Gym

A Gym is a place where Pokémon Trainers go to train their Pokémon, and get them ready for the Pokémon League. Pokémon Gyms are places where Trainers can go to sharpen their battling skills and techniques, while their Pokémon gain experience.

Often specializing in a particular type, Gyms create an environment which allow Trainers to test both their skills as a Trainer and their Pokémon against others. The most powerful Trainer in a given Gym is called the Gym Leader, who are chosen by the Pokémon League Federation to represent a certain Gm. All Gyms are designed externally and internally to follow and suit the type that the Gym specializes in.

Official Gyms are certified by a Pokémon League, and at least eight official Gym Badges are requested before entering a League Competition. Gyms are vital to a Pokémon Trainer's journey; they may have to travel far and wide, as there can only be one Gym per city and some cities do not have Gyms. There are also unofficial Gyms that are not certified, many of which are prestigious nonetheless.

The Gyms
Trainers challenge Gyms in order to earn Badges, which grant them entry to the Pokémon League Conference of the region they are in. Most regions seem to have at least eight Gyms which Trainers can choose to challenge, and winning Badges from any eight qualifies a Trainer for the region's Pokémon League Conference.

Gyms can be battled in any order as there is no official order or Gym battling, so it is best totravel from one Gym to the closest town with a Gym.

Gyms are inspected by the Pokémon Inspection Agency, which can shut down Gyms which are not up to standard. The Agency can also determine whether unofficial Gyms are worthy of becoming official.

Official Gyms
Official Gyms are certified by the League in their region and certain Gym Leaders are chosen.

Unofficial Gyms

The Unofficial Gyms are either banned from participating as an Official Gym, or are extras to the original Gyms for aiding Trainers and their Pokémon to continue their journey.

Rules
Most Gym battles are conducted as Single Battles, although some have been held as Double Battles.

In most cases, Gym Leaders are not permitted to switch Pokémon while challengers are. Challengers are usually only allowed to use the same number of Pokémon as the Gym Leader, but some Gym battles have exceptions. In a Gym battle, a Pokémon is determined unable to battle when declared as such by a battle judge under certain circumstances. These circumstances are either knocked out, asleep, paralyzed, refusal of battle or even quitting in the middle of a battle.

Gym Leaders appear to be able to add their own rules, in addition to the standard set of rules for Gym battles. Some of these rules include battle of skills, techniques and strategies.