The Gym Leaders

In Black and White, the Gym challenge that features prominently in every mainline series game becomes a crucial part of the plot. Rather than vie for the spotlight with the primary conflict caused by the evil team, the Gym challenge goes hand-in-hand with it, as it’s necessary to earn each badge and battle through the Pokémon League in order to stop N. With this newfound relevance, the Gym Leaders also take an active role, rather than the passive one they’ve always held.

Once you earn the Basic Badge, the games’ second badge of eight, Team Plasma attempts to steal the skull from the museum’s dragon skeleton. It’s here that we learn that Lenora and Burgh, the next city’s Gym Leader, know each other. One quick introduction later, and Lenora tells everyone—you, Cheren, Bianca, Burgh, and herself—to split up to search for Team Plasma, getting everyone involved and establishing relevancy. Lenora can be found searching closer to Route 3, while Burgh goes on ahead to Pinwheel Forest. This culminates in the appearance of a new figure, whom a Team Plasma Grunt refers to as “Gorm of the Seven Sages.” When Burgh and Lenora catch up to you, they snuff Team Plasma out of the forest once and for all. But before quietly retreating, Gorm assures the Gym Leaders that they “will settle this someday,” and looks forward to when that time comes.

In Castelia, Burgh and a new character, Iris, help retrieve Bianca’s stolen Munna from Team Plasma’s clutches. Iris’s dialog is generally very simplistic and childish—fitting for her age—opting for a very blatant “Team Plasma bad,” “Pokémon good” approach. But she also showcases quite a bit of knowledge about the legend surrounding Unova’s founding and the Dragon-type Pokémon whose color matches the name of the game the player currently plays. Those playing White can check their Trainer Card and see that Iris is in fact a Gym Leader herself—and by the looks of it, she’s very far from home. Her knowledge about Unova’s founding and its ties to dragon Pokémon cleverly hint at her specialization, and her involvement here shows that Gym Leaders in Unova are hardly tied down to cities that immediately surround their Gym’s base.

But not to worry—Burgh is a Gym Leader, too, and he’s not about to let Ghetsis off the hook without thoroughly dragging him first. “Remember your speech at Accumula Town?” he asks. Just like Iris, Burgh also visits towns and cities far from his Gym. “Sprite shorthand” makes it believable that Burgh could have been there—had he been added to the crowd, it may have put undue attention on him, when the scene was instead meant to focus on Ghetsis and N.

Burgh continues: “You were responsible for leading me to rethink my relationship with Pokémon. For that, I thank you. At that time, I made a promise… I swore to myself that I would dedicate myself to Pokémon even more strongly!” Just as he wasn’t afraid to take down multiple grunts at once just outside, Burgh showcases bravery—and a healthy helping of sass—by openly standing up to Ghetsis.

Inside the gate leading to Nimbasa City, Juniper explains that Elesa had called her asking about Electric-type Pokémon. Thorough players will have heard this name from various NPCs up until this point—it seems she’s quite popular. And her call in regards to Electric-type Pokémon not only hints to her specialization, but establishes that the Gym Leaders are connected even with the regional professor and are always willing to learn more even about the types they already use.

You meet Elesa soon after, either in her Gym or when she steps in to defend Bianca from her father. When she does so, it is out of kindness, as Elesa has never met Bianca before. Although the scene focuses on Bianca and is her big moment to finally stand up to her father—the climax of her character arc—it, like everything else in Black and White, is incredibly nuanced. Bianca’s determination was a necessary component to convincing her stubborn father, but it’s with the words of the Gym Leader that he’s swayed. Although it may be in part due to assumed experience lending credence to her points, it’s primarily due to the influence the title “Gym Leader” holds. More than just part of a formal introduction, announcing herself as the local Gym Leader is Elesa’s way of establishing ethos—she, and any other Gym Leader, gains credibility thanks to their position, which lends further credibility to the Champion as a result.

At the drawbridge, Elesa calls up the neighboring Gym Leader, Clay, to have it lowered. The Gym Leaders continue to have connections to each other as well as external obligations, as once the deed is done Elesa departs to prepare for her next TV gig. But the Team Plasma members Clay had apprehended managed to get away when the drawbridge was being lowered. Not only do the Gym Leaders of Unova get involved in the story and try and stop Team Plasma, but they do so even when the player isn’t around. Team Plasma isn’t simply making a scene in a few specific places that just happen to align with where you are—they’re constantly on the move, as are the Gym Leaders trying to stop them.

Players who explore Route 6 before chasing down Team Plasma in the Cold Storage will be stopped by a large web—a Galvantula’s nest—blocking the way into Chargestone Cave that needs to be cleared. A nearby Hiker informs you that if he doesn’t ask Clay for assistance, there will be no way to pass. Even generic NPCs rely on Gym Leaders in Unova for help with weighty tasks they can’t do themselves, further exemplifying their leadership positions. Later, when it’s time for Clay to take the nest down for you to progress, he explicitly states that “if there are folks havin’ problems, th’ Gym Leader’s th’ one ta fix it.”

You also get to see Clay inspect Twist Mountain, as he owns it and has workers stationed there. He notes that all the Gym Leaders met up and spoke after Team Plasma made such trouble before, but they don’t know where they are currently. He insists that the Gym Leaders will handle the situation, and that you and Cheren should simply “enjoy travelin’ with yer Pokémon,” heavily enforcing the responsibility Gym Leaders don in Unova. Of course, you and Cheren will inevitably cross paths with Team Plasma again, and you will be the one chosen to stop N, but not out of neglect on the part of the Gym Leaders.

Even Skyla, who has not yet had a run-in with Team Plasma herself, takes it upon herself to help a sick Pokémon she noticed atop Celestial Tower. And just as Elesa is acquainted with Professor Juniper, when you first meet Skyla, she’s accompanied by Cedric. It’s no exaggeration to say that all the major figures of Unova are connected.

In Dragonspiral Tower, it’s already impressive to see Cheren tackle two Team Plasma Grunts at once, but just to his right, Brycen is holding off three. The grunts he faces are impressed by his strength, wondering if it could be equal to that of the Seven Sages’. Two more grunts refuse to challenge you, concerned enough as it is by Brycen nearby. He was able to sense the presence of the Shadow Triad earlier, hinting at even more frightfully honed skill. It’s only natural that when Cedric later decides to stay behind to further inspect the tower that Brycen stay with him—not only would he wish to uncover more information to help stop Team Plasma, but he also possesses the power to protect Cedric should something else come up.

The final Gym Leader on your journey is either Iris, whom you have met earlier in Castelia City, or her mentor, Drayden. While Opelucid City heavily emphasizes Black and White’s theme of the dichotomy of time, its Gym Leader puts a bit of a twist on it. “Children are the future” is an oft-repeated belief, and the elderly are stereotyped as incapable of comprehending modern technology. However, the childish youth Iris is not the Gym Leader in the hyper-futuristic Black Opelucid, nor is the silver fox Drayden the Gym Leader of White’s ancient Opelucid. Similar instead to the juxtaposition of the player’s legendary dragon with the state of their Unova, Drayden runs the Gym in Black, leaving Iris in charge in White.

But regardless of their Gym Leader status, they both have a role to play in the story: in addition to Iris’s assistance in Castelia City, both she and Drayden listen in on Ghetsis’s final speech in their hometown. Afterwards, they share their knowledge about the legend of Unova with the player in hopes that they can figure out how to awaken their legendary dragon from its slumber.

As you enter N’s Castle, six of the Seven Sages stare you down. They threaten to end your journey here, not giving you the chance to challenge N. But their plan will not succeed.

Just as Gorm had predicted, the time has come for the Gym Leaders to settle their score with Team Plasma—but Gorm no longer looks forward to the encounter. As all the Gym Leaders, save for Striaton’s, file in to face down the sages, the song that starts is “Victory Lies Before You,” the theme that normally plays when you’ve backed the Gym Leaders into a corner. This time, it’s the sages on the receiving end of this powerful, triumphant rendition of the Pokémon main series theme. What could otherwise be considered a theme for the player, who earns this track’s arrival through hard work and determination in battle, becomes the Gym Leaders’ theme here—and there is no greater group of individuals to share this track with.

The player is a necessary component of the Pokémon games, the one who allows its musical theme to play at all. But the Gym Leaders are just as necessary. They’re so intrinsic to the Pokémon series formula that it’s fair to say they represent the series just as much as the Pokémon themselves. And the Gym Leaders of Unova don’t let that honor go to waste.

“Ignoring Team Plasma… That would be a terrible thing for us Gym Leaders to do,” Elesa says bluntly. And how right she is. If strength is the ability to help others, and the Gym Leaders possess great strength as evidenced by their position, why would they simply ignore when the entire region requires help?

Drayden then takes the opportunity to give the sages a piece of his mind: “I can empathize with some of what you say, but I can’t stand the way you reject everything else!” Unlike Iris, Drayden sees some value in Team Plasma’s ideals, but not in their inability to respect other perspectives. And now there will really be no meeting halfway—the sages have no choice but to let you pass as the Gym Leaders interfere.

The showdown of the sages and Gym Leaders is a culmination of their assistance throughout your journey. This isn’t the moment “the Gym Leaders finally did something;” instead, it’s the finale built up from an entire game’s worth of involvement. The satisfaction of the sages’ plan crumbling unites with the satisfaction of seeing the Gym Leaders take one final stand against the villains they’ve been working so thoroughly to thwart, resulting in a scene as legendary as the encounter the player is about to face.

The only Gym Leaders in Black and White to not fill an active role of some sort are the very first ones: the Striaton City Gym Leaders, or the “Striaton Trio” as they’re dotingly called. According to the Grass specialist brother, Cilan, the three of them “are still novice Gym Leaders. Which means the other Gym Leaders are much stronger than we are.” Lore-wise, these Gym Leaders are a bit too weak to tackle much external conflict. This also helpfully gives Cheren and Bianca the opportunity to encounter Team Plasma on their own, Cheren finding them in Accumula Town and Wellspring Cave, and Bianca running into them in the Dreamyard. This lets the two of them formulate their own initial thoughts on the team without the external influence of the Gym Leaders, giving their character arcs a proper foundation. We wouldn’t be able to compare their growth after being influenced by their role models if we never got to know their thoughts beforehand.

And even without the Striaton Trio, you meet eight other Gym Leaders along your journey. The Striaton Trio’s lack of involvement helps make Black and White less overwhelming by cutting down its number of “major” characters. This naturally leads into the tail end of the games, when Bianca, without a Pokémon to Fly her across the region, is unable to reach Striaton City in time to enlist the Gym Leader trio’s help. Cress is disheartened by this, likely disappointed that they missed an opportunity to show that they’re no longer “novice Gym Leaders.” But they can still provide the world of Black and White with something meaningful, something only they can provide. Just as the Gym Leaders serve a purpose in the story, the Gyms themselves are also seamlessly integrated into their cities, serving a civilian purpose and further enhancing Unova’s already strong worldbuilding, as well as continuing Black and White’s harmonious mixing of gameplay formulas and narrative.

Even the Striaton Trio, the Gym Leaders uninvolved with the story at large, have a “real” occupation that ties in with their Gym’s theme and their Pokémon team. Their Gym doubles as a restaurant, filled with waiters, and the dashing brothers themselves would fit right in at a butler café.

The Nacrene Gym doubles as a museum and a library. Players will return here to restore fossils and change the forme of Deoxys, and there’s a treasure trove of knowledge to be found in the books in the back. The player may not be able to read through these tomes, but it’s easy to imagine the people of Nacrene stopping by to check out a book or two. And, of course, the Gym Leader, Lenora, is also the museum director and an archaeologist.

The artist Burgh has decked out the Castelia City Gym as a giant art exhibit, filled with paintings, stained glass, butterflies made of brass, and even a hexagonal textile. It all feels incredibly quirky, not unlike the diverse exhibits that can be found in New York’s own museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art. Elesa is a famous model, and Clay is a businessman and miner who ships off lumber and other goods worldwide in addition to donating fossils from Twist Mountain to Lenora’s museum. Skyla is a cargo plane pilot who also ships goods across the region and sometimes outside it. Brycen is a martial artist who trains within a cold mountainside that has been repurposed into a Gym—and he used to be an actor, according to some NPCs. Iris is still in training, but strong enough to be a Gym Leader in White, while Drayden is mayor of Opelucid City regardless of his position as Gym Leader. They’re all active members of society outside of their obligations as Gym Leaders, and they’re all connected with the world around them.

This connection between all the Gym Leaders spreads to the NPCs of Unova. Because of Elesa’s popularity as a model, people all over Unova mention her, not just those in Nimbasa. Part of the reason why Lenora is acquainted with Burgh is because Burgh used to live in Nacrene’s artists’ studios, and some local NPCs bring it up as well. Even Brycen has his fair share of fans thanks to his acting career. The Gym Leaders of Black and White are a natural part of their world, not just a boss fight that exists in each city out of necessity. They are the positive influences around us each and every day, and the ones that help not only bring the world to life, but actively make it a better place.