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How To Remove A Pokémon From A Gym: Easy Steps
Can you remove a Pokémon from a Gym in Pokémon GO? Yes, you can remove a Pokémon from a Gym by battling against it with your own Pokémon. This guide will walk you through the process of reclaiming gyms and taking back gym control.
In the world of Pokémon GO, gyms are vital battlegrounds where Trainers clash to assert dominance. Placing your Pokémon in a Gym is a way to defend your team’s territory and earn daily rewards. However, there will come a time when you need to know how to remove a Pokémon from a Gym, whether it’s an opponent’s Pokémon or even your own if you made a mistake or want to switch it out. This guide will cover everything you need to know about Pokémon GO gym mechanics, battling gym defenders, and reclaiming gyms for your team.
The Basics of Gym Ownership and Control
Gyms are central to the Pokémon GO experience, representing the ongoing struggle between the three teams: Instinct, Mystic, and Valor. When a Pokémon is placed in a neutral gym, it claims it for that team. If a gym is already controlled by another team, you must first defeat the defending Pokémon to make the gym neutral again before you can place your own Pokémon. This is how gym ownership is established and maintained.
Gym Control Elements:
- Team Color: Gyms display the color of the team that controls them.
- Prestige/Training: Gyms have a level of prestige. Higher prestige means more Pokémon can be placed and the gym is harder to defeat.
- Defending Pokémon: Pokémon placed in gyms act as defenders, attempting to fend off attackers.
- Berries: Trainers can feed berries to their team’s defending Pokémon to help them recover motivation or prevent them from being defeated quickly.
Why You Might Want to Remove a Pokémon from a Gym
There are several reasons why a Trainer might want to remove a Pokémon from a Gym. The most common is to attack and defeat an opponent’s Pokémon. However, sometimes you might want to remove your own Pokémon.
Common Scenarios for Removing Pokémon:
- Attacking Opposing Gyms: The primary reason is to weaken or defeat Pokémon defending a gym controlled by an opposing team.
- Mistaken Placement: You might have accidentally placed a Pokémon in a gym and wish to retrieve it.
- Trading: You might want to bring a Pokémon back to your collection to trade it with a friend.
- Improving Defense: If a gym is under heavy attack, you might want to swap out a lower-tier defender for a stronger one.
- Daily Coin Collection: To collect your daily coins, a Pokémon must have been defending a gym for a specific duration (at least 21 hours is a common target for maximizing coin income). Once this is achieved, you might want to bring them back to free up a slot or to use them elsewhere.
How to Battle and Remove Opponent Pokémon from a Gym
The core mechanic for removing an opponent’s Pokémon from a gym is through Pokémon battles. When you approach a gym controlled by another team, you’ll see the Pokémon currently defending it.
Initiating a Battle
- Approach the Gym: Tap on a gym that is not controlled by your team.
- Tap the “Battle” Button: You will see a button to initiate a battle. Tap this.
- Select Your Pokémon Team: The game will suggest a team of Pokémon to battle the gym defenders. It’s crucial to select Pokémon that are strong against the defending Pokémon’s types. You can also manually choose your team by tapping the Pokémon icons.
- Start the Battle: Once your team is ready, tap “Go!”.
The Pokémon Battle Process
- Turn-Based Combat: Pokémon battles in Pokémon GO are real-time but function like turn-based combat. You can attack, dodge, and use charged attacks.
- Attacking: Tap your screen rapidly to use your Pokémon’s fast attack.
- Dodging: Swipe left or right just as the opponent’s attack is about to hit to dodge it. This saves your Pokémon health.
- Charged Attacks: As you use fast attacks, a charged attack meter fills up. Once it’s full, tap and hold your screen to unleash a powerful charged attack.
- Switching Pokémon: If your current Pokémon is low on health or is being heavily countered, you can switch to another Pokémon in your team by tapping the Pokémon icon at the bottom of the screen.
Winning a Battle Round
- You must defeat all the defending Pokémon in a gym to win a battle round.
- Each time you defeat a defending Pokémon, its motivation (health) is reduced.
- After you win a battle, the defending Pokémon will have lower motivation and will be placed back in the gym if you haven’t cleared it entirely.
- The gym will get a “lower motivation” status, meaning the defending Pokémon have been weakened.
Clearing a Gym
To fully remove all Pokémon from an opposing gym and make it neutral, you will need to win multiple battle rounds. Each successful battle round reduces the “morale” or motivation of the defending Pokémon.
Table: Gym Battle Progression
| Action | Effect on Gym |
|---|---|
| Win 1 Battle Round | Reduces motivation of defending Pokémon. |
| Win Multiple Rounds | Eventually defeats all defending Pokémon. |
| Gym Becomes Neutral | All opposing Pokémon are removed. |
| Place Your Pokémon | You can now claim the gym for your team. |
- Motivation Decay: Pokémon in gyms naturally lose motivation over time. Feeding berries by other trainers can counteract this.
- CP Reduction: A Pokémon’s CP (Combat Power) is a representation of its strength. When defending a gym, their CP is effectively reduced over time or after battles, making them easier to defeat.
Reclaiming Gyms for Your Team
Once you have successfully defeated all the defending Pokémon and the gym becomes neutral (indicated by a grey color), you can then place one of your own Pokémon into the gym. This is how you begin reclaiming gyms for your team and establishing your gym control.
Retrieving Your Own Pokémon from a Gym
While the primary focus is often on removing opponents, you might also want to retrieve your own Pokémon from a gym. This is particularly useful if you want to:
- Heal them.
- Trade them.
- Use them in battles or raids.
- Collect your daily Gym Defender Bonus (coins and Stardust).
How to Retrieve Your Pokémon
Unfortunately, you cannot directly “recall” or “remove” your Pokémon from a gym without it being defeated. The only way to get your Pokémon back is for it to be defeated by an opposing trainer.
The Process:
- Wait for it to be Defeated: Another trainer from an opposing team will need to battle and defeat your Pokémon at the gym.
- Receive a Notification: Once your Pokémon is defeated and knocked out of the gym, you will receive a notification in your game.
- Retrieve Your Pokémon: Tap on the notification or go to your Pokémon list. Your Pokémon will appear there, typically with very low health and no motivation.
- Heal Your Pokémon: You will need to use Potions and Revives to heal your Pokémon before it can be used again.
This is a passive process. You can’t speed it up unless you have friends on opposing teams who can help you by attacking your gym.
Maximizing Your Gym Defender Bonus
A key aspect of gym ownership in Pokémon GO is the Gym Defender Bonus. This bonus provides you with Coins and Stardust for the Pokémon you have stationed in gyms.
Collecting Your Bonus:
- Your Pokémon must have been in a gym for at least 21 hours to earn the maximum daily bonus.
- The bonus is collected when your Pokémon is knocked out of the gym.
- You can collect a maximum of 10 Pokémon bonuses per day (50 coins and 1500 Stardust).
Strategy for Coin Collection:
Many players strategically place Pokémon in gyms they believe will be difficult for opponents to attack or reach. They wait for the 21-hour mark to maximize their coin earnings before the Pokémon is inevitably defeated.
The Role of Berries in Gym Defense
Berries play a crucial role in prolonging your Pokémon’s stay in a gym, making it harder for opponents to remove them.
Types of Berries:
- Razz Berry: Increases Pokémon’s catch rate.
- Pinap Berry: Doubles candy received from catching.
- Nanab Berry: Makes Pokémon behavior more predictable.
- Oran Berry: Restores a small amount of HP to a wild Pokémon.
- Sitrus Berry: Restores a moderate amount of HP to a wild Pokémon.
- Golden Razz Berry: Significantly increases catch rate, and crucially for gym defense, fully restores a Pokémon’s motivation and can even extend its timer if used repeatedly.
Feeding Berries to Defenders
- Tap the Gym: Approach a gym controlled by your team.
- Tap the “Feed Berry” Icon: You will see icons for different berries.
- Select Your Berry: Choose which berry you want to feed. Golden Razz Berries are the most effective for defense.
- Feed to Your Pokémon: Select the Pokémon you wish to feed.
Strategic Berry Usage:
- Motivation: Feeding berries restores a Pokémon’s motivation, which is shown as its current CP. A Pokémon with full motivation is harder to defeat.
- Timed Limit: Pokémon have a limited time they can stay in a gym if their motivation is not restored.
- Anti-Sniping: If you see an opponent trying to take over a gym, feeding berries quickly can help you fend them off.
- Daily Limit: You can feed up to 10 berries to Pokémon in gyms per account every 30 minutes. However, each individual Pokémon can only be fed a maximum of 10 berries within that 30-minute period.
Advanced Gym Combat Strategies
Successfully removing Pokémon from gyms requires more than just brute force. Strategic team building and battle tactics are essential.
Type Effectiveness
Pokémon GO uses a type advantage system similar to the main series games. Knowing type matchups is critical for winning battles quickly and efficiently.
Table: Basic Type Effectiveness (Partial List)
| Attacking Type | Super Effective Against | Not Very Effective Against |
|---|---|---|
| Fire | Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel | Fire, Water, Rock, Dragon |
| Water | Fire, Ground, Rock | Water, Grass, Dragon |
| Grass | Water, Ground, Rock | Fire, Grass, Poison, Flying, Bug, Dragon, Steel |
| Electric | Water, Flying | Grass, Electric, Dragon |
| Ice | Grass, Ground, Flying, Dragon | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
| Fighting | Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, Steel | Flying, Psychic, Fairy |
| Poison | Grass, Fairy | Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost |
| Ground | Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel | Bug, Grass, |
| Flying | Grass, Fighting, Bug | Electric, Rock, Steel |
| Psychic | Fighting, Poison | Psychic, Steel |
| Bug | Grass, Psychic, Dark | Fire, Fighting, Poison, Flying, Ghost, Steel, Fairy |
| Rock | Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug | Fighting, Ground, Steel |
| Ghost | Psychic, Ghost | Dark, Steel |
| Dragon | Dragon | Steel |
| Dark | Psychic, Ghost | Fighting, Dark, Fairy |
| Steel | Ice, Rock, Fairy | Fire, Water, Electric, Steel |
| Fairy | Fighting, Dragon, Dark | Fire, Poison, Steel |
| Normal | None | Rock, Steel |
- Super Effective: Attacks of this type deal double damage.
- Not Very Effective: Attacks of this type deal half damage.
- No Effect: Some attacks have no effect on certain types.
CP and Pokémon Stats
While type effectiveness is paramount, a Pokémon’s overall CP and individual stats (Attack, Defense, Stamina) also play a significant role in battle. Higher CP generally indicates a stronger Pokémon.
Move Sets
Each Pokémon has a Fast Move and a Charged Move. The types and power of these moves greatly influence their effectiveness in battle. Prioritize Pokémon with move sets that exploit type advantages.
Battle Order
When attacking a gym with multiple defenders, the order in which you defeat them matters. It’s generally best to lead with a Pokémon that has a type advantage against the first defender, and then switch to a Pokémon that counters the next defender in line, if necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: How long does it take for my Pokémon to be removed from a gym?
A1: Your Pokémon will be removed from a gym once it has been defeated by an opponent. The time this takes depends on how often your gym is attacked and how many Pokémon are defending it.
Q2: Can I remove my own Pokémon from a gym without it being defeated?
A2: No, you cannot directly recall your Pokémon from a gym. It must be defeated by an opponent to be returned to your collection.
Q3: What happens to my Pokémon after it’s defeated in a gym battle?
A3: Your Pokémon will return to your Pokémon storage with very low health and no motivation. You will need to use Potions and Revives to heal it before it can be used again.
Q4: How do I get coins from defending a gym?
A4: You earn coins and Stardust when your Pokémon is knocked out of a gym. To get the maximum daily bonus, your Pokémon needs to have defended for at least 21 hours.
Q5: Can I put a Pokémon back into the same gym it was just removed from?
A5: Yes, once your Pokémon is returned to your storage, you can heal it and place it back into any gym, including the one it was just removed from, provided it’s still controlled by your team or has been made neutral.
Q6: Is there a limit to how many Pokémon I can place in gyms?
A6: Yes, you can only have one Pokémon in any given gym at a time. You also have a limit of 20 Pokémon in gyms overall that can earn you the daily bonus.
Q7: What is the best way to defend a gym?
A7: The best way to defend a gym is to place Pokémon with high HP and good defensive stats, and to use Golden Razz Berries frequently to restore their motivation. Also, having multiple Pokémon of different types can make it harder for attackers to find a strong counter.
By following these steps and employing strategic gameplay, you can effectively remove opposing Pokémon from gyms, reclaim territory for your team, and enjoy the rewards of controlling the vital gym locations in Pokémon GO. Happy battling!