Giovanni

If you were looking for the character in the games whose Japanese name is Giovanni, see Earl.

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Giovanni サカキ Sakaki
[[File:File:FL Giovanni.png|{{{size}}}]] Art from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Age	Mid-40s (est. by Pokeani)
Gender	Male
Hometown	Viridian City
Region	Kanto
Relatives	Silver (son, Pokémon Special) Madame Boss (mother, anime)
Trainer class	Gym Leader, Boss
Generation	I, II, III
Games	Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, FireRed, LeafGreen, Stadium, Stadium 2
Leader of	Viridian Gym
Badge	Earth Badge
Member of	Team Rocket
Rank	Boss
Anime debut	Battle Aboard the St. Anne
English voice actor	Ted Lewis (EP015-AG132) (DP080-present) Craig Blair (DP002-DP043)
Japanese voice actor	Hirotaka Suzuoki (d. 2006) Kenta Miyake

Giovanni (Japanese: サカキ Sakaki) is the head of Team Rocket, and formerly served as the Gym Leader of Viridian City's Gym, known officially as the Viridian Gym. He handed out the Earth Badge to Trainers who defeated him. As a Gym Leader, he specialized in Template:Type2 Pokémon, but his master plan includes collecting rare Pokémon of all types.

In the anime

File:Giovanni.JPG

Giovanni

Very little is known about his past in any timeline; he is generally shrouded in mystery. However, certain things are known:

His mother was the head of Team Rocket before him. However, this is presumed to be canon in the anime timeline only, as the games have no precedent for this.

While Giovanni very rarely takes the role of antagonist, his agents often have him in mind during missions due to the chance of power, be it through promotion or other means. This gave him a unique series of appearances, mainly during the Hoenn saga, where Meowth often saw how the Pokémon in each episode could be used to help Giovanni and win the trio promotions. These boss fantasies never show his actual personality and occasionally even show Giovanni in chibi form.

File:Giovanni.jpeg

Giovanni, Domino and the Rocket grunts

His first appearance was in the episode Battle Aboard the St. Anne, choosing a Persian as his "top cat" over Meowth, and talking to Jessie, James, and Meowth through a TV screen. His face always remained hidden in the shadows, usually with only his mouth visible. In Island of the Giant Pokémon, it is revealed that he owns the theme park, Pokémon Land, and the giant mechanical Pokémon in it, and was not happy to hear that it had been destroyed.

Up until the episode The Battle of the Badge, his voice had an effect to it as if it were two people talking at once, however, in this episode, he is given a normal voice, and during his battle with Gary, he steps out of the shadows, and his face is seen for the first time. He is known to have a Machamp, Kingler, Rhydon, and Golem, but when he is at a disadvantage, he uses Mewtwo to defeat Gary's Nidoking and Arcanine.

In the episode Showdown at the Po-ké Corral, Giovanni's building was blown up by Mewtwo. He and his Persian survived the explosion and angrily told Jessie, James, and Meowth to do their job (ironically they were about to quit).

Giovanni also appeared near the beginning of the movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back, as he was the one who had Dr. Fuji clone Mewtwo for him. After Mewtwo destroyed the lab, Giovanni told Mewtwo that he saw him as a valuable partner, putting armor on Mewtwo and using him to defeat Trainers in gym battles (including Gary's Nidoking and Arcanine, as seen in the anime). The scene in which Mewtwo destroyed Giovanni's base was also shown in the movie.

Giovanni is the main antagonist in the movie Mewtwo Returns, seeking out Mewtwo, who by this time is living in peace with the cloned Pokémon at Mt. Quena. Once Giovanni discovered him, he tried to capture him back by threatening the cloned Pokémon. He used two machines to try to make Mewtwo submit to his will, but though Mewtwo stepped into the orb, he was still unwilling to serve Giovanni, threatening to destroy his body first. Ash and the others were able to stop the machines, and it was around this time that they faced off against Giovanni and several Team Rocket soldiers. Their Pokémon fought as a distraction so Ash could get Mewtwo into the spring. Once Mewtwo was healed from his injuries, he moved the spring under the mountain to protect it, and then erased the memories of Giovanni and the other Team Rocket soldiers (excluding Jessie, James, and Meowth) of him, making him forget entirely about Mewtwo. Standing next to Domino and Persian wondering what they were doing, he gets the strange feeling as though he has been utterly defeated.

The only time Giovanni has been seen in battle was in The Battle of the Badge. He used powerful Pokémon against Gary but later left the Gym to deal with an unexplained emergency, leaving Ash to battle Jessie. By the time Ash returned from Hoenn, Agatha was in charge of the Gym until a new leader could be found. Giovanni's reasons for leaving it have not been explained, though it is speculated to be linked with the events of the aforementioned episode.

Giovanni is one of the three most prominent figures speculated to be Ash Ketchum's father, alongside Professor Oak and Silver. There is no evidence to support this, though Diamondshippers see Giovanni's avoidance of Ash mentioned above as suspicious. In Pokémon Live!, it was claimed that Giovanni and Delia had shared a relationship as teenagers, though it is also stated that someone else is Ash's father in that particular canon.

Pokémon

This listing is of Giovanni's known Pokémon in the Pokémon anime.

Persian	Machamp	Kingler
Rhydon	Golem	Cloyster

Rejected

Togepi

Yanma

• In The Battle of the Badge, Jessie and James gave Togepi to Giovanni, but since nobody knew what Togepi's powers were at the time, he shouted at them for wasting his time.
• In The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!, Jessie sent a Yanma to Giovanni, who analyzed it and returned it to her upon rejection (he had recently received a shipment of Yanma seperately).

Escaped

Mewtwo

Voice actors

Language	Voice actor(s)
Czech	Pavel Soukup (EP015-EP157) Jiří Plachý (movie 1) Zdeněk Hruška (DP002-present)
English	Ted Lewis (4Kids dub, EP015-AG132; TPCi dub, DP080-present) Craig Blair (TPCi dub, DP002-DP043)
Japanese	鈴置洋孝 Hirotaka Suzuoki (EP015-AG132) 三宅健太 Kenta Miyake (DP002-present)
Polish	Unknown voice actor Unknown voice actor Adam Bauman (Movie 1, Mewtwo Returns) Cezary Kwieciński (DP002-present)
Spanish (Europe)	Ruperto Ares José Escobosa (Substitution)
Spanish (Latin America)	Alejandro Villeli

In the games

Art of Giovanni from Pokémon Red and Blue

In the Generation I games and their remakes, Giovanni is the one Gym Leader without a title, and is not widely known, preferring to keep to the shadows.

Giovanni constantly has his thugs looking for strong Pokémon.

Giovanni had several hideouts, the most prominent ones underneath Celadon City's Rocket Game Corner, and the Viridian Gym itself.

Giovanni apparently has a child who has red hair. Many people believe this refers to the red-haired rival from Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions and Pokémon Crystal Version, also known as Silver, who values power and strength and despises weakness, including Pokémon and Team Rocket, who he considers weak.

In addition to the Earth Badge, Giovanni gives out TM27 (Fissure), in Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow Versions. In FireRed and LeafGreen, he gives out TM26 (Earthquake).

Although Team Rocket plays a major role in the plot of Generation II games, Giovanni himself does not make an appearance, despite being mentioned many times by Rocket members. His absence is explained by one of the Executives as being due to his wish to train alone elsewhere for the time being, after his defeat at the hands of the main protagonist of the Generation I games three years earlier.

Giovanni's kid?

In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions, on the Chrono Island Rocket Warehouse, a scientist named Gideon (Japanese: スミオ Sumio) says:

Japanese release	English translation	English release
なんだよ　また　きたのかよ	What, you again?	What, you again?
まさか　おまえ… サカキとか　いうやつの こども　なんじゃ　ないのか？	You... you're not the kid of the guy called Sakaki or something, are you?	You... you're not Giovanni's kid, are you?
…いや　サカキの　こどもは かみのけが　あかい　らしいから おまえ　とは　ちがうか	...No, they say Sakaki's kid's hair is red, so did I mistake you for him?	No, that can't be right! Giovanni's kid has red hair.
かんけい　ないなら　ほっとけよ！	If you have nothing to do with us then leave me alone!	You don't have any reasons for bugging me. Leave me alone!

A portion of this conversation is recorded in the Fame Checker under the entry for Giovanni. This text is notably gender-neutral, and is the same whether Red or Leaf is the player.

When this text was singled out and reported on Pokémon Forever, it provoked significant speculation in the community on the identity of Giovanni's child.^[1] Silver was singled out as a strong candidate. Silver is Giovanni's son in Pokémon Special, and Giovanni finding him after the Mask of Ice kidnapped him was his primary motivation in the FireRed and LeafGreen storyline.

There was some initial debate over the exact meaning of red hair, as characters like Misty are known as redheads despite having more orange-colored hair, and characters like Lance are portrayed as having red hair as well.

Fame Checker

This is a list of the Fame Checker's information on Giovanni in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions.

Rocket HQ - Giovanni

What does this person do?

Team Rocket captures Pokémon from around the world. They're important tools for keeping our criminal enterprise going. I am the leader, Giovanni!

Silph Co. - Scientist

Favorite kind of Pokémon?

Those thugs that took over our building... Their Boss said he was looking for strong Pokémon.

Silph Co. - Scientist

What is this person like?

Team Rocket's Boss is terribly cruel! To him, Pokémon are just tools to be used.

Viridian Gym - Giovanni

What does this person do?

Welcome to my hideout! It shall be so until I can restore Team Rocket to its former glory.

Viridian Gym - Caretaker

What does this person do?

Blow me away! Giovanni was the Gym Leader of Viridian?

Rocket Warehouse - Team Rocket Scientist Gideon

Family and Friends?

You... You're not Giovanni's kid, are you? No, that can't be right. Giovanni's kid has red hair.

Message from Giovanni

• From: Giovanni
• To: [Player]

"There is nothing I wish to say to you.

I will concentrate solely on bettering myself, and none other."

Pokémon

This listing is of Giovanni's Pokémon in the video games he has appeared in.

Quotes

Pokémon Red and Blue Versions

• First battle:

"So! I am impressed that you got here."

• Gym battle:

"Fwahahaha! This is my hideout! I planned to resurrect Team Rocket here! But, you have caught me again! So be it! This time, I'm not holding back! Once more, you shall face Giovanni, the greatest Trainer!"

"Ha! That was a truly intense fight! You have won! As proof, here is the Earth Badge! Having lost, I cannot face my underlings! Team Rocket is finished forever! I will dedicate my life to the study of Pokémon. Let us meet again someday! Farewell!"

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions

• First battle:

"So! I must say, I am impressed you got here. Team Rocket captures Pokémon from a around the world. They're important tools for keeping our criminal enterprise going. I am the leader, Giovanni! For your insolence, you will feel a world of pain!"

"What! This can't be!"

• Second battle:

"Ah, [Trainer's name]! So we meet again! The president and I are discussing a vital business proposition. Keep your nose out of grown-up matters... Or experience a world of pain!"

"Arrgh!! I lost again!? Blast it all! You ruined our plans for Silph! But Team Rocket will never fall! [Trainer's name], Never forget that all Pokémon exist for Team Rocket! I must go, but I shall return!"

• Gym battle:

"Fwahahaha! This is my hideout! It shall be so until I can restore Team Rocket to its former glory. But, you have found me again. So be it. This time, I'm not holding back! Once more, you shall face Giovanni, the greatest Trainer!"

"Ha! That was a truly intense fight. You have won! As proof, here is the Earth Badge!"

"Having lost in this fashion, I can't face my followers. I have betrayed their trust. As of today, Team Rocket is finished forever! As for myself, I shall dedicate my life to training again. Let us meet again someday! Farewell!"

In the Pokémon Special manga

File:Giovanni.PNG

Giovanni

In Pokémon Special, Giovanni serves much the same role as he does in the games, although he now has Lt. Surge, Sabrina, and Koga as subordinates. However, Giovanni is much more ruthless, as in one chapter, he uses his Cloyster to break two Magmar in half.

He attempts to create a super-powerful Pokémon by combining Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno into a single Pokémon. This was thwarted by the efforts of Red, Green, and Blue.

He later provides some minor assistance to the fight against the Elite Four on Cerise Island. He helps Red escape from Lorelei's ice and provides him with some evolutionary stones for his Eevee. Giovanni then informs Koga and the others (Sabrina and Lt. Surge) to lay low until a more suitable time comes to revive Team Rocket.

Giovanni has recently resurfaced in the Sevii Islands, apparently pursuing Deoxys. He even has a new set of henchmen, the The Three Beasts. Silver is revealed to be Giovanni's son, but was kidnapped by the Mask of Ice at the age of two. Giovanni's master plan apparently includes Silver taking over Team Rocket from him.

However, his plan is later revealed to just wanting to find and reunite with his son and see him grown up before Giovanni dies (He has some sort of illness, although it is never explained what it is). When Silver and Giovanni found themselves in the flames of a wreckage at one point, Giovanni used his own body to protect the unconscious boy from the fire. At first, Silver denied that Giovanni could possibly be his father, and then would not accept him as a father. However, after he saw how Giovanni put his own life at stake to save Silver, Silver broke down in tears and accepted him as his father. From this point on, Giovanni is presumably not the leader of Team Rocket anymore, and is succeeded by the Three Beasts member Carr. His last known location is one of Silver's secret bases, where Silver sent him so he could recover from his injuries.

When he was still the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni had obtained the nickname "Giovanni Of The Land" because all his Pokémon were Template:Type2s, save his Cloyster and Beedrill. Beedrill's exception is clear, as it was caught at Giovanni's birthplace (in the Viridian Forest; so Giovanni prides it especially), but Cloyster's is hard to trace, as it does not appear to have any connection to Giovanni's past.

Giovanni wrote a book on the research of Ground-type Pokémon called "Mysteries of the Earth" that is currently in Green's possession. The book contains detailed information on Ground-type Pokémon not known by anyone else. For instance, Giovanni was the first to discover Rhydon could evolve.

In battle, Giovanni kicks his Poké Balls, much like Crystal, in order to be able to react faster.

Pokémon

This listing is of Giovanni's Pokémon in the Pokémon Special manga.

Nidoking	Nidoqueen	Dugtrio	Golem	Deoxys
Rhyhorn	Rhydon	Cloyster	Aggron	Crobat
→→ Weedle → Kakuna → Beedrill

In the TCG

There is a Theme Deck named for Giovanni in the Gym Challenge expansion. For that Theme Deck, see Giovanni.

Artwork

• 

  Giovanni and the Earth Badge.

• 

  Giovanni sends out a Nidoking.

• 

  Giovanni as the Boss of Team Rocket.

Pokémon

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Giovanni or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Name	Type	Level	Rarity	Set	Set no.
The Boss's Way	-	-		Team Rocket	73/82
Giovanni's Gyarados		40	H	Gym Challenge	5/132
Giovanni's Machamp		50	H	Gym Challenge	6/132
Giovanni's Nidoking		58	H	Gym Challenge	7/132
Giovanni's Persian		23	H	Gym Challenge	8/132
Giovanni	-	-	H	Gym Challenge	18/132
					104/132
Giovanni's Nidoqueen		51		Gym Challenge	23/132
Giovanni's Pinsir		27		Gym Challenge	24/132
Giovanni's Machoke		36		Gym Challenge	42/132
Giovanni's Meowth		12		Gym Challenge	43/132
Giovanni's Nidorina		35		Gym Challenge	44/132
Giovanni's Nidorino		32		Gym Challenge	45/132
Giovanni's Machop		18		Gym Challenge	72/132
Giovanni's Magikarp		9		Gym Challenge	73/132
Giovanni's Meowth		17		Gym Challenge	74/132
Giovanni's Nidoran♀		11		Gym Challenge	75/132
Giovanni's Nidoran♂		14		Gym Challenge	76/132
Giovanni's Last Resort	-	-		Gym Challenge	105/132
Viridian City Gym	-	-		Gym Challenge	123/132
Giovanni's Nidoking	-	-	-	Unnumbered Promotional cards (no English release)	-

Trivia

• In the games, Giovanni is the only Gym Leader to appear outside of his Gym in Generation I, whereas in later generations, this is quite common.
• In How I Became a Pokémon Card, a short manga by Kagemaru Himeno, he and Persian were shown to have been together for a long time, as he rescued the cat when he was a child.
• In the English version of Pokémon Stadium, his name is misspelled Giovani (with one n). This is because the space for Trainer names only allows seven characters, whilst Giovanni is eight.
• According to the Pokémon Special manga, Giovanni's birthday is August 1st and his blood type is O.
• In Pokémon Live! it is stated that he dated Delia Ketchum, though this is probably not the case in the anime.
• Both Giovanni and Juan are the eighth Gym Leader in a region introduced in an odd-numbered generation. Both of their names are a foreign version of the name "John".
• The way that Giovanni takes care of his Persian could be a reference to the supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond films.
• In the English dub of the anime, Giovanni is the first character to regain his original voice actor following the voice actor switch.
• In the official Red and Blue guide from Nintendo Power, Giovanni was labeled to be a regional boss of Team Rocket (implying he's not the absolute leader). This was retconned in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, where it was made absolutely clear that Giovanni was, indeed, the absolute Leader of Team Rocket (even having an office in Johto).
• Despite being mentioned throughout Gold, Silver and Crystal, he is the only Kanto Gym Leader to not appear in all generations Kanto does.
• Giovanni was the first Gym Leader that could be battled more than once, and is still the only one that can be battled before the Gym Battle.
  • This also makes him one of three Gym Leaders that do not give a badge to the player immediately after the first defeat, the other two being Whitney and Clair.

Names

Language	Name	Reference to
Japanese	サカキ Sakaki	Sakaki, which resembles the Earth Badge. A common Japanese surname.
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish	Giovanni	From Italian Giovanni, equivalent to John, gift from God; gio rhymes with geo, from Greek γῆ gē, earth. May also be a play on his resemblance to a Mafia boss in control of his mob.
Korean	비주기 Bijugi
Chinese (Taiwan)	坂木 Bǎnmù	From 坂木 Sakaki, an alternative way of writing the name.
Chinese (Hong Kong)	沙加 Shājiā	Transliteration of サカ Saka.

External links

• Boss the fanlisting for Giovanni
• Sakaki's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
• Sakaki's Pokémon on Pokeani (Japanese)

Gym Leaders of the Kanto region
Pewter Gym Brock	Cerulean Gym Misty	Vermilion Gym Lt. Surge	Celadon Gym Erika
Fuchsia Gym Koga Janine	Saffron Gym Sabrina	Cinnabar Gym Blaine	Viridian Gym Giovanni Blue

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See also: Pokémon Horizons characters

Giovanni's Pokémon
On hand:	Persian
Status unknown:	Golem	Kingler	Kingler	Machamp	Rhydon	Cloyster
Escaped:	Mewtwo
Given away:	Koffing	Woobat	Yamask	Frillish	Amoonguss
Controlled:	Meloetta	Landorus	Tornadus	Thundurus
Origins only:	Charmander
Pocket Monsters only:	Hitmonlee	Hitmonchan
For Pokémon owned by the version of Giovanni that appears in Pokémon Adventures, see here; for a full list of Pokémon owned by the version of Giovanni that appears in the Pokémon Pocket Monsters series, see here

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.