Marnie

Marnie in Sword and Shield: rival, then Gym Leader

Marnie is one of the player's three rivals in Pokémon Sword and Shield, alongside Hop and Bede, and she battles with Dark-type Pokémon. She joins the Gym Challenge hoping to bring life back to her run-down hometown of Spikemuth. Her first Pokémon, a Morpeko that her brother Piers caught and gave her when she was five, follows her around outside battle, and she is trailed everywhere by Team Yell, her cheering squad, whose members turn out to be the Spikemuth Gym's own trainers.

Piers is Spikemuth's Gym Leader. The player faces Marnie as their first opponent in the Champion Cup semifinals at Wyndon Stadium, where she Gigantamaxes the newest member of her team, Grimmsnarl. After the player becomes Champion, she accepts Piers's offer and takes over as Spikemuth's Gym Leader, awarding the Dark Badge. In the animated series she battles Ash in the World Coronation Series and loses, though the match draws new attention to Spikemuth.

Marnie on cards: the Supporter, then the team

Marnie's Supporter arrived with the Sword & Shield base set (February 2020): each player puts their hand on the bottom of their deck, then the Marnie player draws five cards and the opponent draws four. The set printed it as a Holo Rare, a full art Ultra Rare and a rainbow Secret Rare numbered 208, above the set's 202-card total, all illustrated by kirisAki, who also drew the Champion's Path (2020) reprint. Two Marnie promos, SWSH120 and SWSH121, belong to the Sword & Shield Black Star Promo series, and Brilliant Stars (2022) added a second Supporter, Marnie's Pride, as an Uncommon and a full art Ultra Rare by Souichirou Gunjima.

Destined Rivals (2025) gave her a full team of Pokémon cards: Marnie's Purrloin, Liepard, Scraggy, Scrafty, Impidimp, Morgrem, Morpeko and the Double Rare Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex, following an earlier Marnie's Morpeko issued as a Scarlet & Violet Black Star Promo. Ascended Heroes (January 2026) added a Special Illustration Rare Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex by Ligton.

How collectors approach Marnie's cards

Marnie's run divides almost evenly between two eras. In Sword & Shield she is a Supporter, and kirisAki's art covers all four printings of her original card, from the Holo Rare to the rainbow Secret Rare. In Scarlet & Violet she becomes a Dark-type team, and the high-rarity treatment moves to Grimmsnarl ex, the Pokémon she Gigantamaxes in the games.

Cards to know

• Marnie (Sword & Shield #200)

  The full art Ultra Rare of her original Supporter, illustrated by kirisAki.

• Marnie (Sword & Shield #208)

  The rainbow Secret Rare of her Supporter, numbered above the set's 202-card total.

• Marnie's Pride (Brilliant Stars #171)

  The full art Ultra Rare of her second Supporter, illustrated by Souichirou Gunjima (2022).

• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex (Destined Rivals #136)

  The Double Rare ex at the head of her Destined Rivals team.

• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex (Ascended Heroes #287)

  A Special Illustration Rare by Ligton, from Ascended Heroes (2026).