The eight gym leaders have been announced, as well as a new project that is coming soon. Feel free to discuss these here.

Is there going to be an Elite four? Cause I wanted to be in the league.

I'll admit it: Looking over that list, I did lose it for a few seconds when I saw my name up there (and 6 up, no less!). Other than that, I'd like to congratulate all of my fellow Gym Leaders!

Name and details of the upcoming project will not be publicised for the time being.

Syra informed my about the thread. I saw my name and I flipped. You should've seen my outrageous reaction. x3

I just had an interesting idea. Since everyone will be fighting the Gym Leaders in order from 1 to 8, I think there could be a certain point where you can skip on to the next one if you can't beat them (e.g. 10 losses in a row). I don't know if there would be a standard for the whole league, or if every Leader would regulate that, but it's a little thing I came up with.

Here's my thought process on that idea. Since the gym leaders were ordered 1-8 based on difficulty, if you can't beat...so say Gym #2, then it would be unlikely that you will be able to beat Gym #3 if you decided to skip it because the difficulty level would be increasing progressively as you go from Gym #1 to Gym #8.

I also want to congratuate everyone who was able to get a gym league position. :3

Yeah, I figured that would probably come up, and I suppose you're right on that part. It was really just a bit of an idea I had, and it seemed like a good idea for... about 10 seconds before I got second thoughts about posting it (which happens with a lot of my ideas). I just figured I'd try this one to see how people would react to it, flaws and all.

While it isn't an inherently bad idea, and may possibly work, I get the feeling that it would interfere with some of the other things Spirit and I are planning to do in the future regarding League challenges. I can't delve into the specifics of it, but hopefully it'll be somewhat apparent when we get there. It may already be, I suppose. While I'm at it, congratulations to those who were selected. For those who weren't, don't feel disheartened, at the end of the day what's most important is your enjoyment of battling itself, which the League will no doubt provide an opportunity for.

Whilst I didn't get the part it seems, I still want to give a congratulations to those who have been selected to become gym leaders. As even though it is honestly a tad saddening to not be alongside you, it'd be even more of a shame not to be sportsmanlike even in defeat! Besides, if I was knocked out of the running, I'm even more revved up as it were to put you lot through your paces as a serious challenger!

This new project also makes me highly curious, of course. At any rate, be it as a leader, challenger or otherwise- I'm going to be part of this league and endeavour to take it by storm!

Mwhahaha!

I like that attitude, give it your all!
And for the record, we did like your team. It was actually one of the more difficult decisions to decide against it, but it was definitely one of the more impressive ones, so we were both sure your skill level would be that of a Gym Leader from the application. That should translate to your challenges as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing your progress when the League opens.

I'd rather have a positive attitude than a negative one in this situation- after all, moping about a decision already made doesn't change things, now does it? And complaining is hardly going to benefit anyone involved and I'm not a person to do so anyway.

But thanks for the kind words! It's nice to know at least I was on the right track with my team. Guess my fire gym will have to stay in retirement for the time being, but no worries I suppose they earned the rest, bwhaha.

I must say the more I see this new upcoming project the more I'm interested in it... if it's an elite position, I'm totally applying for it. And if not, or I don't get there..?

I'm aiming for champion, baby. Oh yeah.

First thing's first:
Congrats fellow Gym Leaders! This is a time to celebrate having made "the list", yes, but it is also a time to muster the utmost respect you can bring upon yourself and stick up for the trainers that line up before you. It won't be easy trying not to lose, but in the long run, you help show them what they're capable of; and that, in turn, helps you. We can be the brick wall that stops them, or falls; it does not matter. Having respect for what we're given in life is all that does.

Second:
Being the first in line isn't always a bad thing, you know. ;) On that note, I welcome each and every one of you trainers into my Gym with a warm and anxious heart, ready to block your path to hone your skills, while at the same time feel willing to step aside at defeat and let you show how much courage you have to pursue the rest of the League. I wish you all the best of luck on your journey to the top.

i read who got selected, it said that those people battled spirit and aura. If i was to battle them i didnt recive any word about it till after i read that, and they battled people to see how good they were before being picked.

The battles were primarily issued to decide on the ranks of the gym leaders. The battles didn't decide who would be a gym leader, unless the teams were too miserable. But none of the teams were. Only those 8 battled us, while other applicants weren't chosen due to the reasons mentioned earlier.

Well, there's a turn of events I didn't expect. I don't think I would have been so worried about my chances if I knew it was lock from the point where I was told to battle both of you! Then again, at that point I'd probably have started worrying about what rank I was :lol:.

Anyway, I have a question. Will there be anything special awarded to people who manage to defeat all 8 Gym Leaders and obtain all 8 badges?

Oh i didnt know that you did that, so i understand then.

We purposely didn't inform you at that time that you were chosen. We feared that we might change our minds once we battled any of you, thus we would have to go back on our word. We also didn't want any information to get leaked; this is why we sent you a private message in BCC format, so that none of you can know who the other battlers are.

As for your question, no specific details will be provided as to what is the prize, but I can confirm that yes, there is a reward for defeating all 8 gym leaders, and it is a grand reward, actually.

I may be wrong, or have a bad memory, but in the Guide it says you must have at least 3 pokemon of the type you represent. Was it 2 when the sign-ups started, or was I mistaken?

You are mistaken. It has always been 3.

Okay. Time for my input on the new instructions:

1) You advise us to save battle videos to ensure nobody has cheated. In the event that we have to battle multiple challengers in a row in a short amount of time and wouldn't have the time to view any, would you suggest that we upload our videos and post them here (or rather send to them to the League Administration as to not leak information)? Or how do you want to approach this?

2) Will each Gym Leader have a thread dedicated to requests? Or will there be a single thread dedicated to Leader availability to which challengers message the Leaders?

Well... I believe that's about it... for now at least. ^^'

1) I haven't asked for a battle video so that you would post it. In fact, your battle video shouldn't be posted because it would reveal your team. However, just the attempt of saving the battle video would allow the gym leader to discover whether the foe's team is hacked or not. This is because when you click on saving the battle video, the attempt would fail, telling you that there is something wrong with your foe's team, in other words, some members of his team are hacked. If the battle video is saved, then the team is legit.

2)Each gym leader will have his own thread as his gym. But not now, of course.

Okay. Thanks for clearing that up.
And I didn't know the battle video thing... ^^'

Replays don't save if the opponent's team has been hacked? I didn't know that, that's a great failsafe on Game Freak's part...

Will the Gym Leaders be able to get the adoptable they chose as a prize for challengers who beat them?

The topic is debatable. It is true that the chance of inducing sleep is only 10%, which isn't as much. We can look into it a little more. Personally, I was waiting for those in Smogon to start discussing the move seriously, as we might find reasonable suggestion for this move, but I was also too busy, so I don't know if they already did so. But I guarantee that Aura and I will discuss this thoroughly, and it is highly possible that the rule is removed.

Well now i dont have to worry about this for awhile, so i can use this move safely.

I just noticed something... I am.. not only am I a gym leader, which makes me happy, but I'm the 8th. And because it's sequential order, that means I am the strongest. I am... what? ...What? ...What?

I blame hax. There's no other explanation.

Hah considering you barely competitive battle, that's impressive!

EDIT: CONGRATS!!

Both Aura and I haven't had battles for more than half a year. Even when I was a gym leader, I didn't battle people in the last month or so. We lacked information and experience of the new Pokémon. In my case, I didn't and I still don't know most of the new names, not to mention their abilities, moves, etc. So, we were rusty and we didn't perform as good against all applicants.

To tell you the truth, both Aura and I were surprised with TurtwigX. His result was unexpected, but he deserves it nevertheless. Ignoring hax and any other factors, the team was really unique, cleverly made and surprising.

Generally speaking, the last three spots occupy three impressive teams that both Aura and I wanted to include no matter what, not because they are the strongest, but because rare Pokémon and strategies are used. Keep it up! (Y)

No one answered that question from what I saw... But I have poor eyesight so maybe I'm wrong.. Anyways, I have a few questions/points too;
1. Once a Gym Leader is defeated by a challenger, can the challenger go back and challenge again for the fun of it?

2. I understand that the gyms are from weakest to strongest, but why do we have to face them in order? This is just my opinion, but if we do that, Boberry will get clustered with challenges the first few weeks or so and the rest of the league (especially Turtwig) will have no challenges until they advance.

3. Do the leaders choose the special adoptable prize? If so what are the limits besides no adoptables that are already available? Or does the VRGL staff pick one depending on the type and availability?

4. Isn't it time to gray scale the Archived Gym's badges? Or will they just stay "Retired" without any color change?

5. Now, I'm pretty sure I have an idea on the new project of the VRGL but... When will we get some more information about this?

It's possible I have other questions about the new project, but I don't think it's up for discussion yet :P

I am sorry I haven't seen this before. Yes, they will be allowed to receive the same adoptable they are offering as a reward for them of earning the titles. They will not receive them now; either before the grand opening by few days or on the same day the League is opened.
Answers are in bold.

Thanks SoT! Can I PM you some questions I have about something that might be too classified? and also "•A gym leader has the right to change members of his or her team." That's any time they feel like it??

Yes, you may. If the questions aren't as classified, I might ask you to re-ask them here again for the benefit of everyone.

Yes, a gym leader can change the members of his team whenever he/she find it necessary. It is a continuous improvement. However, a gym leader must inform The Gym League Administration of any changes done.

Okay I'll get to PMing soon.

As for the second part, they have to inform the Administration before they do it right?

Not necessarily. They can inform us before, while or after.

Is the gym league active now? Or is it not open yet.

No. Currently, the gym league is planned to be opened after the release of BW2 in the US and other countries. So, the league is planned to be opened sometime in November, I believe...

I need one member at least, preferably not a staff, to view both the gyms that have been created so far, and report here whether the images are broken or he/she can view them normally.

They both were for me for about an hour and then they came up. It seems to be working now.

Are we allowed to at least like the gym pages? because well.. I like it! :D (y)

You'll be able to like the pages the moment they are unlocked.

I am not sure if you can like a thread when it is locked. If you can, then of course you are allowed.

I see another broken image. First image in Whimsi's gym

The banner and badge are broken.

I'm confirming that you can like posts in threads that are locked.
Also. I am having no troubles with broken images for the first three gyms up thus far.

A question that has kinda confused me for a little while now - seeing as the level range for battles is 80-100, does that mean any gym leader could use any Pokémon within that range of levels or do we have to go from lowest level (gym 1) to highest level (gym 8)?

First of all, I want to explain this broken image problem to everyone. When a gym thread is posted, all three images will be broken because we are not using hot-linking; we are not using [IMG] codes with a link of the image. Instead, we are using attachments, but in an advanced way. This process is too hard for me to explain to each gym leader, thus, when a thread is firstly created, images will be broken. But then I am editing the threads and fixing the attachments. So, when you see Last edited by The Spirit of Time, then it means I have fixed the attachments.

No, there is no need to go from lowest to highest. As a seventh gym leader, it is up to you whether to use all Lv100, or have some in lower levels. What really matters in this rule is that you have a chance to train as a gym leader. In case the League opens and some or all of your Pokémon are still in the 80s, you can still accept challenges, and as time passes, you train your team further, so by next week, your team could have reached the 90s, or even 100.

Idno has all broken so far :/

I fixed them. All gyms will have their images broken until I fix them.

Does that mean we shouldn't report them anymore?

I prefer not. Initially, I was seeing them normally, so I assumed you all can. But then it turned out I am the only one who can view them while they are broken, so all of them are broken until I fix them myself.

Something I just thought of; will Gym Leaders be able to have different teams specifically for tiered matches, or will everyone just have to do Gen 5 OU?

Gen V OU is compulsory, since it is the most common. Of course, there will be different tiers and conditions, but it is not the right time to talk about them, especially that there are still preparations to be finished and a League to open.

Plus tiers could change by the time everyone gets B/W2.

If you mean that the Pokémon in the tiers could change, then of course they would. We are following a tier, so if some members do change, then we follow this change.

Oh ya i was woundering, if a gym did a doubles battle (If they did) would certin ubers pokemon be allowed say for example garchomp? As he dosnt do well in doubles.

No because Garchomp is still considered Uber, even if it doesn't preform well in a double battle setting.

I just was reading in doubles on smogon browsering the site and read this that garchomp could be used in doubles during tournaments like the VGC so i thought maybe outside that tuff he could be used.

The VGC and other such official tournaments do not follow the tiers setup by Smogon as the rules for such tournaments are determined by Nintendo. The VRGL follows the tier system of Smogon, so Ubers, even if they preform poorly in Doubles, are not allowed.

It is better not to ask a lot about what to be used right now. Currently, we are following the standard OU. We were asked if other conditions could possibly be implemented and I said yes, but also specified that it is not the time to talk about it, especially that the League hasn't opened yet. Therefore, I would appreciate if you forget about other conditions for the time being, and focus on what the guide has specified; OU is the main and compulsory tier.

Just wondering, are we still having the rule that you can only challenge back in 4 days?

Not in 4 days, but there will be a time break for gym leaders. We will elaborate more about it once the duration is decided.

I say we edit this group: http://victoryroad.net/group.php?groupid=32

I have no control over it, but thanks for bringing it up. I will make sure the group is removed.

Well we got a week to go for the US release, so next sunday the league will be open yes?

I'm not so sure it'll be that soon; as even when I do get my Black 2 next Sunday, it'll still take me some time to at least attempt the game, and then transfer my Pokemon and teach the appropriate moves. (Especially given that I don't get that week's work schedule until this upcoming Wednesday.)
To my knowledge, the estimated start time is sometime November (this giving everybody, including the staff, fair enough time to prepare for everything.)

I will be announcing the release date tomorrow, for those who are interested.

Since I read that your announcement of the Gym League, I would like to ask at least a week or two to prepare our teams a little better (so that we can transfer our Pokemon and beat the game to do so).

Will the new project for the vrgl be released on the release date of the vrgl?

I can't guarantee that. We are busy in November, and these couple of days happen to be a holiday for me. However, you don't need to worry that much. Boberry2009 is the first gym leader. I think it would take challengers a week to reach you.
That cannot be confirmed yet.

You guys aren't gonna make any changes because of this probably, but what if one gym leader is closed for a while causing everyone to be waiting on that one gym leader because they can't challenge any others?

As it would most obviously seem that when the League opens, it'll be dependant on me to be ready to begin; I just want to confirm that even though I have to work on release day, Sunday; I have a potential 4 days off in a row starting the very next day. Considering I beat Black in a week, I should be able to fit a majority of the story into this time frame.
In short; I should be ready when the League is.

In that case, challengers will skip the closed gym until it opens. However, there will not be as many closed gyms as they were before. Not only that, but there will be a limit to the number of days a gym gets closed. The guide will be updated with specifics soon.
Keep in mind that it is not necessary for you to take challenges on Black 2 or White 2. Using Black or White is as applicable.

Yes, I know that. But I will need a couple of things from Black 2 before I'm ready; so I just wanted to reassure everyone. ^^'

Totally pumped for the league to start, training my team to be ready for it now.
However, I do have some questions I didn't see mentioned in the guide, though I may be wrong so feel free to answer / correct me if so;

Are we required to contact anyone in particular to sign up as a challenger for the league, or does one simply challenge the leader in their thread immediately?

Are challengers able to change their team as they please, or should they stick with the same team through the challenge?

Challengers will contact each gym leader directly.

Challengers can change and update their team.

Thats good as sometimes if i throw a random team together to face a leader, i could change a pokemon or 2 to help.

Elite Four, Events and Tournaments. If you have any question or suggestion regarding any of these, post it here!

So, where are badges going to appear now? If your going to do a badge case thing, you should have it start out grey, then go gold after beating the E4.

When a challenger defeats a gym leader, the challenger posts in this thread. The challenger's name will be listed and he/she will be given the prize if wanted. We will work on a badge system, but I can't promise anything for now. Of course, if anyone would like to have the badge he/she won in the signature, then I can provide him/her with that.

80-100 is a large bracket for levels... Is there some kind of 'norm' that we should go for? If I get all my Pokémon to level 80 will I stand a chance, or will I need to get up to the 90s?

The League runs from weakest to strongest and the fact that it is not as competitive as the earlier one. With a team of 80s, you have a good chance of defeating the first gym leader if you are experienced enough. Of course, your chance of winning will decrease as you progress. The main idea is that you can train your team as you progress through the League, just like in the games. You might start with Lv80s and then be in the 90s against the second and so on. There is also the fact that you can edit your team as you proceed.

Despite the fact that I'm a gym leader, am I still allowed to participate in the league by battling the other leaders in order? If so, I completely understand that I will not be able to be a member of the Elite Four.

I was also curious as to whether Spirit had something different in mind when he didn't seem to directly address this, but based on our past discussions, I can only comment on part of your question. You are correct in assuming that a Gym Leader may not become an Elite Four member by defeating all the other Gym Leaders. While we haven't said much in terms of how Ranks affect Gym Leaders, I would encourage you or any other Gym Leader to prepare for the Tournaments when they occur, as something may be possible by increasing your Rank enough...

EDIT:As now stated in the Victory Road Gym League Guide, Gym Leaders may challenge other Gym Leaders in the same fashion as an ordinary challenger would. However, victory in these battles will not influence the winning nor the losing Gym Leaders' Rank. Additionally, no Gym Leader may become an Elite Four member by conquering the League-i.e. obtaining all eight Gym Badges.

This has happened on a couple of occasions with ~Whimsicott~. Whenever I try to have my battle it goes wrong and we cant properly connect. I am wondering that if we never work it out then how will I ever get anywhere in the league?

That happened with my battle with Boberry. Exiting and Reentering seemed to help.

Yeah... We tried that a lot.

How many times have you tried that out? If once, then try again. If more than once, then tell Whimisicott to contact me privately and fill me in with the details.

I had an Internet problem with Bobbery once. I worked the next day. See if it works tommorow?

Ah I had a connection problem with whimsi once, remember that VR tourney? Oh bad times, bad times xD anyways, I think the only solution is to restart and exit/turn off the ds and back on again and again until it works.

Well for our first battle we tried 2 seperate days with out is working. And this last time (The one that we still need to do) we have now tried 3 days. I will tell her to PM you.

Hey just wondering. Anyone who applies for the new spot, will they automatically be 5th Gym?

No, he/she will not. There is a placement test the chosen applicant will have to take. The results of this test will be compared with those of the current gym leaders, and based on the comparison, he/she will be placed accordingly.

I have already got a PM about this...

Please do not send me any requests for badges at the time. When you are picked then I will make one for you, same with the banner. Please hold out from this right now.

Well, that's a derp on my part. I should probably double-check the giude before posting the question I want to ask...

New question: How exactly will the new leader be slotted into the current heirarchy? Will they just be put into the lineup based on how their team looks, how it functioned, etc., or will be a tournament-type ordeal that will shake up the entire lineup of Leaders?

When will the test part take

I believe that's how it goes.
If a gym is closed, you can challenge the next one.

That is correct, Kylce. If a gym were closed, challengers would be able to move forward to the next gym. However, I'm sure it was never brought up (I could be wrong), I wouldn't necessarily constitute that as a win and automatic badge. I believe the challenger should still have to go back, at some point, and battle the skipped gym.
I'm sure Spirit (or another VRGL admin) could enlighten us on this a little more? ^^'

Also, as Spirit had said, the newest gym leader would be chosen based on a test, but will this affect the rest of the league? Or will the newest leader simply fill in the 5th gym spot?