Pokemon Go Gym Guide

            Pokemon Go was at its height a few years back, and it’s easy to look back fondly on its heyday, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of us playing and selling Pokemon Go accounts.  If anything, Pokemon Go is even more competitive now with players buying Pokemon Goaccounts to beat their competition. The thing is, a lot of us still want to see players either return or try for the first time since the game is way more fun with more people to play with. And we get that players who left a while ago might be a bit intimidated by the gameplay changes or new people might just be intimidated by the sheer amount of reputation the game has garnered. Well, don’t be! Easier said than done, we know, but don’t worry. We made this handy little guide to gym battles to give you a hand if you are new to the way they work.

            The most basic question is what is a gym? The simplest answer is that it’s a kind of pokestop that can be controlled by one of the three teams. Pokemon are placed there by members of those teams to guard the gym and as long as they are there the trainer who placed them gets rewards. Each gym can have up to six defenders, one from each trainer and no doubles of any species of Pokemon.

            There are two ways to get your Pokemon into a gym. If the gym is unclaimed or claimed by your team and has an open slot, then you are free to place one of Pokemon into the gym. Generally, you want to place a stronger Pokemon into the gym, but there is some nuance to the decision that we will get into later. The second way to get your Pokemon into a gym is by challenging a gym controlled by an opposing team to a gym battle.

            Taking a gym from another team can be quite a challenge, depending on the circumstances. You may stumble on a gym with only one or two Pokemon in it because it is somewhere hard to get to or it was recently taken over. But chances are many of the gyms you run into are going to be ready for it with 6 Pokemon with more than decent CP scores. So how do you take down these fortresses and claim them for your team? Don’t worry, we got some tips for you.

            The first and most obvious tip is to not tackle a gym alone. Your own teammates can attack at the same time. The benefit of this, aside from numbers, is that the Pokemon defending the gym relies on their motivation stat, and the more times they are defeated the lower their CP is, making consecutive wins against a gym the best strategy. You can even technically come to the aid of members of another team and choose to both attack, but that can get a bit tricky when the gym is cleared out.

            If you don’t happen to have some teammates to back you up, what can you do by yourself? A lot, actually. First, make sure you are going to use the right team. High CP is good, but also pay attention to the opposing teams’ types and play to their weaknesses. Also, you battle your opponents in the order that they were placed in the gym. Chances are the first Pokemon you will be up against will be the strongest in the gym, since it was the first one placed there. You can plan your team around trying to get over that wall and knowing that you won’t need your strongest Pokemon down the line.

            The most important thing to consider when trying to take a gym on your own is that the gym Pokemon have another stat to consider: motivation. Motivation determines how long the Pokemon stays in the gym and decays over time. A Pokemon’s motivation is lowered whenever they lose a battle and they are kicked out when their motivation hits 0, or when they lose three matches in a row. Also, whenever the Pokemon’s motivation is lowered, its CP is lowered as well. So, using healing items and attacking the gym by yourself over and over is a legitimate strategy, since it will be weaker each time you attack it again. There is also no hard limit to the number of times you can attack a gym.

            So once you have the gym in your team’s possession, what do you do? Well if you are the one to take control of the gym yourself you are going to want to put something with some serious CP and HP in the first slot. It is going to have to hold its own until other teammates arrive to back it up. Well, that might not be something you want to do, since the higher the CP of the Pokemon, the faster their motivation degenerates, so if the gym is somewhere a little more secluded or might not see a challenger for a bit, it might be wiser to put in a Pokemon with a lower CP.

            I know what you are considering now? No matter what eventually my Pokemon’s motivation will run out and they will get kicked out of the gym no matter what. Well, that isn’t necessarily true. You can keep your Pokemon’s motivation at high levels by feeding them berries. This will keep them from timing out of the gym as well as keep their CP high to defend them against other trainers. So if you have a good back stock of berries then throwing one of your highest CP Pokemon is probably a good idea.

            With those tips, a decent amount of skill, and a little bit of luck, you’ll be able to control your very own gym. In theory, under correct circumstances, you’ll be able to hold onto it for a very long time. What could be more fulfilling than being the trainer with the Gyarados stopping anyone from taking that gym? Not much, being the trainer who finally takes the gym for themselves, maybe?