From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.

Leader redirects here. For the character of the day from Raid Battle in The Ruins!, see Leader (JN014).

A Gym Leader (Japanese: ジムリーダー Gym Leader) is the highest-ranking member of a Pokémon Gym. The main job of a Gym Leader is to test Trainers and their Pokémon so that they are strong and resourceful enough to take the Pokémon League challenge. If a Trainer defeats a Gym Leader in battle, then the Trainer earns that Gym's Badge.

Gym Leaders are also responsible for overseeing how their respective Gym is run and maintain it. Great care must be taken to make sure that their Gym reflects the best environment for the type they specialize in, such as swimming pools in a Water-type Gym or trees and flowering plants in a Grass-type Gym. According to Morty, teaching young people how to battle with Pokémon can also be the job of a Gym Leader. Unlike regular Pokémon Trainers, a Gym Leader has the right to directly challenge the Pokémon League Champion, as revealed by Brock in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.

It has not exactly been made clear how Gym Leaders attain their position, but it appears that it varies for each Gym. Some of them founded their Gym and are self-appointed; others, such as Whitney, are chosen by the other members of the region's Pokémon League. A few appear to be passed on through families: Janine, Falkner, and Flannery all take over their respective Gyms from a close family member. However, Gyms do not necessarily belong to a particular family; Roark and his father Byron are both Gym Leaders at the same time, in different Gyms. Leaders can also choose to vacate their position; examples include Koga, Giovanni, and Wallace.

Pokémon used

Nearly all Leaders rely on a single type of Pokémon. For example, Erika uses only Grass-type Pokémon in official Gym battles. Some Leaders, however, stray from this mold, albeit rarely. This is evidenced by the different types used by Blue during his reign as the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym in Generations II, IV, and VII, although he is the only Gym Leader to do so. However, many Gym Leaders have one or two Pokémon that stray from their type theme.

Geography and climate can often be connected to the type of Pokémon the Gym Leader of that area uses. Pastoria Gym Leader, Crasher Wake, uses Water-type Pokémon, a direct allusion to the flooded marsh that surrounds the area and the constant downpour that plagues Pastoria City. Another example of this is the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Blaine, who uses Fire-type Pokémon and lives in a volcanic area.

The character archetype can also reflect the type of Pokémon a Leader uses. For example, Roark and Byron, who are both miners, use the related Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon. Tate and Liza could be based on the archetype of twins who can communicate telepathically, and thus train Psychic-type Pokémon and being twins, they also battle opposing Trainers in Double Battles.

In the core series

Gym Leader Milo challenges the player

A Gym Leader (Japanese: ジムリーダー Gym Leader), or Leader prior to Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, is the Trainer class name given to the Gym Leaders when they are battled in the Pokémon games. Despite Gym Leaders themselves being introduced in Generation I, the Trainer class did not appear onscreen until Generation II, and it has been incorporated into every game since. Gym Leaders are integral within the Pokémon universe. Occasionally, in order for one to advance in the game, the player must challenge and defeat the leader of a Gym. Each game is designed in such a way that the player will not be able to move forward until they receive a Gym Badge which will, in turn, either allow them to use an HM to overcome natural obstacles or trigger a necessary event to continue with the game. It is one of the player's main objectives to collect eight Gym Badges, allowing them to challenge the Elite Four.

Leaders do not seem to be required to be in their Gyms at all times. Giovanni, for example, could keep his title as a Gym Leader despite not being at the Viridian Gym during the majority of the events of Generation I, and his successor, Blue, was also absent from the Gym several times. Beginning in Generation IV, Leaders are increasingly encountered outside of their Gyms, evident in the remakes Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, where the Leaders have to be found in different locations at specific times before they can exchange phone numbers with the player for a rematch at the Fighting Dojo. Some Leaders even appear across regions, such as Jasmine appearing in Sunyshore City, Crasher Wake on Route 47, and Maylene in Celadon City. Leaders can even challenge other Gyms and the Elite Four (like Volkner wanted to do). In later games, it is made apparent that Gym Leaders know each other and are acquainted with Gym Leaders from other regions, as well as with members of the Elite Four and Champions. Examples of this are Jasmine being friends with Erika, Volkner being friends with Flint, Brawly training with Bruno, and most Unova Gym Leaders coming together to fight Team Plasma's Seven Sages.

In addition, some Gym Leaders may be required to use Pokémon different than their usual team, such as Cheren in Black 2 and White 2. Due to their higher AI compared to regular trainers, Gym Leaders are also one of the few Trainers to employ the use of Potions when battling.

Gym Trainers

In addition to Gym Leaders, there are also Gym Trainers. They are Trainers that are either a devotee or apprentice to the Gym Leader, who follow the same type theme as the Leader does. It is usually necessary to defeat multiple Gym Trainers before challenging the Gym Leader. Some Gyms in the game require the player to solve a puzzle, and one must often use Gym Trainers as obstacles to reach the solution. They have no direct impact on the overall plot, other than rarely offering the player helpful advice. It is also worth noting that the type of Trainer appearing in a Gym will depend on the Gym itself. For instance, Gardenia employs Aroma Ladies and Beauties, exclusively, while Misty recruits Sailors and Swimmers; these Gym Leaders represent the types Grass and Water, respectively. However, starting in Generation VIII, they only have the Trainer class "Gym Trainer", as well as a special introduction featuring their Badge.

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Puzzle series

In the "1P Stadium" mode of Pokémon Puzzle League, Ash Ketchum battles the eight Kanto Gym Leaders. In the "Challenge" mode of Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, Ethan battles the eight Johto Gym Leaders.

Trading Card Game

In Pokémon Trading Card Game, the Club Masters have a role similar to Gym Leaders, giving out Medals to duelists who defeat them.

In the anime

In the main series

The Gym Leaders of Kalos in the anime

In the anime, Trainers challenge Gym Leaders at their respective Gyms in order to earn Badges. If a Trainer earns eight Badges from one region, they become eligible to enter that region's Pokémon League Conference.

There are more than eight Gyms, and thus Gym Leaders, in each region. Many Trainers in the anime been shown to have Badges that do not exist in the games, such as Gary earning ten Badges in Kanto. Other Badges observed in the anime which do not correspond to known Badges suggest that there are at least nine Gyms in Hoenn, 11 in Sinnoh, 14 in Unova, and 11 in Kalos. 11 Gyms have been shown on-screen in Unova.

In The Great Eight Fate!, May mentioned that the Sootopolis Gym is the last Gym of the Hoenn League, implying that there is a fixed order of Gyms. However, in the next episode, Eight Ain't Enough!, Juan is surprised to hear that the Rain Badge was Ash's eighth Badge.

All Gym Leaders since Flannery have appeared in at least one episode before Ash earned a Badge from them. Several other characters have become or were Gym Leaders in that canon at some point, such as Brock's brother Forrest, Misty's sisters, Flannery's grandfather, and Kanto Elite Four member Agatha.

In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, some Gym Leaders from different regions were seen participating in the World Coronation Series, such as Visquez, Korrina, and Raihan.



In Pokémon Origins

All of the Generation I Gym Leaders appeared in Pokémon Origins, but only Brock and Giovanni had spoken lines and key roles in the miniseries' plot. In this canon, it is revealed that Leaders have different teams to take on challengers, depending on how many Badges they have.



In Pokémon Generations

Most of the Unova Gym Leaders in Pokémon Generations

Giovanni is the only Kanto Gym Leader to appear in the miniseries, specifically in The Chase and The Legacy.

In The Uprising, most of the Unova Gym Leaders battled Team Plasma at the Pokémon League. In The Frozen World, Drayden tried and failed to stop Team Plasma from stealing the DNA Splicers.



In Pokémon: Twilight Wings

All Galar Gym Leaders appeared in Pokémon: Twilight Wings. The first one to appear was Bea, who battled Leon in Letter and lost. Milo, Nessa, and Allister also made cameo appearances at the end of the same episode. Training focused mainly on Bea.

In Early-Evening Waves, Nessa's story was told after a defeat in the Champions Cup. Raihan was also seen on a magazine cover during the episode, and Marnie was seen eating at a Battle Café.

Kabu, Gordie, Melony, and Piers all appeared in Assistant.

Opal and Bede appeared in Sky



In the manga

Kanto Gym Leaders in Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure

In the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga

Throughout his journey, Jō faced the Gym Leaders of Kanto and Johto. All of them except for Falkner appeared only as silhouettes.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Gym Leaders have the same jobs as in the games and anime, but are also shown to throw away their role as Leader and pursue other goals. Some Gym Leaders even become evil, such as Koga, Lt. Surge, Sabrina, and Pryce. In order to become a Gym Leader in Adventures, one needs to fight a Trainer chosen by the Pokémon Association and win in front of them without letting one of their own Pokémon faint. The one exception to this rule seen so far has been by Blue when he defended the building where Red took his exam, since Red had to decline becoming a Gym Leader due to an injury, despite having passed the exam. Some Gym Leaders have jobs outside of their Gyms, but some of them focus solely on training their skills.

Gym Leaders are highly respected in their respective home regions and usually in other regions as well. When crises emerge, it is highly probable for Gym Leaders to gather to discuss about the situation that has befallen the region and what to do with it:

In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga

Gold met many of the Johto Gym Leaders over the course of the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga, on his quest to earn eight Badges. However, due to the manga ending in Cianwood City, Pryce and Clair never appeared in it.

In the Pokémon Zensho manga

The Generation I Gym Leaders of Kanto appeared in Pokémon Zensho. Satoshi earned a Badge from each of them, although he got the Cascade Badge from Misty by defending her Gym from a Team Rocket Grunt and the Marsh Badge from Sabrina by helping to save Silph Co. from Team Rocket, instead of defeating them.

In the Pokémon Newspaper Strip

The Pokémon Newspaper Strip is based on the original series, but the concept of Gym Leader is not mentioned. Brock; Misty; and her sisters Daisy, Violet, and Lily are recurring characters. However, unlike the anime and the games, they do not have any connection with the position of Gym Leader.

List of Gym Leaders

Indigo League





Johto League





Hoenn League





Sinnoh League





Unova League

Black and White

Black 2 and White 2





Kalos League

Galar League

Mustard was previously a Fighting-type Gym Leader.

Orange League





Trivia

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 道館館主 Dougún Gúnjyú *

道館掌門人 Dougún Jéungmùhnyàhn *

練功場場主 Lihngūngchèuhng Chèuhngjyú *

競技場的掌門人 Gihnggeihchèuhng-dīk Jéungmùhnyàhn * Mandarin 道館館主 / 道馆馆主 Dàoguǎn Guǎnzhǔ *

道館訓練家 / 道馆训练家 Dàoguǎn Xùnliànjiā *

練功場首領 Liàngōngcháng Shǒulǐng *

訓練館首領 / 训练馆首领 Xùn​liàn​guǎn​ Shǒu​lǐng​ *

道馆首领 Dàoguǎn​ Shǒu​lǐng ​ * Czech Trenér stadionu Danish Styrkecenterleder

Salleder Dutch Gym Leider Finnish Salipäällikkö

Salijohtaja

Salivalmentaja (anime)

Salinjohtaja (Pokémon Adventures) French Champion d'Arène( ♂ )

Championne d'Arène ( ♀ ) German Arenaleiter ( ♂ )

Arenaleiterin ( ♀ ) Greek Αρχηγός Σταδίου Archegós Stadiou Hebrew מנהיג מכון Manhig Makhon ( ♂ )

מנהיגת מכון Manhigat Makhon ( ♀ ) Hindi Gym Leader Hungarian Teremvezető Icelandic Stjórnaði Pokémon-ræktinni

Pokémon-ræktastjóri

Ræktastjóri

Pokémon-leiðbeinandi Italian Capopalestra Korean 체육관 관장 Cheyukgwan Gwanjang Norwegian Treningsleder

Gymtrener Polish Lider Sali ( ♂ )

Liderka Sali ( ♀ )

Mistrz Pokémon *

Lider Stadionu *

Lider Zespołu/Lider Szkoły * Portuguese Brazil Líder de Ginásio

Líder da Academia (The Official Pokémon Handbook) Portugal Líder de Ginásio Romanian Șef de Arenă Russian Гим-лидер Gim-lider

Лидер Спортзала Lider Sportzala Spanish Líder de gimnasio Swedish Gymledare

Gymtränare *

Gymmästare * Thai ยิมลีดเดอร์ Yim Leader Turkish Salon Lideri Vietnamese Thủ lĩnh nhà thi đấu

See also







