Pokémon GO Gyms are one of the most engaging parts of Pokémon GO. Not only do they spark up the team spirit, to generate points for your team, but they give you the opportunity to gain valuable PokeCoins which can otherwise only be obtained through the store.
This Pokémon GO guide will take you through everything you need to know about gyms: from what they are to how you can reliably take and hold them to generate more PokéCoins.
Let’s dive in.
What Are Pokémon Gyms?
Pokémon GO Gyms have always been a core part of Pokémon games, and Niantic Pokémon GO reimagines them as real-world battlegrounds for teams to compete over. Traditionally, gyms would be locations where you would take on other trainers in order to progress the story and gain access to new content. However, things are slightly different in Pokémon GO.
Pokémon GO gyms are battlegrounds which all three teams want to gain control over in order to generate rewards for the team. At any one time, the gym can be controlled by Mystic, Valor or Instinct – or be neutral (uncontrolled). When claimed by a team, Pokémon GO gyms can hold up to six Pokémon from that controlling team, which are there to defend the gym from attacks from the other teams as the gym generates rewards for the trainers who placed the defending Pokémon.
Where Are Pokémon GO Gyms?
Pokémon GO gyms, like PokéStops, are a major feature of the Pokémon GO app and are found at notable real-world landmarks, monuments, and locations. So you can expect to find many gyms packed tightly together in city centres or notable areas. While gyms may be further apart in residential and rural areas, using a Pokémon GO tracker can help you locate and plan for nearby gyms.
However, this density makes sense. As more densely populated areas may contain more gyms, but those gyms will also be far more highly contested – making it harder to hold them for long enough to generate meaningful rewards.
Why Interact with Pokémon GO Gyms?
So, what’s the point? Why should you care about gyms?
The main reason to interact with gyms is to generate rewards for yourself. These rewards can range from extra XP, badge progress and team contributions to stardust and even free PokéCoins. Yes, that’s right, gyms can literally save you money by filling your pocket with free PokéCoins which can then be spent in the store.
Not only that, but even just fighting in gym battles to take control of gyms can net you meaningful amounts of XP – giving you a great reason to get involved in gym battles even if you don’t end up placing your Pokémon on the podium.
How to Win at Pokémon GO Gyms
Now for the hard part – taking control of gyms. Succeeding in gym battles and placing your Pokémon on the gym take a combination of strategy, strong Pokémon and even a little bit of luck.
Let’s start with the battle system itself:
Understanding the Battle System
While you may feel that you have to take on and defeat all the Pokémon in the gym at once, this isn’t exactly the best strategy. After all, Pokémon who sit on gyms are often beefed-up versions of themselves, requiring huge amounts of damage to take down.
- In your battle party, you can use a team of your Pokémon to try and take down the defending Pokémon.
- Each defender will be removed from the gym once defeated three times.
- The longer Pokémon have been on the gym, the lower their motivation will be – making them easier to defeat.
- Type advantage can make a huge difference in gym battles.
That is the heart of it… So let’s see how you can turn that knowledge into victories.
Battle Tips
These strategies will help you get a one-up on the defenders:
Start with your strongest counters.
Counters are a big deal when it comes to gyms, given how strong the defending Pokémon can be. So focus on selecting good counters.
Focus on one defending Pokémon at a time.
Thanks to the fact that Pokémon are removed from the gym after three defeats, it can be beneficial to target one defending Pokémon at a time. Quitting the gym each time that Pokémon is defeated, rather than only partially damaging the next defender. This reduces the amount of combats needed to win the next time around – bolstering your chances of taking down the gym.
Dodge charge moves.
Health management will allow you to continue outputting damage on the defenders, so make sure you practice dodging charge moves in order to last longer, and increase your chances of clearing the gym.
Use weather boosts to aid you.
Again, as the defending Pokémon are often so strong, it’s worth using any advantage you can get. So managing your team in order to maximise weather boosts can give you the advantage you need to dominate.
Battle with friends/other players.
As battles happen live, coordinating through Pokémon GO Discord channels with other players can make taking gyms much easier. Meaning that you can all chip away at the opponent’s health more easily.
Advanced Battle Strategies
If you’re looking for more ways to get the drop on the defenders, here are a few advanced strategies.
Attack when defender motivation is already low
As motivation (defenders’ strength) drops over time, you can wait until it is already low before attacking. This will automatically give you an advantage.
Use type-effective charge attacks
Type bonuses are everything when fighting tough Pokémon. This bonus becomes even more effective when using charge attacks. So be sure to use them to take down the defenders as quickly as possible.
Attack when there are few defending players to avoid mid-fight healing
Members of the defending team can feed Golden Razz Berries remotely during combat, replenishing the defenders’ health. Try to avoid this by attacking when there are few defenders around – so taking the fight at odd hours of the day or in more remote locations.
Placing Your Pokémon in Gyms
We’ve covered how to take a Pokémon GO gym… now how to hold one.
You and your teammates can add a Pokémon as a defender of a gym once you have defeated the team occupying that gym.
How to Add Your Pokémon
To add your Pokémon to an open gym is simple. First, ensure that you meet the pre-requisites: you must be over level 5, a member of the team who controls the gym and the gym must not be full. If all of those are covered you can:
- Tap on the gym.
- Select the “add Pokémon” button.
- Choose your defender from the eligible Pokémon you own – they must be at full health.
- Confirm your selection.
The tricky part of this whole equation is ensuring that the gym is not already full. After battles to take over a gym, it’s not uncommon for all local players to rush to place their Pokémon on the podium. This can make it difficult for less experienced players to get their Pokémon in the defending position, as other players may simply get there first.
If you’re struggling to find empty spots in gyms, keep trying. You’ll find some eventually, then you’ll get the hang of quickly placing your Pokémon in the gym post-battle.
Earning PokéCoins from Gyms
Now for the juicy part – earning PokéCoins. This is arguably the main reason why you’ll want to get involved with defending gyms in the first place: earning Pokémon GO gym coins for free. So, how does it work?
How does earning PokéCoins work?
Once you have a Pokémon defending a gym you will:
- Earn 6 PokéCoins per hour, for each gym you are defending.
- You can earn a maximum of 50 coins per day.
- Coins are awarded to you once your Pokémon is kicked out of the gym.
- If your Pokémon is on a gym for multiple days, they’ll still only return the maximum amount of 50.
- If multiple Pokémon are returned in the same day, you’ll only earn a maximum of 50 coins that day.
Altogether, you’ll want to try and make it so that you do not exceed the 50 coin-per-day cap. As this can lead to a huge amount of wasted potential… Especially if your Pokémon remains on a gym for multiple days or weeks on end.
Maximizing Coin Earnings
So, now that we understand how to earn – how can we maximise our earnings?
First, place Pokémon in multiple gyms per day to increase your chances of reaching the 50 coin limit. This is especially true in busy areas, where Pokémon are quickly knocked off gyms.
Second, target gyms with a moderate turnover – ideally you want your Pokémon to be on there for 8.5 hours to reach the 50-coin maximum. This is difficult, but can easily be achieved if you claim a gym overnight.
That said, if you can’t get all the coins you need from gyms you can also buy PokeCoins to bolster your supply.
Best Pokémon for Gym Defense
If you’ve played Pokémon GO for a while, you will have noticed that the same handful of Pokémon are always defending gyms – and there’s a good reason for that. Those Pokémon, including powerful options like Pokémon GO Shadow Mewtwo, have high HP and defensive potential, allowing them to stay alive for longer.
Top Gym Defenders
- Blissey
As the Pokémon with the highest HP in the game, Blissey is a no-brainer when it comes to defending. Often, Blissey can cause a time-out before being defeated. Making it very difficult for individual players to take control of the gym.
Blissey is also only weak to fighting type.
- Slaking
Slacking has the highest CP potential – making it have a huge HP pool while also dishing out a fair amount of damage.
- Chansey
As Chansey is a lesser version of Blissey, the advantages are the same – although slightly weaker than Blissey.
- Snorlax
High HP, good movesets and resistance to ghost-type, Snorlax is a strong defender. Not to mention that it is a beloved Pokémon.
- Gardevoir
While rarer than the others on this list, Gardevoir is very strong against common attackers and totally resists fighting-type; making it a good matchup with a Blissey.
The Battle Begins
This guide has covered how Pokémon GO gyms work, equipping you with the knowledge to take control of gyms and place effective Pokémon atop them in order to generate you PokéCoins. So what are you waiting for – you’re ready to go and take control. It’s time to get out, find a Blissey, and get battling.