Pokémon Gym

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Pokémon Gyms are a location where Pokémon Trainers can train or compete to qualify for Pokémon League competitions. The internal layout of Pokémon Gyms tend to vary, but every Pokémon Gym has its own Gym Leader, a formidable Pokémon Trainer who specializes in using a certain type of Pokémon. Pokémon Gyms mainly appear in the core series, starting with the first games Pocket Monsters Red and Green Versions (internationally released as Pokémon Red and Blue Versions) as well as the anime series.

To qualify for a regional Pokémon League competition, one must win in a Pokémon battle against every Gym Leader in their respective battle. In the core series, a region only has eight Pokémon Gyms, so winning against all eight Gym Leaders makes the player character eligible to join the Pokémon League.

As the name indicates, a Pokémon Gym maintains basic operations that allow Pokémon Trainers to train their Pokémon. Some Gym Leaders may employ other Trainers to be officials in their battles in return for food, lodgings, free use of the Gym facilities, or the promise of a future battle. In the anime, the Gym Leader and all of their employees are also responsible for the maintenance of the battlefield used in official Gym Battles. As it is conceivable that anyone can start their own Gym, the Pokémon League maintains minimum maintenance standards, and how they (among other factors) must be met to receive official League sanctioning. In Pokémon Chronicles, several Gyms lost their official sanctioning, and were said to have closed down. Some other facilities, while similar in organization to a Gym, are not sanctioned by the Pokémon League, and do not consider themselves as Gyms.

In the Pokémon anime, it has been suggested that a region has more than eight Pokémon Gyms has been implied, such as when Gary Oak acquired ten badges but had not defeated the Gym Leader of Viridian City.

The anime series suggests that every city may have only one Pokémon Gym which, upon receiving an official status, forces every other Pokémon Gym to close. This is also true in the games, at least in the case of Saffron City's Fighting Dojo. The anime also features some Pokémon Gyms that were unofficially established; they are not illegal and Pokémon Trainers may come and battle the Leaders, but these Leaders are not recognized by the Pokemon League and Pokémon Trainers do not receive a Gym Badge for winning a battle against them.

Becoming a Leader

Some Gyms, such as the Cinnabar Island Gym, are sole proprietorships, while others, such as the Pewter City and Lavaridge Town Gyms are family-run businesses. Others rely on a secondary business affiliation to run — in the anime, for example, the Rustboro City Gym is partnered with a Pokémon training school, while the Celadon City Gym also runs a greenhouse. Most notoriously, the Viridian City Gym was run by Team Rocket as a legitimate front for their underground operations.

It is unclear how one becomes a Gym Leader, although one must be a Trainer of sufficient ability. In some regions, one must take a League-sponsored examination in order to become eligible to open an official Pokémon Gym, while in others (most notoriously the family-owned Gyms) the position is passed from one generation to another. Most notably, in the manga, Norman opened his own official Hoenn Gym after failing to become an official Gym Leader in Johto; while in the anime, Forrest inherited the title of Gym Leader from older brother Brock.

Gym Battles

In order to earn a badge at a Gym, the challenger must win a Gym Battle against the Gym Leader. In the video games, the eight Gym Leaders act as bosses, in the sense that they are one of the main impediments to the progression of the storyline. Although it is sometimes necessary to defeat a Gym's lesser Pokémon Trainers before advancing to the Leader, some may be avoided.

In the Pokémon anime, each Gym has its own rules for its official battles, which the challenger must accept. In many cases, they are slightly tilted in favor of the challenger, with many Gyms adopting the rule that only the challenger may switch out their Pokémon. The Battle itself may be held at any place the Gym Leader deems appropriate.

If the challenger loses in a Gym Battle, they can challenge the Gym Leader again, although the Gym Leader may have certain restrictions for granting a rematch.

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