PREVIEW: Pocket Monsters the series (2019)

[Islander Princess]

Oof, that gym thing is disappointing. I feel like this whole news cycle, for both the games and the anime, has been really weird.

I do hope that the major league/minor league is still a thing (I think they are?) That would still be interesting to see in the anime. I don't necessarily have a problem with Ash going from gym to gym, especially since Galar's gyms already seem different enough with the huge stadiums, crowds, and uniforms. The writers have also gotten a lot better with fleshing out the gym leaders themselves in the show, so I've actually found gym episodes to be more interesting now than I did in the past.

I'd still like to see a "league is corrupt" storyline, honestly. And not like Alain corrupt; one where the people actually in charge of the league are responsible. I think that would be a super interesting culmination of the gym battles and to see how Ash would deal with that.

 

[kickachu]

think ash might catch rhyhorn with success unlike the banned safiari zone episode

 

[Sakuraa]

It's sad that the "18 gyms in Galar" was taken out of context (tho that clearly wasn't Gamefreak's fault), however I hope the minor league will somehow be adapted into the anime still. Whether the leaders are challenged or not, it's an interesting concept that would be great to see.

 

[Yankees4life]

Then what is Satoshi, chopped liver?

A role model for men

 

[kantoskies]

So a magazine mis-reports on something and it’s somehow Game Freak/The Pokémon Company’s fault?

I’ve literally never heard of anyone complain about getting “only” 8 gyms, why do people suddenly hate that idea?

I agree that the Sword and Sheild games are making a lot of questionable choices but people are blowing this waaaayyyy out of proportion. Why weren’t people complaining about “only” 8 gyms 3 weeks ago?

And to be honest between going to all of the regions as well as Galar I’m not sure how they’d manage 18 gyms

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

So a magazine mis-reports on something and it’s somehow Game Freak/The Pokémon Company’s fault?

I’ve literally never heard of anyone complain about getting “only” 8 gyms, why do people suddenly hate that idea?

I agree that the Sword and Sheild games are making a lot of questionable choices but people are blowing this waaaayyyy out of proportion. Why weren’t people complaining about “only” 8 gyms 3 weeks ago?

And to be honest between going to all of the regions as well as Galar I’m not sure how they’d manage 18 gyms

64 Gyms in all to be exact, and that's including Alola's new Gyms that will probably debut in the anime.

 

[Panky..]

Just like there's Major/Minor Leagues Baseball and Football/Soccer.

For instance...

Minor League Football in the UK are Preston, Blackpool, Blackburn, Bolton (Locally)

Whilst Major League Football in the UK are Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsonal (Global)

Or if you want to consider things on a more major, inter-regional level then the UEFA CL comes to mind.

 

[SammyW27]

Too bad they couldn't have made this entirely in Galar because all those Gyms would've given them a lot to work with, even with this weird major/minor League difference.

I just hope that this doesn't get some poor dopes sent to the Not Animated Gulag...

 

[Beatsy Ray]

I was thinking that you might get to travel to another region after winning the Galar League, bringing the total Gyms up to 16 just like Gold and Silver. Kalos seems the most likely in this case. Then add 2 gyms that are different depending on which version you're playing, then the total becomes 18 gyms. Game Freak's comment may be a made to prevent further spoilers.

 

[BigDocFan]

I'm guessing Minor league gyms aren't as strong as the major ones, I wonder if when we start the games, we can only challenge minor whilst on completion, we can tackle the major ones

In the anime, Gou as a new trainer will probably face the minor whilst Ash with his experience can take on the major

 

[Lucifer Angel]

Even with the new info revealed I'm not sure what to really think. Its still upsetting that they have yet to reveal the one thing I want.

 

[BigDocFan]

I admit that I'm not 100% sure what to make of the series, it has potential but it is best to wait until we see it in action

 

[nickdt]

I was thinking that you might get to travel to another region after winning the Galar League, bringing the total Gyms up to 16 just like Gold and Silver. Kalos seems the most likely in this case. Then add 2 gyms that are different depending on which version you're playing, then the total becomes 18 gyms. Game Freak's comment may be a made to prevent further spoilers.

Only in the anime then. No Mega's and Dexit have made a second already known region impossible.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Minor gyms give the impression resembling that of the Fighting gym in Saffron or the unofficial water Gym misty battled at in Johto.

 

[Beatsy Ray]

I'm guessing Minor league gyms aren't as strong as the major ones, I wonder if when we start the games, we can only challenge minor whilst on completion, we can tackle the major ones

In the anime, Gou as a new trainer will probably face the minor whilst Ash with his experience can take on the major

That's a good point. It could be similar to GS where you gather 8 badges, challenge the league, gather 8 more, and than challenge the tougher league. Perhaps after completing the minor league you will get a sponsorship to challenge the majors. That would be some amazing post-game.

I'm curious about the part that says the major league gyms change every year. I'm wondering if out of all the gyms, 8 will be randomly selected at the start of your game to be the major league ones, or maybe they will change depending or your actions. Starter Pokemon perhaps? It would make sense for there to be 16 gyms total in the games. 8 major, 8 minor, and 2 of those being game exclusive = 18 gyms across both. Unless Game Informer really did pull that number out of thin air. Anyway, I just hope we're afforded some freedom in choosing the order we tackle towns/gyms.

 

[sc190191]

I'm curious about the part that says the major league gyms change every year. I'm wondering if out of all the gyms, 8 will be randomly selected at the start of your game to be the major league ones, or maybe they will change depending or your actions. Starter Pokemon perhaps? It would make sense for there to be 16 gyms total in the games. 8 major, 8 minor, and 2 of those being game exclusive = 18 gyms across both. Unless Game Informer really did pull that number out of thin air. Anyway, I just hope we're afforded some freedom in choosing the order we tackle towns/gyms.

This is a reference to relegation in professional soccer. Basing on the premier league (UK and league they are probably emulating) the bottom three teams in the league are relegated each year and the top 2 from the "minor league" are promoted, with a third promotion being decided in a tournament. It forces teams to remain competitive and not "tank" (tanking is a very common issue in US professional sports - although relegation can't really work in most US professional sports due to "minor league" teams being so intertwined with top level teams in many cases), and I think it is actually a great idea to emulate in universe in Pokemon, especially in a region that is being shown to be so battle obsessed. So at least in universe, that is what it is based on, I have no idea how it will work as a game mechanic, but in the anime it can be portrayed very interestingly, maybe some lesser "major league" gym leaders will be stressed out in some battles and feel they need a win to avoid relegation, and some "minor league" gym leaders will have a lot of motivation to get a win and move up.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

That's a good point. It could be similar to GS where you gather 8 badges, challenge the league, gather 8 more, and than challenge the tougher league. Perhaps after completing the minor league you will get a sponsorship to challenge the majors. That would be some amazing post-game.

I'm curious about the part that says the major league gyms change every year. I'm wondering if out of all the gyms, 8 will be randomly selected at the start of your game to be the major league ones, or maybe they will change depending or your actions. Starter Pokemon perhaps? It would make sense for there to be 16 gyms total in the games. 8 major, 8 minor, and 2 of those being game exclusive = 18 gyms across both. Unless Game Informer really did pull that number out of thin air. Anyway, I just hope we're afforded some freedom in choosing the order we tackle towns/gyms.

Game Informer have received a follow up from their original article about the Gym statement reported on October 1st. With this, they state that they were told that there will be a similar amount of gyms to battle as prior games, but some do change between version as seen with Bea's Fighting-type Gym in Sword and Allister's Ghost-type Gym in Shield. In the game's lore, however, there are 18 across the leagues. As reported back in July, there are eight gym badges to collect in the game. We'll provide full details on this as and when it comes so keep checking back

Sounds like the usual 8 Major gyms will be the ones we battle, and the rest (minors) are namedropped in lore/postgame content.

 

[Beatsy Ray]

This is a reference to relegation in professional soccer. Basing on the premier league (UK and league they are probably emulating) the bottom three teams in the league are relegated each year and the top 2 from the "minor league" are promoted, with a third promotion being decided in a tournament. It forces teams to remain competitive and not "tank" (tanking is a very common issue in US professional sports - although relegation can't really work in most US professional sports due to "minor league" teams being so intertwined with top level teams in many cases), and I think it is actually a great idea to emulate in universe in Pokemon, especially in a region that is being shown to be so battle obsessed. So at least in universe, that is what it is based on, I have no idea how it will work as a game mechanic, but in the anime it can be portrayed very interestingly, maybe some lesser "major league" gym leaders will be stressed out in some battles and feel they need a win to avoid relegation, and some "minor league" gym leaders will have a lot of motivation to get a win and move up.

This could tie into the "Ash battling one gym in every region theory". There could be one major league gym in every region. They could either introduce new gyms or promote existing gym leaders. The usual 8 badge per region/tournament quest could be considered the "minor league", and now that ash finally won one he could be eligible to compete in the new majors. Before the major/minor league thing was revealed that theory didn't really make sense, but now I can see it happening.

 

[RileyXY1]

This could tie into the "Ash battling one gym in every region theory". There could be one major league gym in every region. They could either introduce new gyms or promote existing gym leaders. The usual 8 badge per region/tournament quest could be considered the "minor league", and now that ash finally won one he could be eligible to compete in the new majors. Before the major/minor league thing was revealed that theory didn't really make sense, but now I can see it happening.

I don't know why Galar would have its Gyms in other regions. It wouldn't be the Galar League if that was the case.

 

[Beatsy Ray]

I don't know why Galar would have its Gyms in other regions. It wouldn't be the Galar League if that was the case.

It would be a little different in this scenario. In the anime, every region's league would be the "minors", and then the "major's would be the national event that all regions participate in. You would need to have beaten a minor league in order to qualify for the major league, or perhaps you would need a sponsorship.