Giovanni (Adventures)

Giovanni サカキ Sakaki
Giovanni in the fifth chapter
Age	Unknown
Gender	Male
Birthday	August 1
Blood type	O
Eye color	Black
Hair color	Brown
Hometown	Viridian City
Region	Kanto
Relatives	Silver (son)
Trainer class	Gym Leader
Game counterpart	Giovanni
Leader of	Viridian Gym
Badge	Earth Badge
Specializes in	Ground types
Member of	Team Rocket
Rank	Boss

Giovanni (Japanese: サカキ Sakaki) is one of the bosses of Team Rocket.

Character

In Pokémon Adventures, 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 directly ruthless in this series. For example, in one round, he uses his Cloyster to break two Magmar in half.

When he was still the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni had obtained the nickname "Giovanni Of The Land" because all his Pokémon were Ground types, save his Cloyster and Beedrill. Beedrill's exception is clear, as it was caught at Giovanni's birthplace (in 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. Since leaving the post, he has also used a Crobat, an Aggron, the legendary Pokémon Deoxys, and his son's Ursaring.

Giovanni wrote a book on the research of Ground-type Pokémon called Mysteries of the Earth that is currently in the possession of the new Viridian Gym Leader, Blue. 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.

History

Red, Green, & Blue arc

Giovanni is first seen traveling with Red under the guise of a friendly researcher off to study Fossils. As they leave the Diglett's Cave after a search for Fossils they find that the Pewter Museum of Science has been set ablaze by two wild Magmar. It is here that Giovanni's true agenda is revealed, to investigate Red and find out how he defeated his subordinates Lt. Surge and Koga. Giovanni watches Red defeat the Magmar in his unorthodox way and gives him an Old Amber as thanks while saying goodbye to him. The two Magmar then wake up from their sand prison and attack him; Giovanni has his Cloyster freeze and kill them. Giovanni laughs at the fact that someone like Red could defeat Team Rocket.

Giovanni in the first chapter

It is later revealed that he is attempting to capture the legendary Pokémon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres and fuse them into a single, powerful weapon. He leaves this plan in the hands of his top subordinates Lt. Surge, Koga, and Sabrina, but with the combined strength of the Kanto Pokédex Holders, Red, Blue, and Green, the plan is destroyed.

When Red goes to the Viridian City Gym to find out what had happened to its missing Gym Leader, he finds Giovanni waiting inside for him. There, Giovanni reveals to Red that he is, in fact, the Viridian City Gym Leader and also the Leader of Team Rocket. Giovanni challenges the boy to a battle with a special condition: if Giovanni wins then Red will fight by his side as a member of Team Rocket. Red accepts the challenge and the two begin battling. In the end, Giovanni is defeated after an intense battle after Red uses techniques involving the Trainer and not just the Pokémon battling.

Yellow arc

Giovanni later appears at the summit of Cerise Island when Yellow is battling the leader of the Elite Four, Lance. It is revealed that he was the one who had freed Red from his icy prison created by Lorelei and gave him the evolutionary stones of the Vermilion Bay that would allow him to evolve his Eevee multiple times. Giovanni does battle with Lance and uses his Pokémon to destroy the giant bubble that he was using to attack Yellow and protect himself from attacks. Just as it seems that Giovanni has the upper hand, Lance reveals that he had planned for this and that Giovanni had fallen into his trap. Lance reveals that Cerise Island is one giant Gym Badge amplification device and with Giovanni's Earth Badge, he can finally summon the giant bird Pokémon. Seeing what Lance has summoned, Giovanni immediately takes off and leaves Yellow to fight him alone. He is seen witnessing Lance's defeat at the hands of Yellow. His subordinates, Sabrina and Lt. Surge, meet up with him in hopes of starting up Team Rocket again. Giovanni dismisses them, realizing that they are not ready to revive Team Rocket because they required the help of children when battling the Elite Four. He tells them to lay low and go to their Gyms until a more suitable time to revive Team Rocket comes.

File:Giovanni Y chapter.png

Giovanni in the second chapter

Ruby & Sapphire arc

Giovanni makes a brief cameo at the end of the fourth chapter where he finds the Ruby and Sapphire on a beach. He reveals that the gems are in fact the true forms of the Red Orb and Blue Orb that have taken their forms after being broken by Ruby’s Celebi. He takes the gems and sets off with his mysterious henchmen to start a then unknown plan.

File:Giovanni RS chapter.png

Giovanni in the fourth chapter

FireRed & LeafGreen arc

Giovanni resurfaces in the Sevii Islands, where he witnesses the mysterious Deoxys attack a gang of bikers that were planning to raid Kin Island. When the leader tries to ask Giovanni to save him from the "monster", Giovanni answers by swatting him away and having his Nidoking send the biker flying with Rock Tomb; he states that Deoxys isn't a monster, instead, it is the strongest Pokémon that ever existed.

He sends his newest group of henchmen, The Three Beasts, to cause trouble on the Sevii Islands and distract the Kanto Pokédex Holders while he finishes polishing the Ruby and Sapphire; once he is done, he gives the gems to Sird so that Deoxys can finish its transformations. After Deoxys returns to Birth Island to heal the injuries it received in its battle with Red; here, Giovanni reveals his plan, to capture Deoxys and find his missing son. He sets off for Birth Island where he finds the resting Deoxys, battles with, and successfully captures it.

Giovanni makes his next appearance at Trainer Tower where he confronts the Kanto Pokédex Holders while they try to fend off the Deoxys Divide Clones. He is attacked by Mewtwo, who is angry at him for creating it to be a weapon. Giovanni responds by trapping Mewtwo in a binding set of armor called the "M2Bind" and leaves the Pokédex Holders to be defeated by the Deoxys Divide Clones. Later, Giovanni uses Deoxys to search for his son; Deoxys locates him at Viridian City and Giovanni sets course for that location.

Giovanni eventually lands near the Viridian City Gym and sends Sird and Orm to find and retrieve his son. As he recuperates from the pain of his disease, Giovanni finds that Red and Mewtwo are flying towards him; he decides to get Red back for his previous defeat at the Viridian Gym and prepares for battle. Red eventually arrives on the Team Rocket airship and Giovanni issues a challenge; one-on-one, Mewtwo versus Deoxys; Red accepts and they begin battling each other.

Mewtwo and Deoxys each manage to get the upper hand on each other throughout the match but it seems like Mewtwo has won once it has attacked Deoxys’s core. Deoxys eventually recovers and severely injures Mewtwo by stabbing it in the back with its tentacles. Despite Mewtwo being heavily injured, it manages to recover and defeats Deoxys with a powerful attack, making Red the winner of the battle.

Giovanni in the fifth chapter

Giovanni collapses from his disease and is carried away by Orm so that he can finally meet his son, Silver. As he rests in bed, Silver finds his father and sulks with disappointment because of the fact that no matter how hard he tries, the side of evil is always associated with him. Silver refuses to accept Giovanni as his father and attempts to leave, but Giovanni quickly stops him but before he can say anything, a power-hungry Carr hijacks the ship and attempts to crash it into Vermilion City. Red has Deoxys use its power to create black holes to suck Silver, his Sneasel, and Giovanni to safety.

Giovanni and Silver eventually exit the black hole, but, instead of a safe location like Red expected, Giovanni instead finds that they have landed near a flaming piece of wreckage from the airship. Giovanni holds Silver up to protect him from the flames; he comments about how proud he is of how he had grown. They are eventually saved by Blue's Rhydon; Silver still refuses to acknowledge Giovanni, a criminal, as his father and states that he should've left Giovanni to die in the flames. Blue reveals to Silver about how he was once like him and manages to convince him to accept his father; Silver then breaks down crying over Giovanni's unconscious body. Giovanni is taken away by Silver's Ursaring to Silver's eighteenth Secret Base to rest from his injuries.

HeartGold & SoulSilver arc

Giovanni in the ninth chapter

For the most of this chapter, Giovanni's whereabouts were unknown as he had gone missing after Silver returned to his secret hideout.

During the battle with Arceus, Petrel attempts to escape from his insane leader, Archer. When he does, he disguises himself as the Team Rocket leader, only to be attacked by Giovanni's Ursaring. There, the real Giovanni, along with Pryce and Lance, appear in order to combat the three legendary Pokémon that would threaten the Johto region. While Pryce goes after Dialga and Lance faces Palkia, Giovanni battles Giratina with his son's Ursaring.

Pryce reveals that after he returned from the crack in time, he encountered Giovanni at the Ilex Forest, who was looking for Celebi so that he could get a cure for his disease. When Giovanni saw Pryce, he immediately attacked Pryce and would have killed him if it weren't for the intervention of Lance, who told them of the events going on at the Sinjoh Ruins. Although reluctant, Giovanni agrees to help and has Ken, Al, and Harry guard the Ilex Forest while Celebi searches for the herbs for his cure.

Eventually, his disease gets the better of him, preventing Giovanni from continuing the battle against Giratina. Immediately, Silver steps in and attacks Giratina to defend his ailing father. After Arceus is calmed down and the three Pokémon leave, Ken, Al, Harry, and Celebi arrive with the cure to Giovanni's disease. The cure works, and Giovanni becomes completely healthy again. Now cured, Giovanni decides to lead Team Rocket once more, as he still has some evil in his heart.

He offers Silver a position in Team Rocket, but Silver declines and promises to change his father's evil ways one day. Giovanni accepts his son's decision and tells him to grow stronger under Lance and Pryce's teaching in the hopes that they will battle someday.

Pokémon

Currently owned

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

Weedle → Kakuna → Beedrill ♂

Debut	Golly, Golem!

Beedrill is one of Giovanni's main Pokémon. He caught him when he was a Weedle at Viridian Forest while he was a young Pokémon Trainer. Since then, Giovanni has used Beedrill as a reliable partner in many situations as a boss of Team Rocket. He notes that while he prefers to use Pokémon of his specialty type, his origins have given him a profound significance in his heart.

Beedrill debuted during Giovanni's battle with Red, where he ended up being knocked out by Aero's Hyper Beam. He later appeared when Giovanni came to help Yellow in the battle against Lance at the Cerise Island, where Giovanni used him to burst the giant bubble which Lance had been using to protect himself and his Pokémon. During the FireRed & LeafGreen arc, Giovanni used him to help him tire out Deoxys so that he could catch it.

Beedrill's known moves are Twineedle and Agility, and his Ability is Swarm.

Nidoking ♂

Debut	Long Live the Nidoqueen!?

Nidoking was one of the Pokémon used in the Viridian Gym battle but did not officially participate. Later, he was used to destroy the Gym with an Earthquake. Many years afterwards, Giovanni observed a site where Deoxys rampaged and left a gang of bikers in ruins. When one of them begged Giovanni to save his life, he promptly swatted him away, and then used Nidoking's Rock Tomb to incapacitate him and his Magmar.

Nidoking's known moves are Earthquake, Fire Punch, Megahorn, and Rock Tomb, and his Ability is Poison Point.

Nidoqueen ♀

Debut	Golly, Golem!

Nidoqueen first appeared in the Viridian Gym battle against Red. She was able to heavily damage Red's Snor by violently punching it and hurling it straight for the wall with little effort. However, at the climax of the battle, she was KO'd by Pika's Thunderbolt* and lost the battle.

Nidoqueen's known moves are Counter, Poison Sting, and Scratch.

Dugtrio

Debut	Long Live the Nidoqueen!?

Giovanni's Dugtrio was only used to stop Red's Saur and Gyara from coming out of their Poké Balls by destroying their opening mechanisms.

Dugtrio's only known move is Dig.

Golem

Debut	Golly, Golem!

Giovanni switched out Nidoqueen for his Golem. Golem was a very fast Pokémon as it was able to easily outmatch Red. It was crumbled by Snor's Headbutt before knocking itself out with Explosion.

Golem's known moves are Tackle, Rock Throw, and Explosion.

Cloyster

Debut	Make Way for Magmar!

Giovanni's Cloyster was called out to take care of two Magmar that were causing trouble after Red did not finish them off. It froze them solid before brutally shattering them to take out. Later, it was seen again during the Gym battle against Red and used the same freezing strategy on Poli to defeat it when Red lost his cool and attacked the Rocket Boss vigorously.

None of Cloyster's moves are known.

Rhyhorn ♂

Debut	Long Live the Nidoqueen!?

Rhyhorn was one of the Pokémon used in the Gym battle against Red. He was very powerful as he was able to knock out Red's Aero in a single hit. During the Yellow arc, Giovanni used him to battle Lance in Cerise Island but got knocked out by Dragonair's Hyper Beam.

Rhyhorn's known moves are Tail Whip, Horn Attack, and Stomp.

Rhydon ♂

Debut	Long Live the Nidoqueen!?

Rhydon was seen in the Gym battle with Giovanni's other Pokémon. However, as he was only seen trying to trap Red into a fissure, little is known about him.

Rhydon's known moves are Fissure, Horn Drill, and Stomp, and his Ability is Lightning Rod.

Crobat

Debut	Going Green

Crobat was used along with Giovanni's Beedrill to reach Birth Island, where Deoxys was resting. He mostly uses it for flight transportation.

None of Crobat's moves are known.

Aggron

Debut	Going Green

Giovanni used this Aggron to battle Deoxys after trapping it. With its Brick Break, Aggron shattered Deoxys's Delta Shield, allowing Giovanni to catch it easily.

Aggron's only known move is Brick Break.

Ursaring ♂

Debut	Teddiursa's Picnic

Ursaring was caught by Silver with one of Kurt's Heavy Balls since he considered Silver to be a worthy Trainer, unlike Gold. Ursaring, under Silver's orders, took Giovanni to his base near Route 6 so Giovanni could recover from his burns. Later, he reappears with Giovanni at the Sinjoh Ruins where he rips off Petrel's Giovanni disguise attempt. Afterward, he fights against Giratina, where he proves to be a powerful opponent for the Renegade Pokémon.

Ursaring's known moves are Fire Punch, Fury Swipes, Strength, and Avalanche.

Previously owned

Organism No. 2

Debut	A Vicious Cycle of Possibilities

Main article: Deoxys (Adventures)

Giovanni first took note of this Deoxys, codenamed Organism No. 2, somewhere in the Hoenn region. After it was stolen from the Mossdeep Space Center and transported to the Rockets' hideout in Kanto, it was injured by Pika's Thunder during the first battle it had against Red. As such, it soon retreated to Birth Island to recover, only to be captured by Giovanni. He used Organism No. 2 to create an army of clones called the Deoxys Divides in an attempt to finish Red, Blue, and Green. It soon fought under his command while on the airship against Mewtwo while it teamed up with Red. Mewtwo was able to defeat Organism No. 2 after a long battle. The Deoxys joins Red and leaves Giovanni, and after they narrowly escaped an early death from the Rocket Airship crashing in Vermilion City, it flew off to find its brethren, Organism No. 1.

Related articles

• Giovanni
• Giovanni (anime)
• Giovanni (Pocket Monsters)

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 article is part of both Project Manga and Project CharacterDex, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Manga and CharacterDex, respectively.