighting-type Pokemon. Bringing a Fighting-type Pokemon would be a waste as Lugia would take it down very easily later in the fight. The best strategy for taking down Persian is to outlast it. What this means is to mitigate its damage output while dealing chip damage. The best way to do this is to use a powerful Ghost-type Pokemon like Gengar. Bonus points if this Gengar has Focus Blast.

Defeating Persian in Pokemon GO is easy due to its lack of stats and powerful attacks. Persian is present solely to fulfill the role of the pet of an evil leader of an evil organization. Persian is completely helpless against chip damage from fast attacks; even Ghost-type fast attacks can be scary for Persian.