Marnie is one of the rival characters in Pokémon Sword & Shield. Here are some hidden details that fans may have missed about this trainer.

Marnie is one of the rival characters in Pokémon Sword & Shield, along with Hop and Bede. While the former is the friendly rival, and the latter the rude and conceited one, Marnie falls into a different category. She's not exactly kind towards the player but she's not cruel either. Stoic but well-mannered, she mostly keeps to herself, except when battling, of course.

Thanks to her unique and fully-fledged personality, Marnie quickly became a fan-favorite character. She specializes in Dark-type Pokémon and puts quite a fight over the course of the games. Still, she remains somewhat mysterious, and there's a lot of things that fans still don't know about her.

10 Her Reasons For Wanting To Become Champion

Every character has their own reasons to want to beat Leon, Galar's Champion. Hop wants to prove himself to his brother, Bede wants to make Chairman Rose proud, and the player wants to be the very best, like no one ever was.

Marnie's reasons are perhaps the least selfish of all. She wants to restore her hometown, Spikemuth. The dilapidated city doesn't have the best reputation, but being the hometown of the Champion would've certainly improved its standing in Galar.

9 Spikemuth, A Rocking Town

And speaking of her hometown, Spikemuth is the second-smallest settlement in Galar. It only has 29 inhabitants, most of which are Team Yell grunts. It is the only leg in the Gym Challenge without a proper Gym or a Power Spot to allow Dynamax.

Spikemuth does have something unique. It houses the only Gym in the entire Pokémon world to specialize in the Dark-type, which is something fans wanted since the type was first introduced way back in Generation II.

8 In The Anime

Marnie appears a few times throughout the Pokémon: Twilight Wings anime, but her role is mostly silent and minimal. She appears in the background in some episodes and takes on a slightly more prominent role in the special episode "The Gathering of Stars," where she receives an invitation from Leon to participate in the Galarian Star Tournament. "The Gathering of Stars" also serves as Twilight Wing's last episode.

She's yet to debut in the main series anime, but it should only be a matter of time.

7 In The Manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Marnie first appears in front of the Galar Mine. She's unable to get in due to a large boulder blocking the entrance and joins forces with Hop and the manga's version of Gloria. Together, their Pokémon attack and destroy the boulder.

Marnie is later seen at Turffield Stadium, where she challenges Milo to a battle. She wins and it is later revealed that Hop and Gloria also won.

6 In The TCG

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Marnie is a Supporter Card, introduced during the English Sword & Shield series. It was later released as both a Full Art card and a Secret card in the Sword & Shield expansion.

It allows both players to shuffle their hand and put it on the bottom of their decks. The user then draws five new cards, while the opponent only draws four.

5 Her Pokémon Team

Marnie keeps all her Pokémon inside Dusk Balls. She runs a Dark-type team but she never gets six Pokémon and is instead stuck with only five. Despite being her closest companion and first Pokémon, Morpeko is her ace only in the earlier battles.

In the Champion tournaments, Grimmsnarl becomes her main Pokémon, It knows Spirit Break, a powerful Fairy-type move which is also its signature move. She Gigantamaxes it, unlike her brother who refuses to Dynamax.

4 Unique In Every Way

Marnie's aloof attitude certainly hides a very interesting and complex personality. She doesn't like following trends, not even if they're well-established. The biggest proof is that, once she becomes a Gym Leader, she's the only one who doesn't use the Trainer class "Gym Leader" when challenged.

When competing in the Gym Challenge, her uniform has the number 960 in it. In Japanese, it can be read as a wordplay that can either translate into "hardship" or "black." Both words fit her to a tee.

3 Set In Her Ways

Throughout the games' events, Marnie hardly changes her expression. Not even when battling her near the plot's climax does she change her stoic and seemingly emotionless demeanor. Apparently, she won't alter her facial expression, not even if she's extremely angry.

In line with her love for the Dark-type, Marnie also holds a darker side. If someone falls from her grace, it's hard for them to come back to her good side. If something sets her off, she'll stay angry for a long time, showing that's she's good at holding a grudge.

2 A Friend For Life

Morpeko is Marnie's first Pokémon, with whom she shares a very special bond. She keeps it outside its Pokéball, proving she considers it more a companion than a Pokémon, much like Ash and his Pikachu.

Morpeko was actually a gift from Marnie's brother, Piers, given to her when she was five. The Pokémon helped Marnie come out of her shell and become more cheerful. Before Morpeko, Marnie used to be timid and "a bit of a crybaby."

1 Always Pursuing Self-Growth

During the post-game, and before Marnie heads back to Spikemuth to fulfill her role as the new Gym Leader, the player finds her for a brief moment in Budew Drop Inn in Motostoke City.

She's in one of the rooms with her Morpeko and is literally practicing how to smile. She does so by pushing the corners of her lips up, seemingly to no avail. When she sees the player, she becomes embarrassed and runs away. It's a cute moment that shows she's capable, or at least willing to continue growing.

NEXT: Pokémon Sword & Shield: 10 Tips For Taking On Milo

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