The Rich and Famous

Gyms are a huge part of the handheld Pokémon games. Since the United States is quite large, placing a unique gym in every county would take years of work. The same stands for breeders. Without breeders it would be near impossible to obtain many Pokémon. Creating breeding centers in every town would be just as difficult, especially since you don't want an overflow of breeders, you want just the right amount.

To solve these problems I'm opening up these institutions to player control. Once your character reaches a certain level (yes, your character not your Pokémon), he (or she) will be able to start up a gym or a breeding center. You'll be able to purchase any plot of land you wish that a PokéCenter or PokéMart doesn't stand on. For breeders, once the breeding center has been created, it's mostly computer automated. You can be anywhere you want, and the breeding center will remain open to players. However, good breeders will want to invest some time into the business. If you wish, you can determine which Pokémon are placed with others, to selectively breed. As a breeder you'll also gain insight into stats that other players cannot see, making it easier to determine which Pokémon should be bred. This makes breeding a lucrative profession for advanced players.

Gyms are handled a little differently. Once you purchase land and apply to become a gym leader, you must design a badge, decide what kind of gym you want to be (fighting, fire, etc) and then the size of your gym (different size gyms cost different amounts of money). The next step is to choose the lineup you'll use to battle players, and the lineup for your minions (the little guys people fight before they fight you). You'll also get to choose your payout (how much you pay winning players), and how much you take from losing players is determined based on that. Once all of the groundwork has been laid, an official announcement will be made regarding the opening date of the gym, some basic information, and where the gym location. When your gym is up and running, you have the option of battling players yourself (if you're logged in), or letting AI take control (which is what will happen when you're logged out and someone wishes to battle).

The secret to being a successful gym leader or breeder is location, location, location. This means choosing a spot with a lot of players and a place that's easily accessible (since players will need to approach the location in person). Breeders can choose any location that has no other breeders within 5 miles, and gym leaders can choose any location that doesn't have another gym within 25 miles.

On top of making money, gym leaders will also serve to shape the story line of the game. Posts will revolve around new gyms, the latest gym leader battles and the best leaders. Gym leaders will become the celebrities of the game, and the end game "goal" (besides catching all of the Pokémon).