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How could Gyms be improved upon in future titles?

More extensive puzzles, for a start.

As someone mentioned before, maybe having rules for the gym battles only using a certain amount of Pokemon, and restricted item usage. Those rules could only apply to "league" battles, such as gyms and pokemon league battles, whereas outside of that it's fair game.
 
One gym per type would be a nice first step, and then take a note from the Crystal Clear romhack and have the gyms scale in level depending on how many badges you have, and once the gym is cleared, you can do it again at a higher or lower level, which makes grinding up weaker pokémon less of a hassle
 
One gym per type would be a nice first step, and then take a note from the Crystal Clear romhack and have the gyms scale in level depending on how many badges you have, and once the gym is cleared, you can do it again at a higher or lower level, which makes grinding up weaker pokémon less of a hassle
Honestly, instantly being able to rebattle Gym Leaders doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Gyms and their Leaders are supposed to be special and unique, this is what makes them stand out from regular Trainers. The reason why many Gym Leaders are so memorable is because of the difficulty they posed when battling them for the first time, think of Whitney or in my case Wattson. I would be a little sad if they were relegated to simply grinding fodder after you've beaten them.

GF themselves already took a step in the right direction with the Alolan Pokémon League by having different challengers every time. This way, even beating the League over and over again would stay fresh and rewarding, since there would always be someone new to defeat. A battle with a Gym Leader or a Champion stops feeling all that special after you've repeatedly beaten them for ten or thirty times, don't you think?
 
  1. Removing the linear gameplay. Have the player start in the centre of the region, station the gyms in a rough circle around them, and allow the player to travel & complete said gyms in any order.
  2. Stop using common themes. Why are there no Dark gyms? Why is there so little variation in battle style (single battle)? Why are there so few gyms that require extra challenges, like Clair's? Why is the first Gym so often Rock? I'd like to see Dragon as the first gym, for example.
 
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Probably because Claire's 'extra challenge' makes her come off as a massive, arrogant, and bratty b-witch. The point of gym challenges is to solve any puzzles they have and beat the gym leader. That is the gym challenge. The fact she refused to give you a badge because she couldn't believe you had beat her and then got upset when the old man in the shrine said you passed his test just proves it wasn't supposed to be considering an extra gym challenge, but showing Claire's bad character traits.

I'd say the first gym is often rock because it's weak to at least two of the starters' typings, making for a good starter boss. And the reason Dragon would never be the first gym is because it seems to be one of the 'big' types and putting it first would be too OP (due to resisting all three starter types); would undermine the dragon's 'uniqueness'; and the fact that the first ever Dragon Type move (dragon rage) does a constant 40 damage without fail would make the first gym a possible curb stomp considering in early game that much HP lost will likely mean losing a battle.
 
Probably because Claire's 'extra challenge' makes her come off as a massive, arrogant, and bratty b-witch. The point of gym challenges is to solve any puzzles they have and beat the gym leader. That is the gym challenge. The fact she refused to give you a badge because she couldn't believe you had beat her and then got upset when the old man in the shrine said you passed his test just proves it wasn't supposed to be considering an extra gym challenge, but showing Claire's bad character traits.

I'd say the first gym is often rock because it's weak to at least two of the starters' typings, making for a good starter boss. And the reason Dragon would never be the first gym is because it seems to be one of the 'big' types and putting it first would be too OP (due to resisting all three starter types);

If 6 year olds could deal with Psychic in gen I I'm pretty sure they can handle some weak dragons.

would undermine the dragon's 'uniqueness';

That's highly subjective.

and the fact that the first ever Dragon Type move (dragon rage) does a constant 40 damage without fail would make the first gym a possible curb stomp considering in early game that much HP lost will likely mean losing a battle.

Just put some fairies in the grass outside the town then. Or just don't give the gym trainers' pokemon dragon rage. Either way, problem solved.
 
I don't know, I don't see Dragon as first Gym material. It has lots of resistances (which are pretty common for that part in the game), and if I'm analyzing things correctly, most of the early gyms are there to teach basic type matchups and are types that don't have lots of resistances. Rock, Bug, Grass, Water and Fire have been used for that reason. If I had to choose a new type to be the first Gym, I would pick Ground, not Dragon.

Also,

If 6 year olds could deal with Psychic in gen I I'm pretty sure they can handle some weak dragons.

Psychic has never been an early game gym, it was sixth in the gen you mentioned.
 
hmmm don't know but gym leaders switching pokemon through out using moves and abilities should be drastically improved and the strategies for them to reduce demage, trap our pokemon, cause statuses and their team work would be nice.

I would want to see gym leaders, lets say one using a Shedinja?

A gym leader that uses a Perish Song trapping oriented themed team of some type...
Probably normal but could be mixed with dual types?

gym leaders that use the full potential of weathers and terrains.

A gym leader using a Talonflame?

A Sound themed gym? could be normal or a 8 gym with a little mixed types? a battle like in gen 3 kind even in anime would be cool.
 
NPC's need deeper strategy and team synergy available in their team comps. This would inevitably make the games more difficult, but it's Pokemon...I don't think that will really hurt anything. Also for me it would be fun, because that way you can strategize around beating a certain team comp. It would really make the Pokemon you catch, the moves you learn, and the way you think about the game matter that much more each time you progress further. I feel like it would also fit into the overall story...you're supposed to be this great trainer who is also catching as many Pokemon as you can along your journey. It would force you to catch and use different Pokemon within your team, and it should entice players to use more of the Pokemon they caught over the course of the game.
 
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 :D

I feel like SM wasnt really a huge change. If thetr had been no E4 I would agree w you, butits still the same old formula really.
 
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