Pokemon Sword and Shield Won’t Have 18 Gyms

Recently, Game Informer reported that Pokemon Sword and Shield would have 18 types of gyms, divided into major and minor leagues. This led to the assumption that there would be 18 gyms in total to play through. The Pokemon Company has since reached out to the publication and confirmed that each game will have eight gyms in the story.

“In the Galar region, Pokémon Gym Battles are popular sporting events, and the 18 different types of Gyms that exist in Galar contribute to the background setting of the story in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. In each game, Trainers must collect eight Gym Badges to complete the Gym Challenge and earn the opportunity to participate in the Champion Cup.

“Over the course of the main story, Trainers will challenge eight Gyms, which are all in the Major League. 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.”

It’s not too different from how previous games have worked, which isn’t that big of a deal. Besides, there’s still the Champion Cup to participate in. Pokemon Sword and Shield will also have other major content like Max Raid battles to test their skills in.

Both games are out on November 15th for Nintendo Switch and have about 1000 people working on them, which is double the size of the teams on Pokemon Sun and Moon. Other details recently confirmed include the lack of HM Moves and inclusion of autosaves, the latter being a first for the series. Stay tuned for more details en route to the games’ release.