Marley: The Sinnoh Partner Whose Whole Team Runs on Speed

She's waiting at the far end of Victory Road, and not to battle you. Sinnoh has five partner Trainers, characters who join the player's team instead of standing in their way, and Marley is one of them. Reserved to the point of seeming aloof, she stands out above all for an obsession with team building: for her, everything comes down to Speed.

Contents

• An Encounter Reserved for Advanced Players
• A Whole Team Built on Speed
• The Mobile Game, One Episode and a First Card
• A Grain-Inspired Name and a Sense of Déjà Vu
• Marley at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

An Encounter Reserved for Advanced Players

You won't run into Marley on the road to the Badges. She waits at the very end of Victory Road, behind a passage that another character keeps closed: the tunnel only opens once you've obtained the National Pokédex, which automatically puts her in the late-game content of Diamond and Pearl.

What she asks for isn't a battle but an escort: she wants to make it through the tunnel to catch a glimpse of the Pokémon that circles above a stone tablet on Route 224. The player has nothing to gain by beating her, and everything to gain by walking alongside her.

That's the whole idea behind the partner Trainers of Sinnoh: they take the place of an ally, not an obstacle. Marley is the most reserved of them, the one who makes her request without ever raising her voice.

A Whole Team Built on Speed

Once the escort is over, she becomes a playable ally: in Multi Battles at the Battle Tower, she's one of the teammates you can pick — in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum as well as in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Her team isn't fixed — several different Pokémon can show up in it — but her selection criterion never changes: she only picks species with a very high Speed stat. Her profile lists her favorite Pokémon as an Arcanine, the very one that travels with her on Victory Road.

You can also battle her, but late and outside the main story: at the Battleground in the Survival Area, in Platinum, alongside Gym Leaders, and later in Master Class Double Battles at the Battle Tower in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, where she teams up with Riley.

🔥 Marley's favorite Pokémon has a shelf of its own: see the section dedicated to Pokémon figures.

The Mobile Game, One Episode and a First Card

The mobile game added her at launch and has since given her two outfits. Her canonical version battles as a sync pair with Arcanine; her outfit from the 2025 Valentine's season pairs her with a Shaymin in its Land Forme.

The descriptions that come with these versions capture the heart of the character: what people take for mystery is really just shyness, and her attachment to people and Pokémon alike is presented as what drives her. The festive variant shows her offering a bouquet, having befriended a Shaymin that's just as timid as she is.

Elsewhere, her appearances don't amount to much: a late episode of the Diamond & Pearl series, in which she has to escort a Shaymin to a flower field, and a first card in the Diamond & Pearl Stormfront expansion, released in France on May 15, 2009.

A Grain-Inspired Name and a Sense of Déjà Vu

Players of Pokémon Legends: Arceus find her strangely familiar, and with good reason: Marley looks a lot like Mai, a character from that game. The resemblance doesn't stop at the face.

Both names actually draw on the same vocabulary, that of cereal grains: barley for Marley, rice for Mai (mai is a Japanese word for rice). The series is used to these echoes in its naming, but nothing official has ever linked the two Trainers: for now, the resemblance remains a coincidence.

Marley at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where do you find Marley in the Sinnoh games?
  At the very end of Victory Road, behind a passage that another character keeps closed. Getting there requires the National Pokédex, after which you have to escort her through the tunnel to Route 224.
• What Pokémon does Marley use?
  Her profile lists Arcanine as her favorite Pokémon. The rest of her team varies from one battle to the next, with a single selection criterion: a very high Speed stat.
• Can you battle Marley instead of having her as a partner?
  Yes, in two cases: at the Battleground in the Survival Area, in Platinum, and in Master Class Double Battles at the Battle Tower in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, alongside Riley.
• Does Marley appear in the anime?
  Once, in a late episode of the Diamond & Pearl series. Her mission there is to bring a Shaymin to a flower field.
• Why does Marley look like Mai?
  The two characters look very much alike, and both of their names evoke a cereal grain: barley and rice. However, no official link between them has ever been confirmed.

In short

Marley only appears in a handful of scenes, and yet she's perfectly easy to read: a Trainer too shy to ask for help in anything but a whisper, and a strategist who only recruits whatever strikes first. Sinnoh's late-game content is full of characters like her, the kind you only meet if you go looking. The reward isn't a Badge; it's an ally.