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Pokemon GO's gym attack/defense system works well for the most part, but there's one major issue when it comes to defending a gym. Specifically, Pokemon are stuck in the gym until they lose all of their motivation (represented by a heart) and are defeated in battle.
Recently, Redditor u/RedNinja629 noted that this could be a problem, as Pokemon won't return to players in some circumstances. In areas where not many people play Niantic's mobile game, there aren't many trainers who will attack a gym and remove defenders. This leaves the defenders' motivation to remain empty but prevents them from returning to their trainer.
It's a flaw that trainers, particularly those in remote or rural areas, have called for Niantic to fix for quite a few years now.
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Pokemon GO players discuss the need for a recall function for gym defenders
RedNinja's post showed that they had reached the maximum number of creatures that can be placed as gym defenders in Pokemon GO (20) since gym attackers weren't booting out their Pocket Monsters. Despite calls for help from Niantic, several players have ostensibly lost access to some of their Pokemon since they have to wait for other trainers to remove their creatures from gyms.
This has been a sticking point for players in areas with a low population, where Pokemon GO players are spread incredibly thin or virtually non-existent. Trainers have called for a new feature that allows gym defenders to be recalled for some time, but Niantic has yet to implement anything of the sort. For some players, this is a sign that the developer isn't concerned with rural trainers.
While Niantic has made some tangible improvements to rural areas since Pokemon GO's release in 2016, many trainers have pointed out lingering issues. Player u/Uscmissinglink pointed out that even though they lived in a moderately populated city, their gym defenders weren't being forced out, and therefore, they'd lost access to many of their Pokemon.
RedNinja remarked that they were pleased that more Pokemon GO gyms had been introduced in India but that they were stuck in a bind since people in their town/city didn't play the game. Without trainers actively attacking gyms, RedNinja's Pokemon have spent almost a year defending gyms without the ability to be reclaimed, something that many fans have fallen victim to over the years.
Some Pokemon GO fans were confused as to how RedNinja could place so many Pokemon in gyms so quickly in sequence, leading some of them to suggest that RedNinja was spoofing in Pokemon GO, tricking the game with fake location data - to access rural gyms rapidly.
However, it's important to note that some countries and remote areas do cluster gyms together, so it's unclear as to whether RedNinja was spoofing.
To make matters worse, most players defend gyms to accumulate Pokecoins without spending real-world money. Unfortunately, players can only accumulate a maximum of 50 each time they place a Pokemon in a gym. This means the defending Pokemon RedNinja placed are there for no real reason at all.
Fans have speculated that as Pokemon GO loses popularity, this lack of a recall system for gyms will only become a larger problem. Many rural communities that once played the title have dwindled. There may come a time when the only viable locations where gym defense works as intended are mid-level or major cities where the game is kept alive by the most dedicated players.
Unfortunately, short of creating another account and forcing the gym defenders out on their own (considered cheating by Niantic), there may not be much that RedNinja can do.
Trainers have hoped for the ability to recall their Pokemon early from gyms. However, the calls for help have fallen on deaf ears so far, and there isn't any indication that Niantic is making a change.
