Your first few hours of Pokémon Go will be focused on catching Pokémon and earning XP to increase your Pokemon Trainer’s level. Once you reach Level 5, you will need to pledge your allegiance to either Team Instinct (yellow), Team Mystic (blue), and Team Valor (red). You will represent the team you choose throughout the game (for now) and determine which gyms you can join or battle. Once that is decided, its time to find, claim, defend and attack Pokemon Gyms for honour and prestige. You may want to read our Pokemon Go Guide on Which Pokemon Go Team Is The Best And Why?
What Are Pokemon Gyms?
Pokemon Gyms are special points of interest found in your neighbourhood. You can capture a Gym for your Team and battle the Pokémon of rival Teams there. Gyms can be challenged by multiple Trainers at the same time.
A Gym’s level is determined by its prestige. As a Gym earns prestige, it increases in level. The higher a Gym’s level, the more Pokémon can be assigned to it, which makes it harder for rival Teams to capture. A Gym’s prestige increases when you assign a trained Pokémon to it, and also when teammates assign additional Pokémon.
Where Do I Find A Pokemon Gym?
Just like PokéStops, you must walk around to locate Pokémon gyms. It’s not hard as they are the biggest things on the in-game map, and usually located at prominent real-world meeting places. Just look for the white pedestal surrounded by spotlights.
Claim Blank Gyms Immediately
If you don’t see one nearby, zoom out and look around. Blank gyms are those which has not been claimed by a trainer so you better make a dash for them. Those gyms that have been claimed by a trainer will be colour coded (blue, red or yellow) based on their team.
Check In To Your Own Team’s Pokemon Gym
1. Level Up Your Pokemon
Friendly gyms are the best spots to train up your Pokemon. Use the training mode to pit one Pokémon against the set of trainers who have claimed this gym for your team already.
2. Help Raise Pokemon Gym Prestige Points
With each trainer you topple, the gym’s prestige will increase. Prestige points affect how many Pokemon can be stationed at a given gym, which makes the gym harder to capture.
3. Drop Your Pokemon At The Gym
Attaining sufficient prestige points will successfully level up the gym and offer you the opportunity to leave a single Pokémon behind to defend the gym. Of course, this is also possible if the gym has an open slot available for a battle-ready trainer. Although you will receive your Pokémon back if a rival beats it in battle, we strongly advise that you keep your strongest monsters with you. If your team’s defence is good enough, you won’t get that Pokemon back for quite some time.
4. Earn Daily Rewards
When you are stationed at a gym, you will get to pick up items for each day that your Pokemon remains undefeated. These items include PokéCoins, which are otherwise available for actual real world dollars, along with Stardust, which you can use to power up your Pokemon.
Take Down A Rival Pokemon Gym
Rival gyms belong to either of the other two teams that you don’t belong to. We do it to lower the Pokemon Gym’s prestige level. When you select a rival gym, you will see information such as Gym name, level, stationed trainers, Pokemon species, combat power and prestige level. The prestige level is located at the upper right-hand corner and is generally some multiple of 1,000.
Every time you defeat a trainer defending that gym, the gym’s prestige level drops. Once it drops to zero, the gym is open to being claimed by anyone. So gym battles become a fight for honour and territory as you can claim the gym for your team.
To battle, you can choose up to six Pokémon — preferably those with the highest combat power, but also take into account the types of Pokémon you’re about to go up against — to take on the trainers at the gym, then choose the button in the lower right corner to engage in battle.
We hope this article gave you a clearer picture of what to do next with all your captured Pokemon. It is time to start hitting the gyms! Have fun and stay safe while playing. You may want to read our Pokemon Go Guide on Which Pokemon Go Team Is The Best And Why?
