Gym Progression in Pokémon Go

In the post about how this year some things seem to be at an end, I mentioned that I had turned a group of Gyms - one that I now rarely have access to - into a gold state. That state, also as I've mentioned, deals with their progression. It's a bit of a valuable thing in Pokémon Go, so it deserves some discussion regarding how things run in order to make the best or most effective use of the system.

Each Gym confers a Gym Badge upon the first interaction, and the list of acquired Badges may be seen in the Trainer profile. The diamond-shaped Gym Badge, which contains the Photo Disc image of the Gym, indicates the progression of the Gym: basic (no border), bronze, silver, and gold from lowest to highest. To reach the highest level of gold, one has to be diligent, patient, or fortunate, or any combination of the above.

The progression of Gyms is measured by something called Gym Points; to reach the gold level, it takes a minimum of 30,000. These points are obtained each time a Trainer interacts with the Gym, save for spinning its Photo Disc. A raid, for example, rewards 1,000 points, so it takes a minimum of 30 raids (only) to turn a Gym Badge to gold. Each minute of defending a Gym rewards one point, so it takes a minimum of 20 days and 20 hours (again, only) to earn a gold Gym Badge. Beyond that, anything may be possible.

A normal Gym Badge might be elevated to gold through a mix of takeovers, defenses, and raids. But some Gyms, especially in periphery areas, are rarely attacked, allowing Pokémon put in there to stay for the 20 days and 20 hours needed, without further manipulation. Because it takes only 30 raids to turn a Gym Badge to gold, it is possible to do so by only raiding a Gym, resulting in the phenomenon of "zero Gyms" that are never defended yet are gold. It requires some diligence to undertake, but it's totally possible.

A good reason for elevating a Gym Badge to gold status is that a Trainer will get bonus items when the Photo Disc of the Gym is spun like a PokéStop, which may be helpful during certain occasions. The Gym progression status of other Trainers are also visible in examining Trainer profiles while undertaking raids. Another reason for elevating the status would be for a different type of progression that is not in-game, but remains important for a certain group of people and deserves further discussion sometime else. Thus, it is an objective worth pursuing to a certain extent.

It does seem like this achievement has a lot of (or mostly) prestige value associated with it. Yet at the same time, it may also be indicative of quite a bit of work put in by a certain Trainer. The fact remains that Gyms are where many of the struggles in Pokémon Go take place, so there has to be a way to quantify and present how that plays out. This progression system quite allows for that to occur.

One year ago: Starters and "Pseudo-Starters"
Two years ago: The Old New Thing: Second-Generation Games