Pokémon Sword and Shield paved the way for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the Nintendo Switch, and while Gen 8 brought the mainline Pokémon series to the next-gen console, it kept most of its gameplay and story structures intact. Game Freak has since learned from this misstep with Gen 9. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have revolutionized the series by taking greater advantage of the new hardware with its open-world environment and nonlinear story structure. But even though Gen 9 may have attempted to distance itself from the creative choices made in Gen 8, it has preserved the best change its predecessor brought to the series: gyms.
Gyms in the Pokémon series are positioned as places of sportsmanship and communal value; they are often the biggest buildings in whichever town they’re in, and their leaders are often community leaders, too. In Gen 1, Team Rocket Leader Giovanni runs Viridian City’s Gym, and in Gen 4, Volkner has the power to control Sunnyshore City’s power supply. Despite this, gyms often feel like empty spaces. The only people in them are the leaders themselves and a few other trainers who offer additional challenges. Prior to newer games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, gyms have consequently failed to capture the reverence associated with them in the games.
Pokémon Sword & Shield’s Gyms Brought Audiences to Gym Battles
Pokémon Sword and Shield changed gyms for the better, though. Gen 8’s gyms took place in huge arenas filled with adoring Pokémon fans. The addition of an audience helped communicate the importance of gyms and Pokémon battling in a way the series had never done before; it actually felt like the game’s world valued Pokémon battling. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet – though not having audiences of nearly the same size as Pokémon Sword and Shield’s – made an excellent choice in preserving this aspect of Gen 8.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s Gym Battles Learned From Gen 8’s Spectacles
The gyms of Pokémon Sword and Shield offer more than just an audience, though. The size of the arenas themselves allows for gym battles to transform into full-blown spectacles; rather than present the fights in small, placid rooms, the arenas create an electric atmosphere reminiscent of the Pokémon anime’s best battles. On top of this, the size of the gyms lend space to Gen 8’s most important mechanic: Gigantamaxing. The process of a Pokémon reaching its Gigantamax form would not be possible in smaller arena; additionally, the grandeur of the space and the Gigantamax Pokémon only adds to the sense of spectacle.
The gym leaders also add to the entertainment of Pokémon Sword and Shield‘s gym battles. Rather than have the gyms be led by mysterious community leaders, Gen 8’s would sometimes have them be character rivals like Marnie, who players can take on in a rematch after she replaces her brother Piers. Getting to fight her throughout the game only to end the rivalry in an epic gym battle makes the gym battle as exciting as it is in YouTuber Mixeli’s video.
The packaged deal of the audience, coliseum setting, and story-related gym leaders all work to make gym battles more entertaining and engaging than ever before in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Though Pokémon Scarlet and Violet did not manage to bring all of them back for its setting, the crowds continue to help make gym battles more believable. Future games would be wise to continue in integrating this small addition important fights.
