Giovanni

For the episode of Pokémon Origins, see File 3: Giovanni.
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Giovanni (Japanese: サカキ Sakaki) is the head of Team Rocket, who serves as the secretive Gym Leader of Viridian City's Gym, known officially as the Viridian Gym, in Generation I, , and . He hands out the to s who defeat him in . As a Gym Leader, he specializes in , but his master plan includes collecting rare Pokémon of all types. After he disbands Team Rocket and abandons his Gym, his role as the Viridian Gym Leader is taken over by . In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, he makes a return appearance as the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket. He is the only character in the games to have the es Boss/Rocket Boss/Team Rocket Boss (Japanese: ロケットだんボス Team Rocket Boss) and Team Rainbow Rocket (Japanese: Team R Rocket).
==Terminology==
In the English version of Pokémon Stadium, his name is misspelled "Giovani" (with one n) to fit the game's seven-character limit for Trainer names. His name is correctly written as Giovanni in the Pokémon Stadium: Official Nintendo Player's Guide.
In the Japanese version of the from the Generation I games, he is unidentified and his name is written as ???, as opposed to other Gym Leaders who have their names written on the Trainer Card. However, the English version of the Generation I Trainer Card does not have any names of Gym Leaders. Giovanni appears as a silhouette in both language versions.
He is also unidentified and has his name is written as ??? on the list of Gym Leaders seen in Japanese and English manuals of the Generation I games and the English manual of , even though he is identified normally in the Japanese manual of FireRed and LeafGreen.
==In the core series games==
===Character profile===
Giovanni is the primary antagonist of the games taking place in Kanto.
In the first games Giovanni appeared in, he served a dual role: one that was well known to the residents of Kanto, and one that was more secret. He was first shown as the leader of the villainous Team Rocket, the first of many criminal organizations to grace the Pokémon games. After the defeated him and his team of Grunts at Silph Co., Giovanni fled to a hideout that the player is unaware of. Once the player returned to Viridian City, one of the major plot twists of these games revealed that Giovanni, in addition to his role as a criminal, was the final Gym Leader to be fought before the Elite Four—albeit one without a formal title. Here, he specializes in the type. Once defeated, he disbanded Team Rocket and left the player with the and . If talked to again, he then vanishes and is not seen again for the rest of the game.
Giovanni's role in is much the same; the one difference is that defeating him in the Gym battle will earn the player , instead of TM27 (Fissure). He also implies that he intends to return to power one day rather than being moved to dedicate his life to the study of Pokémon. There is a side-plot in the Sevii Islands that revolves around Giovanni; a group of Team Rocket members are trying to continue the aims of Team Rocket, but they abandon this when they realize that their leader has been defeated once and for all.
In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Giovanni's story is slightly expanded from his first appearance. During his first appearance, he is seen talking with Archer and giving him the permission to proceed with the plan to take over Silph Co. After being defeated for the first time, he gives the player the Silph Scope as a token of apology for mocking them, as opposed to just leaving the device behind before leaving, like in previous games. At the Silph Co., a part of his conversation with the Silph Co. President is shown, with Giovanni demanding him to hand over the Master Ball like they had previously agreed. In the Gym battle, Giovanni's reward TM once again contains Earthquake, although now, it's TM41, instead of TM26.
In , a group of Team Rocket members tries to relaunch the old team. They take over Goldenrod Radio Tower, and broadcast a radio announcement intended for Giovanni. Only in HeartGold and SoulSilver is it revealed that Giovanni does hear the broadcast, from his hideout in Tohjo Falls - an event in the remakes involving a time-traveling allows and to travel back in time and defeat Giovanni at the same time the rest of Team Rocket is being defeated at the Radio Tower. Upon defeat, he will begin ranting about how he keeps losing to children and, like before, Giovanni will leave the room and disappear. Later, in Kanto, it is revealed that took over the Viridian Gym after his disappearance.
The Celebi event also reveals some of Giovanni's background from the three years between Generation I/III and Generation II/IV. While it was mentioned by Gideon in FireRed and LeafGreen that Giovanni has a son with red hair, the son's identity wasn't revealed until the time travel event in HeartGold and SoulSilver. As many fans speculated (and as was mentioned in the Pokémon Adventures manga), this son is the rival of the Johto player character, . The Celebi event allows Ethan and Lyra to witness the moment Giovanni left his son behind after being defeated by and their last conversation on . Much of Silver's personality is a result of the treatment he received from Giovanni, which includes this abandonment. Like many of Giovanni's other actions throughout the games, this reflects on his selfishness.
Giovanni reappears in in the Pokémon World Tournament, replacing Blue, who instead participates in the Champions Tournament. Giovanni returns to using Ground types exclusively. While the announcer usually introduces Gym Leaders by their title, Giovanni, who does not have a title, is introduced as "The Self-Proclaimed Strongest Trainer" (Japanese: さいきょうの トレーナーと なのる Self-Proclaimed Strongest Trainer).
An alternate universe Giovanni appears in 's Episode RR post-game story as the Boss of Team Rainbow Rocket. This version of Giovanni came from a universe where Team Rocket succeeded in taking over the world. He is first seen during the Aether Foundation's broadcast from Aether Paradise, where he seizes control of the organization from Lusamine. He uses an Ultra Wormhole to transform her mansion into Team Rocket's Castle, fortifies himself inside it, and stations versions of Archie, Maxie, Cyrus, Lysandre, and Ghetsis from other worlds as his guards, along with an army of s. After battling through his army, the player and Lillie find Giovanni holding an unconscious Lusamine inside his control center deep within the castle. He introduces himself and reveals that he plans to create an army of Ultra Beasts in order to conquer all worlds. For that purpose, he needs the Aether Foundation's resources, and intends to brainwash Lusamine into serving him. Feeling nostalgic that a child would challenge him, Giovanni battles the player with a party that includes a capable of Mega Evolving, and is ultimately defeated. Accepting his loss, Giovanni abandons his plans for the Aether Foundation but swears that Team Rainbow Rocket will never fall. He leaves as Colress begins working to revert Team Rocket's Castle back into Lusamine's mansion, and is last seen reflecting on what world he should target for his schemes next before warping away.
After Episode RR has started, Sophocles creates a battle program based on Giovanni that appears as a boss in the Battle Agency within Festival Plaza. Giovanni is also implied to have stopped by at the Alola Photo Club to leave villainous team-based stickers for the player to use after he was defeated by them.
===Appearance===
In most of the games he appears in, Giovanni is depicted as a tall, middle-aged man. He has very short, flat, dark hair and small dark eyes. He wears a long sleeved black shirt with a large V neck that shows off a white undershirt, black slightly baggy trousers, and black shoes. On the left side of his shirt is the red Team Rocket logo.
In and , he wears a black trench coat with a red triangular symbol on it instead of his usual black shirt. He also wears a black fedora hat.
In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, he looks the same as his normal appearance, with the only difference being that his undershirt is red instead of white.
His alternate universe self in looks the same as his original counterpart, with the only difference being that the Team Rocket logo on his shirt being changed into the rainbow-colored Team Rainbow Rocket logo.
===Fame Checker===
This is a list of the Fame Checker's information on Giovanni in .
;Rocket Hideout - Giovanni
:What does this person do?
:<sc>Team Rocket</sc> captures <sc>Pok</sc>é<sc>mon</sc> from around the world. They're important tools for keeping our criminal enterprise going. I am the leader, <sc>Giovanni</sc>!
;Silph Co. - 
:Favorite kind of <sc>Pok</sc>é<sc>mon</sc>?
:Those thugs that took over our building... Their <sc>Boss</sc> said he was looking for strong <sc>Pok</sc>é<sc>mon</sc>.
;Silph Co. - Scientist
:What is this person like?
:<sc>Team Rocket</sc>'s <sc>Boss</sc> is terribly cruel! To him, <sc>Pok</sc>é<sc>mon</sc> 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 <sc>Team Rocket</sc> to its former glory.
;Viridian Gym - Gym guide
:What does this person do?
:Blow me away! <sc>Giovanni</sc> was the <sc>Gym Leader</sc> of <sc>Viridian</sc>?
;Rocket Warehouse - Scientist Gideon
:Family and Friends?
:You... You're not <sc>Giovanni</sc>'s kid, are you? No, that can't be right. has red hair.
;Message from <sc>Giovanni</sc>
* From: <sc>Giovanni</sc>
* To: [Player]
:"There is nothing I wish to say to you.
:I will concentrate solely on bettering myself, and none other."
===Pokémon===
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In all three battles, Giovanni has one Guard Spec. per Pokémon to use randomly 25% of the time.
=====First battle=====
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=====Second battle=====
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=====Gym battle=====
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In all three battles, Giovanni has one Guard Spec. per Pokémon to use randomly 25% of the time.
=====First battle=====
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=====Second battle=====
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=====Gym battle=====
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=====First battle=====
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=====Second battle=====
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=====Gym battle=====
Giovanni has two Hyper Potions and a Full Heal.
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=====Pokémon World Tournament=====
Giovanni uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles, and all six in Triple Battles. Giovanni will always lead with his signature Pokémon, .
======Kanto Leaders Tournament======
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======Type Expert/World Leaders Tournament======
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====Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon====
Giovanni's Pokémon are kept in Master Balls. His 's moveset and Mega Stone differ between the two versions. He will always send out Mewtwo last and Mega Evolve it at the first opportunity.
=====Pokémon Ultra Sun=====
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=====Pokémon Ultra Moon=====
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=====Battle Agency=====
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====Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!====
=====First battle=====
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=====Second battle=====
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=====Gym battle=====
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==In the side series games==
===Pokémon Stadium===
Giovanni appears in Pokémon Stadium as the final Gym Leader the player faces during the Gym Leader Castle challenge. His name is spelled "Giovani" to fit the game's seven-character name limit.
====Pokémon====
=====Round 1=====
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=====Round 2=====
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==In the spin-off games==
===Pokémon Puzzle League===
In Pokémon Puzzle League, Giovanni, as he appears in , is one of the opponents in the 1P Stadium mode, and one of the characters available in the 2P Stadium mode.
===Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!===
In Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!, the card is available. The boss mentioned by the card is Giovanni.
===Pokémon GO===
In Pokémon GO, Giovanni appears as the boss of Team GO Rocket, who operate by invading PokéStops and battling using . 
===Pokémon Masters EX===
Giovanni forms a sync pair with , , , , , and in Pokémon Masters EX. His Mewtwo is capable of Mega Evolving into Mega Mewtwo Y, while his Nidoking is capable of Dynamaxing. Giovanni became a playable sync pair on December 5, 2019.
In this game, Giovanni is from an alternate universe where Team Rocket succeeded in taking over the world and later became the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket, which was introduced in . He has made notable appearances in the game's Main Stories: the PML Arc, Legendary Adventures, and is the overall main antagonist of the Villain Arc. The whereabouts of Giovanni from this game's continuity are currently unknown.
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===Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket===
Giovanni makes an appearance as a card in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket's first expansion, . On the turn the player plays this card, attacks used by their Pokémon do an additional 10 damage to their opponent's Active Pokémon.
==Gallery==
===Artwork===
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Headshot from	Artwork from	Artwork from	Artwork from by Giovanni's Scheme (BREAKthrough 138)	Artwork from by Giovanni's Scheme (BREAKthrough 138)	Artwork from	Artwork from	Concept art from
===Sprites and models===
====In the core series====
 	 	 	 	 	
Sprite from 	Sprite from 	Sprite from 	Sprite from 	VS sprite from 	Sprite from
 	 	 	 	 	
Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from
 	 	 	 	 	
VS model from 	VS model from 	VS sprite from 	VS sprite from 	High-poly model from 	VS model from
 	 	 	 	 	
Overworld model from 	Overworld model from 	Overworld model from 	Overworld model from 	Overworld model from 	Overworld model from
====In other games====
 	
The Boss's Way from	Portrait from
==Quotes==
==In animation==
===Pokémon the Series===
Giovanni appears in as the head of Team Rocket. Unlike the members of other prominent criminal organizations, he is a recurring character from to , usually keeping in contact with the Team Rocket trio. In , he also appears in person to take on the role of direct antagonist at times.
===Pokémon Origins===
Giovanni appeared in File 3: Giovanni. first recalled meeting him at the Rocket Hideout. They later encountered again at Silph Co. after Team Rocket had taken over the building. Seeing Red's arrogant and determined attitude to stop Team Rocket every time, Giovanni decided to put him in his place, and battled Red's Charizard with his , winning easily before escaping with a helicopter, declaring that Red could never understand what he was hoping to achieve.
Giovanni appeared once more as the Viridian Gym Leader. Giovanni accepted his Gym challenge, but Red claimed that he would battle him as the enemy of all Pokémon, instead of a Gym Leader. Hearing this, Giovanni put aside his usual Gym Leader battling team and took out his strongest pair of Pokémon, contained within Ultra Balls. The first one was , which single-handedly was able to defeat four of Red's Pokémon before drawing with his . During the , Giovanni started actually feeling excited, and wondered why he was feeling that way. When he saw the pose Red took while sending out his Charizard, he finally remembered his childhood passion for Pokémon and battling, and wondered how he could have ever turned into a person who only treated Pokémon as tools for business. After Red's Charizard had defeated Giovanni's last Pokémon, , Giovanni offered him the Earth Badge as a proof of his victory. Red, however, refused to take a Badge from the Boss of Team Rocket. Seeing this, Giovanni turned to his minions, informing them that from that moment onward, Team Rocket would be officially disbanded. He then turned back to Red, now offering the Badge to him not as the Boss of Team Rocket but as the Viridian City Gym Leader. Red accepted the Earth Badge and left, heading for the Pokémon League.
As his battle with Red had reminded Giovanni of how Pokémon could be taken as fun rather than business, he decided that he wanted to find a new path for himself and his Pokémon, without being the Boss of Team Rocket any longer.
====Pokémon====
=====On hand=====
=====Status unknown=====
====Voice actors====
===Pokémon Generations===
Giovanni first appeared in The Chase. After the International Police had failed to find him during a raid at the Viridian Gym, he was seen standing on a hill near Viridian City, declaring that Team Rocket would never fall, before walking away. Along with his disapparance, rumors about Team Rocket's disbandment began circling around.
He reappeared in a flashback in The Legacy. Looker approached Giovanni's son , hoping to find information on him as he had not been seen since his disappearance three years prior. However, all Silver could describe was his own last encounter with Giovanni three years ago, in which the two had a falling out that fractured their relationship.
====Voice actors====
===GOTCHA!===
Giovanni briefly appeared as a silhouette in GOTCHA!.
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
In Pokémon Adventures, Giovanni serves much of 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 than his other counterparts.
===How I Became a Pokémon Card===
Giovanni and were revealed to have been together for a long time, as he rescued the Pokémon when he was a child.
====Pokémon====
=====On hand=====
=====Mentioned=====
===Pokémon Pocket Monsters===
Giovanni is the boss of Team Rocket in Pokémon Pocket Monsters.
===Pokémon Zensho===
Giovanni appears in PZ05, where he is watching from the hidden cameras within the Silph Co. building. He orders one of his s to try and stop Satoshi from reaching him. Two chapters later, he has taken the boss of Silph Co. hostage and threatens to harm him if he refuses to tell Giovanni where the Master Ball was. However, he is interrupted when Satoshi and Sabrina teleport their way to the top floor. Lapras uses to blind , but she launches a attack. One of the needles from the attacks hits Giovanni. Satoshi and the others manage to escape afterwards. In Viridian City, Giovanni was revealed to be the final Gym Leader that Satoshi challenges. Satoshi manages to defeat him and earns the .
====Pokémon====
=====At the Pokémon Tower=====
==In the TCG==
Giovanni has an in the expansion.
===Cards===
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Giovanni or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
==Trivia==
* Giovanni is the only Gym Leader in the to appear outside of his Gym in Generation I, a feature that would become more and more common up to Generation IV, during and after which all Gym Leaders in the featured regions appear outside of their Gym in one way or another.
** He is also the only Gym Leader not to use the "A Trainer Appears (Boy Version)" song before the battle.
* In the official Red and Blue guide from Nintendo Power, Giovanni was labelled to be a regional boss of Team Rocket (implying he's not the absolute leader). This was invalidated in , where it was made clear that Giovanni was the absolute leader of Team Rocket (even having an office in Johto).
* Giovanni is likely based on the boss of a faction, possibly more on the factions than others, considering Team Rocket's former ownership of the Celadon Game Corner. Outside of Japan, this reference is localized, making him more akin to a boss (especially considering his English name being Italian in origin).
* In , Giovanni and Norman are tied for using more different species of Pokémon than any other Gym Leader at the Pokémon World Tournament, with a total of 10.
* Official material for the Pokémon World Tournament uses Giovanni's official artwork from , even though he uses his design from in the games themselves.
** He is the only character to appear in the Pokémon World Tournament who does not use his most recent official artwork in promotional material.
* In , he is the only Gym Leader who uses a Pokémon not of the type he specializes in during Gym battles.
* In his official artwork, Giovanni has the same pose as X in , just mirrored.
* Artwork made by Ken Sugimori suggests that Giovanni was not originally going to be the Gym Leader of Viridian City.https://twitter.com/SUPER_32X/status/611129653110026241
* Giovanni debuted in as a GO Snapshot photobomb at Pokémon GO Fest in Yokohama.
* The teaser trailer for the debut of Team GO Rocket in GO contains the line "Earth is where I shall unleash my evil schemes next!" This is a reference to Giovanni's final line in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, in which he ponders "Now...what new world shall I unleash my evil schemes upon...?" before warping away from Aether Paradise.
* Giovanni is the only character to be the leader of more than one villainous team.
* Since Pokémon Sun and Moon, Giovanni's Traditional Chinese name has been written in two different ways: 阪木 Bǎnmù in the games, and 坂木 Bǎnmù in other media. This is likely due to the fact that 坂 bǎn is not present in the encoding used by the Traditional Chinese font for the core series games.
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	サカキ Sakaki 	From 榊 (a sacred tree in from which the Earth Badge bears a resemblance) and 坂 / 阪 saka (slope)
English, German, Spanish,French, Italian, Indonesian,Brazilian Portuguese, Turkish	Giovanni 	From geo- (a prefix of Greek origin pertaining to earth). The name "" is the Italian cognate of John, possibly a reference on his resemblance to a boss.
Korean 	비주기 Bijugi 	From 비쭈기나무 bijjuginamu (sakaki)
Chinese () 	阪木 Bǎnmù坂木 Bǎnmù 	From the Japanese name 阪木 / 坂木 Sakaki and 阪 / 坂 bǎn (slope)
Chinese () 	板木 Bǎnmù 	Similar to his other names. May be taken from 老板 lǎobǎn (boss).
Chinese () 	阪木 Báanmuhk坂木 Báanmuhk 	From the Japanese name 阪木 / 坂木 Sakaki and 阪 / 坂 bǎn (slope)
Chinese () 	沙加 Sāgā 	From the partial transcription his Japanese name and 沙 sā (sand)
Hindi 	जोवानी Giovanni 	Transcription of his English name
Russian 	Джованни Dzhovanni 	Transcription of his English name
Thai 	ซากากิ Sakakiซาคากิ Sakhaki	Transcription of his Japanese name
Vietnamese 	Sakaki 	Transcription of his Japanese name
Boss/Rocket Boss/Team Rocket Boss
==See also==
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
==References==
==Related articles==
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Category:Members of Team Rocket
Category:Members of Team Rainbow Rocket
Category:Pokémon Origins characters
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Category:Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon characters
Category:Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! characters
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Category:Criminal masterminds
Category:Gym Leaders
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Category:Trainers with Key Stones
Category:How I Became a Pokémon Card characters
Category:Pokémon Zensho characters
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