The Gyms and League Speculation.

[Iceshadow3317]

While it has not been confirmed we know we are likely to get some form of Gym, Trial, Totem, Kahuna or E4 like mechanic in the games. Even in Legends Arceus, we basically had gyms, just in a different style. So this thread is about what we could possibly see or what we would like to see.

~What type of gym style do you want? Do you want to go back to Totem/Nobel Trials or would you rather keep gyms? Or something completely different?

For me, I want them to keep gyms, but I also wouldn't mind having a few enhanced pokemon we have to beat. So maybe we have to defeat the gym leader and then we would be considered strong enough to fight the Totem like pokemon. Or vise versa.

~ What type would you like to see in these gyms?
With how much water there is and how summery it looks, I think we are going to get a Grass and Water Gym or at the very least, one or the other. I would also like to see a Steel gym because we have not had one since SInnoh Games. Same with Flying, while we did have a flying elite 4 member in Alola, we haven't had a flying gym since Unova.

~ What League Format?
I personally loved the tournament style Elite 4 in Galar. While I didn't like how straight forward everything was, I did really enjoy the barracks and something I've wanted for ages. But I also love the Elite 4. So it would be nice if we had to face off against rivals in a bracket format and then challenge the Elite 4.

~ If you have a new idea, what would you want to see?
I want battling to once again take the front running spot. But I'd like if we have to win a certain amount of trainer battles to advance through the region. For example, maybe we have to have 150 trainer battles in order to win the ability to take on the 8th gym. There was so many trainers that were supposed to be in the running for the championship in Galar, but we never saw any of them. We didn't even battle any except maybe a few here and there. That was a massive let down for me.

~Anything else?
Please don't have version specific gym leaders again, and if we do, let us fight them at a later time in our version. If you want to add more gym leaders, just add more badges we have to get. I wouldn't mind having to win 16 badges again. I really enjoyed it in Gold and Silver. And if we go to Kalos.... well.... let us get those badges as well and let us face AZ as the real champion.

 

[PageEmp]

I just want there to be NO GYMS. Or in the context here, I don't want the classic style of gyms. I doubt it's going to be trials again, but I'm hoping to see a new ore interesting style of checkpoints.

 

[Sheep]

I'm happy with gyms, but think the trainers should be more rounded type-wise. Rather than focusing on specific types, I'd love them to focus on themes instead - so, say, Pokémon with stripes (thinking of Casey from the anime here), a trainer who uses canine Pokémon (that also works as a foster), a cyclist leader who uses fast Pokémon, etc. I think something like that will be really fun to try out while not deviating from the gym format too much. 👍

 

[_confused_piplup_]

Well, I want gyms. I mean, I prefer the non gym style. I hated trials back in gen 7, so I would like something different. PLA is a good example, I guess. So, I would like either gyms or some actually good alternative to them.
I will be honest, Swo/Shi gyms were really easy, but there's something I loved about that game is how the whole competitive circuit is handled. I mean, I like that there are trainers that are announced to be the challengers and I also like that just one will be able to be the Champion's challenger. I even liked Swo/Shi gyms at least conceptually: in Kabu's gym there are wild pokemon encounters and if i m not wrong u have to catch those. That is a very interesting and innovative concept for a gym. Other than that I also loved Opal's gym with quizzes and boosts, that was one of the coolest gyms in the entire series imo. However, what had to be changed was the difficulty. Those gyms had really cool and innovative ideas but they also were pretty easy and fast. I mean, other games gyms are not hard lol, but a little more than the ones in Swo/Shi. So, I 'd love to see more difficult puzzles and stronger gym leaders.

About the League, I am actually pretty mixed about this. I like the Elite Four, however they really are forgettable characters, because u basically meet them only in the League. I like the idea of battling against gym leaders again, but on the other hand that's also a sign of lacking creativity. Also, the idea of Elite Four was to use other 4 types that weren't used in the 8 gyms and I like that. Fighting against the same typing again is boring and quite predictable.
Ideally, I would love if the League was structured like a tournament, just like in Swo/Shi and there u find important and actually strong characters u met during the adventure. The rival can definitely be there too. They have to be strong. In general, Swo/Shi League wasn't hard.

I am trying to speculate to understand if in this game there are going to be gyms or not. I m mixed on this, because on the one hand, the game has the same structure of PLA and therefore I wouldn't expect gyms. On the opposite, PLA with no gyms might have been done to separate two games with gyms (Swo/Shi and SV), so idk.

 

[budube]

You know what would be amazing?

THEMED GYMS, and alt teams.

I can sorta understand the reasoning behind type-based gyms. It is an effective way for new players to take a grasp of how type matchups work, but to be honest, they are learning that one as their playthrough goes anyways, and it would be more fun if instead of having gym leaders especialize in a single type, they would have themes based around some concept or move like weather, sound, whatever, which could also drop into being type based, except this time it's interesting.

Also give more than one team to each gym leader for the sake of variety.

And for those that like a more challenging, well, challenge. Also limit the amount of pokémon we can bring to one battle considering the amount of pokémon the gym leader has.

I also think the Trial concept from SM could be fleshed out a bit more. They gave up really early on that one.

As for E4, I like what they did with SwSh. Maybe with a bit more of difficulty, just so it actually feels like you're in a tournamente against people just as talented as you would be good? But it's a nice idea honestly

 

[Lysander]

With the game being open world, I'm hoping you'll be able to battle the gyms in any order you want. The gym leaders' teams could be levelled depending on how many badges you currently have. They could even have entirely different teams and/or movesets for how many badges you have.

 

[NipahRika]

I too would like well rounded trainers in the gyms, maybe even the gym leaders themselves too. Battling gyms in any order would be amazing, too. I could see it happen alongside the trainers and the gym leaders level scaling with yours.

 

[Devalue]

Gym style: Prefers Totems. Finds those more difficult and interesting than standard gym leaders. Would be okay with a Totem + Gym Leader requirement for a badge too. Mixes up what type of Pokemon is valuable.

Type: Steel. Feels like a while since the last one. (Wrote Sinnoh as the last one, so yes.) Perhaps Normal too?

Format: Standard Elite Four or something else. Did not like the Galar version's execution. Seemed weird to rebattle gym leaders after battling gym challengers. Appreciated it flavor-wise, though.

New idea: reactive teams. Judges your team for the Elite Four. Selects an opposing team (out of two or three possibilities) based on that.
Example judgments:
- Team's total Defense versus Special Defense. Faces a Special-heavy team with a low Special Defense team.
- Team's average Speed. Battles a Trick Room team with a fast team. Fights a team with moves like Electro Ball, Hypnosis, and U-turn with a slow team.
- Number of status moves. Stacks the deck with Magic Bounce, Clear Smog, Unaware, Red Card, and Taunt against a team with lots of status moves. Swaps to a team with Stamina, Baneful Bunker, and Charm for a team with few status moves.
- Type of held item. Burns you with Unnerve, Incinerate, Bug Bite, Poltergeist, and Pickpocket for a lot of healing items/berries. Carts out Cursed Body, Knock Off, and Focus Sash for teams with damage-heavy items. Hits you with things like Sticky Barb and Prankster Trick + Toxic Orb/Iron Ball/Eject Button for no items.

Anything else:
1. Put in ten gym leaders. Require only eight badges still. Allows some variation on future playthroughs. Adds some strategy on which gyms to challenge too.
2. Adjust the gym leaders' teams based on your badge count.
3. Gyms on more than just type. Proposed things like Trick Room and Sun elsewhere.

And for those that like a more challenging, well, challenge. Also limit the amount of pokémon we can bring to one battle considering the amount of pokémon the gym leader has.

Never thought to restrict that. Makes perfect sense.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

It seems like most people want a more rounded or themed gym. I agree 100%

Casey is one of my favorite small characters during the original series of the anime and really wish they would bring her back. Having a theme like stripes, would make it a little harder to build a team for, especially if every gym used a different theme. I really like the idea.

I think Raihan was considered a Dragon Gym Leader even though he was more Weather based and double battles. So I'd love to see this more. I would defiantly like to see Double and Triple Battles being used by gym leaders as well.

Something else I completely forgot about, which adds a bit to my first post.... Don't advertise having a Lower Rank for gym leaders if you have no intention of us taking them on. We were a new trainer... there was a minor league of gym leaders, yet we went straight into the main circuit. And that is just really annoying.

 

[Drayton]

What type would you like to see in these gyms? - In every generation there always gym types makes an occurrence like how gen 2 have ghost-type gym and then gen4 have it as well. I really like to see more dark-type gym since galar introduced as part of the gym since I feel it lacks of THESE gyms

Style - Really love to see totem style gyms since it keeps our toes more than just gym leaders, traditional styles are too staple

Format - Regular. Tournament style feels like re-battling the gym leaders again but with different team this time; Tournament is too overwhelming

 

[EmTheGhost]

It's probably unlikely, but imagine if this was the first region with a full 18 gyms? Fitting with that big type circle?

 

[Fairy]

I'd like the option to really sequence break the gyms personally.

 

[Corveone]

Themed format, more fun and interesting than based on a specific type.

Sporting battles. Lore-wise, these are supposed to be official battles designed as a fair test for trainers, things like being able to use five Pokémon against a leader who only has three makes no sense. Make them 3v3, 4v4, or whatever depending on what the leader has, remove the option to use items during these battles, etc. so that they feel more like what they're supposed to be. Basically, gyms or whatever they are called, treat these "bosses" as a light version of competitive, with not so strict format restrictions and without the hassle of forcing players to build perfect teams to win.

Gen 8's tournament format for the champion cup would be nice, and I think it makes more sense than classic Elite Four. Just don't ruin the thing with a lame plot that decides to start at a point when it should have been already done and over.

 

[Ho-Oh]

It's probably unlikely, but imagine if this was the first region with a full 18 gyms? Fitting with that big type circle?

It makes sense but... also seems slightly exhausting having to battle 18 different gyms just to advance the story further. Ahh I dunno it makes sense but seems slightly exhausting!

I'd like the option to really sequence break the gyms personally.

Yeah legit because it's open world we can explore things however we want. That's kind of what I'm doing with PLA but a choose your own adventure thing without being locked in: yes.

 

[RileyXY1]

I think that there won't be any Gyms at all this time around. Instead I expect there to be rival schools that you travel to compete in tournaments and win them for your school.

 

[Hermione Granger]

I would definitely prefer gyms that you can battle in any order that scale to the amount of badges you have, but lets be real they would have to scale the wild pokemon for this to work as well. I would definitely want trainers to be part of these gyms. Maybe have the option to make it where you can't leave the gym until you defeat the gym leader. The gyms should use the types that aren't commonly used, but definitely include a dragon gym. Definitely want an elite 4 with a champion as I want endurance where you only have your items to heal you.

 

[Ho-Oh]

I think that there won't be any Gyms at all this time around. Instead I expect there to be rival schools that you travel to compete in tournaments and win them for your school.

I dunno I feel as if this would happen in any games it would have been Alola based on the anime. But hey you never know... it's just that a lot of their adult fans would be playing and if they continue to reinforce the school kid thing that might have a weird vibe.

 

[Whiteeyes1989]

Yeah I'd like gyms to stay, and yeah I'd like a SwSh style tournament bracket for the "elite 4", but I have some tweaks I'd like to do, which I'll get into more detail later.

Regional Gym Types
- You kind of need the Water Fire Grass core represented because it provides a natural set of options and an easy intro to type advantages and relationships for new kids players, though I'd actually put Fire first this time. Starter bugs and the grass type mean you don't have a lot of options early game and it would be nice to have the old Gen 1 "hidden difficulty select". Of course with my suggestion later on this kind of negates itself, but if we go with a traditional Gym order that's my feelings.
- Normal. It always sounds boring but it is really an underrepresented type when it comes to Gyms, and it provides a nice neutral and fair challenge regardless of which starter you picked, hence why it worked as a first gym in B2W2.
- Steel. It's been a while since we've had one and they present a good challenge, especially with how bulky and defensive they can be.
- Poison. Another rare type, we haven't seen it since B2W2, and the only one before that was Koga and his kid! So yeah a very underused type that I would love to see come back.
- Bug. A very underrated type in my opinion and one that could use more love, especially as a later game gym when they can start to shine past the "starter bugs" that other early bug gyms get stuck with.
- Ice. It's a traditional late game gym and has good offence and, quite frankly, due to its bad defense I don't want it in my "Elite 4".

League Championships/"Elite 4"
Like other people have been suggesting I would love to have SwSh style tournament battles, but without gym trainers. Instead it is just the "challengers", which would be a great way to include more types. First time though the Elite 4 should be a fixed rotation, like in SwSh, with:
- Your Rival. It's very traditional at this point to face them right before the Elite 4 since your rival hasn't been Champion since Gen 1. So having them as the fixed first fight works.
- Fairy. A very powerful type that can be hard to deal with if you aren't properly prepared.
- Psychic. A good counter to any poison types you would have used to counter those fairies, and a good counter to any fighting types you have for the next guy.
- Dark. Counters psychics hard and with their move variety can actually be a tough fight.
- Dragon. Because you've got to have a dragon master.

Zooming out you see that the tournament brackets should be 32 "competitors", but it's not that crazy actually. Most of them are "auto-lose" filler an the only ones the player will ever run into are the Rival and the actual contenders. This means that in addition to the ones listed before you could also include the missing types (Rock, Ground, Electric, Ghost, Flying, and Fighting). That means 12 potential real fights for the player, which when combined with the player means 13 of the 32 seeds are already filled in, leaving 19 auto-lose. Have each contender besides the starting one auto-pair with an auto-lose and you eliminate 13 out of 19 in one round. Seed it so 3 more hit contenders in Round 2 and it takes care of itself. When contenders run into each other, type advantage wins and Rival wins. As such it should be possible for players to look at the bracket and, once they know who is who, figure out the entire battle chain from the start.

The Champion is last naturally, fighting the tournament winner. Don't have any shocking twists for this one, it's a good capstone.

Changing it up!

Now one thing that we have been hearing is that SV is going to be more open world. As such I'd like to implement one of the more subtle bits of pokemon lore in as an actual gameplay mechanic. And that is that Gym Leaders use different teams of pokemon depending on how many badges the challenger has. This would make the game even more open world and actually have some fun consequences of what order you face the gyms in. Maybe that bug or poison gym has a huge power spike after a certain point because they get some key pokemon or the steel type falls off because you have plenty of options to get around their walling style. It would add a whole new layer to the open world nature they are trying to push for in Pokemon and by simply giving the Gym Leaders different pokemon teams they add a huge amount of variety and replayability to the games for minimal effort. Heck since you need to make gyms challengeable in any order you even have an excuse to cut out gym trainers, saving you the need to throw in a bunch of extra battles. Battles you can then give to the gym leaders with their alternate teams.