I guess I should have been clearer about keeping the player from accessing the Eye of Sand until after clearing the 10th Gym. I was thinking it was kind of implied.

The problem with trying to split the gyms perfectly is the difference in number of towns...as of right now, Caldera has 11; Kirant has 9, and that's if you count Aquapolis.

And the Iglonia/Torkoal thing doesn't work very well even with the Eye of Sand. Deserts aren't always hot--the ones in the American southwest actually get pretty cool at night--their defining characteristic is being dry. Fire types wouldn't be too at home in almost all deserts.

@Rel: The Desert of Maine is only 40 acres...and was caused by haphazard farming over several generations. More importantly, Saharan city is supposed to be decent sized, even in modern terms, and veiled by the Eye of Sand. The desert itself would have to be large enough to accomplish that.

Actually, if the Eye of Sand was moved, we could add some kind of magma vent or something as a small (1-2 tiles & a cave) optional late game or postgame area. The Iglonia/Torkoal thing would work better with it.