The Sigil Ladder
The eight gyms, the catch gates that open them, flat-level battles, how the level cap works, and the /cap command.
Arcadia is built around a classic gym climb called the Sigil Ladder. You beat the gyms in order, each one awards a Sigil (Arcadia’s badge), and every win raises your level cap. Because gym battles are fought at a flat level, any team you love can compete, the climb is about strategy, not grinding levels.
Two things open each gym
To challenge a gym you need both:
- The previous Sigil. You cannot skip ahead, the ladder is climbed one rung at a time.
- A total-catches gate. Each gym asks for a minimum number of lifetime catches before it will let you in. “Total catches” means every Pokemon you have ever caught, with any ball, it is not your Pokedex species count and not what is sitting in your PC. It rewards actually playing the region.
The ladder
| Gym | Town | Warden | Type | Battle level | Catches to enter | Cap after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mossgrove | Warden Bramble | Grass | 12-15 | 5 | 25 |
| 2 | Silkwood | Warden Loom | Bug | 18-21 | 15 | 30 |
| 3 | Cinderfall | Warden Cinder | Fire | 25-28 | 30 | 38 |
| 4 | Tidehaven | Warden Maren | Water | 32-36 | 50 | 46 |
| 5 | Cragstone | Warden Crag | Rock / Ground | 40-44 | 75 | 54 |
| 6 | Arclight City | Warden Ion | Electric | 48-52 | 100 | 62 |
| 7 | Skyreach Isle | Warden Zephyr | Flying / Dragon | 56-60 | 130 | 80 |
| Champion | Arc Spire | Arc Champion Vael | Mixed | 66-70 | 150 | 100 |
Before your first gym your cap is 20. Beating Mossgrove raises it to 25, and so on up the ladder. The Champion at the Arc Spire needs all seven Sigils plus 150 total catches, and beating Vael awards the Arc Crest and lifts your cap to the max of 100.
How the level cap works
Your Pokemon can only level up to your current cap. When they hit it, they stop gaining XP until you beat the next gym. This keeps every gym a real fight instead of a walkover, and the cap applies everywhere you go, in every world, because it follows your account, not the map.
Type /cap any time to see:
- your current level cap,
- how many Sigils you have earned,
- and exactly what raises it next.
Your cap also shows on the sidebar as you play. When your team caps out, that is your cue to head to the next gym.
Why is my Pokemon stuck?
A Pokemon that will not gain XP has reached your level cap. That is intended. Beat the next gym on the ladder
and the cap rises for your whole team at once. /cap always tells you what to do next.
Flat-level gyms
Every gym battle is fought at the gym’s own battle level (the range in the table). Bring an over-leveled team and it is scaled down to match, so a maxed team can never steamroll an early gym. Under-leveled Pokemon are not scaled up: they fight at their real level, so train your team toward the gym’s level before you challenge it. Winning comes down to types, movesets, and strategy. See Cobblemon Basics for how type matchups work.
Gyms unlock more than levels
The ladder gates the biggest systems in Arcadia:
- Cragstone (Gym 5) grants your Key Stone and Mega Bracelet automatically, the start of Mega Evolution.
- Arclight City (Gym 6) unlocks Legend Trials, the earned path to a legendary.
- Silkwood (Gym 2) opens the way to The Frontier, Arcadia’s survival world.
Climb the ladder and the whole region opens up.