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Giovanni

This is a page dedicated to the greatest character of all time: Giovanni pokemon.

Who is Giovanni?

Giovanni is the charmismatic leader of Team Rocket, a criminal organisation similar to the real world mafia and yakuza. Team Rocket is dedicated to the kidnapping and sale of pokemon for profit, among other things which differ depending on the canon. Their motto explains their goals pretty well:

"Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket."

Giovanni is an ambitious and calculating man who leaves little room for outward sentimentality in his life. He claims to see pokemon as nothing more than tools for his own selfish gain. Despite this, he has been known to take good care of his team, especially his Persian with whom he shares a special bond. In pokespe, he is from Viridian Forest and therefore holds a stronger connection to his Beedrill. He runs Team Rocket like a well oiled machine, to the point that the organisation falls apart without his direction.

<-- His appearance varies depending on the adaptation, but he's generally depicted as a middle-aged man with short dark hair, a widow's peak, and an affinity for suits and turtlenecks. He's typically portrayed as intelligent and intimidating, and he's always a bad guy, though the extent of his evilness is also quite inconsistent. I made a diagram to show how bad (in my opinion) the Giovannis that I know about are:

tier list showing different adaptations of Giovanni from most to least evil

Why Giovanni?

To be honest, I'm not fully sure. He doesn't have much in the way of character, at least in the games, and what little characterisation he does get is insanely inconsistent between his appearances. In a way he's sort of like a different character in every appearance, just with the same general appearance. Despite that, he's a pretty grounded character (no pun intended), and has a simple charm to him, both in design and motivation. In a world full of colourful characters, simplicity stands out. That's why so many people resonated with Larry. It may also be a reason why I grew to adore Giovanni and gens 1 and 2 in general. He genuinely looks like a typical boomer or gen-x (or extremely unfortunate millenial) office worker I'd see on the street, with his not-overly-formal suit and receding harline, which he bravely does not attempt to hide.

The simplicity of his character, at least on a surface level, also allows for plenty of speculation. We don't know much about Giovanni, a handy excuse to exercise one's creativity.

Why is he such a hypocrite?

Why is he so obsessed with strength to the point that it rubs off on his son?

How did he come to create or inherit Team Rocket?

What was his upbringing like?

Is he as old as he looks, or is it just his hairline?

This and more are questions that come to mind when pondering this enigmatic man. In the end, I don't really mind that canon likely won't reveal anything more about him. Giovanni's already a character that can be molded into so many different people, such that no two people likely have the same view on him.

Which Giovanni is your (least) favourite?

Character-wise, my favourite is pokespe! Giovanni. He actally has a personality and more than three lines at a time so that's an instant win. His rivalry with Red is very interesting, particularly how he acknowledges and respects him as a Champion. His and Silver's story is a refreshingly different take on their relationship, and I love how although he's a clearly bad person, he's given small moments that endear the reader to him. Contrary to what some believe, I don't think that pokespe! Gio is ever made out to be a heroic character. He's more of a man intelligent enough to know that it would be impossible to rule the world if someone else were to destroy it. Furthermore, I love how resigned he is to dying a criminal... makes me think that he doesn't think he could ever change even if he wanted to. I also like Origins! Giovanni. Since it was a mini-series meant to show off mega evolution, I cut it a lot of slack in terms of pacing. As much as I love an unapologetically evil Giovanni, I'm also a massive sucker for redemtion arcs. Origins! Gio is the perfect candidate for one because Team Rocket doesn't stray from their actions in the first games, which are a lot less destructive than in other iterations. Also we got another kid Gio design which I love; poor kid was bald from the start. Aesthetics-wise, my favourites are Anime! Giovanni before he got the dictator fit in B&W and LGPE! Giovanni. He looks much better with a bit of a tan I think.

My LEAST favourite Giovanni has got to be HGSS! Giovanni. The Celebi event followed up on FRLG's changing of Giovanni's motivation, which was now world domination. It also ruined his whole thing about quitting the Mafia/Yakuza to study Pokemon, which would have been pretty cool to see. If Lusamine of all people can be redeemed, why can't poor Giovanni be morally grey? Regardless, that doesn't matter because HGSS Giovanni doesn't exist; he's a mass-hallucination imposed on us by the government to make us all hate Giovanni :). Honourable mention goes to RR!Giovanni, not cause he's particularly terrible, but because everyone seems to forget he's an alternate universe version of Gio and not the guy we met in the original and remake timelines (looking at you Masters).

Headcanons

I have way too many ideas about Giovanni. Hopefully these aren't too out of character!

He had Silver with someone who wasn't affiliated with Team Rocket. It's a bit annoying when people treat the theory of Ariana being Silver's mother as fact when there's no actual evidence pointing to this
He has lost count of the amount of funerals he has been to. Most of them are for his men; he believes it his duty as the boss to attend their funerals if possible. He finds that it helps foster a sense of unity within his organisation
He's never been much of a playboy, even in his youth. He's too busy training or expanding his business empire to focus on frivolous pursuits; besides, no potential satisfaction is worth the risk of being caught in such a vulnerable position with the wrong person. He had at one point trusted a woman enough to start a family with her, but nowadays he's a widower who's happily married to his work.
He knows that some of his employees are infatuated with him, and he has no interest in reciprocating. He is, however, happy to encourage those feelings if it cements their loyalty to him.
He's very charismatic and sociable, though he does sometimes get bored when speaking with people who do not match his intellect. He has plenty of acquaintances but only a handful of 'friends'
During his League days, he was closest with Koga, Sabrina and Surge (thank you pokespe for grouping them together). They still occasionally catch up with Giovanni as none of them care about his status as a criminal enough to cut contact with him
While he likes meeting new people (particularly those whom he can later manipulate, extort or do business with), he is prone to bouts of solitude driven by sudden introspective moods. He enjoys reflecting on how he can improve as both a gym leader and the boss of Team Rocket
He was much more short-tempered in his youth, but has grown to better manage his emotions with time. Silver inherited his temperament
His fashion sense isn't the worst, but he's egregiously bad at combining colours. Were it not for his mother's insistence that he not embarrass the family, he would probably live in suits that are somehow louder than his orange one from the anime (lowkey though I think he pulls off the orange suit pretty well)
He was a pretty competent fighter as a young man. He can still hold his own in a fight, but years spent delegating tasks over being out on the field has left him a bit out of practice. He now favours pokemon battles and using long range weapons over melee combat.
Persian was his first friend and remains his closest confidant. She has been looking after him since before he was old enough to be a pokemon trainer and is very protective of him. She's mostly retired from battling and spends her days lounging at her trainer's side
Nanu was his childhood best friend. They aren't in contact anymore but idk maybe Giovanni runs into him again on a trip to Alola
He will never face legal consequences for his crimes. Even if he became remorseful for his actions, he would not turn himself in, instead opting for a quieter life spent away from the criminal underworld. If he were ever arrested, his wealth is so immense that he could easily pay anyone in the judicial system to work in his favour.
Giovanni was born just to inherit Team Rocket. His mum, who never really cared for children, was indifferent to him outside of his role in the organisation. While he mostly didn't mind being raised by staff as they were more lenient about him owning pokemon than his mother, he did sometimes wish she'd pay a bit more attention to his achievements. He seems to have a pretty strange view of his mother considering the way he talks about her in the Birth of Mewtwo radio drama
He did originally intend for Silver to inherit Team Rocket, but changed his mind when he was born. What little remained of his conscience had urged him to give Silver the choice he didn't have
He enjoys spending time in Viridian Forest when he needs to de-stress
As a twin myself, I like how Pokemon Pocket Monsters gave him one. I'd like to think he has a twin brother in every continuity
He knows a lot about geology to improve his strategy as a ground-type specialist and has done fieldwork at some point in his life
He was caught in a cave-in once when he was less experienced, hitting his head pretty badly. Out of a sense of youthful pride, he didn't really get proper medical care for it. This made him particularly suceptible to headaches/fatigue, which can put him in a sour mood
He carries a deep-rooted insecurity about his individual strength. His underlings believe that he is the strongest trainer in the world, which while boosting his ego also increases his fear that he'll one day be revealed as a fraud. Silver held a similar view of him before his loss to Red.
The Giovanni from the original gen 1 timeline does end up abandoning his life of crime. He finds a new purpose in formally studying ground-type pokemon, but worries that eventually, his past will catch up to him
He is a very fastidious man. It is important to him that he looks neat and presentable, and organising his home or office gives his body something to do while he thinks. However, his duty and ambition come before his comfort, and he's more than willing to get his hands dirty if that's what it takes to succeed
Pokespe! Giovanni does have the Viridian Forest gifts, he just hides it to keep a potential advantage against his opponents
He's Japanese on his mother's side and Italian on his father's side. His father passed away when Giovanni was still quite young, leaving him disconnected from that part of his heritage. Because of this, he only really considers himself Japanese.
He genuinely enjoys the teaching aspect of being a gym leader. In a world without pokemon or Team Rocket, he would likely be the kind of parent who'd coach his child's sports team.
He has a surprisingly pleasant singing voice; a smooth baritone that's only used after one too many drinks or while trying to get a fussy infant Silver to sleep. Like every good rich kid, he's also a classically trained pianist and violinist