Giovanni (Japanese: サカキ Sakaki) is the head of Team Rocket, and formerly served as the Gym Leader of Viridian City's Gym, known officially as the Viridian Gym. He handed out the Earth Badge to trainers who defeated him. As a Gym Leader, he specialized in Ground-type Pokémon, but his master plan includes collecting rare Pokémon of all types.

In the anime

Very little is known about his past in any timeline; he is generally shrouded in mystery. However, certain things are known:

His mother was the head of Team Rocket before him. This is presumed to be anime timeline only, as the games have no precedent for this.

While Giovanni very rarely takes the role of antagonist, his agents often have him in mind during missions due to the chance of power, be it through promotion or other means. This gave him a unique series of appearances, mainly during the Hoenn saga, where Meowth often saw how the Pokémon in each episode could be used to help Giovanni and win the trio promotions. These boss fantasies never show his actual personality and occasionally even show Giovanni in chibi form.

The only time Giovanni has been seen in battle was in The Battle for the Badge. He used powerful Pokémon against Gary but later left the Gym to deal with an unexplained emergency, leaving Ash to battle Jessie. By the time Ash returned from Hoenn, Agatha was in charge of the Gym until a new leader could be found. Giovanni's reasons for leaving it have not been explained, though it is speculated to be linked with the events of the aforementioned episode.

Giovanni is one of the three most prominent figures speculated to be Ash Ketchum's father, alongside Professor Oak and Silver. There is no evidence to support this, though Diamondshippers see Giovanni's avoidance of Ash mentioned above as suspicious. In Pokémon Live!, it was claimed that Giovanni and Delia had shared a relationship as teenagers, though it is also stated that someone else is Ash's father in that particular canon.

His Japanese voice actor is 鈴置洋孝 Hirotaka Suzuoki, but after his previous voice actor's death he is voiced by 三宅健太 Kenta Miyake, and his English voice is Ted Lewis (4Kids dub) and Craig Blair (Pokémon USA/TAJ Productions dub).

Pokémon

This listing is of Giovanni's Pokémon in the Pokémon anime.

Persian	Machamp	Kingler
Rhydon	Golem	Cloyster

Escaped

Mewtwo

In the games

Art of Giovanni from Pokémon Red and Blue

Giovanni is the one Gym Leader without a title, and is not widely known, preferring to keep to the shadows.

Giovanni constantly has his thugs looking for strong Pokémon.

Giovanni had several hideouts, the most prominent ones underneath Celadon City's Rocket Game Corner, and the Viridian Gym itself.

Giovanni apparently has a child who has red hair. Many people believe this refers to the red-haired Rival from Pokémon Gold and Silver and Pokémon Crystal, also known as Silver, who values power and strength and despises weakness, including Pokémon and Team Rocket, who he considers weak.

In addition to the Earth Badge, Giovanni gives out TM27 (Fissure), in Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow. In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, he gives out TM26 (Earthquake).

In the game timeline, after being defeated by the protagonist in the Generation I games, he mysteriously disappears, apparently seeking to train and start anew after being shown how his methods failed him against the player; Team Rocket has been waiting for his return ever since.

Giovanni's kid?

In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, on the Chrono Island Rocket Warehouse, a scientist named Gideon (Japanese: スミオ Sumio) says:

A portion of this conversation is recorded in the Fame Checker under the entry for Giovanni. This text is notably gender-neutral, and is the same whether Red or Leaf is the player.

When this text was singled out and reported on Pokémon Forever, it provoked significant speculation in the community on the identity of Giovanni's child.^[1] Silver was singled out as a strong candidate. Silver is Giovanni's son in Pokémon Special, and Giovanni finding him after the Mask of Ice kidnapped him was his primary motivation in the FireRed and LeafGreen storyline.

There was some initial debate over the exact meaning of red hair, as characters like Misty are known as redheads despite having more orange-colored hair, and characters like Lance are portrayed as having red hair as well.

Fame Checker

This is a list of the Fame Checker's information on Giovanni in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

Rocket HQ - Giovanni

What does this person do?

Team Rocket captures Pokémon from around the world. They're important tools for keeping our criminal enterprise going. I am the leader, Giovanni!

Silph Co. - Scientist

Favorite kind of Pokémon?

Those thugs that took over our building... Their Boss said he was looking for strong Pokémon.

Silph Co. - Scientist

What is this person like?

Team Rocket's Boss is terribly cruel! To him, Pokémon 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 Team Rocket to its former glory.

Viridian Gym - Caretaker

What does this person do?

Blow me away! Giovanni was the Gym Leader of Viridian?

Rocket Warehouse - Team Rocket Scientist Gideon

Family and Friends?

You... You're not Giovanni's kid, are you? No, that can't be right. Giovanni's kid has red hair.

Pokémon

This listing is of Giovanni's Pokémon in the video games he has appeared in.

Pokémon Red, Green and Blue

First battle

• Level 25 Onix
• Level 24 Rhyhorn
• Level 29 Kangaskhan

Second battle

• Level 37 Nidorino
• Level 37 Rhyhorn
• Level 35 Kangaskhan
• Level 41 Nidoqueen

Gym battle

Template:Team

Pokémon Yellow

First battle

• Level 25 Onix
• Level 24 Rhyhorn
• Level 29 Persian

Second battle

• Level 37 Nidorino
• Level 37 Rhyhorn
• Level 35 Persian
• Level 41 Nidoqueen

Gym battle

Template:Team

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

First battle

• Level 25 Onix
• Level 24 Rhyhorn
• Level 29 Kangaskhan

Second battle

• Level 37 Nidorino
• Level 37 Rhyhorn
• Level 35 Kangaskhan
• Level 41 Nidoqueen

Gym battle

Template:Team

Pokémon Stadium

Round 1

Persian	Dugtrio	Nidoking
Nidoqueen	Rhydon	Tauros

Round 2

Persian	Gengar	Nidoking
Nidoqueen	Moltres	Tauros

Quotes

Pokémon Red and Blue

"Fwahahaha! This is my hideout! I planned to resurrect Team Rocket here! But, you have caught me again! So be it! This time, I'm not holding back! Once more, you shall face Giovanni, the greatest trainer!"

"Ha! That was a truly intense fight! You have won! As proof, here is the Earth Badge! Having lost, I cannot face my underlings! Team Rocket is finished forever! I will dedicate my life to the study of Pokémon. Let us meet again someday! Farewell!"

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

• First battle:

"So! I must say, I am impressed you got here. Team Rocket captures Pokémon from a around the world. They're important tools for keeping our criminal enterprise going. I am the leader, Giovanni! For your insolence, you will feel a world of pain!"

"What! This can't be!"

• Second battle:

"Ah, [trainer's name]! So we meet again! The president and I are discussing a vital business proposition. Keep your nose out of grown-up matters... Or experience a world of pain!"

"Arrgh!! I lost again!? Blast it all! You ruined our plans for Silph! But Team Rocket will never fall! [trainer's name], Never forget that all Pokémon exist for Team Rocket! I must go, but I shall return!"

• Gym battle:

"Fwahahaha! This is my hideout! It shall be so until I can restore Team Rocket to its former glory. But, you have found me again. So be it. This time, I'm not holding back! Once more, you shall face Giovanni, the greatest trainer!"

"Ha! That was a truly intense fight. You have won! As proof, here is the Earth Badge!"

"Having lost in this fashion, I can't face my followers. I have betrayed their trust. As of today, Team Rocket is finished forever! As for myself, I shall dedicate my life to training again. Let us meet again someday! Farewell!"

In the Pokémon Special manga

In Pokémon Special, 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 ruthless, as in one chapter, he uses his Cloyster to break two Magmar in half.

He attempts to create a super-powerful Pokémon by combining Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno into a single Pokémon. This was thwarted by the efforts of Red, Green, and Blue.

He later provides some minor assistance to the fight against the Elite Four on Cerise Island. He helps Red escape from Lorelei's ice and provides him with some evolutionary stones for his Eevee. Giovanni then informs Koga and the others (Sabrina and Lt. Surge) to lay low until a more suitable time comes to revive Team Rocket.

Giovanni has recently resurfaced in the Sevii Islands, apparently pursuing Deoxys. He even has a new set of henchmen, the The Three Beasts. Silver is revealed to be Giovanni's son, but was kidnapped by Pryce at the age of two. Giovanni's master plan apparently includes Silver taking over Team Rocket from him.

However, his plan is later revealed to just wanting to find and reunite with his son and see him grown up before Giovanni dies (He has some sort of illness, all though it is never explained what it is). When Silver and Giovanni found themselves in the flames of a wreckage at one point, Giovanni used his own body to protect the unconscious boy from the fire. While Silver first denied that Giovanni could possibly be his father, and then would not accept him as a father, after seeing how Giovanni put his own life at sake to save Silver, Silver broke down in tears and accepted him as his father. From this point on, Giovanni is presumably not the leader of Team Rocket anymore, and is succeeded by the Three Beasts member Carr.

When he was still the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni had obtained the nickname "Giovanni Of The Land" because all his Pokémon were Earth-types, save Cloyster and his Beedrill. Beedrill's exception is clear, as it was caught at Giovanni's birthplace (in the 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.

In battle Giovanni kicks his Poké Balls, much like Crystal, in order to be able to react faster.

Pokémon

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

Nidoking	Nidoqueen	Dugtrio
Golem	Rhyhorn	Rhydon
Beedrill	Cloyster	Aggron
Deoxys	Crobat

In the TCG

In the TCG, Giovanni has appeared in the sets of Team Rocket and Gym Challenge. He also has a Theme Deck named for him in the English version, Giovanni.

Artwork

• 

  Giovanni and the Earth Badge.

• 

  Giovanni sends out a Nidoking.

• 

  Giovanni as the Boss of Team Rocket.

Pokémon

This listing is for Giovanni's Pokémon in the Pokémon TCG.

Trivia

• In How I Became a Pokémon Card, a short manga, he and Persian were shown to have been together for a long time, as he rescued the cat when he was a child.
• In the English version of Pokémon Stadium, his name is misspelled Giovani (with one n).
• Giovanni looks a bit like Doc Waruyama, the villain of Pulseman
• According to Pokémon Special manga, Giovanni's birthday is August 1st.

Names

External links

• Boss, the fanlisting for Giovanni at The Anime Fanlistings Network
• Sakaki's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
• Sakaki's Pokémon on Pokeani (Japanese)

Gym Leaders of the Kanto region
Pewter Gym Brock	Cerulean Gym Misty	Vermilion Gym Lt. Surge	Celadon Gym Erika
Fuchsia Gym Koga Janine	Saffron Gym Sabrina	Cinnabar Gym Blaine	Viridian Gym Giovanni Blue