In Pokémon GO, trainers have the opportunity to place their monsters in a gym and collect coins there. Now, one of these gyms has been turned back into a PokéStop, and a trainer is worried about his monster. We looked into what happened and are showing it to you.
What are gyms? Similar to PokéStops, gyms are places of interest that are meant to incentivize trainers to visit them in real life. These include, among others, monuments, murals, and interesting viewpoints.
Unlike PokéStops, you can also play raids there or take over the gym. This gives you the chance to collect up to 50 coins a day. To claim a gym for your team color, it must first be colored and then a monster must be placed inside. However, this has now become a disaster for one trainer.
That’s why a trainer is worried about his Pokémon
As the trainer scooterdood reports in his reddit post, he placed his Slaking in one of the local gyms. While it was defending it, however, it was removed by Niantic and turned into a PokéStop.
But now there is a big question: Where is Slaking? The Normal-type Pokémon has, according to its trainer, simply not returned. Now, scooterdood is worried about his friend and reminisces about their time together.
As can be read in his post, he remembers the thousands of days that Slaking defended a gym. Now he suspects that his monster will probably be gone forever due to the change from a gym to a PokéStop.
But how can this happen? That gyms or PokéStops can be removed from Pokémon GO again is related to the game’s guidelines. According to these, new PokéStops and gyms may only be created in certain locations, such as near monuments, and specific distances must be maintained.
This is usually checked in advance by several trainers through the Wayfarer page. However, local conditions can change over time, which is why this location may no longer meet the game’s requirements. Then these points can be deleted or changed.
Usually, the monsters that sat in such a gym return to their owners. This is also confirmed by lynnclewis, who reassures the post creator: “It comes back. We have had gyms taken away and the Pokémon have returned.” (via reddit.com).
This is how the community reacts
Many trainers support the post creator scooterdood in the comments and hope that his beloved Pokémon will return soon. They definitely recommend that he contact support.
However, some players suspect that this contact will not be very useful and that he will only receive a standard response or a poor compensation such as 20 free Pokéballs.
Is Team Rocket behind this? Other reddit users are surprised that a change from a gym to a PokéStop is even possible in the game. MegaBZ jokingly suspects: “It was never a gym. Team Rocket created a fake gym to steal your Slaking. Obviously, you were not prepared for trouble.” (via reddit.com).
The trainer MonteBurns clarifies the situation and writes: “The Verizon gyms were time-limited promotions. This means they can influence the number of stops in a cell via Wayfarer, and a gym can be removed this way.” (via reddit.com).
Scooterdood’s Slaking was also in such a gym. Thus, it could be an explanation of why it has now become a PokéStop. However, where Slaking is and whether it will return to its trainer is still unknown.
Have you ever defended a gym that was then deleted or transformed? And did you get your Pokémon back? Feel free to share your opinions and experiences in the comments here and discuss with other trainers on MeinMMO.
In the coming weeks, a lot is still happening in Pokémon GO. We will show you which events will take place in October and which of them are particularly worth it.
