Yes. In Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, Gym Badges set a level cap for catching ordinary wild Pokémon. The cap starts at level 20, rises by five levels with each of your first seven badges, and disappears after you earn the Dragon Badge.
Wild Pokémon catch limits by badge
The cap is the highest level of wild Pokémon you can catch at your current point in the game. The badge names for the fourth and sixth Gyms differ by version:
| Badges earned | Badge | Highest wild level you can catch |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | None | 20 |
| 1 | Grass | 25 |
| 2 | Water | 30 |
| 3 | Fire | 35 |
| 4 | Fighting in Sword; Ghost in Shield | 40 |
| 5 | Fairy | 45 |
| 6 | Rock in Sword; Ice in Shield | 50 |
| 7 | Dark | 55 |
| 8 | Dragon | No level restriction |
For example, with one badge, the cap is level 25, so a level 30 wild Pokémon is above the limit. You need two badges to catch wild Pokémon up to level 30.
What happens when a wild Pokémon is above your cap?
Some encounters—especially powerful Pokémon in the Wild Area—can be higher-level than your current badge cap. The game describes an over-cap encounter as “very strong-looking” and will not let you throw a Poké Ball at it. The message is: “You can’t throw a Poké Ball! It won’t let its guard down!”
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- Catch, battle, and trade Pokémon on an all-new adventure in the Galar region
- Choose from three new partner Pokémon and encounter never-before-seen Pokémon
- Unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta!
- Team up with other Trainers to participate in Max Raid Battles***!
- Battle wild Dynamax Pokémon in Max Raid Battles and try catching them***
The cap is about catching, not a general level ceiling
This rule determines whether you can catch an over-cap wild Pokémon; it is not a maximum level for Pokémon in general. Catchability is also different from obedience: the catch cap controls whether you can capture the encounter, while obedience concerns how a Pokémon behaves in battle. The catch-cap source does not establish obedience thresholds.
What about Max Raid Battles?
In a Max Raid Battle, defeating a Dynamax Pokémon gives participants a chance to catch it. The official game information describes that catch opportunity but does not specify how the badge-based cap applies to raid encounters, so it does not establish that raids bypass the ordinary wild catch limit.
Rank #2
- New entries in the main series of Pokémon RPGs arrive on Nintendo Switch simultaneously in late 2019
- The Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games take place in the newly discovered Galar Region
- Galar is an expansive region with diverse environments - an idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forest and craggy, snow-covered mountains
- Fans will have the opportunity to visit Gyms in the Galar region in their quest to become Champion
- Newly discovered partner Pokémon join in this new iteration of the games - Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble
How well documented is the exact ladder?
The numeric badge ladder and encounter message are reported by Bulbapedia, a community-maintained reference. The official Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield site provides context about wild encounters in places such as tall grass, caves, and the Wild Area, as well as powerful Pokémon in the Wild Area, but does not publish the complete numeric ladder. Treat the exact thresholds as a specific game-rule reference rather than a table published on the official site.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Nintendo Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass or Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass (Retail Version) - [Switch Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51l34qxMYhL._SL160_.jpg)
- Continue your Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield adventure in The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, two new areas to explore that will be added to the Galar region as part of the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass or Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass
- Redeem your download code in the Nintendo eShop for either the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass or the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass. Upon redeeming the code, you will be prompted to select one Expansion Pass. Only redeemable for one Expansion Pass.
- You'll also see some familiar Pokémon that didn't appear in the Galar region before, a total of over 200 Pokémon
- Part 1: The Isle of Armor is available now; Part 2: The Crown Tundra is scheduled for release during the fall of 2020
- If you purchase the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass or the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass, you'll receive two codes redeemable to get two special uniform sets of in-game apparel as a bonus
Rank #3
- Revisit the Sinnoh region from the original Pokémon Pearl Version game and set off to try and become the Champion of the Pokémon League
- The Pokémon Shining Pearl game brings new life to this remade classic with added features
- Explore the Grand Underground to dig up items and Pokémon Fossils, build a Secret Base, and more.
- Test your style and rhythm in a Super Contest Show
- A reimagined adventure, now for the Nintendo Switch system
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