
Pokemon Sword and Shield Won't Actually Have 18 Gyms, Game Freak Clarifies
You'll only collect badges from eight Galar region gyms.
Ahead of Game Informer's November cover story on Pokemon Sword and Shield, The Pokemon Company is clarifying a detail about the number of gyms in the game that made it seem like there'd be 18 gyms to challenge for badges in the Galar region. Instead, both Sword and Shield will have the standard "eight Gyms and eight Gym Leaders that Trainers can battle for a traditional Gym Challenge experience."
The confusion may have arisen through the Japanese-to-English translation of a quote by Game Freak's Shigeru Ohmori. Ohmori, the director of Pokemon Sword and Shield, told Game Informer that in "the background to the story" there are 18 Galar gyms—one for each Pokemon type—that are divided into Major and Minor Leagues. The eight gyms you'll challenge for badges in Sword and Shield are their respective version's Major League gyms.
This is the fictional justification for why Pokemon Shield features the exclusive Ghost-type gym leader Allister while Sword features Fighting-type expert Bea. In Sword's story, the Fighting gym is advanced enough to be in the Major League but it failed to qualify in Shield, and vice-versa with the Ghost gym.
"Over the course of the main story, Trainers will challenge eight Gyms, which are all in the Major League," confirms The Pokemon Company's clarifying statement. The statement goes on to emphasize that Sword and Shield follow a "traditional" eight-gym progression:
"Which Gyms appear in the Major League and Minor League will differ between Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. For example, depending on the version of the game, Trainers will be able to challenge different Gym Leaders, such as Bea or Allister.
Each version will have eight Gyms and eight Gym Leaders that Trainers can battle for a traditional Gym Challenge experience that fans have enjoyed throughout the Pokémon video game series."
The question the statement raises and then doesn't answer is whether any Minor League gyms will actually appear in Pokemon Sword and Shield. All we know for certain is that we'll be challenging eight gyms for badges, and the Minor League gyms are explicitly not part of that progression. Basically, you probably shouldn't go into Sword and Shield expecting something like Pokemon's Gen 2 heyday of eight Johto and eight Kanto gyms to challenge in a single game.
Keep up to date with all things Pokemon Sword and Shield in our need-to-know guide.
In other news
Cyberpunk 2077 Has Been Removed From the PlayStation Store Following a "Discussion" With Sony [Update]
Sony is offering full refunds for those who want one.
Dicey Dungeons Had a Surprise Launch on Switch Last Night
Turns out Nintendo had another card up its sleeve. A card with, uh… with dice on it.
How Familiars.io's Creator Fit Multiplayer Monster-Taming Into a Single Tweet
Bless Twitter's Javascript embeds for letting this Pokemon-like flourish.
CD Projekt Red Is "Not Encouraging" Cyberpunk 2077 Returns, Joint-CEO Tells Investors
"We hope they'll give us a chance to improve the game on the original consoles," says Marcin Iwi?ski.
Need help?
Witcher 3: How to Start the Blood and Wine DLC and Meet Its Level Requirements
We explain how to get to Toussaint and what level you should be when you do.
Witcher 3: All the Correct Play Lines in "The Play's the Thing" Quest
We explain how to perform the Doppler's play with Priscilla, as well as whether to choose tragedy or comedy.
Pokemon Sword and Shield Mystery Gift Codes List (January 2020)
You can get free gifts in Pokemon Sword and Shield by entering certain Mystery Gift Codes. Here’s a full list of all the active codes available right now.
The Outer Worlds Shrink Ray - How to Get the Unique Shrink Ray Science Weapon
This is where you can get the Shrink Ray science weapon in The Outer Worlds, one of the unique weapons in the game.