In the test to be better than the rest, you have to go through many trainers who look oddly similar, and 8 of the best trainers in that region to even qualify to fight their tougher counterparts.
These 8 trainers, however, in a world where parents kick out their 10-year-old children to go dog fight and gamble, have to sit and wait for your arrival in order to fabulously lose, give you a speech, and send you off with a piece of shiny tin. There are many things in this universe, though well-loved, that can be really questionable. So here are 10 things that make no sense about Pokémon gyms.
10 No Gym Leader Stopped Team Rocket
Being the top trainers in the region, and leveled well above where your Pokémon were when either taking on the hideout or the Silph Co. building, you’d expect the gym leaders of Kanto to stand up to the enemy (like in Black And White) and take them down for you, or at least help you out.
Considering that most of Team Rocket’s power came from Rattata, even Brock could have a field day knocking out grunts. Instead, they all just sit around and let Giovonni do what he wants, and let Team Rocket run rampant, even blocking off their own gyms - which could be their only livelihood.
9 The Pokémon War
There are lots of references to real-world places in Gen 1, Like how Lt. Surge is from the United States, and that there was a Pokémon war he was a part of. The image of Pokémon having it out with each other in fights to the death as the military runs in with machine guns is a jarring thought.
Was it a regional war? If so, was Kanto involved? There are so many implications to what Lt. Surge said that were never further explored, much to everyone’s disappointment.
8 Sitting Around All Day
All gym leaders are paid to sit trapped at the end of a hall as some poor 10-year-old screams and yells at the puzzle that has been set up. When you think about it, the gym leaders are actually in distress and rely heavily on you not walking out and leaving for days at a time so they can get out, eat, and maybe communicate with their family.
Lt. Surge isn’t getting out of that lightning trap he put himself in, and if you leave, his apprentices might be the only ones left to get him out. His apprentices might not even do this because they’re always back at their position and the puzzle is unchanged when you return. This would indicate that it’s some cruel rule imposed by the Pokémon League.
7 Hiring Subordinates
Each and every gym trainer looks about the same, as though they came out of a clone factory. The Pokémon universe has already confirmed with team Galactic that this is a purposeful thing people do to their bodies in order to match a style. This means that to join a gym you have to dress exactly the same, and well beyond work attire too.
Your work attire, Pokémon type, and hairstyle all have to have to the same look. That means you have to change your whole state of being to be a gym trainer.
6 Funding Over Complicated Puzzles
It can never be simple, that’s why they have to put trainers through large puzzles that probably cost half a million dollars to make. But the problem is where they get the money in order to make their over the top rat traps. It’s obvious Giovonni got it from Team Rocket’s illegal ventures, but that begs a question on how other gym leaders are managing the out of pocket expenses to make these puzzles, or if the Pokémon league puts out all the money.
If it does come from the league, the true issue is whether it’s government money, or money from trainers who lost battles against the gym leaders. There are so many questions to be had with this one aspect, but one thing is certain - if the player loses, they also lose money at the gym.
5 Absent Gym Leaders
Apparently, the Pokémon League is very loose about the opening times of gyms. Gym leaders commonly leave their gyms for what seems like days at a time with no notice, leaving travelers to move on, wait for their return, or hunt them down.
Other times the title of Gym leader seems like an unimportant side gig where the leader is occasionally present. In Sword and Shield the 7th leader, Piers, outright shuts down the whole town by closing the gates. If you were forced to stay stuck in a puzzle trap all day it’s possible you’d want to spend as much time outside the gym as well.
4 Their Job is to Lose
One thing that is heavily overlooked when talking about gym leaders is that their job is to lose. They are not the best trainers in the region, obviously. Their job as gym leaders is to teach trainers to beat them through type advantages to prep them for bigger tournaments and the Elite 4.
In essence, the end goal of their job is to get beaten all day and every day. Anyone who beats them is already more qualified than they are, and when you think about it, that’s a depressing way to live.
3 Handing out Pokémon Instead of Badges
Showing again that the Pokémon League does not regulate the gyms at all, there are actually 9 official gyms in Gen 1, but instead of giving you a badge, the fighting gym next to Sabrina’s gives you a Pokémon to save their “Honor” as a gym.
So that might imply that they are either fined or lose credit when they have to give out a badge, and this follows the theory that gyms actually make money when they beat poor unsuspecting trainers.
2 Where The Money Comes From
Being an apprentice in a gym doesn’t seem to have any benefits, so it’s possible it’s just another way of making a living. In a gym as an apprentice, you are held to the same standards as the gym leader, just without the recognition.
There was never any flavor text talking about a gym trainer getting a pay stub, which would mean they are either volunteers or they only make money when they beat a trainer. This leads to even less of a benefit because they never grow stronger under a gym leader, as you never really see a load of apprentices going to the Pokémon league and becoming strong trainers. All the champions are always the ones who beat the apprentices and the gym leaders.
1 That Guy That Welcomes You at Every Gym
The most under-appreciated guy in all of Pokémon is the league representative that they put at the front of every gym before the puzzle. He’s at every gym to tell you important stuff, but is commonly ignored by all trainers.
Many people don’t even talk to that character. But it is the same guy, not a set of clones, for every gym. Being that he’s always there it’s surprising he doesn’t know the goings-on of Team Rocket, being their leader is one of the Pokémon League Gym Leaders. You’d think he would have reported it unless he was in their pocket.
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