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Rethinking Pokémon: Gym Leaders


Perkilator
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I personally think that Type-based Gyms have been done to death at this point, so I figured "Hey! Why not Gyms based on gameplay mechanics?" This idea is based on JelloApocolypse's "Let's Make a Pokémon Game!" video. Without further ado, here are my ideas:

Baby Pokémon

Spoiler

A daycare lady who uses baby Pokémon. However, you fight her 8-year-old daughter, who often plays Gym Leader. Her gym is a toy castle.

  1. Pichu (Lv. 3)
    1. Thunder Shock
    2. Tail Whip
  2. Azurill (Lv. 3)
    1. Water Gun
    2. Tail Whip

Pokémon Types

Spoiler

Your professor, who uses Pokémon of the Grass, Fire and Water types. His Gym is a basic one.

  1. Gossifleur (Lv. 7)
    1. Leafage
    2. Leaf Tornado
    3. Magical Leaf
  2. Darumaka (Lv. 8 )
    1. Ember
    2. Incinerate
    3. Heat Wave
  3. Clauncher (Lv. 9)
    1. Rain Dance
    2. Aqua Jet
    3. Crabhammer
    4. Scald

After that, you're free to tackle each Gym at your own accord. The levels of each of their Pokémon are assuming you face them in this order.

Berries

Spoiler

An aspiring chef who always equips his Pokémon with Berries during his battle. His Gym is a famous restaurant run by his uncle.

  1. Munchlax (Lv. 12; Oran Berry equipped)
    1. Lick
    2. Recycle
    3. Bite
    4. Belly Drum
  2. Bunnelby (Lv. 12; Chesto Berry equipped)
    1. Super Fang
    2. Fling
    3. Thief
  3. Drednaw (Lv. 12; Pecha Berry equipped)
    1. Jaw Lock
    2. Ice Fang
    3. Crunch
  4. Gulpin (Lv. 14; Cherri Berry equipped)
    1. Belch
    2. Gastro Acid
    3. Stockpile
    4. Swallow

Friendship

Spoiler

 A former member of the evil team who uses Pokémon that evolve or have evolved via Friendship with him. His Gym is a basketball court.

  1. Crobat (Lv. 17)
    1. Return
    2. Toxic
    3. Payback
  2. Lucario (Lv. 17)
    1. Payback
    2. Calm Mind
    3. Aura Sphere
    4. Retaliate
  3. Umbreon (Lv. 20)
    1. Helping Hand
    2. Payback
    3. Protect
    4. Last Resort
  4. Espeon (Lv. 20)
    1. Copycat
    2. Helping Hand
    3. Confusion
    4. Last Resort
  5. Snom (Lv. 16)
    1. Struggle Bug
    2. Endure
    3. Powder Snow
    4. Protect
  6. Roselia (Lv. 17)
    1. Endure
    2. Swords Dance
    3. Magical Leaf
    4. Aromatherapy

Weather Effects

Spoiler

A meteorologist who utilizes the fake weather around her, using all Castforms. Her Gym is a weather station.

  1. Castform (Normal) (Lv. 24)
    1. Energy Ball
    2. Scald
    3. Thunder Wave
    4. Weather Ball
  2. Castform (Sunny Form) (Lv. 24)
    1. Sunny Day
    2. Flamethrower
    3. Fire Blast
    4. Weather Ball
  3. Castform (Rainy Form) (Lv. 24)
    1. Rain Dance
    2. Hurricane
    3. Weather Ball
    4. Hydro Pump
  4. Castform (Snowy Form) (Lv. 24)
    1. Hail
    2. Blizzard
    3. Ice Beam
    4. Weather Ball

Sound-Based Moves

Spoiler

A pop star whose Pokémon specialize in sound-based moves. Her Gym is a pop concert.

  1. Loudred (Lv. 30)
    1. Echoed Voice
    2. Round
    3. Hyper Voice
    4. Uproar
  2. Toxtricity (Amped Form) (Lv. 33)
    1. Boomburst
    2. Overdrive
    3. Encore
    4. Screech
  3. Vibrava (Lv. 30)
    1. Bug Buzz
    2. Supersonic
    3. Round
    4. Boomburst
  4. Jigglypuff (Lv. 30)
    1. Sing
    2. Disarming Voice
    3. Hyper Voice
    4. Round
  5. Whismur (Lv. 30)
    1. Disarming Voice
    2. Round
    3. Baby-Doll Eyes
    4. Fake Tears
  6. Chatot (Lv. 30)
    1. Chatter
    2. Synchronoise
    3. Feather Dance
    4. Echoed Voice

Fossils

Spoiler

A fossil researcher who uses Fossil Pokémon on her team; she is also a fan of pop music. Her Gym is a fossil research facility.

  1. Aerodactyl (Lv. 34)
    1. Ancient Power
    2. Sky Drop
    3. Stone Edge
    4. Aerial Ace
  2. Cradily (Lv. 34)
    1. Ancient Power
    2. Energy Ball
    3. Smack Down
    4. Giga Drain
  3. Bastiodon (Lv. 34)
    1. Ancient Power
    2. Iron Head
    3. Rock Tomb
    4. Iron Defense
  4. Carracosta (Lv. 34)
    1. Ancient Power
    2. Withdraw
    3. Shell Smash
    4. Scald
  5. Aurorus (Lv. 34)
    1. Ancient Power
    2. Aurora Beam
    3. Blizzard
    4. Rock Polish
  6. Dracovish (Lv. 36)
    1. Ancient Power
    2. Fishious Rend
    3. Dragon Breath
    4. Ice Fang

Status Effects

Spoiler

An ailing doctor who specializes in status effects for his research. His Gym is the roof on top of a Pokémon Center that he runs.

  1. Ninetales (Lv. 39)
    1. Will-O-Wisp
    2. Flamethrower
    3. Inferno
    4. Fire Spin
  2. Eiscue (Lv. 41)
    1. Freeze-Dry
    2. Icy Wind
    3. Blizzard
    4. Ice Beam
  3. Galvantula (Lv. 39)
    1. Thunder Wave
    2. Electroweb
    3. Wild Charge
    4. Electro Ball
  4. Toxicroak (Lv. 39)
    1. Toxic
    2. Poison Sting
    3. Sludge Bomb
    4. Nasty Plot
  5. Malamar (Lv. 39)
    1. Hypnosis
    2. Topsy-Turvy
    3. Sleep Talk
    4. Psychic
  6. Spinda (Lv. 39)
    1. Dizzy Punch
    2. Swagger
    3. Confusion
    4. Teeter Dance

Double Battles

Spoiler

An old wife and husband who specialize in gender-dependent Pokémon in Double Battles. Their Gym is their wedding hall near the beach.

Team A (Husband)

  1. Nidoking (Lv. 45)
    1. Megahorn
    2. Helping Hand
    3. Bulldoze
    4. Poison Jab
  2. Unfezant (Male) (Lv. 45)
    1. Attract
    2. Roost
    3. Protect
    4. Dual Wingbeat
  3. Pyroar (Male) (Lv. 45)
    1. Noble Roar
    2. Take Down
    3. Rest
    4. Work Up

Team B (Wife)

  1. Nidoqueen (Lv. 45)
    1. Poison Jab
    2. Double Team
    3. Smack Down
    4. Sunny Day
  2. Meowstic (Female) (Lv. 45)
    1. Helping Hand
    2. Charm
    3. Attract
    4. Psychic
  3. Indeedee (Female) (Lv. 45)
    1. Play Nice
    2. Healing Wish
    3. Aromatherapy
    4. Follow Me

HM Moves

Spoiler

A firefighter from Hoenn who specializes in HM moves, mainly for his rescues. His Gym is a fire station.

  1. Gyarados (Lv. 51)
    1. Surf
    2. Waterfall
    3. Hydro Pump
    4. Rain Dance
  2. Scizor (Lv. 49)
    1. Cut
    2. Metal Claw
    3. X-Scissor
    4. Brick Break
  3. Crabominable (Lv. 49)
    1. Rock Smash
    2. Frost Breath
    3. Stone Edge
    4. Iron Defense
  4. Bewear (Lv. 49)
    1. Strength
    2. Protect
    3. Endure
    4. Force Palm
  5. Wailmer (Lv. 49)
    1. Dive
    2. Water Spout
    3. Mist
    4. Rain Dance
  6. Golurk (Lv. 52)
    1. Fly
    2. Hammer Arm
    3. Psychic
    4. Superpower

 

 

Edited by Perkilator
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I like the premise! I could definitely see more gyms designed around themes. For example...

Volt-Turn

Spoiler

This leader is a professional stunt driver, known for making a tight U-turn. Their team includes:

  1. Mienshao
    • U-Turn
    • Fake Out
    • High Jump Kick
    • Acrobatics
  2. Manectric
    • Volt Switch
    • Flamethrower
    • Discharge
    • Snarl
  3. Scyther
    • Swords Dance
    • U-Turn
    • Aerial Ace
    • Thief

Dancing Doubles

Spoiler

Two girlfriends who dominate the dance floor, alongside their Pokemon. Their team includes:

  1. Oricorio (Pom-Pom)
    • Revelation Dance
    • Feather Dance
    • Air Slash
    • Tailwind
  2. Volcarona
    • Quiver Dance
    • Fiery Dance
    • Bug Buzz
    • Giga Drain
  3. Oricorio (Sensu)
    • Revelation Dance
    • Teeter Dance
    • Air Slash
    • Helping Hand
  4. Flygon
    • Dragon Dance
    • Dragon Claw
    • Earthquake
    • Rock Slide

Omni-Boost Moves

Spoiler

A gambler who calls on Lady Luck to bring him swift victory. His team includes...

  1. Togekiss
    • Ancient Power
    • Aura Sphere
    • Air Slash
    • Roost
  2. Lumineon
    • Silver Wind
    • Ice Beam
    • Scald
    • Charm
  3. Decidueye
    • Ominous Wind
    • Spirit Shackle
    • Leaf Blade
    • Brave Bird

Just some ideas! I only did partial teams so far.

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I like this idea, but have some minor quibbles with specifics of the teams. For example the Berry user, the one with the Chesto berry should have rest, and some of the more interesting berries should see some use here (with changes made accordingly), like the resist super effective damage ones to block a double weakness, or that raise stats in a pinch with something like substitute or endure etc. The weather one maybe having a few pokemon other than Castform really tied to weather, like Cherrim, or a weather setting pokemon. Also the HM one being an earlier Gym (as HM moves generally aren't that great...)

Although it reminds me of something the games used to do, but didn't really advertise. Every Gym leader that gave you a TM (so all of them before gen 7) had at least one pokemon that had that TM move on their team. It was most obvious in Generation 1 where the only trainer pokemon that did not just have their levelup moveset was the Gym Leader's aces, which each had been taught their signature TM, and the Elite Four's & Champion's aces, which each have been taught one TM (except Lance's Dragonite, which was given Barrier probably in error as it was impossible to learn, and probably supposed to be the very similar Reflect TM move that it can learn...)

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One battle that really stood out to me in Pokemon colosseum was a random grunt who talked about dancing before you fought her. She then used a team that had dance related moves, like Dragon Dance and Petal Dance. That was...well that was a thing I remembered. Thought it was kind of cool. More trainers could do with some kind of unifying identity outside of type. So yeah, Dance Dance Revolution gym.

Also I think Pokemon games should be designed like Mega Man games.

Edited by Jotari
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I dont feel like this actually solves anything so much as replaces one gimmick for another. hell, the fossil gym might as well just be a rock type gym considering its dominated by rock types, and well this better represents certain mechanical aspects of pokemon better [such as berrys being a thing] i dont think it alleviates the issue that pokemon gyms havent encouraged much in the way of strategy for the longest time. status effects for instance, sure all the pokemon in the team represent various kinds of status effects but theres no actual synergy of purpose there its just loading on status effects for the purpose of status effects/draining the players bank account in buying status cures. an arguably more interesting variation of that would be a gym that focuses on toxic/poison stalling, forcing the player to formulate strategies to bypass both the poison effects and the stalling tactics. but then that might get to complex for a game thats intended to have as broad appeal as mainline pokemon is.

instead i feel it would be better to have the type themed gyms also emphasize type themed strategies. a grass gym for instance could lean heavily on health restoration and stalling, the fighting gym by contrast going for one hit move setups and raw power buffing. stuff like that. another possible fix could be a 'stadium approach' as it were where type themed gyms often had a mix of typed themed pokemon and just other appropriate pokemon. brock in stadium 1 for instance had a cubone and vulpix, well in stadium 2 he had a fortress and a pinser.

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  • 1 month later...

Alternately, aside from Type + Strategies, I wouldn't mind a dual-type gym, at least for later stages of the game.

A gym run by a detective or a police force could be Psychic + Fighting. Psychic represents the psychology and brainwork involved in interrogating suspects or piecing the evidences in a crime scene, while Fighting represents justice.

Or, what about Psychic and Dark for a dishonest and corrupt investment firm in a big city representing the worst excesses of Wall Street? The Psychic part is for analysis of the financial market and the behavioural psychology of stock trading, while the Dark part is, well, pretty obvious.

A gym inside an alpine volcano could be Ice and Fire to represent the cold climate outside and the hot lava inside.

A gym with Steel and Electric could be a high-tech factory producing electric vehicles.

A gym with Water and Flying could be on a joint naval and air force military base with the makeshift gym situated on the aircraft carrier.

A gym that is outright multitype could be run by a Zaibatsu or another conglomerate, with different divisions representing different types:

  • For a rock or ground-type user, s/he can be the division manager for mining exploration or geology,
  • A grass-type director represents biotech,
  • A poison-type director represents the pharmaceutical director,
  • For steel-types, heavy industries or steel manufacturing
  • For electric-types, electronics
  • For fire-types, petroleum
  • For psychic-types, marketing, analysis, or consulting division
  • For flying-types could be for aeronautical division
  • For water-types could be for the shipbuilding division
  • For dark-types, they could represent the sleazy financial division with dishonest bankers and traders lol
  • For normal types, they could represent general management

 

Edited by henrymidfields
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  • 3 months later...
On 5/7/2022 at 12:50 PM, henrymidfields said:

A gym that is outright multitype could be run by a Zaibatsu or another conglomerate, with different divisions representing different types:

  • For a rock or ground-type user, s/he can be the division manager for mining exploration or geology,
  • A grass-type director represents biotech,
  • A poison-type director represents the pharmaceutical director,
  • For steel-types, heavy industries or steel manufacturing
  • For electric-types, electronics
  • For fire-types, petroleum
  • For psychic-types, marketing, analysis, or consulting division
  • For flying-types could be for aeronautical division
  • For water-types could be for the shipbuilding division
  • For dark-types, they could represent the sleazy financial division with dishonest bankers and traders lol
  • For normal types, they could represent general management

This could actually make a great basis for a region's set of gyms! Have them all owned by a big Conglomerate, which has taken over business operations and established a monopoly in the region. By defeating the gyms, you provide a foothold for local businesses to reestablish a market presence. In this sense, the Gym Leaders would double as the "evil team", which we haven't seen (outside the manga) since Giovanni.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gyms themed around type combinations would certainly be novel, especially if the games want to start establishing type synergy as a concept. To go further, they could have the gyms be run by pairs of leaders who all follow some kind of team strategy.

  • Healing Hearts - Normal/Fairy (Attract and healing)
  • Rain Storm - Water/Electric (Rain Dance, Thunder)
  • Solar Energy - Fire/Grass (Sunny Day, Solar Beam)
  • Excavators - Rock/Steel (Sandstorm, high defense)
  • Over & Under - Flying/Ground (Fly, Earthquake, Dig)
  • Underhands - Dark/Poison (Flinching, debuffs, poison)
  • Dreams & Nightmares - Psychic/Ghost (Sleep, Dream Eater, Nightmare)
  • Powering Up - Fighting/Dragon (Stat buffs and powerful attacks)

Honestly, it's kinda surprising they didn't go for dual-type Gym Leaders back in Gen III, to capitalize on the Double Battle gimmick. Liza and Tate were so close to being examples of what they could do with a convention like that, save for the fact they both focus on Psychic-types.

Though, this begs the question: If Dual-type Gyms became a thing for a generation, what about the Elite Four?

Edited by Lord_Brand
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/10/2022 at 1:10 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

This could actually make a great basis for a region's set of gyms! Have them all owned by a big Conglomerate, which has taken over business operations and established a monopoly in the region. By defeating the gyms, you provide a foothold for local businesses to reestablish a market presence. In this sense, the Gym Leaders would double as the "evil team", which we haven't seen (outside the manga) since Giovanni.

And the evil leader could be either the Wolf of Wall Street or Donald Trump a robber baron type businessman lol!!!

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