Speculation Galar's 18 Gyms (Discussion & Speculation)

[Emmy]

I'm sure everyone remembers the PR fumble with that interview with the western gaming outlet that had the translator erroneously implying there would be 18 Gyms in Sw/Sh when that was merely background lore surrounding the Major and Minor Leagues. I personally didn't give it much thought after that - especially since I don't recall it actually coming up in the game's plot itself, but after a certain reveal in the Isle of Armour DLC...

Spoiler: Minor Spoilers for the DLC

Namely that Mustard used to be the Fighting Type Gym Leader sometime in the past before becoming the Champion.

It got me thinking about this concept again, particularly whether we're likely to ever see any of the other 8 type using Gym Leaders - whether it be in possible future DLCs or in the anime.

What do you guys think about the concept of the Major/Minor League - interesting world building or pointless fluff? Also, do you guys think we'll ever see the rest of them? If so, what would you like to see in these potential characters? From their design to their Gyms to their Pokémon team, I'm sure y'all have got some great ideas. I know I have a few myself which hopefully I'll have time to share one day.

 

[Esserise]

We also got a bit of detail on the Psychic-type Gym Leaders of Galar thanks to Avery's League Card:

Spoiler

"Avery comes from a long-standing family of psychics. Each Psychic-type Gym Leader of Galar has been from the same bloodline as Avery, and thus, Avery has been destined to bear the burden of Gym Leader since even before he was born. Ever since he was a child, Avery could freely move things with his mind but lacked other skills, such as teleportation or telepathy. This has caused the rest of his family to label him as a disappointment. Avery has a great deal of respect for Slowpoke, as they go about their business at their own pace, no matter what others say."

Anyway, I don't think I'd call it "pointless" per se - I like that they tried to rethink how the entire Gym system might realistically work, which is more thought than I think they've ever put into that matter before, and in general, it pays off well. Galar's League is, in my mind at least, the most developed one in the series by a wide margin, except for Alola's (which isn't even a League exactly). But, I do think they could have done more with the idea of Minor League Gym Leaders specifically. We have all those Gym Challengers that you can battle in the post-game tournament, and they each represent one of the different types, even the redundant ones. But why? I think that could have been a cool incentive for repeating the tournament, getting to briefly meet and battle the remaining Gym Leaders that weren't a part of the storyline. You could justify it by saying they're testing themselves for the next year's qualifying tournament. More DLC content or another Galar-based release could still do something with them, but I'm not sure there will be any such entry.