Updated November 8, 2012. As expected, the addition of Hoopa to Pokemon GO's Season of Mischief has had some interesting effects on the hit mobile game. Most notibly is the fact that Team Rocket boss Giovanni has gone missing over the past few month. Typically serving as a tough fight against trainers who own a Super Rocket Radar, Niantic has revealed that Giovanni has gone missing from Pokemon GO. While there's been no update as of yet as to what he's doing or when he'll return, Niantic has only hinted that he's up to no good.

The news is likely disappointing to Pokemon GO players looking to score a new legendary Pokemon. Traditionally, the reward for besting Giovanni has been worth it as the leader typically has a Shadow Legendary which can be captured at the end of the battle. This year alone, players have been able to capture the likes of Zapdos, MewTwo, Articuno, Moltres, and Ho-Oh. Fans continue to hold out hope that the next Legendary to be featured in shadow form may be Lugia, due to it commonly being seen as a duo with Ho-Oh.

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At long last, Niantic has finally confirmed the return of Giovanni as well as confirming the speculation that Lugia is his newest shadow legendary. The news follows suit of Giovanni's previous legendary from September when Shadow Ho-Oh was the featured Pokemon GO reward. Here's what players need to know for Giovanni's return as well as his Pokemon and how to best counter them.

Giovanni's First Pokemon - Persian

Naturally, Giovanni commonly features Persian in whatever team he typically utilizes against players. Although Persian is a normal-type Pokemon, it is weak against fighting types which will certainly make this match up much easier. It's advised that players avoid Ghost types here as Persian tends to hit particularly hard against them while also resisting damage.

Best Persian Counters

Thankfully, the game has a wealth of strong fighting type Pokemon already, but here are some recommended ones players should consider leading off the battle with.

Giovanni's Second Pokemon - Kingler, Rhyperior, or Nidoking

The second phase is typically the most difficult as Giovanni, like the other Team GO Rocket Leaders Cliff, Arlo, and Sierra, can have a few different Pokemon appear here. Unfortunately, they're all fairly different in terms of typing so there's no real way to know which one Giovanni has until players can battle to this point to confirm. As such, Pokemon GO players will need to be prepared for multiple possibilities.

Best Kingler Counters

The first of the bunch is Kingler, the evolved form of the crab Pokemon Crabby. It is a pure Water, which makes grass or electric type Pokemon the most effective choice for this battle.

Best Rhyperior Counters

The next possibility may be Rhyperior which is a dual Rock and Ground type Pokemon. It's dual-typing makes it weak to Water, Grass, Ground, Ice, Steel, and Fighting type moves, which is great for those who still have a Fighting type from the first round against Persian. Players should avoid using Pokemon with Normal, Rock, Flying, Fire, Electric, and Poison-type moves, as Golem resists them.

Best Nidoking Counters

The final possibility is Nidoking, another dual type with Poison and Ground. As such, this makes it weak to Ground, Ice, Psychic and Water moves. However, players should be mindful of Iron Tail, which can be a problem for Ground-type Pokemon.

Giovanni's Third Pokemon - Shadow Lugia

FInally, Giovanni's third encounter is the highly rumored Shadow Lugia. The legendary bird is a dual type covering both Psychic and Flying, making it weak to Dark, Electric, Ghost, Ice and Rock moves. However, for this fight, it's recommended players stick to Electric, Ice, and Rock for the best results.

Best Lugia Counters

Players should utilize Dark, Electric, Ghost, Ice and Rock Pokemon during this phase of the battle, though Electric, Ice, or Rock types offer much better results against Lugia.

Pokemon GO is available now on Android and iOS devices.

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