Speculation Will Pokemon Gyms return after Gen VII

[p0pp1i0D3f3nd3r]

After The Pokemon Gyms being absent in Pokemon Sun & Pokemon Moon, and left in their places they had Island Trials, It makes me(and Probably several Others) Wonder, will Pokemon Gyms ever Return, or was Gen VI the Last generation to Feature Pokemon Gyms in the Games; What do YOU guys think?!

 

[Sakuraa]

I'm 99% certain they'll return for the next generation. Island Trials feel like something exclusive to Alola in my opinion.

 

[TheMonster6893]

I definitely think gyms will return, but I'm hoping when they return they'll be more interesting than they used to be. I'm hopeful that when they do return they'll have the same kind of flavor that the trials had. The gyms and trials were almost exactly the same. The major difference was that you actually had a reason to do the trials rather than them just being there as road blocks. I'd also love it if the world didn't completely stop when you reached the next gym. Even if there are set story things going to fill the space. In the old games it was almost like the entire world stopped until you finished the gym. It wasn't just about not being able to progress either. It literal felt like everything in the region was fake once you hit a point where you had two gyms back to back and no story in between. While I will say that Akala felt like a very quick part of the game it still felt like there were things going on in the rest of the region despite just jumping from one trial to the next. Anyway yeah gyms will definitely come back, but I hope they add more story elements to them so they aren't completely blank slates when you do them. Like have the evil team interrupt your challenge of one or two of them like skull did in SM.

 

[The Golden Fighter]

I've always enjoyed Gyms. I hope they do return. I really did like the trials in Gen 7, though. They were fun. It was something different, and I'm always down to try new things.

 

[p0pp1i0D3f3nd3r]

I'm 99% certain they'll return for the next generation. Island Trials feel like something exclusive to Alola in my opinion.

I Sure hope that's the case!!

 

[SUP3RN0VA]

Pokémon Gyms should most likely return when Gen VIII is created. The trials of Alola is definitely a tradition specific to Alola only, and should not be making a return in another region. Alternatively, the next region could also showcase their own traditional battling competitions seperate from the Pokémon league, however, I see it as more likely that Gyms will return. Hopefully, gyms will be further improved on, and will be bigger and better than ever before.

 

[Like_Fahrenheit]

I'm sure they'll come back (especially in remakes/returns to established regions), and like many other people, I wouldn't mind a more theme-centric approach to gyms as opposed to type-centric

 

[Hidden Mew]

I wouldn't be surprised if Gyms return in the next generation. I really liked the Island Trials, much more than I thought I would initially, and it was a refreshing take on the Gym concept. I never had much of a problem with the traditional Gym format, but mixing things up was perfectly fine. That being said, I don't think you could just repeat the Island Trials exactly outside of Alola since its so tied into the region's culture and history. We may go back to more traditional Gyms, get Gyms with a more creative twist to them or have other region specific Gym-like challenges similar to the Island Trials. I'm not sure which option is more likely or what I'd want more, but as long as the challenges are fun, I'm fine with either the return of Gyms with some improvements or another region specific challenge.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

To echo other people's sentiments I liked the trials but I think I prefer gyms. I remember watching a discussion video where they were talking about how totem pokemon are a change of pace because gym leaders use Pokemon you can obtain as if it's a bad thing. But that's what I like about pokemon everyone is using the same giant toolkit! Also we've seen games like Fire Emblem Fates and Bioshock Infinite (or so I hear less familiar with that one) really piss people off by shoehorning in mechanics from previous games. I don't want Pokemon to do the same thing. If they are willing to try to make a more generic replacement for gyms though which satisfies the "Trials are basically the same as gyms" crowd I'm willing to embrace their attempt even if they fail.

 

[Almonds]

If the next games are Sinnoh remakes, then a 100% yes.

I also agree that Trials feel exclusive to Alola.

 

[MizuTaipu]

It'd be interesting if Gen 8 had the Gyms for the main plot with a sidequest that has tasks similar to the trials, much like Contests and the Pokéathlon.

 

[Soki]

I gotta say that I really liked the idea of the trials, but the execution was pretty meh. I do still prefer gyms and do hope they come back, I missed battling against a person with a team. But I agree with the sentiment that more should be done with them than just the regular 'beat all these 8 gyms because.... you just have to ok'. With the trials it actually felt like you had a reason to beat them.

Also, when gyms return, they definitely should return to being harder to beat, after the joke that was XY with gym leaders that had no more than three Pokémon. The Totem battles did provide a challenge at least, I had some real trouble taking Wishiwashi down and I loved it.

So yeah I think I want the gyms to return, but... different If they will return, I'm not sure about. It would be kinda weird to just return to the same old after having such a change, it feels more like the next game will have its own kinda challenge that is different from gyms.

 

[SirOni]

Gyms will return but I'm guessing/hoping they'll alternate between them and other styles of campaigns, like these here trials, for wholly new games.

 

[PurplePopplio]

I think that they'll return. But I actually hope they don't. Because if they do, they must really be changed with new gimmicks, be stronger and be improved. I love the Trials way more than the Gyms, but agree with everyone that the Trials feel Gen VII exclusive.

 

[ManUtd22]

I have feeling that It will back, but surely I don't what at all.

 

[p0pp1i0D3f3nd3r]

I Hope they Make Gym Challenges in the Same vein as they did in the Orange Island Arc of the Anime!!

Trials feel Gen VII exclusive.

They sure DO!

 

[Mijzelffan]

I think gyms will return and I think their return will be used in the marketing of the new games.

 

[EmpoleonProd]

Alola was an example of a region pre-League status. In other words, it didn't have gyms because it was effectively in development from the perspective of anyone residing in the six regions to be shown prior. I'd even imagine that the Island Trials would be "Gymified" in a sequel game, due to the introduction of the Pokemon League, I think they'll need tangible awards, i.e. badges, to confirm when someone is eligible to challenge the Pokemon League, that's not to say they won't function as some of the trials do now, but they'd be treated more as gyms. Let's be honest, the second half of the game started to get stale, the trials starting feeling more like simple gym battles anyways.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Alola was an example of a region pre-League status. In other words, it didn't have gyms because it was effectively in development from the perspective of anyone residing in the six regions to be shown prior. I'd even imagine that the Island Trials would be "Gymified" in a sequel game, due to the introduction of the Pokemon League, I think they'll need tangible awards, i.e. badges, to confirm when someone is eligible to challenge the Pokemon League, that's not to say they won't function as some of the trials do now, but they'd be treated more as gyms. Let's be honest, the second half of the game started to get stale, the trials starting feeling more like simple gym battles anyways.

Honestly, I felt like the Trials were basically Gyms pretty early on in the games. You battle against a few wild Pokemon before getting to the Totem Pokemon. That felt a lot like battling trainers in a Gym before getting to the Gym Leader for me and that feeling came way before the second half of the game. If anything, I wish that there were more trials in the games. It felt kind of weird to find some of the Z-Crystals just out of nowhere. It would have been too much to have a trial for every Z-Crystal, but having a couple of more would have been nice, especially when they kind of got rid of the Trial format they had by the time you reach Poni Island. Making Poni Island the last trial and the post-storyline area wasn't the best idea either given that the last Trial Captain barely does anything in the storyline.

I really don't see the point of turning the Island Trials into more traditional Gyms in potential sequels. You can still have a tangible awards to show that someone is eligible to challenge the Pokemon League. The Z-Crystals that you get from the Trials are already basically badges and the stamps you get from completing a Grand Trial would be further proof that you're able to get into the League. Throwing in badges just seems unnecessary when there is already proof of a trainer's victories through the Island Trial as it is. The idea of seeing how people could react to more traditional Gym concepts in Alola could be interesting, but I think that making Island Trials more like Gyms would take away some of the region's uniqueness and charm.

 

[Dr. Turtwig MT]

I believe that they will return and I wouldn't really mind it but they really need to do something with them. Gym Leader Rematches after the Elite 4 really need to become standard. Also I think they should start integrating the whole Gym Leaders are there to test your skill, like allowing you to chose which ones you challenge and when and have that reflected in the teams. But yeah at the core they really need to start better integrating Gyms into the story.