When at the Gym, a leader will maintain the Gym itself, the Pokémon, the other members, and will battle any challenger. When not at the Gym, a Gym Leader is usually involved in some type of work or service that the surrounding community is known for (this is more prevalent in the anime and the manga than the video games). 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!.Īs shown several times, a Gym Leader is usually well involved with their community. There are a total of eight Gym Leaders in each region, usually all eight gym leaders in a region will specialize in a different type of Pokémon, the most recurring type for the first gym is Rock due to both Grass and Water being super effective against it. If a trainer wins the minimum required amount of badges for a specific region's Pokémon League Conference, that is eight, they're eligible to compete - they also have the chance to battle the region's Elite Four. Gym leaders use their gyms and their Pokémon to test the skills of trainers that challenge them, and if said trainers win a battle, the gym leader will gift them with a badge that's unique to that specific gym. With Blue from the games as the only known exception, gym leaders will only specialize in one specific type of Pokémon and will also have their gym designed to fit the environment of that specific type. A Gym Leader (ジムリーダー Jimu Riidaa) is the highest-ranking member and owner of an official Pokémon Gym.