D
Dr. Sun
Guest
In the Hoenn League, it's announced that there are over 600 trainers taking part in the compeition. That would equal almost five thousand badges being given out by various gym leaders (600 trainers X eight badges each = 4,800 badges!) Clearly, if the eight gym leaders we see in the anime and video games were the only ones in their given regions, then they either must not be very good (which simply isn't true-you have to be a good trainer to become a gym leader) or there must be multiple gyms that can give out official league badges to trainers who challenge them.
So, how many gyms are there in a given region? Out of a rough estimate, I'd say about forty or fifty at any given time, with new ones being set up and closed down at various points (one of the Chronicles mentions how four gyms in Kanto have been shut down for various infractions), which gives trainers lots of options when they set off on their Pokemon journeys. Some gyms might be stronger than others, with the badges of the very best gyms being marks of honor for the trainers that acquire them, while others could be in a lower class, (Brock only had Onix and Geodude at the Pewter Gym-what about any other pokemon?) although they're all equal in value when it comes to acquiring eight badges to enter a League competition.
What proof do we need that there are more than the eight gyms we see in the anime and video games? In "Battle for the Badge", Gary showed off the ten badges he had acquired, most of which were, IIRC, unknown to the viewers, implying that there would be as many as 18 gyms, at least, in Kanto. Also, [SPOIL]Morrison/Masamune shows off an hourglass badge when Team Toi Boi first meets him, which IIRC doesn't resemble any of the badges that Ash acquired. Hence Morrison/Masamune's pokemon journey must have taken him along a very different road from Ash's, along with several cities and gyms we never got the chance to see.[/SPOIL]
Thoughts?
So, how many gyms are there in a given region? Out of a rough estimate, I'd say about forty or fifty at any given time, with new ones being set up and closed down at various points (one of the Chronicles mentions how four gyms in Kanto have been shut down for various infractions), which gives trainers lots of options when they set off on their Pokemon journeys. Some gyms might be stronger than others, with the badges of the very best gyms being marks of honor for the trainers that acquire them, while others could be in a lower class, (Brock only had Onix and Geodude at the Pewter Gym-what about any other pokemon?) although they're all equal in value when it comes to acquiring eight badges to enter a League competition.
What proof do we need that there are more than the eight gyms we see in the anime and video games? In "Battle for the Badge", Gary showed off the ten badges he had acquired, most of which were, IIRC, unknown to the viewers, implying that there would be as many as 18 gyms, at least, in Kanto. Also, [SPOIL]Morrison/Masamune shows off an hourglass badge when Team Toi Boi first meets him, which IIRC doesn't resemble any of the badges that Ash acquired. Hence Morrison/Masamune's pokemon journey must have taken him along a very different road from Ash's, along with several cities and gyms we never got the chance to see.[/SPOIL]
Thoughts?