What do all of the Gym Leader jersey numbers mean in Pokémon Sword and Shield?

Old pager numbers make for a nice easter egg in the game.

Because the Gym Challenge in Pokémon Sword and Shield is based on competitive sports tournaments, all of the competitors are required to wear jerseys with individual numbers on them. But Game Freak has spiced up the tradition by making all of the Gym Leaders’ numbers into slight puns. 

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As a player, you can put in whatever number you want within three digits to customize your own jersey and give it a special meaning. Similarly, all 12 trainers in the game, including rivals and leaders, have a unique set of three numbers on their jerseys. Each is based on Japanese wordplay that portrays a characteristic of either their character traits or the element they represent. Most of them are very simple, while a few actually get pretty deep with their meaning. 

YouTuber Gaijinhunter recognized the trend and translated each number into the proper format and the digits into the English meaning on Twitter.

Gym LeaderTypingNumberMeaning
MiloGrass831Veggie
NessaWater049Swim
KabuFire187Spark
Bea (Sword)Fighting193Fight/War
Allister (Shield)Ghost291Detest
OpalFairy910Cute
Gordie (Sword)Rock188Rock Wall
Melony (Shield)Ice361Cold
PiersDark061Bad
RaihanDragon241Strong

This method of breaking down numbers can also be applied to the three rivals in the game, Bede, Marnie, and Hop, who also have three-digit numbers on their uniforms. Though since neither of them is a Gym Leader, at least at the start, the meanings do not pertain to a specific type, but only to their character traits. 

RivalNumberMeaning
Bede908Clever/To Do
Marnie960Hardship/Bother
Hop189 Leap

The same logic can’t be applied to Leon since his jersey just has the number one on it, but that is pretty self-explanatory considering he is the undefeated Galar Champion.


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Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.