Pokémon Winds & Waves Leaked Map Confirms Exact Number Of Gyms

Pokémon Winds & Waves is shaping up to be one of the franchise’s biggest entries yet, ushering in Gen 10 in a brand-new tropical setting built exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. While 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 deep-dives into the official trailer revealed at Pokémon Presents back in February.

Players will be transported to a new island paradise region inspired largely by Southeast Asia, featuring 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 have also hinted at new battle mechanics, improved multiplayer features, ambitious new Pokémon types, and a massive roster of Mon stretching well over 300.

With Pokémon Winds & Waves currently targeting a 2027 release, fans are eagerly awaiting the next major reveal from Game Freak, 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 leaked image from somewhat reliable leaker Centro Leaks, it looks like there will be a massive number of islands scattered around the official map when the game launches, but only roughly eight of those locations will have gyms. By extension, this also suggests that Winds & Waves will also feature eight Gym Leaders, suggesting the series is sticking with its long-established formula despite introducing an all-new tropical region.

While Game Freak has yet to confirm the information, the reported gym count would align perfectly with nearly every mainline Pokémon generation dating back to the original Pokémon Red & Blue. Aside from titles that experimented with different progression systems, such as Sun & Moon replacing Gyms with Island Trials, or Legends: Arceus abandoning the format entirely, eight Gyms has remained the franchise standard for nearly three decades.

According to the leak, the eight gyms will be broken down as follows:

• Gym 1: Grass
• Gym 2: Poison
• Gym 3: Flying
• Gym 4: Fighting
• Gym 5: Dark
• Gym 6: Normal
• Gym 7: Steel
• Gym 8: Fairy

While not a massive surprise as the rumored total is exactly what most longtime fans are expecting, the more interesting question is how they’re structured, or whether they can be tackled in any order like Scarlet & Violet.

Further, as this is still just a leak, none of the gym types or locations are officially confirmed just yet, so take all of this information with a grain of salt. Still, it’s an interesting leak that will give players something to chew on as they wait on a new announcement for Pokémon Winds & Waves in the coming months.

Pokemon Winds and Waves

Released

2027

Developer(s)

Game Freak

Publisher(s)

The Pokemon Company, Nintendo

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer

Number of Players

Single-player