Giovanni
Giovanni is the head of Team Rocket, and formerly served as the Gym Leader of the Viridian City Gym. As a Gym Leader, he specialized in Ground-type Pokémon, but his master plan includes collecting rare Pokémon of all types.
Names
| Language | Name | Reference to |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | サカキ Sakaki | 榊 sakaki, a tree. |
| English | Giovanni | From Italian Giovanni, equivalent to John, gift from God; gio rhymes with geo, from Greek γῆ gē, earth. |
| French | Giovanni | As Above. |
| Hebrew | ג'ובאני | Transliteration of Giovanni. |
| Russian | Джиованни Dzhiovanni | Transliteration of Giovanni. |
| Chinese (Taiwan) | 阪木 Bǎn Mù | From 阪木 Sakaki, an alternative way of writing the name. |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 沙加 Shā Jiā | Transliteration of サカ Saka. |
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 occasionaly 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 two most prominent figures speculated to be the identity of Ash Ketchum's father, alongside Professor Oak. 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 the two 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 is 鈴置洋孝 Hirotaka Suzuoki, and his English voice is Ted Lewis.
Pokémon
This listing is of Giovanni's Pokémon in the Pokémon anime.
Released
In the Games
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 has some sort of vendetta against Team Rocket.
In addition to the Earthbadge, Giovanni gives out TM 27, Fissure, in Pokémon Red, Blue, Pokémon Green, and Pokémon Yellow. In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, he gives out TM 26, Earthquake.
In the game timeline, after being defeated by the protagonist in the Generation I games, he mysteriously disappears; 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 man named Gideon (Japanese: スミオ Sumio) says:
| Japanese release | English translation | English release |
|---|---|---|
| なんだよ また きたのかよ | What, you again? | What, you again? |
| まさか おまえ… サカキとか いうやつの こども なんじゃ ないのか？ |
You... you're not the kid of the guy called Sakaki or something, are you? | You... you're not Giovanni's kid, are you? |
| …いや サカキの こどもは かみのけが あかい らしいから おまえ とは ちがうか |
...No, they say Sakaki's kid's hair is red, so did I mistake you for him? | No, that can't be right! Giovanni's kid has red hair. |
| かんけい ないなら ほっとけよ！ | If you have nothing to do with us then leave me alone! | You don't have any reasons for bugging me. Leave me alone! |
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 you play as a boy or girl.
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. It is also hinted at in Pokémon Special in a photograph depicting a young Giovanni and an obscured boy thought to be Silver.
There was some debate over the exact meaning of red in relation to hair.
Pokémon
This listing is of Giovanni's Pokémon in the video games he has appeared in.
Red/Green/Blue/FireRed/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
- Level 45 Rhyhorn: Stomp, Tail Whip, Fury Attack, Horn Drill
- Level 42 Dugtrio: Growl, Dig, Sand-Attack, Slash
- Level 44 Nidoqueen: Scratch, Tail Whip, Poison Sting, Body Slam
- Level 45 Nidoking: Tackle, Horn Attack, Poison Sting, Thrash
- Level 50 Rhydon: Stomp, Tail Whip, Fissure, Horn Drill
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
- Level 45 Dugtrio: Sand-Attack, Dig, Fissure, Earthquake
- Level 53 Persian: Screech, Slash, Fury Swipes, Double Team
- Level 53 Nidoqueen: Tail Whip, Earthquake, Double Kick, Thunder
- Level 53 Nidoking: Thunder, Earthquake, Thrash, Leer
- Level 55 Rhydon: Rock Slide, Fury Attack, Earthquake, Horn Drill
Pokémon Stadium
- Round 1 Pokémon
- Persian
- Dugtrio
- Nidoking
- Nidoqueen
- Rhydon
- Tauros
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 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 Beast Warrior Trio. Apparently, Silver is Giovanni's son, and most likely abandoned him, causing him to get kidnapped by Pryce. In his masterplan, he wants Silver to take over TR, which as everyone knows, is next to impossible.
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.
In the TCG
In the TCG, Giovanni has appeared in the sets of Team Rocket and Gym Challenge.
Pokémon
This listing is for Giovanni's Pokémon in the Pokémon TCG.
Misc
The Japanese name of the Earth Badge is the Green Badge.
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 English version of Pokémon Stadium his name is misspelled Giovani (with one n).
