Marley
| |
| Marley in Diamond and Pearl | |
| Marley | |
| Species | Human |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Relatives | Mai (possible ancestor) |
| Voiced by | Dorothy Fahn (2019) |
| Debut | Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl Versions |
Marley is a Pokémon trainer who appears as a temporary double battle partner in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions, as well as the remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Background[edit]
Marley was a Pokémon trainer who was very reserved with her words, as she was afraid of accidentally hurting others. However, she came to admire Shaymin because of its ability to nicely display gratitude and thus wanted to see the Pokémon for herself. In all the fourth generation games, she appeared in the area of Victory Road that can only be reached after defeating the Elite Four, and she asked Lucas/Dawn to escort her through the remainder of the cave, healing the player's Pokémon after each battle as well due to her belief that Pokémon should not be hurt.
Her intent in navigating Victory Road was to reach the stone tablet on Route 224 that Shaymin was said to visit. When spoken to after a battle, she would admire the player's strength and say that it makes her happy, considering that to be a "strange feeling". She would then awkwardly admit that she liked battling with the trainer a little bit, implying a possible crush. After reaching the end of the cave, she parted ways with the trainer to go ahead to the stone tablet while thanking them for bringing them there. In Platinum, Marley would also appear by the stone tablet during the Shaymin event, and after seeing Shaymin with her own eyes, she thanked the trainer for this opportunity.
Later on, Marley could be found at the Battle Zone where the player could choose her as a partner in double battle challenges of the Battle Tower. In Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, there were no partners available, and Marley could only be battled as an opponent in a double battle where she would be paired with Riley. In Platinum, she would also appear at the Battleground cafe on random days, where the player could challenge her to a battle. She also appeared as a Battle Tower partner at Johto's Battle Frontier in HeartGold/SoulSilver.
Pokémon Roster[edit]
At Victory Road, the only Pokémon Marley uses is Arcanine. I
n Diamond and Pearl, Marley will pick two Pokémon for her team from the following set of Pokémon for the Battle Tower challenge: Arcanine, Dugtrio, Electrode, Starmie, Aerodactyl, Crobat, Sceptile, Swellow, Ninjask and Weavile. In Platinum Marley can choose from the above Pokémon in addition to Arcanine for Battle Tower challenges: Alakazam, Pinsir, Jolteon, Raikou, Floatzel and Ambipom. As a Battle Tower opponent in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, she would use Arcanine and either Aerodactyl or Starmie.
In the Battleground matches in Platinum, she uses the following roster:
- Ninjask
- Weavile
- Electrode
- Crobat
- Arcanine
In Other Pokémon Games[edit]
In Pokémon Masters EX, Marley and her Arcanine appeared as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the Sync Pair Scout feature. Within the game's story events, she appeared in the "Beachside Rivalry" Story Event, where she took orders at Gloria and Marnie's pop-up eatery named Dine-a-Max and also joined Marnie in helping Team Break with their own pop-up eatery. She expressed interest in taking part in Marnie's smiling lessons. Marley also appeared in the "Shining Star" Story Event, where she attended Elesa's fashion show due to admiring her and later approached her for tips on how to be sociable. Marley also appeared as an opponent in Blaine's Sync Pair Story, where she had to be defeated in a one-on-one battle for his Ponyta to evolve.
Other Appearances[edit]
Other Media[edit]
- Marley was featured in an episode of the anime's Diamond and Pearl episodes, where she was escorted an injured Shaymin to a flower field containing Gracideas while being pursued by Team Rocket. Ash and his friends were able to help her get the Shaymin to the field safely after saving her from a river. There Shaymin assumed Sky Forme and defeated Team Rocket, and Marley bid farewell to it as it left.
- She appears in the Platinum arc of the Pokémon Adventures manga, where she is shown to be friends with other Battleground trainers and to have Oak's Letter from the games (the key item for the Shaymin quest). After Buck was hospitalized in battle with Team Galactic, Marley made Shaymin appear, but she was interrupted by an attack from a Team Galactic grunt. After being freed, she joined Palmer's group in entering the Distortion World, where she battled Jupiter of Team Galactic. Following the conflict's resolution, Shaymin chose to stay with Marley.
Trivia[edit]
- Her Japanese name is "Mai", in reference to rice. Her English name may be intended as a play on "barley".
- Each of the five partner trainers in the fourth generation specialize in a different battle stat. Marley's specialty is Speed.
- In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the character of Mai bears a strong physical resemblance to Marley, and she is similarly named after rice (with her English name being the same as Marley's Japanese name). This seems to imply that Mai was an ancestor of Marley.