Real-World Pokemon Gym Opening in Japan

Pokemon fans in Japan will soon get to visit a real-world Pokemon Gym. The gym, which its creator Sanoyas Interaction is calling a "hands-on edutainment facility," will open in Osaka on November 19.

It's called the Pokemon Expo Gym. According to an Inside Games report (translated by Siliconera), fans can battle and trade with others and play Pokemon arcade "training" games. These games, including "Charizard's Battle Colosseum" and "Gardevoir's Control Score," will even hand on rewards to players in the form of in-game items for mainline installments such as Pokemon X/Y and Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby.

A special Pokemon Expo Gym Gear smartphone app is even being created to track your stats and ranking for the gym itself. There was no mention in the report about Gym Leaders to defeat or badges to collect.

In the Pokemon series, Gyms are where you go to train your Pokemon before setting out. There are dozens and dozens of these that exist in the Pokemon fiction spread across games and other media.

Be sure to visit Inside Games to see many more images of the Pokemon Expo Gym.

The next major Pokemon game is Pokemon Go, an ambitious-sounding mobile game that challenges players to find, catch, and trade Pokemon creatures in the real world. Its developer, Niantic Labs, recently received $20 million in funding to assist in the game's development.

If you could visit a real-world Pokemon gym what type would you specialize in? Let us know in the comments below.