Pokémon Association

The Pokémon Association is the governing body that handles legislation regarding Pokémon across the globe. The Association is the group that selects and pays the salaries of Gym Leaders, and organizes regional Pokémon League competitions across the nation.

They are also responsible for drawing up and often enforcing laws regarding Pokémon, and general competitions between Pokémon Trainers. They are the creators of the different types of battling. The laws created by the Association include the famous rule which states a Trainer can only carry six Pokémon with them at a time.

The Pokémon League is a group that organizes Pokémon competitions for registered Pokémon Trainers for the Pokémon Association. It serves as an umbrella that oversees the regional Leagues.

There are nine known regional Leagues under the Pokémon Association: the Indigo League in Kanto, the Orange League in the Orange Archipelago, the Silver League in Johto, the Hoenn League in Hoenn, the Sinnoh League in Sinnoh, the Unova League in Unova, the Kalos League in Kalos, the Alola League in Alola and the Galar League in Galar.

In order to participate in regional competitions, Trainers must acquire a certain number of Gym Badges signifying the defeat of that region's Gym Leaders, or in the case of Alola, complete the island challenge.

The Pokémon League challenge is divided into two parts: the Pokémon League Conference and the Champion League.

The Pokémon League Conference is a single-elimination tournament held every three years in each region between Trainers who have collected at least eight Gym Badges from a specific region.

Other ways of getting into the Indigo Plateau Conference besides collecting Badges have been shown, such as by passing the Pokémon League Admissions Exam, or by graduating from Pokémon Tech.

Rules vary from region to region, but generally, championship competitions are divided into three parts: qualifying rounds, preliminary rounds, and final rounds. Highly skilled Trainers will move on to compete with a smaller pool of competitors. The Trainer that defeats all other competitors is deemed the winner of the competition. Losing Trainers who participate in the competition will be ranked accordingly.

The League Conferences are known for their many traditions, including the opening celebration which evokes the flame of Moltres.

After winning a Pokémon League Conference, a Trainer may enter the Champion League of the relevant region, where the Elite Four and the League Champion await. Like in the games, Trainers must defeat all members of the Elite Four for the right of challenging the Champion. Once the Elite Four is defeated, Champions are required to defend their title from challengers. If the battle against the challenger is won, Champions hold on to their current status. However, if the challenger succeeds, Champions must relinquish their title to the winning Trainer, who will then be deemed the new Pokémon Champion.

A Gym is a place where Pokémon Trainers go to train their Pokémon. Just like real-life gymnasiums, where one can go to work out and build physical strength, Pokémon Gyms are places where Trainers can go to sharpen their battling skills and where their Pokémon can go to gain experience.

Often specializing in a particular type, Gyms create an environment which allows Trainers to test both their skills and Pokémon against those of others. The most powerful Trainer in a given Gym is called the Gym Leader, who is revered by both the lower-ranking members of the Gym and local fans. Usually, Gyms are designed to follow and suit the type that the Gym specializes in. However, there are also Gyms that do not practice this.

Official Gyms are certified by a Pokémon League, and at least eight official Gym Badges are requested before taking the Pokémon League challenge. Gyms are vital to a Pokémon Trainer's journey; they may have to travel far and wide, as there can only be one Gym per city. There are also unofficial Gyms that are not certified, many of which are prestigious nonetheless.

Trainers can challenge a Gym Leader to receive a Gym Badge. The Gym Leader offers tests of varying difficulty and the rewards are increased depending on the rank of the test. The tests break down as follows:

S Rank: The Gym Leader uses their main, full team of six to test the Trainer. Most Pokémon are between the levels of 45-52 and are Purple Silver. Awards the Trainer with the S ☆Badge, PokéDollars, 5☆ TM, Gym Discounts, and a PokéEgg from their main team.

A Rank: The Gym Leader uses their four Pokémon secondary team. Most Pokémon are between the levels of 31-36 and are Blue Steel. Awards the Trainer with the A ☆Badge, PokéDollars, 4☆ TM, and discounts on Gym Services.

B Rank: The Gym Leader uses their three Pokémon tertiary team. Most Pokémon are between levels 20-25 and are Green Iron. Awards the Trainer with the B ☆Badge, PokéDollars, and a 3☆ TM.

C Rank: The Gym Leader uses two of their weakest Pokémon. Most Pokémon are between levels 9 and 15 and are White Copper. Awards the Trainer with the C ☆Badge and the appropriate PokéDollars.

Collecting 8 C ☆Badges is enough to earn your ticket into the Pokémon League Conference and will begin in the qualifying rounds.

Collecting 8 B ☆Badges will allow the trainer to bypass the qualifying rounds and entire directly into the preliminaries.

Collecting 8 A ☆Badges will allow the trainer to bypass both the qualifying and preliminary rounds and entire directly into the main tournament.

Collecting 8 S ☆Badges allows the trainer to bypass the Pokémon League Conference entirely and challenge the Elite Four at any time.