The history of Giovanni and his Pokémon from the Pokémon franchise.
In The Games[]
Team Rocket Rises[]
Giovanni first appears in Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue, Pokémon Green and Pokémon Yellow versions, as well as their remakes Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen & Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! as the main antagonist and the boss of Team Rocket. He is also revealed to be the final Gym Leader, the strongest of them all. Giovanni manages business at the Rocket Game Corner from his Hideout and later leads a hostile takeover of Silph Co. in Saffron City (desiring to steal their technology, including the powerful Master Ball). After he is defeated by the player for the third and final time, Giovanni disbands Team Rocket, finding himself unfit to command his follows, and leaves to better himself as a Pokémon Trainer as he disappears upon the lights briefly going out. The journals in Cinnabar Mansion hint at a similar creation story for Mewtwo as shown in the anime, hinting that Giovanni was involved with that project in the games as well.
It is later revealed in Pokémon HeartGold/Pokémon SoulSilver that he only left to become stronger and resurrect Team Rocket.
Team Rocket Returns[]
In Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver (an enhanced remake of Pokémon Gold/Pokémon Silver), it is revealed that Giovanni had been training at the Tohjo Falls. During the new Team Rocket's broadcast from the Goldenrod Radio Tower, he decides to return to the team and lead them once again, but is engaged by a time-traveling Ethan/Lyra (at the same time that Ethan/Lyra/Kris is fighting Executive Archer). Ultimately defeated, Giovanni leaves with his dreams crushed once again, just as Archer disbands the remnants of Team Rocket.
The World Competition[]
Giovanni returns in Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 as a participant of the World Tournament, he uses a mixture of his old Pokémon and some new ones.
Rainbow Rocket[]
Giovanni returns in Pokémon Ultra Sun/Pokémon Ultra Moon, teaming up with Archie, Maxie, Cyrus, Ghetsis, and Lysandre to form Team Rainbow Rocket.
Pokémon GO[]
| “ | Earth is where I shall unleash my evil schemes next! | „ |
| ~ Giovanni |
In Pokémon GO, Giovanni is the leader of Team GO Rocket, setting up plans to invade PokéStops and loot off their resources. His location can be found using the Super Rocket Radar, and when fought, uses three Shadow Pokémon.
Pokémon Masters[]
Giovanni appears in Pokémon Masters as an obtainable unit in the Lurking Shadows event. A five-star sync pair, he uses a Mewtwo as his Sync Pokémon that represents the Psychic type. Being spotted in Pasio after warping to it from another universe with plans to use his sync stone for nefarious purposes, the player must hunt him down and defeat him. He eventually decides to team up with the player after being impressed with their skill, with him expressing thoughts of possibly turning over a new leaf and becoming a hero. Despite this, he allies himself with Ghetsis and Team Break in the Father or Foe event in his schemes of trying to take Ghetsis' Kyurem and N's Zekrom for his own selfish gain to stop Ghetsis from becoming a threat.
In the Kanto-themed chapter of the second arc of the story, Giovanni returns in full force with his minions, first appearing on a beach with his grunts as Red confronts them and defeats a majority of his minions. Giovanni next appears in the group's hideout with the kidnapped Professor Bellis, wanting her to aid in his quest for sync stones to make his Pokémon more powerful despite her protests against aiding him. Eventually, Giovanni is confronted by and defeated by the player and their allies, but Giovanni manages to distract the heroes with his grunts before stealing the professor's research data and fleeing from his hideout.
Giovanni is then seen in a snowy area, ready to defeat the heroes with his Mewtwo and army of grunts. As the heroes arrive to his location, Giovanni returns the data after studying it, which he uses to intimidate the heroes through Mewtwo's psychic powers. However, Mewtwo vanished, causing the heroes to look for them out of fear of them and later to investigate Pokémon going berserk through Mewtwo's abilities. Due to this, the heroes' journey to find Giovanni, to which the heroes defeat a small group of grunts before going further. Finding him in a clearing, Giovanni tells the group that his methods are beyond their understanding and demands them to leave, unleashing Mewtwo when they don't. As Red and Blue fight and originally defeat them, Giovanni summons two grunts before Mewtwo mega evolves into Mega Mewtwo Y, causing the heroes to resume their fight against him. After defeating Mewtwo again, Giovanni further powers up his Pokémon, causing the heroes to regretfully let Giovanni teleport away to prevent Mewtwo from suffering further.
During in the end of Sinnoh-themed chapter of the same arc. He saw the trainers from Sinnoh region intervene his silent ally, Cyrus until he hears his followers still loyal to him and decided to call his followers preparing the revival.
Giovanni returns in the Johto-themed chapter of the same arc. Seeking the power of Dynamax, Giovanni decides to take over the island of Pasio to achieve his dreams of supremacy, summoning his admins to do so. The chapter also serves as the debut of his Sygna suit, being of the five-star rank and wielding a Nidoking representing the Ground type. Causing an outbreak of Pokémon suddenly Dynamaxing, Petrel then disguises himself as Giovanni as he fights an attacking Silver, revealing his identity following his first defeat. After this faux appearance, Giovanni himself appears as the heroes find Archer and Ariana in his new Sygna suit, having achieved the ability to Dynamax his Nidoking. Activating this ability, Giovanni manages to destroy the base he was in in a showcase of his might, and after musing his newfound powers, Silver steps forth in order to defeat the criminal himself. Despite his legendary Pokémon and his unwillingness to overwork it, however, Silver proves unsuccessful in defeating Giovanni, with Giovanni departing with Archer and Ariana to defeat Lear and take over Pasio.
Giovanni is next seen within Lear's mansion, managing to defeat the man's Hoopa and planning to use it to take over Pasio and crush any form of opposition to his plans. However, this dream of conquest is cut short upon Ethan and Silver's arrival, with Silver being the one of the two to fight him, rejecting help from his friend, Ethan. Criticizing his son's desire to fight on his own, Giovanni declares on teaching his son a lesson on the cruelty of the world before fighting him. At first, it seems that the combined might of Giovanni's Nidoking and Mewtwo proved to be once again too much for Silver to handle, but upon Archer's defeat, Ethan lends the aid of his Lugia to defeat the crime lord, with Giovanni sarcastically mocking Silver's need to team up before mega evolving his Mewtwo to match the heroes. Giovanni's Pokémon prove to be a powerful opponent against the two heroes, but before he can use his opportunity to escape, the protagonist, Paulo, and Looker, intercept the villains in order to apprehend them, with Giovanni noting of his newfound knowledge before teleporting away with the aid of an Abra. Back in their headquarters, Giovanni notes of their initial objective's success, being willing to once again slink into the darkness, willing to use their business partners to work behind the scenes.
Giovanni next appears in the Hoenn-themed chapter of the same arc, taking interest in his team's reports of a changing field of energy within Pasio. Detailing similar events in Hoenn's past, Giovanni notes his desire to use these circumstances for his own benefit, later having his team plant a device to make Groudon, Kyogre, Courtney, and Matt go into a rage-fueled trance.
Following this, Giovanni is among the members of Team Rocket who attempt to steal Reshiram and Zekrom away from N during the beginning of the Unova-themed chapter. Back at their base, however, Giovanni manages to receive news of their rival organization, Team Plasma's defeat at the hands of Unova's protagonists, noting of his desire to use Kyurem for himself in order to both obtain power and snuff out the threat they possess, alongside remarking of Ghetsis' continued plans for conquest.
Giovanni next appears as the tail end of the Kalos-themed chapter with Archer, discussing their recent infiltration of Team Flare's operations. Overall, Giovanni sees their scheme as a great success, being pleased with the knowledge obtained of Team Flare's weapons of mass destruction. Giovanni is then seen chucking while facing an Ultra Wormhole, hinting that the true nature of their plan involves things much greater than Pasio itself.
A third sync pair was later introduced in August 2022, with this being introduced as part of the run-up to the game's fourth anniversary. A four-star sync pair featuring Giovanni in his classic attire (something done to connect Giovanni back to his roots, willing to use a more classic style to take over Pasio), he wields a Persian that represents the Normal type.
In The Anime[]
Giovanni in the anime.
| “ | You're just the players in my master plan! | „ |
| ~ Giovanni during "Double Trouble". |
Giovanni is the ultimate main antagonist in the Pokémon anime series. He is the boss of Team Rocket and the true arch-nemesis of Ash Ketchum since their encounter in Mewtwo Returns. Unlike his henchmen, he does very little and has a small to minor part on the show, although Rocket agents often have him in mind when they plan something.
Giovanni appears in a cameo near the beginning of Mewtwo Strikes Back during his attempted control of Mewtwo, and is the secondary antagonist of Pokémon: the First Movie, and the main antagonist of Mewtwo Returns.
Little is known about him, but he apparently inherited his position as the boss from his mother called Madame Boss. The organization has apparently been a family business (it is unknown if his parents were the founders of Team Rocket or if its history dates back to his ancestors). He and his family have been using the evil organization to collect Pokémon for a powerful army to conquer the world. Giovanni is a power-hungry, ambitious boss. He can be sophisticated and calm one moment, but angry and rude the next, though he has a great deal of cunning and seems to be fairly intelligent.
He is also the leader of the gym in Viridian City, both in the games and the anime. This wasn't revealed until late in the games which could be the reason they never showed his face clearly and altered his voice up until his appearance in the episode "Battle of the Badge" (the episode in which Ash and Gary try to win the Earth Badge).
One of Giovanni's plans for greater power was to control Mewtwo, a powerful altered clone of Mew. He hired some scientists to find Mew's DNA to create this clone. The scientists agreed, as their leader wanted to research the secret of restoring life itself, and succeeded in cloning Mewtwo. Mewtwo did not want to be controlled, however, and destroyed the lab, killing the scientists. Giovanni approached Mewtwo in his helicopter and told them that they were partners. He put special armor on Mewtwo to subdue and control his powers, and used the Psychic Pokémon in battle, defeating all challengers with ease. One such victim at Viridian City Gym was Gary Oak. However, unknown events involving Mewtwo caused Giovanni to give him an "emergency assignment", conveniently when Ash Ketchum was on his way to Viridian City Gym, leaving agents Jessie, James and Meowth in charge. Ash was able to defeat them and get the Earth Badge.
When Mewtwo realized that Giovanni never intended for him to be his equal, he escaped and destroyed his holding place. Mysteriously, Giovanni survived without a scratch. However, in the TV special Mewtwo Returns, Giovanni found Mewtwo again, and tracked him down to his hiding place at Mt. Quena. He threatened the lives of the cloned Pokémon to force Mewtwo to submit. But he also planned to use the mountain as a new base of operations to build an army of the strongest Pokémon in order to take over the world. Giovanni weakened Mewtwo with two machines, and, as his will was too powerful to be controlled. With help from Pikachu, Mewtwo was able to destroy the machines, although he was hurt rather badly. Ash threw him into the spring to heal him, and the Psychic Pokémon returned stronger than ever and moved the spring under the mountain so that Giovanni or anyone else could not destroy it. Mewtwo decided to erase only the memories of those who were his enemies, thus Giovanni and all members of his Team Rocket army (except Jessie, James, and Meowth, who had helped the good guys at the end in order to get back at Giovanni's favored agent Domino) forgot about Mewtwo entirely thanks to a swarm of Butterfrees. They found themselves in the middle of nowhere, and Giovanni (despite a strange feeling) commanded them to withdraw, calmly accepting his utter defeat.
He's still in the control of Team Rocket, and through its agents the organization continues to expand into other regions outside of Kanto and Johto. Ash and his friends haven't disbanded Team Rocket yet, although they have confronted Giovanni twice: Once in Mewtwo Returns, and once in the Black and White series.
Giovanni in Pokémon Black & White.
In Black and White, Giovanni decided he wanted to take over the Unova region and use it as Team Rocket's base of operations for conquering the rest of the world. After promoting Jessie, James, and Meowth and sending them to Unova in BW01, he learned that there was another secret criminal organization operating in that region already. He hoped the trio would be able to draw them out of hiding, knowing their experiences with rival gangs of other regions in the past. In BW02, he told the trio to go catch new Pokémon in order to help them with their endeavors. He called them again at the end of BW04, telling them that their first mission assignment is to go to Striaton City. Once the trio arrived in BW05, they contacted Giovanni as instructed, and he proceeded to give them orders to investigate the Dream Yard in order to obtain it's mystical Dream Energy. When Team Rocket got the Dream Energy and sent it back to Giovanni in BW06, he had his scientists run tests with it, which ended up picking up an identical energy signal coming from the Desert Resort. This was the core of the Meteonite, a celestial rock filled with mystical energy that smashed into Unova ages ago.
Giovanni realized that this Meteonite was the key to Team Rocket's great mission, so he led an operation to obtain it. He did so by sending Pierce and Dr. Zager to Unova in order to assist the surprisingly efficient Jessie, James, and Meowth. Finally, the Meteonite was found underneath the Desert Resort in BW022. When told of this, Giovanni got on his plane and flew to Unova in order to spearhead the operation to obtain it.
Giovanni at Relic Castle.
Arriving at the Desert Resort in BW023, he led his troops to Relic Castle, where they uncovered the Meteonite. Seeing it made Giovanni realize the full extent of its solar power. He and Team Rocket took it to a large building in Castelia City, where many wealthy and powerful people of Unova were gathered for a masquerade ball. Team Rocket crashed the party and Giovanni explained to the captive guests that the Meteonite could expand and grow in both size and power until it could become an artificial sun. The sun could be sent into the sky and would shine even at night, it's rays putting the Pokémon of Unova under Giovanni's control. However, it's power could also create an imbalance in the weather and energy flow, and cause many natural disasters that could tear the region apart. He used this threat as a bid for extorting total control of the Unova region, but at the start of BW024, the rival organization known as Team Plasma attacked the building and swiped the Meteonite from Giovanni. Before retreating back to Kanto, Giovanni sent Jessie, James, and Meowth to pursue Team Plasma to the Desert Resort in order to take back the Meteonite. This effort ended in failure, as the Meteonite got destroyed by Ash's Pikachu. Though this story is known of, the two episodes in which it transpired have yet to be aired due to being postponed in light of the disaster that occurred on March 11, 2011, which had similarities to the destruction shown in the episodes.
Giovanni possessed by the power of the Reveal Glass.
After a long absence following the events of the conflict with Team Plasma (leaving Jessie, James and Meowth to free-lance, back in their unique white uniforms), Giovanni returned in BW097, making a brief appearance in the office of his Kanto HQ, presumably having been called by Dr. Zager about Meloetta's song. He flew his plane back to Unova in BW098, spearheading Team Rocket's "Operation Tempest," a mission to capture Meloetta and use it to take control of Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus to conquer Unova. For the first time in the history of the series, he battled against Ash directly, with Giovanni's Persian defeating Pikachu. He then captured Ash, Pikachu and Meloetta and escorted them to the ruins in preparation for the next stage of the mission, using the recording of Meloetta's song to summon the Reveal Glass in the temple. At the beginning of BW099, he used the Reveal Glass to summon the Kami Trio and transform them into their Therian Formes before setting them against Ash, Iris, Cilan, Ridley and Cynthia. who stood in the way of his conquest of Unova. However, during the battle, Meloetta was dislodged from the mechanism controlling the trio's power, and after looking directly into the Reveal Glass when blasted by Pikachu's Electro Ball, Giovanni became possessed by the power and went insane, declaring against his followers' wishes that he would instead destroy Unova instead of conquering it. But when he was saved from a possibly life-threatening explosion by Jessie, James and Meowth, the possession was broken. On Dr. Zager's advisement he then ordered a full retreat from the Unova region and was last seen flying off in his plane to return to Kanto with Jessie, James, Meowth and Dr. Zager.
He reappeared in BW125, where he congratulated Jessie, James and Meowth on their good work in defeating Team Plasma before telling them to continue doing their best for Team Rocket.
Giovanni in the Pokémon XY anime.
Giovanni appeared in BW144 in his new design, alongside Matori. After once again praising Jessie, James and Meowth for defeating Team Plasma, he wanted to know what Pokémon they had brought back from him from the Decolore Islands. With Jessie and James having nothing to show for their time, Meowth quickly improvised and claimed that the Pokémon Jessie and James had used in Unova were for him, and he accepted them.
Giovanni appeared in the second episode of the XY anime series, where he listened to the Trio's report about their activity in Kalos region. Jessie, James and Meowth proposed to search for rare and new Pokémon in this region, and the boss agreed, noting that gaining new powerful Pokémon is of utmost importance to the goals of Team Rocket. He would later charge the three of them with contending with Team Flare and their plans for Zygarde.
In the series sun and moon, he is seen briefly in episode SM03 talking to team rocket about the rare Pokémon that inhabit the Alola region, he orders them to capture as many as they can and send them to them, he also seems to have given them the same order as in Unova de not take their current Pokémon, with the exception of Meowth and Wobbuffet and that they will leave the rest at the headquarters.
In SM012, After seeing an argument between the trio and his secretary Matori for not sends anything about his progress report since his arrival in the region, he enlarges the communicator screen to keep the trio under control and they will tell him about the Pokémon they have captured since they arrived. to the Alola region. They show Mimikyu, to which a disappointed Matori asks them if it was all they captured, the rocket team lies to both of them saying that they captured the Bewear that usually rescues them, at first Giovanni was skeptical until Matori shows him a data tablet about the Pokémon and encourages the trio to continue their progress, but Matori warns them that they will be in trouble if they continue to fail to deliver their progress reports in the region.
In SM062, He and Matori call Team Rocket again for not having delivered their usual progress report, but the two change the subject when they see that the Team had acquired an Alolan Meowth that showed great differences from Kanto's Meowth and shows some interest in him and he orders the trio to continue with that progress, weeks later the Alola Meowth arrived at the Team Rocket's headquarters (with money that he stole from Team Rocket's Meowth), he quickly earned his appreciation and that of Matori helping them in several Paperwork and later getting caught by Matori, Giovanni congratulates Jessie, James and Meowth on believing that they sent him the Alola Meowth and tells them that he hopes they catch more interesting Pokémon like that.
In SM073, Team Rocket fed up with being scolded by Matori and humiliated in front of Giovanni, they tell them that they have acquired a Z crystal and were practicing a Z move, Matori does not believe them since she and Giovanni have knowledge that to make a Z Move they needed a Aro Z, which they did not have, Giovanni quickly intervenes in the fight between his secretary and Jessie and reveals to the Trio that he knows Nanu the Kahuna of the island Ula-Ula and orders them to go there so that Nanu could give them one with the help of a recommendation that he would give Nanu about them (although because Nanu is a cop and when team rocket arrived at the location they were in disguise so as not to be arrested, Nanu lied to them and they had to cleanly earn the Z Ring by impressing Nanu by managing to face to the greedy Rapooh a domineering Gengar).
In SM074, Giovanni called Nanu showing surprised to know that he had become a kahuna and a policeman at the same time, Nanu tells him not to get into his life, quickly Giovanni changes the subject to the true purpose of having called him which is to ask him about the "Blinding One ". Nanu pretends not to know anything, Giovanni laughingly tells him that he knew he would give him an answer like this and tells him that he has his reasons for asking him, Nanu hangs up when he hears Ash outside the station.
In SM086, After hearing about the strange events that are happening in the Alola region, he decided to send the Matori Matrix, the elite team of team rocket led by his secretary and orders them that if those events proved to be the appearance of the "Blinding One", they should catch him by all possible means and bring it before him.
In SM122, He does not have a physical appearance, but if it is mentioned that he ordered Matori to inform team rocket that they had to send the Bewear to the barracks that had long ago informed him that they had captured and in case of not doing so, Matori had to go in person to the Alola region to take her by force to Kanto, in the end Matori fails in both things and was injured by Bewear, after this Giovanni seems to have decided to leave her alone since she was too strong to be sent and decides to forget the matter.
In SM146, Giovanni orders Team Rocket to return to Kanto to receive new orders and to talk about all their progress in the Alola region, during the conversation, Matori's Meowth comments that they did not do anything relevant to what Meowth of Team rocket was the only one who understood what he said, becomes enraged and yells at him too close to the communicator, leaving himself in shame and leaving Matori and Giovanni perplexed.
In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Giovanni quizzed Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet on Team Rocket's purpose before sending them out on a mission to capture Pokémon all over the world. For this mission, he promised them the use of a new weapon, the Rocket Prize Master, designed to aid them.
In the Manga[]
Pokémon Adventures[]
Giovanni in Pokémon Adventures.
The manga differs greatly from the show and the games. While he's also gym leader and boss of Team Rocket, he appears to be far more ruthless and influential that in the manga and the games and has several other gym leaders as subordinates. He takes a big role in the manga and appears several times.
His main goal is to find his lost son Silver (who was abducted by the Masked Man) and to make him the heir of Team Rocket. In the end, however, it's revealed that his true motivation is to see and reunite with his son one more time before he dies (he has a serious illness that wasn't specified). After Silver accepted him as his father he's sent to Silver's hideout to recover.
In the HeartGold and SoulSilver 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.
Giovanni later appeared in Hoenn during the Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire chapter saving Red, Green, Blaise, and Amber with Team Rocket's airship after they were nearly killed by Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. Later it was revealed he could use Mega Evolution, which allows him to transform his Beedrill into Mega Beedrill.
Although he's ruthless he's still an excellent trainer with an exceptional knowledge of ground-type Pokémon and even wrote a book about it called "Mysteries of the Earth". He was also the first to discover that Rhydon could evolve. His birthday is August 1, and his blood type is 0.
Pokémon Origins[]
Giovanni in Pokémon Origins.
Giovanni appears in Pokémon Origins (a special based of Red and Green) as an antagonist, he first meets the protagonist, a young Pokémon Trainer named Red, at the Rocket Hideout, and 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 Nidoqueen, winning easily before escaping with a helicopter, declaring that Red could never understand what he was hoping to achieve.
Giovanni as a boy.
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 Rhyhorn, which single-handedly was able to defeat four of Red's Pokémon before drawing with his Hitmonlee. During the battle, 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, Rhydon, 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 onwards, 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. Unlike in the games, his redemption is genuine rather than just being a ploy for him to rise to power again.
Pokémon Live![]
Giovanni with MechaMew2 in a promotional image.
| “ | There'll be world domination, Complete obliteration, Of all who now defy me. Let the universe prepare, Good Pokémon beware, You fools shall not deny me! |
„ |
| ~ Giovanni during his song It Will All Be Mine. |
Giovanni appears as the main antagonist of the anime's musical adaptation Pokémo Live!, portrayed by Darren Dunstan. In this continuity, it is established that, when Giovanni was a teenager, he had been in a relationship with Ash's mother Delia, while, at the same time, founding a gang that would later transpire into Team Rocket. Delia would eventually leave him for Ash's father once she came to hate him and everything he stood for, although, despite this, Giovanni still harbored feelings for her.
In the events of the musical, Giovanni creates a robotic Pokémon named MechaMew2 (based on the Mewtwo he had previously owned), who can learn the moves of any Pokémon, Giovanni planning on having his creation learn every known Pokémon move so that he could take over the world. To do this, Giovanni poses as a Gym Leader and offers to give a one-of-a-kind badge called the Diamond Badge to anyone who can beat his creation. After boasting about his creation and upcoming conquest of the planet in the song It Will All Be Mine, Giovanni assigns Jessie, James and Meowth to capture Pikachu for his plans. Immediately afterwards, several trainers arrive to fight for the Diamond Badge, and Giovanni has MechaMew2 effortlessly defeat all of them and learn their Pokémon's moves (Psybeam, Poison Powder and Self-Destruct respectively), and continues boasting about his plans afterwards.
Later on, when Professor Oak and Delia arrive to what they believe to be a lesson on Snorlaxes by Professor Xalrons, Giovanni and his grunts capture them. Giovanni then reveals that Xalrons' lesson was nothing more than a trap designed to lure in Oak so that he wouldn't interfere with his plans. As he notices Delia, Giovanni alludes to their previous relationship and offers her the chance to rekindle it, although Delia angrily declines. Giovanni then has Oak and Delia taken away in helicopters and performs a darker reprise of Everything Changes.
Back in his lair, Giovanni walks in on the captured Oak and Delia, the latter having explained her past with Giovanni to Oak. Giovanni remarks that the Delia he knew would never have been so mean, although she claims that he would, as he hates everyone and everything. Giovanni then introduces MechaMew2 to Delia and Oak, claiming that, once his creation learns all the Pokémon moves, he will rule the world, and that MechaMew2 only needs to learn Electric type attacks to be complete. On Que, Jessie, James and Meowth arrive with Pikachu, although their attempts at trying to get him to attack MechaMew2 resulting in Oak and Delia's escape. Giovanni is unphased by this and states that they have served their purpose, before ordering Jessie, James and Meowth to capture Pikachu's trainer so they can control him.
Soon afterwards, Delia and Oak catch up with Ash, Misty and Brock, and inform them of Pikachu's whereabouts, Delia also finally telling her son of her past relation with Giovanni. Team Rocket then shows up to capture Ash and bring him to Giovanni, however, to their surprise, Ash willingly comes along with them, as that was where he wanted to go anyway. In Giovanni's lair, Giovanni sends Team Rocket off, releases Pikachu and allows Ash to hold on to the Diamond Badge for the duration of their fight, claiming that he will take it from him afterwards. Giovanni unleashes MechaMew2, who learns and defeats Pikachu using Thunder Shock and Thunder. Giovanni claims that MechaMew2 is now complete and nothing will stop him from taking over the world, however, Ash challenges this, resulting in the two singing You Just Can't Win.
Giovanni orders MechaMew2 to finish Ash off with Hyper Beam, however, Ash is protected by a force-field created by the real Mewtwo. Giovanni orders MechaMew2 to destroy Mewtwo by learning his attacks, although Mewtwo projects Ash's memories into the robot, granting it sentience and an idea of right and wrong. Deeming Giovanni as 'wrong', MechaMew2 decides to use Self-Destruct and prevent Giovanni from using it for evil purposes, forcing the latter, Ash and Mewtwo to run out of the building to safety. However Giovanni is later seen dancing with the other characters in the finale meaning he survived the destruction of MechaMew2.