Giovanni

Giovanni in the games: Team Rocket's boss and Viridian's Gym Leader

In Red, Blue and Yellow the player first meets Giovanni as head of Team Rocket, in the Rocket Hideout beneath the Celadon Game Corner and again when his Grunts take over Silph Co. He then turns up as the leader of the Viridian Gym, Kanto's eighth, where he uses Ground types; his Red and Blue team is Rhyhorn, Dugtrio, Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon. Beating him earns the Earth Badge and TM27 (Fissure), and he announces that he is disbanding Team Rocket.

Blue has taken over the Viridian Gym by Gold and Silver. In HeartGold and SoulSilver a Celebi time-travel event lets the player battle Giovanni as he plans to rejoin his team, and in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon he returns as the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket.

Giovanni in the anime: the boss behind Jessie and James

For much of the original series Giovanni gives orders to Jessie, James and Meowth over a screen, his face in shadow and a Persian in his lap. He finally steps out in The Battle of the Badge, where he defeats Gary at the Viridian Gym using Mewtwo. His story is tied to Mewtwo from the start: Mewtwo Strikes Back shows him having Dr. Fuji clone it, and Mewtwo Returns has him trying to recapture it. Much later he leads Team Rocket's Operation Tempest in Unova and, for the first time, battles Ash directly, with Persian beating Pikachu.

Giovanni on cards: from Gym Challenge to Team Rocket's Giovanni

Gym Challenge (October 16, 2000) is Giovanni's first English set, and it gave him a full roster: his own holo Trainer card, holo Owner's Pokémon Giovanni's Gyarados, Machamp, Nidoking and Persian, Rares Giovanni's Nidoqueen and Pinsir, and cards for his Machop, Machoke, Magikarp, Meowth and both Nidoran lines, plus the Trainer card Giovanni's Last Resort. Unlike his Gym team, his card roster is not limited to Ground types.

His modern cards are Supporters: Giovanni's Scheme in BREAKthrough (2015), with a full-art Ultra Rare by Ken Sugimori; Giovanni's Exile in Unbroken Bonds (2019), reprinted in Hidden Fates; and Giovanni's Charisma in 151 (2023), whose Special Illustration Rare is by Hideki Ishikawa. He also appears on Boss's Orders (Giovanni) in Rebel Clash (2020) and on Team Rocket's Giovanni in Destined Rivals (2025).

Cards to know

• Giovanni (Gym Challenge #18)

  His own holo Trainer card from his first English set.

• Giovanni's Persian (Gym Challenge #8)

  A holo of the Pokémon always at his side in the anime.

• Giovanni's Nidoking (Gym Challenge #7)

  A holo of a Ground-type mainstay of his Gym team.

• Giovanni's Machamp (Gym Challenge #6)

  One of his four holo Owner's Pokémon in Gym Challenge.

• Giovanni's Scheme (BREAKthrough #162)

  The full-art Ultra Rare of his 2015 Supporter, illustrated by Ken Sugimori.

• Giovanni's Charisma (151 #204)

  The Special Illustration Rare of his 2023 Supporter, illustrated by Hideki Ishikawa.