Pokémon Sun & Moon did away with Pokémon Gyms and now Pokémon Sword & Shield is going to the other extreme by having eighteen Gyms in the Galar region.
The typical Pokémon journey involves traveling the region and defeating eight Gym Leaders in order to win their Badge. The player needs all eight Badges in order to challenge the Elite Four and the Champion. Pokémon Sun & Moon and Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon replaced the Gym Leaders with the Island Challenge, which included tasks outside of Pokémon battles.
It seems that the Galar region is more in love with Pokémon Gyms than Alola, as Game Informer has revealed (via Serebii) that Pokémon Sword & Shield will include eighteen Gyms. The Gyms will be broken down into a Major league and a Minor league, with both games featuring different Gyms in each league.
The existence of a Major & Minor league for Pokémon Gyms is another reference to soccer, as the UK has the Premier League at the top of the sport and several minor leagues below it. There is a process of promotion and relegation, which can allow different teams to enter or leave the Premier League depending on their performance.
The other interesting aspect of having eighteen Pokémon Gyms is that there are currently eighteen different Pokémon types, which suggests that every type will be represented in a single generation for the first time. It's possible that they could bring back the concept of the Double Battle Gym just to prevent a Dark-type Gym from existing, but the fact that there are eighteen Gyms suggests that Game Freak will finally give the Dark-type its due.
The Gym Leader challenge has provided some of the most memorable battles in the Pokémon series, with the fights against characters like Whitney and Fantina being some of the challenging moments in the history of the games. Pokémon Sword & Shield might have done away with the Elite Four, but they have doubled down on Gym Leaders for the player to battle.
Pokémon Sword & Shield will be released for the Nintendo Switch on November 15.
Source: Serebii