Gym (GO): Difference between revisions

A Gym not controlled by any team

A Gym (Japanese: ジム Gym) is a type of location in Pokémon GO.

Locating Gyms

A Gym claimed by Team Mystic, with a Pidgeot as its strongest Pokémon

Gyms are fixed locations in the real world that players must physically visit to battle. Gyms are generally in public locations, including (but not limited to) public artwork/murals, libraries, famous landmarks, churches, police stations, fire stations, and public parks. While players must be physically close to Gyms to battle them, they generally do not need to enter the building to be close enough (if the Gym is a building).

Gyms are based on a selection of portals from the Niantic game Ingress. Until 2015, Ingress players could submit proposals for portals which subsequently had to be approved by Niantic. Gyms are less common than PokéStops, which were also created from Ingress portals.

If for some reason a physical location is unsuitable as a Gym, players may send a request to Niantic via the Pokémon GO website to remove it from the game. This could be due to safety concerns or if there is an error related to the Gym (the landmark no longer exists, never existed in the first place, or has been converted to a different use such as a private residence).

Inspecting a Gym

Inspecting a level 4 Gym controlled by Team Valor (red)

If a Gym tower is visible in the Map View, it can still be inspected even if it is outside of range.

If the player is not on a team and below level 5, they will be advised to return at level 5.

If the player is not on a team and above level 5, they will be given the option to select a team. Once the player selects a team, it cannot be changed. This is the only way to select a team.

If the player is on a team, they can view the Gym screen. The Gym screen shows each defender one at a time, with the inspecting player able to swipe through them; for each of the defending Pokémon, its name (or nickname if owned by the player), its appearance, its CP, and its Trainer (avatar, level, and username) will be displayed. Additionally, the Gym's level, Prestige, and name are displayed, as well as a photo of the real world location.

Control

Initially, Gyms are controlled by no team.

If a Gym tower is white, that Gym is currently not controlled by any team. If in range of the Gym, a player on a team can claim it for their team by placing one of their own Pokémon in it. A Pokémon placed in a Gym cannot be removed until it is defeated by a challenging Trainer, at which point the Pokémon will return to its owner's collection, but with only 1 HP.

If a Gym tower is red, yellow, or blue, that Gym is currently controlled by the team of that color. Trainers on the same team can use their team's Gyms to train or fortify the Gym itself. Trainers on opposing teams will be prompted to challenge the Gym to lower its Prestige. In the Map View, the defending Pokémon in the Gym with the highest CP will appear on top of the tower marking the Gym, and it is marked with a crown when inspecting the Gym.

If a tower in the Map View has explosions and battle signs, it means that the Gym is currently being challenged.

Prestige

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Prestige lost/awarded for each action

A Gym has been reduced to 0 Prestige due to a challenger, making it free to be claimed for any team.

Any Gym that is controlled by a team has a level, which is determined by its Prestige. The Gym's level determines the number of defending Pokémon that can be placed in it.

A newly claimed Gym starts at level 2, allowing up to two Pokémon to be stationed there. If a Gym is level 1 with 0 Prestige, it becomes neutral and not controlled by any team, available to be claimed by any team.

If a challenger defeats all the Pokémon at a Gym, the Gym loses Prestige; however, if a challenger loses at the Gym, the Gym gains Prestige. A Gym loses approximately 1 level for every victory against all of its defenders, so it may take multiple victories in order to claim a Gym if it has a high level. As the Gym's level falls, so does the number of Pokémon that can be placed in it.

The higher the level of the Gym, the more Prestige is required to level it up again.

Levels

Battles

A Pokémon battle at a Gym

In Pokémon GO, battles can only be conducted at Gyms. Battles are not turn-based, and they are conducted between a player and a computer-controlled opponent. Battles are timed, limited to 100 seconds.

Each Pokémon has two stats which are relevant to Pokémon battles: its HP and its CP (Combat Power). A Pokémon's CP determines the amount of damage it deals, meaning that Pokémon with higher CP are more powerful. A Pokémon loses HP when it is hit by attacks, and faints when its HP is depleted.

Type effectiveness applies in Pokémon GO the same way it does in the core series games, with the same type chart as the Generation VI games. The same-type attack bonus is applied, giving a 25% boost to moves of the same type as the user.

During battle, the player can forfeit or switch Pokémon by tapping the buttons at the bottom-right of the screen.

Combat actions

During battle, a Pokémon can perform one of three basic actions.

• Dodge: swipe left or right on the screen.
• Fast Attack: tap the Pokémon.
• Special Attack: long press the Pokémon, but can only be used when the Special Attack meter is charged

Each Pokémon has one Fast Attack and ones Special Attack, being based on moves the Pokémon can learn in the core series games. Special Attacks are normally more powerful than Fast Attacks.

Dodging

When a Pokémon is about to use its Special Attack a message will appear above its head. This allows Special Attacks to be dodged, with the correct timing.

Fast Attacks

The challenging Pokémon's Fast Attack can be used at any time during a battle simply by tapping it. Using a Fast Attack charges the Special Attack meter.

Special Attacks

Using a Special Attack requires consuming one bar of the Special Attack meter. There is also a warm-up period between commanding the Special Attack and executing it, leaving the Pokémon open to enemy attacks.

The Special Attack meter is empty when the Pokémon is sent out (including after a switch or teammate fainting), and is filled by using Fast Attacks or taking damage from the opponent. The Special Attack meter is displayed below the HP bar.

The amount of the Special Attack meter that is consumed by an attack depends on the number of bar segments for that move (visible on the status screen). Special Attacks with more bar segments use less of the meter for a single use, so can be used more frequently than Special Attacks with fewer bar segments.

Typically, the power of a Special Attack is inversely related to the number of bars in its meter. For example, a weak Special Attack like Struggle with a power of 15 has 5 bars, whereas a strong Special Attack like Hyper Beam has a power of 70 and 1 bar. Consequently, weaker Special Attacks can typically be used more frequently than stronger ones.

Battling at a Gym

Training

At a Gym of the same team, the player can train in order to gain experience and increase the Gym's Prestige.

During training, the training player selects a single Pokémon of their own to battle against each defending Pokémon in sequence, with the defenders being controlled by an AI. Each defending Pokémon defeated awards 50 experience to the training player and Prestige for the Gym, even if not all of the Gym's defenders are defeated.

If the player's challenging Pokémon faints, it is returned to the player's collection at 1 HP (not fainted).

Challenging a Gym

At a Gym of an opposing team, the player can challenge it in order to lower the Gym's Prestige in an attempt to relinquish that team's control.

During a Gym challenge, the challenging player selects up to six of their Pokémon; the player can select them manually or use the Shuffle button. These challenging Pokémon must then defeat all of the defending Pokémon in sequence, in order of CP starting with the defending Pokémon with the lowest CP, with the defenders being controlled by an AI.

If all of the player's challenging Pokémon faint, they lose the Gym battle, which increases the Gym's Prestige. If all of the Gym's defending Pokémon faint, the challenger wins the Gym battle, which decreases the Gym's Prestige.

Multiple players can challenge a Gym at the same time, even if they are on different teams; this allows the challengers to work together to take down the Gym.

Defending a Gym

Claiming the Defender bonus

If a Gym is not controlled by any team, any player on a team can visit it and claim it for their own team by placing one of their Pokémon in it. If a Gym is controlled by their team, a player can place one of their Pokémon in it as an additional defender, provided the number of defenders in the Gym is lower than its level.

Only Pokémon with full HP can be deposited in a Gym as a defender. A Pokémon deposited in a Gym as a defender cannot be withdrawn until it is knocked off. If a Pokémon is knocked off a Gym due to the Gym losing Prestige, it will return to its Trainer with 1 HP, and that Trainer cannot place another Pokémon in that Gym until its Prestige is depleted.

Each player can only add one of their Pokémon to each Gym, and can only place Pokémon in up to 10 different Gyms. A player must be in range of the Gym to add Pokémon to it.

Defender bonus

Every 21 hours, it is possible to claim the Defender bonus from the Shop menu using the Shield icon in the top right corner. Upon claiming it, the player receives 500 Stardust and 10 PokéCoins for every Gym held. This is the only way to obtain PokéCoins without paying for them with real money.

Until the player claims their bonus, the timer will not reset. If the player's team loses control of the Gym within the 21 hour countdown, the timer will not reset. This gives the player the opportunity to take the Gym back in order to receive their bonus.

External links

• Pokémon GO Help Center