I remember you said there were no humans. So with that in mind what happened to the gym leaders who ran establishments like the Striaton gym leaders?
Since battling and whatnot in my universe is basically held for sport and prestige as per the canon, gyms basically function the same but instead of sending ‘mons out to battle, the pokepeople literally participate in the fight themselves.
Take Volkner for example from diamond/pearl. He could literally be translated into like a jolteon and his “team” could be basically made of his top tier buddies/employees who fight whoever comes up to take the challenge. As a pokemon, Volkner himself could fight as well. Apply said possibilities to other gym leaders/elite four/etc.
Now of course, someone could totally fight all the leaders by themselves or with a team like in the canon~
