Pokemon Go players want changes to “stale and frustrating” Gym system

Philip Trahan
pokemon go gym symbol header

Pokemon Go trainers have started proposing solutions to change up the game’s current “stale and frustrating” Gym system.

April 2023 proved to be quite a tumultuous time for the Pokemon Go community, thanks to controversial changes to the game, threats of boycott, and lack of interest.

However, there are still plenty of dedicated trainers who love playing the mobile game and would just like to see developer Niantic make more positive changes to the overall experience instead of harmful ones like the recent Remote Raid Pass nerf.

Now, trainers have sparked a discussion on what changes could be made to the game’s “stale and frustrating” Gym system to renew interest in one of Pokemon Go’s core activities.

Pokemon Go fans want big Gym changes made

The discussion began on TheSilphRoad subreddit, where one fan by the username KortenScarlet made a post titled, “The gym system is stale and frustrating, here are my solution ideas.”

They laid out some of the current issues they found in the present Gym system and offered some solutions to breathe new life into this aspect of the game.

The OP suggested changes like awarding players guarding Gyms with smaller rewards each time someone spins the Gym symbol. Additionally, they thought awarding PokeCoins for fighting and giving trainers the option to call back Pokemon, among other things, would make things feel a bit more fresh.

Fans agreed that it was time for a change to the Gym system, as one trainer said, “We’re so done with gym v2 and we’re way overdue for an overhaul.”

This trainer also suggested that there should be a variety of Gyms available, such as “‘Poke Job’ gyms, ‘Park warden office’ gyms, and ‘Pokemon Contest Hall’ gyms,” with the real-world location changing the type of Gym and the tasks required of players.

Others suggested that Gyms are lackluster because players are only incentivized to select their best defenders to guard them. “Imagine for instance a randomly selected ‘theme’ for the Gym that appears whenever ownership passes, that would grant a bonus of some description to players who add a Pokémon that matches the theme.”

Given it would take quite a bit of work for Niantic to overhaul the Gym system completely, it’s more likely small changes would be introduced over time rather than one large, sweeping change. Still, it’s clear the trainers committed to Pokemon Go are eager for something fresh.

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About The Author

Philip is a Staff Writer at Dexerto based in Louisiana, with expertise in Pokemon, Apex Legends, and general gaming industry news. His first job in the games industry was as a reviewer with NintendoEverything.com while attending college. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication focusing on Multimedia Journalism, he worked with GameRant.com for nearly two years before joining Dexerto. When he's not writing he's usually tearing through some 80+ hour JRPG. You can contact him at philip.trahan@dexerto.com.