Nicholas Becher is a video games journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience in video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. The most played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond.
Pokémon Winds and Waves is shaping up to be one of the franchise’s biggest entries yet, ushering in Generation 10 in an all-new tropical setting built exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. Although Game Freak has only revealed a handful of official details so far, excitement continues to build thanks to a steady stream of leaks, speculation, and in-depth analysis of the official trailer revealed during Pokémon Presents in February.
Players will be transported to a new island paradise largely inspired by Southeast Asia, with dense jungles, sprawling coastlines and beaches, volcanoes and, of course, underwater locations. Grass-type Browt, Fire-type Pombon, or Water-type Gecqua have all been confirmed as starters, while other recent leaks also hinted at new combat mechanics, improved multiplayer features, ambitious new types of Pokémonand a massive list of Mons stretching well over 300.
With Pokémon Winds and Waves Currently aiming for a 2027 versionfans are eagerly awaiting Game Freak’s next major reveal, but in the meantime, a new leaked image of the official map has given us an exact number of gyms to expect at launch (via Reddit).
According to a new image leaked by fairly reliable leaker Centro Leaks, it appears that there will be a large number of islands scattered around the official map when the game launches, but only around eight of those locations will have gyms. By extension, this also suggests that Winds and waves will also feature eight Gym Leaders, suggesting that the series is staying true to its long-established formula despite the introduction of an entirely new tropical region.
Although Game Freak has yet to confirm the information, the reported number of gyms would perfectly match almost every mainline Pokémon generation dating back to the original. Pokémon Red and Blue. Aside from titles that experimented with different progression systems, such as Sun and Moon replace gyms with Island Trials, or Legends: Arceus abandoning the format altogether, eight gyms remained the franchise’s standard for nearly three decades.
According to the leak, the eight gyms will be distributed as follows:
- Gym 1: Lawn
- Gym 2: Poison
- Gym 3: Fly
- Gym 4: Fights
- Gym 5: Dark
- Gym 6: Normal
- Gym 7: Steel
- Gym 8: Fairy
While this isn’t a huge surprise since the announced total is exactly what most longtime fans expect, the more interesting question is how they are structured, or if they can be tackled in any order like Scarlet and violet.
Additionally, since this is still just a leak, no gym types or locations are officially confirmed yet, so take all this information with a grain of salt. Still, this is an interesting leak that will give players something to chew on while they wait for a new announcement for Pokémon Winds and Waves in the coming months.
