Badge

This article is about the Gym Badges. For the element in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, see Pokémon League (TCG).

Quake redirects here. For the skill in Pokémon Shuffle, see Skill (Shuffle) → Quake.

Boulder redirects here. For the field obstacle, see Movable boulder.

The contents of this article have been suggested to be split into individual badge articles such as Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge, Thunder Badge, and so on. Please discuss it on the talk page for this article.

Ash with his badges from Unova

A Gym Badge (Japanese: ジムバッジ Gym Badge), commonly referred to as simply a badge (Japanese: バッジ badge), is an item that serves as proof of a Pokémon Trainer's victory in a battle against a Gym Leader at a Pokémon Gym.

Trainers need to collect a certain number of Gym Badges in order to qualify for a region's Pokémon League. Young Trainers usually begin their initial Pokémon journey by traveling from city to city in order to collect them. Badges are small enough to fit easily between one's thumb and index finger and can be pinned to a shirt or kept in a badge case.

Concept and development

Early artwork

A selection of familiar and unfamiliar badges can be seen in early character artwork by Ken Sugimori. It appears that the original concept of badges was more similar to an embroidered patch than the pinned badge they are portrayed as in the anime and subsequent game entries. While some of these patches do resemble badges seen in the final game like the Cascade Badge, the Volcano Badge or even the Rainbow Badge, others don't appear to be based on anything, and may have only been made for the sake of aesthetics, much like real-life embroidered patches, such as Red's "Leaf Badge" or Silver's "Artsy Badge".

Other instances of embroidered "badges" can be seen in the cover art for the Games That Stand Out Collection magazine, with the male Trainer's rock or diamond badge and the female Trainer's teardrop badge, which shares a resemblance to the Cascade Badge. However, given the nature of this illustration (the designs were made specifically for this cover and weren't intended to be used in the franchise), it is likely that these designs were chosen randomly. The latter badge's resemblance to the Cascade Badge was most likely a coincidence, given it is a stylized drop of water.

Effects

Stat boost

In Generations I-III, some badges boost a certain stat or stats of the player's Pokémon. This boost is applied only in internal battles, not link battles. In Generations I and II, the stat or stats are increased by 12.5%; in Generation III, the stat or stats are increased by 10%. This boost does not exist from Generation IV onward.

In Generation I, this boost is reapplied whenever the player's Pokémon's stats are raised or lowered, allowing boosts to be stacked (this stacking effect is lost if the Pokémon levels up). In Generation II, if the attack is a critical hit and the attacker's used offensive stat stage is less than or equal to the opponent's defensive stat stage, all badge boosts are ignored.

Badges by stat boosted
Stat	Indigo League	Johto League	Hoenn League
Attack	Boulder Badge	Zephyr Badge	Stone Badge
Defense	Thunder BadgeRBY Soul BadgeFRLG	Mineral Badge	Balance Badge
Special Attack and Special Defense*	Volcano Badge	Glacier Badge*	Mind Badge
Speed	Soul BadgeRBY Thunder BadgeFRLG	Plain Badge	Dynamo Badge

Note that in Generation I, the game states that the Thunder Badge raises Speed and the Soul Badge raises Defense, but these are not the actual effects caused.

Type boost

In Generation II, every badge boosts the power of the moves of a certain type by 12.5% (1/8), despite never being referenced in the games. The type strengthened matches the type theme of the Gym (for example, Zephyr Badge boosts the Flying type); despite the Viridian Gym no longer having a type theme in Generation II, the Earth Badge boosts Ground-type moves.

These boosts work similarly to the way same-type attack bonus (STAB) boosts work, and are, in fact, calculated in-between weather modifiers and STAB. Just like stat boosts, type boosts are not applied in link battles.

Obedience

Main article: Obedience

Badges affect a Pokémon's behavior. Outsider Pokémon over a certain level will refuse to obey the player without the appropriate badge. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, obedience is determined by the number of badges, not which specific badges the player has. Starting in Legends: Arceus, this applies even to non-outsider Pokémon, but is based on the level the Pokémon was met at when caught (as displayed on the Summary screen), rather than its current level. This prevents a Pokémon from suddenly becoming disobedient once it exceeds a player's current obedience level (listed below), as long as it was caught at or below that level. In Generation IX if a Pokémon is received in a trade, the level at which it was traded instead becomes the level it was met at, even if traded back to its Original Trainer.

In the anime episode The Problem with Paras, Lacy mentioned this when Ash's Charmeleon refused to obey him.

Badges by obedience level

Indigo League Johto League Hoenn League Sinnoh League Unova League Kalos League Galar League Paldea League Up to Lv. 10 No badges No badges No badges No badges No badges Up to Lv. 20 1 badgePE Zephyr BadgeHGSS Stone BadgeORAS Trio BadgeBW Basic BadgeB2W2 No badges No badges No badges Up to Lv. 25 1 badge Up to Lv. 30 Cascade Badge 2 badgesPE Hive Badge Knuckle Badge 2 badges Basic BadgeBW Toxic BadgeB2W2 Bug Badge Grass Badge 2 badges Up to Lv. 35 3 badges Up to Lv. 40 3 badgesPE Dynamo BadgeORAS Insect Badge Cliff Badge Water Badge 4 badges Up to Lv. 45 5 badges Up to Lv. 50 Rainbow Badge 4 badgesPE Fog Badge Heat Badge 4 badges Bolt Badge Rumble Badge Fire Badge 6 badges Up to Lv. 55 7 badges Up to Lv. 60 5 badgesPE Balance BadgeORAS Quake Badge Plant Badge Fighting BadgeSw Ghost BadgeSh Up to Lv. 70 Marsh Badge 6 badgesPE Storm BadgeGSC Mineral BadgeHGSS Feather Badge 6 badges Jet Badge Voltage Badge Fairy Badge Up to Lv. 80 7 badgesPE Mind BadgeORAS Freeze BadgeBW Legend BadgeB2W2 Fairy Badge Rock BadgeSw Ice BadgeSh Up to Lv. 90 Psychic Badge Dark Badge All Pokémon Earth Badge 8 badgesPE Rising Badge Rain Badge 8 badges Legend BadgeBW Wave BadgeB2W2 Iceberg Badge Dragon Badge 8 badges

Catch level limit

In Pokémon Sword and Shield, the player cannot catch wild Pokémon above a certain level without appropriate badges. Such uncatchable wild Pokémon are described as being "very strong-looking" upon encounter, and attempting to use a Poké Ball displays the message, "You can't throw a Poké Ball! It won't let its guard down!"

Badges by catch level
Level Badge Up to Lv. 20 No badges Up to Lv. 25 Grass Badge Up to Lv. 30 Water Badge Up to Lv. 35 Fire Badge Up to Lv. 40 Fighting BadgeSw Ghost BadgeSh Up to Lv. 45 Fairy Badge Up to Lv. 50 Rock BadgeSw Ice BadgeSh Up to Lv. 55 Dark Badge All Pokémon Dragon Badge

HM moves

Main article: HM

While Trainers can teach their Pokémon HM moves and use them in battle, Trainers require the appropriate badge to use them in the overworld in Generations I through IV as well as Generation VI. In Generation V only, badges are not needed to use HM moves in the overworld.

Poké Mart stock

From Generation IV onwards, the number of badges a Trainer possesses affects which items Poké Marts sell. The more badges, the more items that become available for purchase, with more expensive items generally appearing after more badges are obtained.

Generation IV
Poké Ball HGSS: After catching tutorial on Route 29 $200	Great Ball3 badges $600
Ultra Ball5 badges $1200	Potion $300
Super Potion1 badge $700	Hyper Potion5 badges $1200
Max Potion7 badges $2500	Full Restore8 badges $3000
Revive3 badges $1500	Antidote $100
Parlyz Heal $200	Awakening1 badge $250
Burn Heal1 badge $250	Ice Heal1 badge $250
Full Heal5 badges $600	Escape Rope1 badge $550
Repel1 badge $350	Super Repel3 badges $500
Max Repel7 badges $700

Generation V
Poké Ball $200	Great Ball1 badge $600
Ultra Ball5 badges $1200	Potion $300
Super Potion1 badge $700	Hyper Potion3 badges $1200
Max Potion7 badges $2500	Full Restore8 badges $3000
Revive3 badges $1500	Antidote1 badge $100
Parlyz Heal1 badge $200	Awakening1 badge $250
Burn Heal1 badge $250	Ice Heal1 badge $250
Full Heal5 badges $600	Escape Rope1 badge $550
Repel1 badge $350	Super Repel3 badges $500
Max Repel5 badges $700

Generation VI
Poké Ball ORAS: after obtaining Pokédex $200	Great Ball1 badge $600
Ultra Ball3 badges $1,200	Potion $300
Super Potion1 badge $700	Hyper Potion2 badges $1,200
Max Potion4 badges $2,500	Full Restore5 badges $3,000
Revive2 badges $1,500	Antidote XY: 1 badge, ORAS: after obtaining Pokédex $100
Paralyze Heal1 badge $200	Awakening1 badge $250
Burn Heal1 badge $250	Ice Heal1 badge $250
Full Heal3 badges $600	Escape Rope1 badge $550
Repel1 badge $350	Super Repel2 badges $500
Max Repel3 badges $700

Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
Poké Ball $100	Great Ball1 badge $300
Ultra Ball4 badges $500	Potion $200
Super Potion2 badges $700	Hyper Potion4 badges $1,500
Max Potion6 badges $2,500	Full Restore8 badges $3,000
Antidote $200	Burn Heal $300
Ice Heal $100	Awakening $100
Paralyze Heal $300	Full Heal3 badges $400
Revive3 badges $2,000	Escape Rope1 badge $300
Repel1 badge $400	Super Repel3 badges $700
Max Repel5 badges $900	Lure2 badges $400
Super Lure4 badges $700	Max Lure6 badges $900
X Attack1 badge $550	X Defense1 badge $500
X Sp. Atk1 badge $350	X Sp. Def1 badge $350
X Speed1 badge $350	X Accuracy1 badge $950
Dire Hit1 badge $650	Guard Spec.1 badge $700

Generation VIII
Poké Ball After meeting Leon on Route 2 $200	Great Ball1 badge $600
Ultra Ball5 badges $800	Potion $200
Super Potion1 badge $700	Hyper Potion4 badges $1,500
Max Potion7 badges $2,500	Full Restore8 badges $3,000
Antidote $200	Burn Heal $200
Ice Heal $200	Awakening $200
Paralyze Heal $200	Full Heal6 badges $400
Revive $2,000	Repel3 badges $400
Super Repel5 badges $700	Max Repel7 badges $900
Poké Doll2 badges $300

Pokémon League

In the games, in order to enter the Pokémon League and challenge the Elite Four and Champion, the player must have all eight badges from that region (in the case of the Indigo Plateau, either Kanto or Johto; for Paldea, only the badges earned from the Gyms are accepted by the League, as the others are unofficial designs merely meant to resemble the proper badges). In Unova, Kalos, and Generation I, III, and VII Kanto, badges are checked individually through a series of badge Check Gates; in Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Generation II and IV Kanto, badges are checked all at once.

List of badges

Indigo League

In Generations IV and VII, these badges do not affect stats.

Indigo League
Badges: 8	Region: Kanto
Boulder Badge グレーバッジ Gray Badge Pewter City Giver Brock Others in the games None Others in the anime Lola, Flint, and Forrest HM FlashRBYFRLG Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) Attack Basis It is a simple gray octagon. Notes None
Cascade Badge ブルーバッジ Blue Badge Cerulean City Giver Misty Others in the games None Others in the anime Lily, Daisy, and Violet HM CutRBYFRLG Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is in the shape of a light blue raindrop. Notes None
Thunder Badge オレンジバッジ Orange Badge Vermilion City Giver Lt. Surge Others in the games None Others in the anime Visquez HM FlyRBYFRLG Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) DefenseRBY, SpeedFRLG Basis It is in the shape of an eight-pointed gold star with an orange octagon in the center. Notes None
Rainbow Badge レインボーバッジ Rainbow Badge Celadon City Giver Erika Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM StrengthRBYFRLG Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a flower, showing grass, with rainbow colored petals. Notes None
Soul Badge ピンクバッジ Pink Badge Fuchsia City Giver Koga Others in the games JanineGSCHGSS Others in the anime None HM SurfRBYFRLG Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) SpeedRBY, DefenseFRLG Basis It is in the shape of a fuchsia heart. Notes None
Marsh Badge ゴールドバッジ Gold Badge Saffron City Giver Sabrina Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Rock SmashFRLG Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is two concentric golden circles. Notes None
Volcano Badge クリムゾンバッジ Crimson Badge Seafoam Islands Giver Blaine Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM WaterfallFRLG Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) Special Attack & Special Defense* Basis It is red and shaped like a flame with a small pink diamond in the center. Notes None
Earth Badge グリーンバッジ Green Badge Viridian City Giver Giovanni Others in the games BlueGSCHGSS Others in the anime Jessie, James, Meowth, and Agatha HM Rock ClimbHGSS Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a plant, most likely a Sakaki tree, which is where Giovanni's Japanese name comes from. Notes None

Johto League

In Generation IV, these badges do not affect stats.

Johto League
Badges: 8	Region: Johto
Zephyr Badge ウイングバッジ Wing Badge Violet City Giver Falkner Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM FlashGSC, Rock SmashHGSS Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 20HGSS Increased stat(s) Attack Basis It is shaped like a pair of wings. Notes The badge is named after the Greek god of the west wind.
Hive Badge インセクトバッジ Insect Badge Azalea Town Giver Bugsy Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Cut Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a ladybug viewed from above. Notes None
Plain Badge レギュラーバッジ Regular Badge Goldenrod City Giver Whitney Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Strength Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) Speed Basis It is a plain diamond. Notes This badge is not obtainable until after the player talks to Whitney a second time.
Fog Badge ファントムバッジ Phantom Badge Ecruteak City Giver Morty Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Surf Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a wispy ghost. Notes None
Storm Badge ショックバッジ Shock Badge Cianwood City Giver Chuck Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Fly Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70GSC Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a fist. Notes None
Mineral Badge スチールバッジ Steel Badge Olivine City Giver Jasmine Others in the games None Others in the anime Jasmine's colleague HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70HGSS Increased stat(s) Defense Basis It is a steel-colored octagon. Notes None
Glacier Badge アイスバッジ Ice Badge Mahogany Town Giver Pryce Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Whirlpool Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) Special Attack & Special Defense Basis It is a hexagon with a snowflake design. Notes This badge is not obtainable until the player has cleared out Team Rocket HQ. In Generation II, due to a bug, the Special Defense boost is not applied if the (pre-boost) Special Attack stat is in between 206 and 433 (inclusive).
Rising Badge ライジングバッジ Rising Badge Blackthorn City Giver Clair Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Waterfall Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a dragon's face. Notes This badge is not obtainable until the player has explored the Dragon's Den.

Hoenn League

In Generation VI, these badges do not affect stats.

Hoenn League
Badges: 8	Region: Hoenn
Stone Badge ストーンバッジ Stone Badge Rustboro City Giver Roxanne Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Cut Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 20ORAS Increased stat(s) Attack Basis It is shaped like a rectangle with two of its corners more emphasized than the others. Notes None
Knuckle Badge ナックルバッジ Knuckle Badge Dewford Town Giver Brawly Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM FlashRSE Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a boxing glove. Notes None
Dynamo Badge ダイナモバッジ Dynamo Badge Mauville City Giver Wattson Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Rock Smash Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 40ORAS Increased stat(s) Speed Basis It is shaped like a coiled wire. Notes None
Heat Badge ヒートバッジ Heat Badge Lavaridge Town Giver Flannery Others in the games None Others in the anime Mr. Moore HM Strength Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a wisp of fire. Notes None
Balance Badge バランスバッジ Balance Badge Petalburg City Giver Norman Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Surf Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 60ORAS Increased stat(s) Defense Basis It is shaped like two circles, counterbalancing each other or a barbell. Notes None
Feather Badge フェザーバッジ Feather Badge Fortree City Giver Winona Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Fly Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like feathers on a bird's wing. Notes None
Mind Badge マインドバッジ Mind Badge Mossdeep City Giver Tate and Liza Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Dive Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 80ORAS Increased stat(s) Special Attack & Special Defense Basis It is shaped like a heart, with two sides closing in, possibly in reference to how Tate and Liza are twins. Notes None
Rain Badge レインバッジ Rain Badge Sootopolis City Giver Wallace Others in the games JuanE Others in the anime Juan HM Waterfall Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like three raindrops arranged in a triangle. Notes None

Sinnoh League

When badges are touched in the games, they play a single note, and will make a musical C major scale when all eight badges are collected. When a player rubs the stylus across them numerous times to polish them (as they gradually tarnish), they will begin to shine. This process can be continued until four sparkles are visible. The musical notes are also the most clearly defined and accurately tuned when there are four sparkles.

Unlike other generations, it is the number of badges that determines which outsider Pokémon obey the Trainer, rather than the badges themselves (this distinction is important because the order in which the Cobble, Fen, and Relic Badges are obtained differs between Diamond/Pearl and Platinum). For every second badge the maximum level of obeying Pokémon increases (0 badges—level 10; 2 badges—level 30; 4 badges—level 50; 6 badges—level 70; 8 badges—level 100). The number of badges collected also affects the items that the player can purchase in Poké Marts.

Sinnoh League
Badges: 8	Region: Sinnoh
Coal Badge コールバッジ Coal Badge Oreburgh City Giver Roark Others in the games None Others in the anime Byron HM Rock Smash Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a boulder and a Poké Ball combined. It also resembles Roark's hard hat, or possibly a treasure chest. Notes None
Forest Badge フォレストバッジ Forest Badge Eterna City Giver Gardenia Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Cut Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like three trees of a forest, with the trunks whited out. Notes None
Cobble Badge コボルバッジ Cobble Badge Veilstone City Giver Maylene Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Fly Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is reminiscent of bricks or a tatami mat. Notes This is the third badge in Diamond and Pearl, but the fourth in Platinum.
Fen Badge フェンバッジ Fen Badge Pastoria City Giver Crasher Wake Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM DefogDP, SurfPt Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a lake with gray reeds around it or a wave seen from the front, a reference to the type of wetland called a fen. It also resembles Crasher Wake's Mask. Notes This is the fourth badge in Diamond and Pearl, but the fifth in Platinum.
Relic Badge レリックバッジ Relic Badge Hearthome City Giver Fantina Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM SurfDP, DefogPt Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is similar in appearance to a Will-o'-the-wisp or a ghostly aura. It also resembles Fantina's hair. Notes This is the fifth badge in Diamond and Pearl, but the third in Platinum.
Mine Badge マインバッジ Mine Badge Canalave City Giver Byron Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Strength Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like three stones and three pickaxes combined. Notes None
Icicle Badge グレイシャバッジ Glacier Badge Snowpoint City Giver Candice Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Rock Climb Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like an iceberg or two icy mountains. Notes None
Beacon Badge ビーコンバッジ Beacon Badge Sunyshore City Giver Volkner Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Waterfall Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a lighthouse. Notes None

Unova League

Unlike previous badges, the level at which traded Pokémon will obey the player goes up by ten per badge, rather than the previous system of rising twenty levels after every even-numbered badge. They can be polished like Sinnoh's badges, although they do not make different notes when polished at the same level. Instead, the picture of the Gym Leader from whom the badge was earned gets grayer.

In Black 2 and White 2, the badges no longer dull over a period of time, and Sinnoh's notes were reintegrated into the badge screen.

Although badges are not required to use any of the HMs outside of battle, some HMs cannot be obtained until after obtaining certain badges. However, as they are not required, traded Pokémon that have learned an HM move in another game can still use the HM move before acquiring any badges.

Black and White

Unova League
Badges: 8	Region: Unova
Trio Badge トライバッジ Tri Badge Striaton City Giver Cress Others in the games Cilan and Chili Others in the anime Cilan and Chili HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 20 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a bow tie, similar to those worn by the Striaton Gym Leaders. It may also bear a resemblance to an opened pea pod, which contains two large peas; one green and one blue, with a smaller red pea at the center. Notes The Gym Leader who gives the badge is the same one who was battled.
Basic Badge ベーシックバッジ Basic Badge Nacrene City Giver Lenora Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a purple spine of a book. Notes None
Insect Badge ビートルバッジ Beetle Badge Castelia City Giver Burgh Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 40 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a green heart divided into three parts or the wings and body of an insect. Notes None
Bolt Badge ボルトバッジ Bolt Badge Nimbasa City Giver Elesa Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a lightning bolt or a Pikachu or Emolga tail, with an orange crown sticking out of the tip. Notes None
Quake Badge クェイクバッジ Quake Badge Driftveil City Giver Clay Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 60 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a vertical piece of earth, the top half of which has cracked and slid out of place, resembling the result of an earthquake, or as two tectonic plates interacting. Notes None
Jet Badge ジェットバッジ Jet Badge Mistralton City Giver Skyla Others in the games None Others in the anime Miles HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a stylized feather, with a soaring bird at the bottom. Notes None
Freeze Badge アイシクルバッジ Icicle Badge Icirrus City Giver Brycen Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 80 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like three white icicles. Notes None
Legend Badge レジェンドバッジ Legend Badge Opelucid City Giver Drayden Others in the games IrisW Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a dragon's head with the snout pointing downwards, a medieval mace, or a dragon's wing when stretched out. Notes None

Black 2 and White 2

Unova League
Badges: 8	Region: Unova
Basic Badge ベーシックバッジ Basic Badge Aspertia City Giver Cheren Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 20 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a purple spine of a book, similar to those found in libraries. Notes None
Toxic Badge トキシックバッジ Toxic Badge Virbank City Giver Roxie Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a smoke signal with four small purple circles lining up to a poison mark. Notes None
Insect Badge ビートルバッジ Beetle Badge Castelia City Giver Burgh Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 40 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a green heart divided into three parts or the wings and body of an insect. Notes None
Bolt Badge ボルトバッジ Bolt Badge Nimbasa City Giver Elesa Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a lightning bolt or a Pikachu or Emolga tail, with an orange crown sticking out of the tip. Notes None
Quake Badge クェイクバッジ Quake Badge Driftveil City Giver Clay Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 60 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a vertical piece of earth, the top half of which has cracked and slid out of place, resembling the result of an earthquake. Notes None
Jet Badge ジェットバッジ Jet Badge Mistralton City Giver Skyla Others in the games None Others in the anime Miles HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a stylized feather, with a soaring bird at the bottom. Notes None
Legend Badge レジェンドバッジ Legend Badge Opelucid City Giver Drayden Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 80 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a dragon's head with the snout pointing downwards, a medieval mace, or a dragon's wing when stretched out. Notes None
Wave Badge ウェーブバッジ Wave Badge Humilau City Giver Marlon Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a raindrop with waves in it. Notes None

Kalos League

Kalos League
Badges: 8	Region: Kalos
Bug Badge バグバッジ Bug Badge Santalune City Giver Viola Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Cut Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a beetle. Notes None
Cliff Badge ウォールバッジ Wall Badge Cyllage City Giver Grant Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Strength Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 40 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a cliff or a rock climbing wall. Notes None
Rumble Badge ファイトバッジ Fight Badge Shalour City Giver Korrina Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Surf Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like two fists clashing against each other. Notes None
Plant Badge プラントバッジ Plant Badge Coumarine City Giver Ramos Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Fly Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 60 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a leaf, with the veins forming the shape of a plant. Notes None
Voltage Badge ボルテージバッジ Voltage Badge Lumiose City Giver Clemont Others in the games None Others in the anime Clembot HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a shield with bolts shooting out of it. Notes None
Fairy Badge フェアリーバッジ Fairy Badge Laverre City Giver Valerie Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 80 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a vitrail with motifs of fairy or butterfly. Notes None
Psychic Badge サイキックバッジ Psychic Badge Anistar City Giver Olympia Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 90 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a crystal ball emanating smoke. Notes None
Iceberg Badge アイスバーグバッジ Iceberg Badge Snowbelle City Giver Wulfric Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM Waterfall Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a snowflake with an iceberg in the center. Notes None

Galar League

Unlike previous badges, these badges are not pins or kept in a case, but pieces of a gold-colored medallion placed into a metal ring to stay in place. Once all badges are set, the completed reverse side shows the Gym Challenge logo.

Galar League
Badges: 10	Region: Galar
Grass Badge くさバッジ Grass Badge Turffield Giver Milo Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 25 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a stylized leaf of spinach or a leaf floating in the wind. Notes None
Water Badge みずバッジ Water Badge Hulbury Giver Nessa Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 40 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like three water droplets in the shape of a Tomoe or a splash. Notes None
Fire Badge ほのおバッジ Fire Badge Motostoke Giver Kabu Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 35 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a flame. Notes None
Fighting Badge かくとうバッジ Fighting Badge Stow-on-Side Giver Bea Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 60 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 40 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a fist with a trail indicating a punching motion. Notes Exclusive to Pokémon Sword.
Ghost Badge ゴーストバッジ Ghost Badge Stow-on-Side Giver Allister Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 60 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 40 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a will-o'-the-wisp. Notes Exclusive to Pokémon Shield.
Fairy Badge フェアリーバッジ Fairy Badge Ballonlea Giver Opal Others in the games Bede Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 70 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 45 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a stylized fairy or butterfly. Notes None
Rock Badge いわバッジ Rock Badge Circhester Giver Gordie Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 80 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a boulder with cracks in it. Notes Exclusive to Pokémon Sword.
Ice Badge こおりバッジ Ice Badge Circhester Giver Melony Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 80 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like an ice cube. Notes Exclusive to Pokémon Shield.
Dark Badge あくバッジ Evil Badge Spikemuth Giver Piers Others in the games Marnie Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 90 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 55 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a demonic face with horns and a wide, toothy grin. Notes None
Dragon Badge ドラゴンバッジ Dragon Badge Hammerlocke Giver Raihan Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Can catch Pokémon up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis On it is a design shaped like a dragon's face and neck when viewed from the side. Notes None

Paldea

Unlike in previous games, where badges can only be obtained through defeating Gym Leaders, badges in Paldea can be obtained by progressing through the three storylines in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. There are a total of eighteen badges to collect: eight Gym Badges from the Victory Road storyline (which involves defeating Gym Leaders as in previous games), five Star Badges from the ★ Starfall Street ★ storyline (which involves defeating Team Star Bosses), and five Titan Badges (which involves defeating Titan Pokémon) from the Path of Legends storyline. Only the Gym Badges are officially recognized by the Paldea League; the Star Badges were crafted by the leaders of each of Team Star's five squads as symbols of authority within the group, and the Titan Badges were crafted by Arven to commemorate the defeat of the five Titans of Paldea.

Paldea League

The obedience levels listed below are based on the amount of Gym Badges the player has instead of which specific badges they have.

Paldea League
Badges: 8	Region: Paldea
Cortondo Giver Katy Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 25 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Bug type on it. Notes None
Artazon Giver Brassius Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 30 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Grass type on it. Notes None
Levincia Giver Iono Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 35 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Electric type on it. Notes None
Cascarrafa Giver Kofu Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 40 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Water type on it. Notes None
Medali Giver Larry Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 45 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Normal type on it. Notes None
Montenevera Giver Ryme Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 50 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Ghost type on it. Notes None
Alfornada Giver Tulip Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 55 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Psychic type on it. Notes None
Glaseado Giver Grusha Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon Up to Lv. 100 Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Ice type on it. Notes None

Photos

• 

  Katy's badge photo

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  Brassius's badge photo

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  Iono's badge photo

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  Kofu's badge photo

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  Larry's badge photo

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  Ryme's badge photo

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  Tulip's badge photo

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  Grusha's badge photo

★ Starfall Street ★

★ Starfall Street ★
Badges: 5	Region: Paldea
Segin Squad's Base Giver Giacomo Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Dark type overlaid on top of Team Star's logo. Notes Possession of this badge allows the player to make a greater variety of TMs using the TM Machine.
Schedar Squad's Base Giver Mela Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Fire type overlaid on top of Team Star's logo. Notes Possession of this badge allows the player to make a greater variety of TMs using the TM Machine.
Navi Squad's Base Giver Atticus Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Poison type overlaid on top of Team Star's logo. Notes Possession of this badge allows the player to make a greater variety of TMs using the TM Machine.
Ruchbah Squad's Base Giver Ortega Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Fairy type overlaid on top of Team Star's logo. Notes Possession of this badge allows the player to make a greater variety of TMs using the TM Machine.
Caph Squad's Base Giver Eri Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Fighting type overlaid on top of Team Star's logo. Notes Possession of this badge allows the player to make a greater variety of TMs using the TM Machine.

Photos

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  Giacomo's badge photo

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  Mela's badge photo

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  Atticus's badge photo

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  Ortega's badge photo

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  Eri's badge photo

Path of Legends

Path of Legends
Badges: 5	Region: Paldea
South Province (Area Three) Giver Arven Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Rock type on it. Notes Possession of this badge gives the player's KoraidonS/MiraidonV the ability to dash.
West Province (Area One) Giver Arven Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Flying type on it. Notes Possession of this badge gives the player's KoraidonS/MiraidonV the ability to swim.
East Province (Area Three) Giver Arven Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Steel type on it. Notes Possession of this badge gives the player's KoraidonS/MiraidonV the ability to jump higher.
Asado Desert Giver Arven Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Ground type on it. Notes Possession of this badge gives the player's KoraidonS/MiraidonV the ability to glide.
Casseroya Lake Giver Arven Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is a round badge with the icon for the Dragon type on it. Notes Possession of this badge gives the player's KoraidonS/MiraidonV the ability to climb.

Photos

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  Arven's badge photo (Rock)

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  Arven's badge photo (Flying)

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  Arven's badge photo (Steel)

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  Arven's badge photo (Ground)

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  Arven's badge photo (Dragon)

Orange League

These sets of badges only appear in the anime. Trainers must receive these badges from the Orange Crew.

Orange League
Badges: 4	Region: Orange Islands
Coral-Eye Badge サクラバッジ Sakura Badge Mikan Island Giver Cissy Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a tellins shell with a small gemstone on it. Notes Its Japanese name refers to Nitidotellina nitidula (桜貝 sakuragai), a species of tellins.
Sea Ruby Badge シラナミバッジ Shiranami Badge Navel Island Giver Danny Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a giant clam shell with a small gemstone on it. Notes Its Japanese name refers to the maxima clam (白波貝 shiranamigai).
Spike Shell Badge リンボウバッジ Rinbō Badge Trovita Island Giver Rudy Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a triumphant star turban with a small gemstone on it. Notes Its Japanese name refers to the triumphant star turban (輪宝貝 rinbōgai).
Jade Star Badge ルリバッジ Ruri Badge Kumquat Island Giver Luana Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a purple snail shell with a small gemstone on it. Notes Its Japanese name refers to the elongate janthina (瑠璃貝 rurigai), a species of sea snails.

In spin-off games

Pokémon GO

Main article: Gym (GO) → Gym Badges

Pokémon Masters EX

In Pokémon Masters EX, the player must earn five badges from PML Leaders across Pasio before they can qualify for the Pokémon Masters League tournament. According to Erika, each PML badge is handed out by more than one different PML Leader, though the identities of these Leaders are unknown.

Pokémon Masters League
Badges: 5	Region: Pasio
Tranquility Badge カームバッジ Calm Badge Pasio Giver Erika Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis The green hexagon and gold, leaf-like emblem reference Erika's Grass-type specialty. Notes None
Freedom Badge リバティバッジ Liberty Badge Pasio Giver Skyla Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis Resembles a feather, similar to Skyla's badge in the core series, the Jet Badge. Notes None
Patience Badge ペイシェントバッジ Patient Badge Pasio Giver Norman Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis Resembles a tatami door, something seen in Petalburg Gym. Notes The badge is not obtained until the player has defeated some Team Break members.
Harmony Badge ユニティバッジ Unity Badge Pasio Giver Pryce Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a stylized snowflake, referencing Pryce's Ice-type specialty. Notes Pryce must be defeated twice in order for the badge to be obtained.
Pride Badge プラウドバッジ Proud Badge Pasio Giver Hapu Others in the games None Others in the anime None HM None Obeying Pokémon N/A Increased stat(s) None Basis It is shaped like a tall volcano or mountain, in reference to the mountainous Poni Island where Hapu comes from. Notes Hapu gives the badge to the player before battling them.

Pokémon Puzzle League

In Pokémon Puzzle League, in addition to badges, the player can also earn three Elite Medals and two trophies for defeating Elite Four members and Mewtwo.

Boulder Badge	Cascade Badge	Thunder Badge	Rainbow Badge
Soul Badge	Marsh Badge	Volcano Badge	Earth Badge

In the anime

Main series

The Kanto Gym badges in the anime

Ash holding the Iceberg Badge

In the anime, badges signify that a Trainer has succeeded at a particular Gym. If a Trainer earns eight Gym Badges in one region, they are eligible to enter that region's Pokémon League Conference.

Trainers do not necessarily have to win a battle with the Gym Leader in order to earn a badge, and Gym Leaders can be quite lenient about giving out badges. For example, Ash was awarded several badges during the original series because of his kind heart and determination; Misty has berated Ash on several occasions because he did not properly earn all of his Kanto badges, arguing that he really only earned three badges (the Thunder, Soul, and Volcano badges) and the other five badges were given to him on technicalities. In Flint Sparks the Fire!, the Sunyshore Gym was shown to be handing out free Beacon Badges. The Orange Crew all have entire Gym matches devoted to unconventional battling styles.

In The Problem with Paras, Lacy mentioned that some Pokémon will not obey their Trainer if they do not respect them, due to their Trainer lacking in badges. For example, after evolving into Charmeleon, Ash's Charmander began to disobey him, which was only exacerbated upon evolving again into Charizard.

In Kalos, due to Clemont's perception of an ideal challenger of the Lumiose Gym, he programmed the Clembot—the substitute Gym Leader—to throw out challengers who did not have four Kalos League badges. As a result, when Ash attempted to challenge the Gym shortly after arriving in the Kalos region, Clembot acted according to its programming and threw him out. After Clemont reprogrammed the Clembot, he removed the badge restriction, but Ash indicated he would still collect four badges before challenging Clemont himself at the Gym.

Gardenia holding the Forest Badge

Many fellow Trainers that Ash has encountered have been shown to have badges that do not exist in the games, such as Gary earning ten badges in Kanto, indicating that there are more than eight Gyms in each region. Other badges observed in the anime which do not correspond to known badges suggest that there are at least 9 Gyms in Hoenn, 11 in Sinnoh, 14 in Unova, and 11 in Kalos. Despite this, Ash's badge case has frequently had indents specifically shaped for the badges that appear in the games. However, Trainers only need 8 to qualify.

It is also implied in the anime that a Gym Badge serves as a primary ID for a Gym Leader (and probably a secondary ID for a Trainer). Brock has used his Boulder Badge to identify himself in order to clear his name from any accusations of stealing parts from a machine shop in Cerulean City.

Additionally, badges are not the only way to enter the Indigo Plateau Conference. Pokémon Tech, a boarding school for Pokémon Trainers, is an expensive school for children, where moving up a grade is the equivalent of winning two Gym Badges. Upon graduation, students may immediately apply for entry in Kanto's League Conference. Alternatively, Trainers can take the Pokémon League Admissions Exam, which awards a single badge that grants entry to the Indigo Plateau Conference on its own; it is convenient for people whose age, health, or work keeps them from traveling around to collect badges.

Alternative badges in the anime

Badges in Mystery at the Lighthouse

So far, Ash has only obtained badges that are obtainable in the games, with the notable exception of those he obtained in the Orange Islands. Several unknown badges can be seen at the beginning of Mystery at the Lighthouse, while many Trainers Ash has met have had badges that differ from those that are obtainable in the games. This suggests that there are Gyms in locations which do not appear in the games and therefore more than eight Gyms in each region. Trainers with badges not seen in the games include:

Gary

Gary acquired more than the standard eight Kanto League badges, thus leading to confusion as to whether or not there is a fixed number of badges that can be given out in a particular region. By The Battle of the Badge, he is shown to have at least ten badges, only three of which correspond to known Kanto badges, suggesting there are at least fifteen Gyms in Kanto. Incidentally, this would provide one Gym for each of the 15 types at the time.

Otoshi

In addition, before Ash competes in the Indigo League, a Trainer named Otoshi is shown in the episode Bad to the Bone; he owns eight badges, but only shares four in common with Ash; later in the episode another Trainer is seen with eight other completely different badges altogether. In total, Ash, Gary, Otoshi, and the other Trainer display 27 different types of badges, so there must be at least this number of Gyms in Kanto at the time, assuming they are all from the same region. However, Sakura, a Trainer on her journey, was shown to be collecting badges from both Kanto and Johto, so it is unclear what the specific rules are for competing in championship tournaments.

On closer inspection, Otoshi's badges each look somewhat similar to Ash's badges and only differ in size and shape. Similarly, what can be identified as a Soul Badge, Thunder Badge, Marsh Badge, and Volcano Badge slide across the screen every time his Marowak knocks out a Pokémon in his flashback. His badges are in this order from upper-left to bottom-right: Thunder, ? (Rainbow), Cascade, Volcano, Marsh, Soul, Boulder, and Earth. This hints that there may be different varieties of the same badge.

Morrison

At the Hoenn Pokémon League Championship in Saved by the Beldum!, Morrison was shown to have an eighth badge different from Ash's, suggesting that there are at least nine Gyms in Hoenn.

Mismagius

In Ash's dream in Malice in Wonderland, Ash has many badges that haven't been on-screen before, as well as some older badges. Considering it was only a dream, it is possible that some of the badges seen don't exist at all.

Barry

In Barry's Busting Out All Over!, Barry was shown to have three badges. While the Forest Badge and the Mine Badge are no different, Barry has a third badge that is different from the eight Sinnoh badges. In Fighting Ire with Fire!, Barry was revealed to have obtained eight badges already, two more of which are different. This means that there are at least 11 Gyms in Sinnoh. The same unknown red badge that Barry owns is shown at the end of An Old Family Blend!.

Nando

In Last Call, First Round!, Nando was revealed to have acquired seven badges, two of which are unknown. These two badges are the same as two of Barry's unknown badges.

Trip

In Ash Versus the Champion!, Trip revealed all five of the badges he had collected, three of which are unknown and not seen in-game.

Cameron

In Goodbye, Junior Cup - Hello Adventure!, Cameron revealed all seven of the badges he collected, four of which are known and three of which are unknown. Two of those unknown badges are the same as Trip's. Since there are 10 badges in Unova in the games (due to two of them being replaced in Black 2 and White 2), this means that there are at least 14 Gyms in Unova.

Sawyer

In A Fashionable Battle!, Sawyer stated that he had earned one badge. Later, in From A to Z!, he was revealed to have earned four more badges, including three unknown ones, respectively resembling a flame, three bubbles, and a pair of wings. This means there are at least 11 Gyms in Kalos.

Gallery of unidentified badges

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  Gary's ten Badges

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  Otoshi's eight badges

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  An unnamed Trainer's eight unidentified badges

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  Morrison's eighth badge

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  Ash's badges in the dream

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  Barry's eight badges

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  Nando's seven badges

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  Trip's five badges

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  Cameron's badges

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  Sawyer's badges

Non-Gym badges

Several badges have appeared in the anime that are not official Gym Badges.

In the Indigo League, Trainers can take the Pokémon League Admissions Exam, which awards a single badge that can grant them entry into Indigo Plateau Conference on its own, thus replacing the requirement to collect Gym Badges. It is convenient for people whose age, health, or work keeps them from traveling around to collect badges.

During the closing ceremony of Indigo Plateau Conference, all participants are awarded the Pokémon League Badge. However, it is only referred to as a badge in the dub.

For helping the band of Diglett thieves with their facade, the mayor of Diglett Village awarded Ash and his friends with the Silver Wing Badge.

The Trainers who defeat Ryuki, the Leader of the unofficial Kantonian Gym, get a novelty badge featuring his face.

• 

  Pokémon League Admissions Exam Badge

• 

  Pokémon League Badge

• 

  Silver Wing Badge

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  Kantonian Gym Badge

Pokémon Origins

Both Red and Blue earned all eight badges of Kanto by the time of File 3: Giovanni.

• 

  Red's first seven Kanto badges in Pokémon Origins

• 

  Blue's badges in Pokémon Origins

Pokémon Evolutions

In The Rival, Barry was shown defeating Roark and earning the Coal Badge in a flashback. In the present day, he was shown to have collected all eight badges of Sinnoh.

• 

  Sinnoh badges in Pokémon Evolutions

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Sapphire's Hoenn Gym Badges

Platinum's Sinnoh Gym Badges

In Pokémon Adventures, badges have mystical and mysterious qualities that can somehow increase the power of the Pokémon owned by the Trainer who wields the badges, just as the Boulder Badge increases the Pokémon's Attack stat in the games. In addition, badges that don't allow higher leveled Pokémon to obey, such as the Soul Badge, do indeed allow the wearer to control even Legendary Pokémon such as Articuno.

It is not known what sort of material badges are made of, but it has been confirmed that the Gym Leaders each own a badge made of different material than the kind given out to normal Trainers, as that is how the Masked Man's identity was narrowed down to among the 16 known Gym Leaders when Aibo scraped off a part of his hidden badge with his Scratch attack.

Team Rocket used seven Kanto Gym Badges to power a machine that combined Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres into a single beast. The machine also had a secret slot for the Earth Badge, which Lance manipulated to further his own goals by turning Cerise Island into a giant badge energy amplifier to fuel Lugia with.

Badges are not required to enter the Pokémon League tournament; however, without eight badges corresponding to their home region, a Trainer must battle their way in to qualify for the finals. This ruling was introduced during a Pokémon Association meeting in the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc, to give Trainers incentive to challenge Gym Leaders, and remove the perception of badges being seen as tools for evil. In the Black & White arc, a last-minute advancement of the date of the Unova League tournament also restricted the eligible challengers to those with all eight of the region's badges. In the Black 2 & White 2 arc, it was revealed that a Trainer must gather a new set of eight badges if they wish to participate in a Pokémon League tournament again.

Six main characters have actively been collecting Gym Badges: Red, who managed to collect seven Kanto badges (missing the Earth Badge); Sapphire, Platinum, and Black, whom managed to collect all of the badges in their respective regions; Henry, who collected six Galar Gym Badges before withdrawing from the Gym Challenge; and Casey, who managed to collect four Galar badges before losing her Gym Challenge. Other characters have also gathered badges, such as Cheren and Hop. Blue once competed for and won a Boulder Badge, but wasn't seen trying to obtain the other Kanto badges. Silver once stole a badge from each Gym in Johto in order to gain access into the Pokémon League, but later returned them to their respective Gym Leaders.

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

Ash's Orange League badges

Ash's Kanto badges

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Badges work in a way similar to the anime, but there are some minor differences. All badges have the Pokémon League logo printed on them.

In addition, Pokémon Trainers are organized by class, much like Pokémon Tech ("Class D", "Class C", and so forth). Badges increase the rank of the Trainer who owns them. Ash once believed that he could increase his rank by capturing rare wild Pokémon, but this was not the case.

Ash has obtained eight badges from Kanto, but only three (Boulder, Cascade, Earth) actually match known badges, and another three are lookalike badges (resembling the Soul, Marsh, and Volcano). Ash also obtained four badges from the Orange Islands, but none of them match any known badges.

In other media

The Diamond Badge from Pokémon Live!

Pokémon Live!

In Pokémon Live!, Giovanni offered the Diamond Badge to Trainers who would be able defeat his MechaMew2. He gave Ash the Diamond Badge prior to the battle, believing that Ash would never win. However, Ash defeated Giovanni with Mewtwo's assistance, proceeding to give the Diamond Badge to Misty as a belated birthday gift. Pokémon Live! is not in the same canon with the anime, and the Diamond Badge is not mentioned elsewhere in the series.

Project Voltage

In the music video for What Kind of Future, Hatsune Miku is seen holding up a custom Badge with a Leek design.

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Gym Badges in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Gym Badge Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card	Type	English Expansion	Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion	Rarity	#
Brock	T	Gym Heroes		15/132	Nivi City Gym
		Gym Heroes		98/132	Leaders' Stadium
Erika	T	Gym Heroes		16/132	Tamamushi City Gym
		Gym Heroes		100/132	Leaders' Stadium
Lt. Surge	T	Gym Heroes		17/132	Kuchiba City Gym
		Gym Heroes		101/132	Leaders' Stadium
Misty	T	Gym Heroes		18/132	Hanada City Gym
		Gym Heroes		102/132	Leaders' Stadium
Blaine	T	Gym Challenge		17/132	Guren Town Gym
		Gym Challenge		100/132	Challenge from the Darkness
Giovanni	T	Gym Challenge		18/132	Challenge from the Darkness
		Gym Challenge		104/132
Koga	T	Gym Challenge		19/132
		Gym Challenge		106/132	Challenge from the Darkness
Sabrina	T	Gym Challenge		20/132	Yamabuki City Gym
		Gym Challenge		110/132	Challenge from the Darkness
Gym Badge	I				XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY203	XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY204	XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY205	XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY206	XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY207	XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY208	XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY209	XY-P Promotional cards
		XY Black Star Promos		XY210	XY-P Promotional cards

Trivia

The Earth Badge's design in the anime

Official artwork of the Earth Badge

The original badge slots in Ash's Unova badge case

• In the Pokémon Project Studio Red and Blue computer programs, the Soul and Marsh Badges' names are reversed, with the pink heart-shaped badge being the Marsh Badge and the yellow circular badge being the Soul Badge. Several anime and game handbooks also make this same switch. It is possible that there was an initial error in naming the badges in Pokémon Red and Blue. A soul would be more attuned to psychic abilities and one finds poisonous gases in a marsh. However, no official confirmation has ever been given.
• Official artwork of the Earth Badge (featured in media such as Pokémon Project Studio Red and Blue and Extreme Pokémon: The Guide for the Ultimate Fan) differs significantly from its appearance in the games, anime, manga, and TCG. The design in its official artwork resembles a plant, whereas its other design resembles a feather.
• Paldea has the most badges out of any region, at 18, although only eight of those are Gym Badges.
  • It is also the only region to have a badge for every single type.
• The Orange League is the only known Pokémon League with fewer than eight badges.
• It is possible to obtain certain badges in a non-linear order. The most notable examples of this are the badges in the Kanto and Paldea regions.
  • In Generation I and III, the Thunder Badge, Rainbow Badge, Soul Badge, Marsh Badge, and Volcano Badge can be obtained in almost any order the player desires, with the stipulation that the Soul Badge must be obtained before the Volcano Badge, as the Soul Badge is required in order to use Surf on the field, which, in turn, is required to reach Cinnabar Island where the Volcano Badge is obtained.
  • In Generation II and IV, the Kanto badges can be obtained in virtually any order, although in Generation IV the player cannot obtain the Earth Badge until obtaining the other seven.
  • In Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the Boulder and Cascade Badges must each be obtained to progress to the next Gym, and Viridian Gym (Earth Badge) is closed until the player has obtained all seven other badges. Other than these restrictions, the badges can be obtained in any order.
  • In Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, the Knuckle Badge can be postponed until after the Heat Badge, but must be obtained in order to challenge the Petalburg Gym. The Feather Badge is not required until challenging the Elite Four.
    • In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, this is no longer the case, because the southern part of Route 120 is blocked until the player obtains the Feather Badge.
  • In Generation IX, the different badges can be acquired in virtually any order as part of the open world design.
• In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the Earth Badge is the only badge that doesn't allow the use of an HM outside of battle, while in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver it is the only Kanto badge that does.
• The Rainbow Badge's colors correspond with the colors of all the other Kanto badges, explaining the colors in its design.
• In the code of the Generation I games, items named for each badge can be found. The items named BoulderBadge and CascadeBadge allow players to throw bait and rocks, respectively, at Pokémon outside of the Safari Zone when used in battle. The other "badge items" have no known purpose, simply displaying Professor Oak's "This isn't the time to use that!" message when trying to use them.
• The Basic Badge is the only badge to be given out by more than one Gym.
• The Rising Badge is the only badge the player receives outside of its respective Gym.
• The Legend Badge is the only badge from a region where Ash has competed for Gym Badges that has not appeared in the anime.
  • When Ash initially got his Unova badge case in Minccino—Neat and Tidy!, the slots in it were made to fit each badge in Pokémon Black and White, but they later became circular to accommodate the Toxic Badge.
• Ash has not won a badge in the same episode as his first encounter with its respective Gym Leader since earning the Dynamo Badge from Wattson in Watts with Wattson?.
• The Rain Badge is the only badge that Ash has earned twice, first earning one from Juan in Eight Ain't Enough, and later receiving a second one from Wallace after defeating him in Reuniting for the First Time!.
• In Alola, Gyms and badges are not present. Instead, the player receives Z-Crystals for completing their trials and grand trials, which replace badges on the save file and for unlocking new items at the Poké Mart (the latter for Z-Crystals from trials only). Additionally, grand trial completion Stamps are used to ensure obedience.
  • This makes Alola the only region where the player cannot have all outsider Pokémon regardless of level obey them prior to becoming Champion.
  • In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the player can receive an unofficial badge known as the Surge Badge by defeating the leader of the Kantonian Gym in Malie City. Although it is purely a novelty item and serves no practical purpose, its design and Japanese name are direct references to the Thunder Badge, while its English name is also a reference to Lt. Surge.
• Galar is the only region with version-exclusive Gym Badges.

Name origin

• Several Ice-type badges have caused a line of naming conflicts, starting with Mahogany Gym's Glacier Badge (アイスバッジ Ice Badge).
  • Snowpoint Gym's Icicle Badge is originally called the グレイシャバッジ Glacier Badge.
  • Icirrus Gym's Freeze Badge is originally called the アイシクルバッジ Icicle Badge.
  • Conversely, Circhester Stadium's Ice Badge^Sh has its English name conflict with the Japanese name of the Glacier Badge, although its own Japanese name こおり is the Japanese translation of "ice", rather than a transcription of the English word.
• With the exception of the Rainbow and Rising Badges, all badges in Kanto and Johto were renamed for audiences outside of Japan. All Hoenn League badges keep their Japanese names, as do Sinnoh League badges, with the exception of the Icicle Badge, as mentioned above.
  • The Japanese names of the Kanto badges are all colors, following the color pattern for the town and city names. In the case of Celadon City, the Rainbow Badge is likely a reference to the city's namesake in Japanese being the jewel beetle with its wings featuring an iridescent appearance.
• The Trio and Insect Badges are the first badges since the Glacier Badge in Generation II to get renamed in the English version of the games, without there being a localization conflict between the Japanese and English versions.
  • The Insect Badge is one of two badges whose English name coincides with the Japanese name of a pre-existing badge, in this case the Hive Badge. The other is the Ice Badge, mentioned above.
• All badges in Galar and Paldea are named directly after their corresponding types.
  • Consequently, Kalos has a Fairy Badge (フェアリーバッジ) in addition to Galar and Paldea, making them the only badges to share a name with each other in both English and Japanese.
• The Storm Badge's English name may be derived from the lucha libre wrestler Fray Tormenta—also the inspiration for Crasher Wake—whose name translates as "Friar Storm".

In other languages

Language Title Bulgarian Значка Znachka Chinese Cantonese 聖章 Singjēung Mandarin 徽章 Huīzhāng Czech Odznak Danish Salmærke* Emblem* Træningsbadge* Finnish Ansiomerkki* Salimerkki Arvomerkki / Rintamerkki Kouluttajamerkki* French Canada Écusson* Europe Badge German Orden Greek Έμβλημα Émvlima Hebrew תג Tag Indonesian Lencana Italian Medaglia Korean 배지 Badge Norwegian Brikke Polish Odznaka Portuguese Brazil Insígnia Portugal Crachá Romanian Insignă Russian Значок Znachok Spanish Latin America Medalla Insignia (BW013) Prenda (EP009) Spain Medalla Swedish Gym Badge* Gymnål* Rocknål* Pokémonnål* Pokémontränarnål* Emblem* Gymmärke* Bricka* Turkish Rozet Nişan Vietnamese Huy hiệu

Related articles

• Badge sequence
• Award items
• Episodes in which Ash gets a Badge

This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.