Pokemon GO: Gym Battle Guide

gamerant.com:

Gym Battles have become a staple in the Pokemon series, as players of a region have to gather Gym Badges on their way to become the best that no one ever was. Such a feature returns in Pokemon GO. Only this time around, players themselves get to become Gym Leaders in Gyms scattered in various areas. Players who want to dominate the PVE game may aspire to secure Gyms to prove their superiority in the Pokemonmobile game. However, there’s more than meets the eye to the game’s Gym Battles.

Players of Pokemon GOneed to study some intricacies of Gym Battles to maximize their experience defending and attacking Gyms. In addition to a deeper understanding of the game’s meta, players need to analyze the mechanics of Gym Battles to secure victory regardless of the challenge.

The most important dynamic that Pokemon GO players need to take note of is Gym Control. Unlike in other games, Pokemon GO actually relegates the role of defending and attacking Gyms to players themselves. And given the community-based gameplay of Pokemon GO, cooperation plays a huge role in maintaining and dominating Gyms. Here are some basic principles players need to note regarding Gym Control.

A huge part of creating an efficient lineup to defend a Gym is putting the right kind of Defenders that will be able to eliminate attackers or delay them enough to render their efforts fruitless. There are a huge number of factors that determine whether a Pokemon will be an effective Defender, from their behavior to the stat of Motivation.

When players set a Pokemon as a Defender, they behave differently from usual Pokemon. Since players aren’t directly controlling their Pokemon as Defenders, the game's AI alters their combat strategies in a way that may be slightly