How could Gyms be improved upon in future titles?

[Blast]

Up until Gen 7, the classic Pokémon League Gym has stayed about the same. With SM GF decided to shake things up by replacing this somewhat stale staple of main series Pokémon games, and the Island Trials were overall well received. However, it is likely that Gyms are to make a return in Gen 8 since they are still a beloved part of the region by many fans. GF has already shown they are not afraid to make big changes to keep new games feel fresh, that's why we can't be certain the Gyms will be reinstated in their original form.
What changes could GF make to the Gyms (or the Gym system) that will make them (even more) interesting? Let's discuss

 

[Icy Wind]

Not making them type based would go a long way towards improving them for sure.

I’d prefer if they had more diverse themes, like one gym having “alien” Pokemon(Clefairy, Beheeyem ect...), another with object based Pokemon, and so on. Type based just feels stale at this point.

 

[Boss1708]

As @Icy Wind said, not making Gyms type based would improve them a lot.

And also, aesthetically speaking, imo, LGPE has improved Gyms a lot, by adding some Anime borrowed touches to them, like the spectators in Brock's Gym, for example. Such things should become a mainstay in the series.

 

[Nicolas721]

-More integration with the city and the buildings they belong to. XY and B2W2 were good steps in that direction but I want more, like a giant building which has a room as the gym, cavelike designs like Brycen's, etc.
-Leader's Pokemon being more similar to totems, being stronger than usual and having nice strategies, being special and unexpected. If that demands double battles, then so be it!
-Smaller and optional gyms in small towns or routes.
-A crazy idea. After you're done with the gym, you can replay the puzzle in different difficulty settings, receiving different rewards.
-In the postgame, you can rechallenge the gym, and everyone has upgraded teams included the gym leaders themselves, this would be the only way to rematch them. It would clash a bit with my previous point.

 

[BigBadButterfree]

Gyms could remain the same as they've always been during the main story, but I think it would be cool if the gyms themselves became the "battle frontier" for the post game. Like, once you beat the game, each gym ditches its type for a theme, and then you go through battles kinda like the different facilities in past frontiers. Then there could be a silver and gold version of each badge to show that you've beaten each gym at its respective levels.

 

[Dieter]

Maybe rather than having type-based gyms, they could have gyms themed around a common weakness? Just in the mons' typing, without consideration of their abilities. Or have some of a leader's team members use moves or items to mitigate the shared weakness. It would allow players to face far more varied teams.

Alternatively, re-introduce Contest with their old difficulty level and have us chose whether we'll collect badges or ribbons, with each major town having a gym and a contest hall. Or maybe some towns only have one or the other, and you're forced to prioritise where to go first to continue with your adventure. Contests might have to be reworked for this to work though. It don't even have to be contests, though I think the concept works well. It still requires you to select a good moveset and a balanced team, but with very different priorities

 

[Rocket Zigzagoon]

I am quite fine with Type-based Gyms, even tho I am also okay with Trial Captains. So how about combine the best features of Gyms and Trials? For example, If you're entering a themed gym, you need to take some challenging structures like taking a test, or finding and battling a few Pokémon. Then if certain tasks reached, the Gym Leader/Trial Captain-esque character will invite you to a duel.

Also, what about some new twists to contrast Giovanni (Team Rocket Boss who ran a gym once)? Like the final gym leader turns out to be former villain team grunt, or even leader? That would also shake things up.

 

[Blast]

-Smaller and optional gyms in small towns or routes.

I've also been thinking about the idea of having more than 8 Gyms in a region. While it would require a lot more work and balancing from GF's part, I think having at least one (small) Gym in almost every town would be a great idea. Unfortunately, many towns can feel like simple rest stops with a Pokémon Center and not much else. With the presence of a Gym, the towns could feel more memorable and it also increases the amount of meaningful and more difficult battles that fans have been asking for. Especially if make to the Gyms fit into the town's character, like the Snowpoint and Mistralton City Gyms.

 

[Greninjaman]

How about a move-based gym? Like every trainer in the gym uses Pokemon that can use a move that is given out as a TM by the gym Leader.

Example: in Gen 1, Brock gives out Bide and I believe *Checks Bulbapedia* yes, every Pokemon in Gen 1 can learn it by TM. So in that case, the Jr. Trainer and Brock can have different Pokemon that can learn Bide instead of having Pokemon of the same type.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

That'd be a little easy to counter, wouldn't it? Especially for attacking moves where you could just pick a Pokemon that resista/is immune to it.

 

[Greninjaman]

That is true.

 

[EmpoleonProd]

Make gym leader battles treated as if it were in a battle facility.

Flat rules matches, with an assigned max number of Pokemon and level, so for example:

Gym 1: Only up to level 15, all higher level Pokemon are rounded down, you can only bring 2 max.

Gym 2: Only up to level 20, you can only bring 2 max.

Gym 3: Only up to level 25, you can only bring 3 max.

And so on and so forth, I think that would actually make gyms hard in some cases, bonus points if the gym leader's Pokemon carry semi-competitive items, focus sash, wise glasses, and so on (life orbs and choice scarfs might just be a little overkill).

By auto-leveling down stronger Pokemon, people who like to use Pokemon from other games that are already high leveled won't feel like scumbags for bringing a level 75 to the first gym, because it'll get auto-leveled and won't completely blow the gym leader out of the water.

It should go without saying, but by making it function like a battle facility, you won't be able to use items like potions, you would want to put held items on your Pokemon instead, just like the gym leaders would have.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

It'd make it harder, sure, but harder isn't necessarily better, especially when people don't have a choice in the matter. Not everyone is a competitive-level player. (And competitive moves/items aren't typically handed out so early in the game) You'd also be taking away a major exp gain with the level limit, which could make it harder to get to the next gym's requirement.

And people are already prevented against using high-level transferred Pokemon by the badge requirement. I think lowering the level of them to be usable would be nice, but not by forcing others to get into the serious metagame.

 

[hobgoblin]

I think having themed gyms rather than type gyms could be a nice change, e.g. having a colour themed gym. Then maybe more gyms with different battle types, like double/triple/etc or where you can only use certain type Pokemon.

 

[MrMeowPuss]

I doubt it would happen but I would love requirements for gym, these could be

• Maximum level for Pokémon that you can use (maybe 1-2 levels stronger than their Pokémon)
• You must the same amount of Pokémon as the opposing trainer just like in the anime (so 3 vs 3 battles)
• Maybe in harder gyms there could be restrictions on items.

I prefer gyms to be more difficult and really want level scaling in all battles. If they do have level scaling, then the levels of Pokémon can be based on the players pokemon rather than set.
I would also like to see a few more gyms added, but have two of them be optional.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Also, what about some new twists to contrast Giovanni (Team Rocket Boss who ran a gym once)? Like the final gym leader turns out to be former villain team grunt, or even leader? That would also shake things up.

What about the champion being associated with the Evil Team like Malva in E4 was with Team Flare?
Maybe the champion is even the big bad this time?

It'd make it harder, sure, but harder isn't necessarily better, especially when people don't have a choice in the matter. Not everyone is a competitive-level player. (And competitive moves/items aren't typically handed out so early in the game) You'd also be taking away a major exp gain with the level limit, which could make it harder to get to the next gym's requirement.

And people are already prevented against using high-level transferred Pokemon by the badge requirement. I think lowering the level of them to be usable would be nice, but not by forcing others to get into the serious metagame.

Not to mention many casual/normal players have a tendency of having an over levelled starter and five weak Pokémon and have very fond memories of their starter as a result.

 

[IncineROAR]

I like the type based gym, but I think maybe with a twist, such as battle strategy also mixed in. Kind of like in Norman's gym where every room, the trainer uses a different battle boost item (X Attack, X Defense, etc).

 

[Dieter]

I like the type based gym, but I think maybe with a twist, such as battle strategy also mixed in. Kind of like in Norman's gym where every room, the trainer uses a different battle boost item (X Attack, X Defense, etc).

I came here to talk about that exactly. Maybe future gyms could implement a certain tactic, and trainers and leaders will adhere less to the mono-type rule (but might still favour a specific type).

In Wattson's Gym, not everyone had electric type Pokemon, iirc. So why not focus on certain stats and tactics instead? For example, maybe there's a gym that is build around speed, so while you might encounter a lot of flying and electric types, a fairly fast ground type could be thrown into the mix as well. And to help the player a little, a sidequest with Trick Room as reward could be set up near the Gym.Of course, this is just one possible way it could be set up

 

[PinkIceFox]

I like gyms to have more than just a gym in it. Like how Lenora's gym was also a museum. But like, maybe more to em so you need to go to a gym for things other than punching people's pokemon to get money and badges.

Themed gyms beyond just a typing would be great. Like a witchcraft themed gym where you fight four trainers with teams themed behing fire, water, earth, and air (Fire, Water, Ground/Grass, Flying) and then the gym leader either having a team mixed with these types or maybe based of Spirit (Psychic, Ghost, Fairy maybe??).

 

[Poke Dragon]

Obligatory "Dark-type gym", but I would like if Gyms had other uses instead of them being the Pokemon version of RPG dungeons. The museum in Black and White went a step in the right direction, serving as the plot point to obtain the Light Stone/Dark Stone later in the game. Like a science lab for example, once you beat its Gym Leader, you had access to its exclusive shop where you could get items that are not available to other shops. X and Y did have a shop that sells types of Poke Balls not sold anywhere else, but that one is way too obscure and forgettable.