It took me 7 hours to finally get the first gym. I caught all the Pokémon I was able to catch and explored the wild area, few raids. I was level 20 when I got to the first gym and my surprise was that the gym was level 20 as well! Usually the first gym is 14 maybe 16. You can play this game really fast or slow. I'm trying to catch all the Pokémon I can while doing the story. This makes the game feel so much more. I like it a lot, especially raiding with my friends. You really need to try this game out, at least 2 or 3 hours to get an idea the tone and feel of the game.