How do gym badges work in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon GO trainers who favor particular gyms may notice a diamond-shaped badge on their trainer menu. These are known as gym badges, and they provide some good benefits to those who keep interacting with a certain gym.

With enough attention paid to a certain gym, players can level up their gym badge and collect bonus items any time they spin that gym's photo disc.

For trainers who live, work, or travel past a gym on a daily or weekly basis, leveling up a gym badge is worth the time and effort for its rewards.

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How to level up a gym badge in Pokemon GO

Each interaction with a gym rewards different amounts of experience to level its corresponding gym badge up (Image via Niantic)

Pokemon GO trainers have a number of ways to gain experience in order to rank up their gym badge and reap maximum rewards.

The interactions that reward experience for a gym badge are as follows:

• Placing a Pokemon in a gym to defend it (100xp)
• Defeating opposing Pokemon in a gym battle (1xp per every 100 CP of the opposing Pokemon, rounded down)
• Feeding a berry to a Pokemon protecting the gym (10xp)
• Defeating a raid boss active within the gym (1000xp)

The ranks of gym badges in Pokemon GO as well as their experience requirements can be found below:

• Basic (No Border) - 0xp needed
• Bronze - 500xp needed
• Silver - 4000xp needed
• Gold - 30,000xp needed

It goes without saying that every little bit of experience will count towards getting a coveted gold gym badge.

However, Pokemon GO trainers who want to earn that rank in the shortest amount of time will want to raid at the gym as often as possible. This will undoubtedly consume plenty of raid passes (approximately 30 if the boss is defeated each time without fail). So, players hoping to move quickly can either use Pokecoins to secure additional passes or use them whenever they are acquired through normal play.

Since gyms don't relocate or diminish progress over time, Pokemon GO players who are not in a hurry can take their time and gradually accrue experience. Raiding is still the way to go for maximum XP gain, but it doesn't hurt to battle opposing teams' Pokemon and defend the gym either.

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