Pokemon Sword and Shield: ‘You Can’t Throw a Poke Ball, It Won’t Let Its Guard Down’ Explained

Getting the ‘You Can’t Throw a Poke Ball, It Won’t Let Its Guard Down’ message when trying to catch a Pokemon? Here’s what it means.

Guide by Jake Green, Guides Editor

Updated on 26 March 2021

While exploring the Wild Area in Pokemon Sword and Shield, you're likely to encounter some powerful Pokemon, but when trying to catch them you'll get the message ‘you can’t throw a Poke Ball, it won’t let its guard down’. We'll explain below what this message means and how you can get around it to start catching Pokemon again.

On this page:

‘You Can’t Throw a Poke Ball, It Won’t Let Its Guard Down’ in Pokemon Sword and Shield Explained
How to Catch High-Level Pokemon
Gym Badges and Catching Pokemon

‘You Can’t Throw a Poke Ball, It Won’t Let Its Guard Down’ in Pokemon Sword and Shield Explained

If you're seeing the message ‘you can’t throw a Poke Ball, it won’t let its guard down’ in Pokemon Sword and Shield, it's a result of encountering Pokemon in the Wild Area that you don't have a sufficiently high enough gym badge to catch. Whereas in previous games you could catch Pokemon of any level, but having too few gym badges would make them disobedient, now you simply can't catch Pokemon if they're too high level for you, getting the message above.

How to Catch High-Level Pokemon

To make sure you don’t get the ‘Can’t throw a Poke Ball’ message while exploring the Wild Area, you will need to collect more Gym Badges. At the end of each Gym battle you’ll be told the maximum level of Pokemon you can now catch, so keep it in mind while facing new Pokemon.

Gym Badges and Catching Pokemon

Below we've listed out all the gym badges and what Pokemon they'll allow you to catch up to. If you want to start catching Pokemon of a certain level, check the table below and aim for the right gym.

If this message is coming up, you'll need a better gym badge to catch a Pokemon of that level. | *Nintendo*

Gym	Leader/Type	Allows You to Catch Pokemon Up to Level:
Turffield	Milo/Grass	25
Hulbury	Nessa/Water	30
Motostoke	Kabu/Fire	35
Stow-On-Side	Bea/Fighting (Sword) or Allister/Ghost (Shield)	40
Ballonlea	Opal/Fairy	45
Circhester	Gordie/Rock (Sword) or Melony/Ice (Shield)	50
Spikemuth	Piers/Dark	55
Hammerlocke	Raihan/Dragon	100/Max Level

That’s everything on the ‘Can’t Throw a Poke Ball’ message in Sword and Shield. For more on the game be sure to check out our guide on all of the TM Move Locations. There;s also our detailed breakdown on all of the Evolution Stones in the game, and info on getting a Charmander.