There are no friendly gyms within comfortable walking distance of my home. I'm starting to think the only way to train my Pokémon might be to battle with the gyms that are available (and I would lose miserablely, often).
Do battles train (benefit) my Pokémon in a way that is comparable to training? (Because from what I see there is no other way to train my Pokémon.) Is there a difference in the amount of XP earned (of you win)?