Design your own Gym

[WyndonCalling]

We've all had this fantasy, haven't we? Let the rest of us know how much of a badass/push-over/irritant you'd be to aspiring trainers - some questions you might want to consider:

- What type is your gym? Mixed typing is allowed but I always considered Blue to be a bit of a cop-out.
- What's your team, and just as importantly, your ace?
- At what point in the challenge would players face your team? Earlier leaders tend to have smaller teams, but not always weaker Pokémon (Miltank, anyone?).
- Do you have many gym trainers, or puzzles?
- How do you reward players who beat you? What badge or TM might they obtain?

I can't see myself with anything other than a Ground gym, with a historical theme - it'd be set in a museum, stately house, ruins or other such place. The sub-theme would be decision-making, or 'How your choices got you to where you are today'.

The structure of the challenge would be heavily inspired by the Battle Pike, with a hint of Petalburg. There would be five or six stages where the player is presented with a three-way choice, perhaps with an adviser who provides further hints:

- 'Fight a strong trainer': a high-level but otherwise straightforward opponent
- 'Fight a Trainer in specific conditions': a normal-level trainer with some kind of battlefield effect in play, be it Trick Room, weather or stat boosts for each side
- 'Pay 1,000 to progress to the next room': the easy option

If the player reaches the leader through a mix of all three, they get a generic spiel about how they made wise decisions at each stage, making the choices that best suited them, and then they fight a regular battle against the leader. However, if they picked the same door every time, they get a more tailored result:

- "You seized your history by the horns, fought challenges head-on and emerged a conqueror!": The leader uses a high-level team
- "You approached each challenge with wit and cunning, and your name will live on as a strategic genius!": The battle against the leader is a double battle
- "You tried to take the easiest path and avoided all challenges, but now you face ignominious defeat!": You must fight another double battle against a high-level team before you face the leader

As for the leader's (i.e. my) team, I think Donphan would be a great fit for an early/mid game challenge as well as being one of my all-time favourites. Graveler's good team fodder, and can bring both Stealth Rock and a nasty Selfdestruct for cocky players.

 

[Kung Fu Ferret]

My gym would be a nonspecific-type gym, located in ancient temple ruins built by a region's lost civilization (think the Mayan pyramid Chichen Itza).

Go up a long flight of stairs to enter the inside.

Once inside the torch-lit temple, there is an elevator that goes down. There is a large Indiana Jones-style boulder that you roll on top of in order to get to the next part.


The next room is a challenge where you must test your fears. Stay still for ten seconds in total darkness. and then, you go down a long narrow hallway, and what seems to be darts come out if you step on certain tiles. The darts are just blasts of hot air to make you THINK there are darts coming out.

The final part of the puzzle is a sort of personality quiz. There are no wrong answers, but it does tell me (the gym leader), the best team of Pokemon I should use to make this battle difficult.

I use six of the following Pokemon.

Gyarados, Blissey, Alakazam, Metagross, Snorlax, Swampert, Lucario, Magnezone, Crobat, Togekiss, Dragonite, Mamoswine, Slowbro, Kingdra, Scizor, Arcanine.

 

[Daren]

I prefer my bosses to use the full game mechanics so they have hold items.

The Gym Leader is the last one and uses Normal-types; however, his junior trainers aren't so limited. The leader is waiting in the first room, which looks like a fancy hotel lobby, and says this:
"Hello and welcome to (CITY) Gym! I'm the leader, (NAME). Surprised to see me here? Think you can just come in and out and have your match? Well, I'm afraid it's not so simple! See all those doors around the Gym? Each one has a tough trainer who specializes in a different type. Beat them all and then come back and see me, okay? Good luck!"
Similar to Gardenia's Platinum Gym; each door has a trainer specializing in a different type. There are six, one for each type that isn't represtened by a Gym leader or Elite Four. The trainers are all Ace-trainer tier with three or more Pokémon with good moves and some EV training (like in SuMo).
The doors can be tackled in any order.

Gym Leader before the proper battle:
"Ah, here we are. I had a feeling you'd return; I doubt anyone who already has seven badges would be tripped up by such an obstacle. Pokémon types are so interesting, aren't they? Each has it's strengths and weaknesses, and when someone chooses to focus on one they have to consider these very carefully. Normal-types are very versatile, so my team cover each other pretty well. Ready to see for yourself?"


Team:
*L 46 Swellow (leads)
Guts
Holds a Flame Orb
Facade
Brave Bird
Protect
U-Turn


*L 46 Bewear
Fluffy
Holds Muscle Band
Hammer Arm
Body Slam
Payback
Dragon Claw

*L 46 Indeedee (Male)
Synchronize
Holds a Life Orb
Tri Attack
Energy Ball
Psychic
Dazzling Gleam

*L46 Heliolisk
Sand Veil
Holds Magnet
Thunderbolt
Surf
Hyper Voice
Grass Knot

*L 50 Porygon Z (ace)
Adaptability
Holds Wise Glasses
Tri Attack
Thunderbolt
Shadow Ball
Ice beam


Design theory:
Almost all are dual types to highlight Normal-types versatility and to help cover each others type weaknesses. Swellow is out first to use Protect than try to get KO's. AI should use U-turn if against Steel, Electric, or Rock type opponent and send in an appropriate counter.

Down to one Pokémon:
"Very good, very good. You've gone all the way but you can take it home?"

Defeated:
"Excellent work! You've won!"

Post-battle:
"Let me offer you my congratulations! For displaying top-notch Pokémon training I present you with the Teamwork Badge! In addition I'd like you to have this TM for Tri-Attack. Tri-attack isn't the most damaging technique, but it can cause all sorts of different statuses on the opponent. I hope you'll find it useful! All that's left for you is the Pokémon League. It's a harrowing path from here, so be prepared before you head out."

Talk to after winning:
"I underwent a journey, too, when I was just a little bit older than you. I'm sure you've grown in numerous ways since starting yours--in fact, I find trainers evolve just as much as their partners! I'm sure you and your Pokémon have plenty more to learn before the end."

 

[Puddle]

My favourite type at the moment is Flying, and as it happens, Galar currently lacks a Flying-type specialist. So I've been imagining myself as a Flying-type Gym Leader in Galar. This would be my team:

Emolga would be my mascot that sits on my shoulder. If I was actually an NPC in the game, you'd see Emolga leaping off my shoulder and into battle, like Pikachu and Eevee in the Let's Go games. My ace, though, would be Butterfree, one of the Gigantamax Pokemon that hasn't been used by any of the NPCs yet. I'd also have Togekiss and Aerodactyl on standby for situations where I need more than four Pokemon.

My Gym mission would revolve around the Flying Taxis! Most of the Gym Trainers would be Cabbies (but dressed in the Flying-type uniform), and one of them would teach you how to fly a Taxi yourself. To complete the mission, you'd have to get in a Taxi and co-operate with Corviknight, flying to a series of increasingly high platforms until you reach the exit door.

Falkner, Winona, Skyla and Kahili all use bird Pokemon most of the time, so I'd like to shake things up a bit and be a Flying specialist who uses all kinds of different creatures. The Gym Trainers' teams would reflect this, too.

 

[WyndonCalling]

That taxi idea sounds incredible.

 

[Emmy]

As Galar is a fantasy depiction of my homeland, I often wondered where I'd be if I was a Galar Gym Leader...
(I'm aware some of my 'mon choices aren't in ShSw but this is make believe anyway so I don't care.)

Spoiler: Long winded fanfic

My Gym Leader would be called "Herk" (in reference to the Hercules Beetle) and he would be the First Gym Leader (replacing Milo) in the Galar League and would naturally specialise in the Bug type. The reason he's the first obstacle that Challengers face isn't because he's weak but rather he's an airhead hippie young man who would rather chill in the forest with his guitar and insect friends than fight which is why he has the easiest time holding back against Challengers.

Herk's Gym Trial involves Challengers having to hunt a Shiny Venonat which serves as the mascot of the Gym. This also serves as a nod to the franchise's origins in the JPN Bug collecting hobby. Venonat would bob and weave throughout the wooded trial area and the player (armed with a catching net) would have to follow it and strike where they think it went with the net and obviously you would instead "catch" a hidden Gym Trainer who battles you a couple times. Once you've beaten all the Gym Trainers, Venonat sneaks up behind you and jumps into your net thus completing the trial and earning you the right to face the Leader.

As the first Gym Leader, Herk naturally uses only two Pokémon - the Shiny Venonat from before which he uses primarily for status ailments to set up his second 'mon which is Heracross. Like all Galar Gym Leaders he'll try to Dynamax it at first go - complete with Kamen Rider Ichigo pose as he says "Don't look down on Bug Types. Even the little Durant can lift 50 times its own weight...now prepare to be squashed by my mighty Heracross!" Despite all the bluster, Herk's team can be steamrolled if you picked Scorbunny or trained up a Rookiedee and defeating him nets (pun intended) you the Bug Badge.

However, when it comes to the Championship League, Herk replaces Nessa as one of the Gym Leaders you must fight at full strength before you face Leon. Since he's fighting for real this time, Herk brings his A-Game team which has several Dual-Types to punish people who take him lightly and think super effectiveness will cover it. Leading the team is Beedrill who uses Toxic Spikes to try and prevent the player from freely switching out, if the player's current 'mon is poisoned (through either T.Spikes or Poison Jab) then Beedrill will try to spam Venoshock. Second up is Golisopod who obviously tries to use First Impression but will otherwise use Water moves if the player has a Fire type out. Third up is Galvantula who strikes hard against any Flying types whilst also reducing speed with Electroweb. The penultimate 'mon is the super sturdy Crustle to try and whittle down as much HP from the player as possible before the ace comes out. Last is once again the ace Heracross who this time Herk will Gigantamax (think what the Mega Evo looks like).

After you beat Herk he coincidentally is walking past during the Macro Cosmos incident where Piers does the sudden jam session to cause a distraction and Herk joins in with his guitar.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I'd be Electric type of course, somewhere in the latter half of the game. My gym puzzle would consist of a series of platforms with electrical wires networking between them almost like spider webs, with gym trainers waiting on each of the platform. The wires also have electrical current running through them, and you can travel across them in the direction of the current. Later on in the gym, there are also switches that change the direction of the current. My team would emphasize speed and power and would consist of the following:

Electrode
Raichu
Zebstrika
Galvantula

Trainers that defeat me would be given the Blitz Badge and the TM for Wild Charge.

 

[nickdt]

My gym would be based on a Hydro plant or a Dam. The gym trainers use a wide variety of types, including Water, Electric and Steel and are Engineers.

For the gym puzzle, the player needs to switch wires and waterpumps on and off in separate rooms and after doing that, they are challenged to a battle by the Engineers, since they did the work the Engineers were supposed to do.

The gym leader uses Water types and is the 8th gym leader, but in my region, the 8th gym leader uses 6 Pokemon, because he is the final test for the Elite 4 and is related to the Champion (Who uses Electric types).
Lvl 42 - Swanna (Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Hurricane, Scald)
Lvl 43 - Ludicolo (Energy Ball, Giga Drain, Scald, Rain Dance)
Lvl 44 - Gastrodon (Muddy Water, Earth Power, Sludge Wave, Clear Smog)
lvl 45 - Poliwrath (Dynamic Punch, Ice Punch, Close Combat, Throat Chop)
Lvl 46 - Toxapex (Baneful Bunker, Scald, Surf, Sludge Bomb)
Lvl 47 - Lanturn (Thunderbolt, Aqua Ring, Hydro Pump, Dazzling Gleam)

After winning, the gym leader hands out the Hydro Badge and the TM for Scald

 

[ArrowTheArrow]

I would be the 4th Gym Leader, and the Type that I would specialise in would be the Water Type.

Gym Puzzle:
For my Gym Puzzle, challengers would navigate a raft through a man-made river. It would be similar to Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS, where you need to choose between multiple paths. Choices that challengers make don't affect the end result (i.e. they would always end up in the same place), and there would be a symbol above each path, indicating what would be up ahead.

• A symbol depicting a rock would indicate that there are rocks which challengers must avoid by steering their raft left and right.
  • If the raft hits a rock, it will break, forcing the challenger to restart from the checkpoint at the beginning of their chosen path.
• A symbol depicting a Poke Ball would indicate that a Gym Trainer is up ahead.
• A symbol depicting an arch would indicate a slalom, where challengers would need to navigate their raft through arch-shaped gates.
  • If a challenger misses three gates in one section of the puzzle, they are prompted to try again from the beginning of said section.
    • Missed gates do not carry over into other slalom paths.
• Some paths have no symbol. This means that the path can have any one of the above three obstacles, or even have no obstacles.
  • The obstacles in these paths would be randomly selected.
• All three paths merge back into the one river after each section.
• Each section of the Gym Puzzle takes around 30 seconds, from beginning to end.

After completing the Gym Puzzle, I would be waiting at the end of the river.

Team:
My team would teach challengers to plan ahead and be prepared for things they may not expect. They would think that they would be able to sweep my team with a Grass Type or an Electric Type, but it wouldn't be that simple. I would have a team, and a strategy surrounding it, that would put me two steps ahead of the challenger.

Spoiler: How this ties in with the Water Type

A river isn't completely straight. There would always be twists and turns, rocks that stick up through the surface, and other things that act as obstacles in activities, like kayaking. If you decided to go kayaking down a river, you would need to prepare yourself for anything the river could throw at you, much like how challengers would need to prepare for whatever my team has in store for them.

Spoiler: The Pokemon on my Team

Lombre: Level 26
Ability: Swift Swim
Moves:

• Fake Out
• Water Gun
• Grass Knot
• Rain Dance

Lanturn: Level 27
Ability: Volt Absorb
Moves:

• Brine
• Thunder Wave
• Confuse Ray
• Spark

Politoed (Ace): Level 28
Ability: Water Absorb
Moves:

• Bounce
• Scald
• Round
• Mud Shot

After a challenger defeats me, I would give them the River Badge and the TM for Brine.

 

[SerenaToAlola]

I want to make a fighting gym that isn't a dojo but I looked at the available pokemon and... NVM. Anyone has ideas?

ETA: Ok I got one.

Pancham, Breloom and Galarian Farfetch.

I'd say third/fourth gym. I give out the Revenge TM.

Guess what's my character/profession and the inspiration behind it?

 

[WyndonCalling]

Guess what's my character/profession and the inspiration behind it?

You're some kind of fighting gardener?

 

[SerenaToAlola]

You're some kind of fighting gardener?

Close.... It's a restaurant themed gym, based on the saying "revenge is a dish best served cold".

 

[Moonlight~]

A gym in the sky of course

 

[Jayden_Cavender]

Well of course I love to make a Pokémon gym because that is my dream to do i would have an ice type gym also I would be the last gym leader the 8th one because i have 6 Pokémon that are about level 50 well of course i like eevee and i chosen glaceon as my highest because I love glaceon.
Glaceon lv : 61
Glalie lv : 59
Beartic lv : 57
Abomasnow lv : 54
Mamoswine lv : 56
Froslass lv : 55

also the badge is the 8th is in the first slot.

 

[PurplePopplio]

I'd be a Ghost-type Gym Leader. My theme would be a haunted house maze where you have to find the secret room where I am residing. But while you are searching, ghosts and other spooks keep the scares up. There's no Gym Trainers, so you have no idea which Pokemon I might use. The Gym Guide is also too afraid to enter the Gym.

Each time is different for the secret room where I reside. One time it might be near the attic, next time it might be near the kitchen.

My team will be Mimikyu, Gengar, Rotom and Aegislash with Mimikyu being my ace.

 

[Camille]

I'd run a Water-type Gym. To reach it, you'll need to surf to a small island, like you had to do in order to reach Sootopolis Gym. Not sure about the puzzle, but the challengersneed to beat all the Gym Trainers first to challenge me, like you have to do in Gardenia's Gym. I'd use a team of Swampert, Gyarados, Azumarill, Starmie, Lanturn and Vaporeon. For winning, the Trainers would be rewarded with the Lagoon Badge, the TM for Scald, and their Pokemon that can learn Dive will be able to dive in the sea outside of battle.

 

[Emmy]

So whilst walking through town I saw a dude with a novelty T-shirt that had "Red Sparrows" written on it which was a spoof of the acrobatic pilot team the "Red Arrows" and that gave me an idea...

My Gym would be based in Hammerlocke in Galar (hypothetically taking Raihan's place as the 8th Gym Leader) and the leader would be called "Flynn" who is the son of the CEO of the Corviknight Taxi Service but he decided to rebel against his papa and set up the "Red Spearows" - Skyla already has the whole Ace Pilot thing going so instead the Red Spearows would a troupe of performers who do mid-air acrobatic stunts with their Pokémon instead of an airplane in a manner not dissimilar to Contests.

The Gym Challenge would involve the Player being paired up with a Spearow who will lead you through obstacles to the Gym Leader but of course the bird gets distracted and keeps going on detours which lead you straight into the clutches of the Gym Trainers who acrobat their way on in to battle you.

Once the Player finally reaches Flynn he reveals that the final battle will not actually take place in the Gym but rather the very skies themselves. He tosses the Player a Rotom Hoverboard which the Player's Rotom buddy jumps into from the PokéDex which grants the Player's Pokmon a pseudo-Levitate Ability which allows any Pokémon to participate in Sky Battles, whilst Flynn himself boards his trusty Corviknight.

Just like Raihan, Flynn uses only four Pokémon in his Gym Battle. He first sends out Gliscor in order to subvert any attempts of the Player steamrolling with Electric Types. His second Pokémon is Mandibuzz who would alternate between Bone Rush and Toxic in an attempt to wear down the Player's team. The penultimate Pokémon Flynn sends out is Noivern who will pummel the opponent with powerful STAB moves like Dragon Pulse and Hurricane. Once the Player has knocked out all of his other Pokémon, Flynn signals for them to descend and they land back in the stadium where he brings out his Ace, Corviknight and Gigantamaxes it for the final clash with its G-Max move Wind Rage.