Chapter six: the Glimwood Tangle, plunged into permanent darkness, then the town of Ballonlea and the “audition” of Opal, the Fairy-type Gym Leader.
The Glimwood Tangle
The forest stretches east of the Stow-on-Side Stadium. Before you earn the fourth Badge, Team Yell grunts block the way. It is always dark there, so much so that you cannot tell day from night: only the glowing mushrooms light the path. It is also the only place in Galar where no Pokémon are visible in the tall grass: they are all hidden.
You can meet Morgrem, Shiinotic, Hattrem, Phantump, Sinistea, Passimian (Sword) or Oranguru (Shield), Swirlix (Sword) or Spritzee and Galarian Ponyta (Shield), and Indeedee, male in Sword, female in Shield.
Items: TM24 between a root and a ledge, TM56 at the very back next to a glowing mushroom, two Full Heals near the big rock at the first bend and a Luminous Moss behind the Trainer with the Indeedee.
Ballonlea
North of the forest, Ballonlea looks like a fairy-tale village, with its half-timbered houses surrounded by huge trees and glowing mushrooms. Several residents offer items:
- an old lady, in the second house to the east, gives you TM77 (Sword) or TM42 (Shield), the TM of the Stow-on-Side Gym Leader from the other version;
- the old man Basile, in the first house on the right, trades a Choice Scarf for the Old Letter, which a little girl gives you in Hammerlocke;
- the breeder Évelyne hands over an Eviolite after a battle;
- a man gives you TM78 if you wear the Fire track jacket, sold in Hammerlocke.
The Ballonlea Stadium
The mission: an audition
Opal wants to retire and is looking for a successor. Her mission is an audition: you battle her three Trainers. At the end of the first turn of each battle, your opponent asks you a question. A right answer raises some of your Pokémon’s stats; a wrong one lowers them.
The battle against Opal
The audition continues during the battle: Opal herself asks questions on certain turns. For the last one, about her age, the right answer is “88 years old”… but Opal would rather be told “16 years old.”
| Pokémon | Level | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Galarian Weezing | 36 | Sludge, Fairy Wind, Tackle |
| Mawile | 36 | Draining Kiss, Crunch, Iron Defense, Astonish |
| Togekiss | 37 | Draining Kiss, Ancient Power |
| Alcremie (Gigantamax) | 38 | Draining Kiss, Acid Armor, Sweet Kiss |
Poison and Steel types are effective against Fairy Pokémon; beware of Mawile, however, a Steel/Fairy type that is mostly weak to Fire and Ground. Gigantamax Alcremie can heal its side.
Rewards: the Fairy Badge, 6,080 Poké Dollars and TM87 (Draining Kiss). In the lobby, a child trades a Yamask for a Galarian Yamask. The Ball Guy gives you a Love Ball.
After this fifth Badge, Bede resurfaces: Opal intercepts him to put him through an audition of his own. An ominous tremor sends Sonia and Leon to investigate.
