Appendix:Sword and Shield walkthrough/Section 11

Glimwood Tangle

With Bea/Allister and Bede defeated, your Gym Challenge continues in Ballonlea. You’ll need to venture through the Glimwood Tangle to get there. Take the path heading east from Stow-on-Side stadium and you’ll reach an eerie, dimly lit forest filled with luminous mushrooms. There’s a new batch of Pokémon to catch here, although it can be difficult to navigate through. Don’t worry if you get lost - you can interact with the mushrooms to gain some extra light. Some of these will also cause encounters with Impidimp and Morgrem. There’s some useful items to pick up along the way, including a couple of TMs and a handy Bright Powder. Head right at the first T-junction, follow the path round, then stick to the right-hand wall for the quickest path through the woods to arrive in Ballonlea.

Items

Items

Item Location Games Bright Powder West of the first crossroads, down the path south of Cook Derek  Sw  Sh  Full Heal ×2 East of the first crossroads (hidden)  Sw  Sh  Big Root Down the eastern path, next to a tree root  Sw  Sh  TM24 (Snore) In a dead end west of the Daring Couple  Sw  Sh  Hyper Potion ×2 Southwest of the northern exit  Sw  Sh  Luminous Moss On a ledge along the path near Madame Judy (hidden)  Sw  Sh  TM56 (U-turn) On a ledge at the end of the path near Madame Judy  Sw  Sh

Pokémon

Hidden encounters

Available Pokémon

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Ponyta Galarian Form Sw Sh Grass 34-36 10% Spritzee Sw Sh Grass 34-36 10% Swirlix Sw Sh Grass 34-36 10% Phantump Sw Sh Grass 34-36 10% Shiinotic Sw Sh Grass 34-36 20% Shiinotic Sw Sh Grass 34-36 15% Oranguru Sw Sh Grass 34-36 9% Passimian Sw Sh Grass 34-36 9% Sinistea Phony Form Sw Sh Grass 34-36 10% Sinistea Antique Form Sw Sh Grass 34-36 1% Hattrem Sw Sh Grass 34-36 15% Hattrem Sw Sh Grass 34-36 10% Morgrem Sw Sh Grass 34-36 20% Indeedee Male Sw Sh Grass 34-36 5% Indeedee Female Sw Sh Grass 34-36 5% A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Curry encounters

Available Pokémon

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Morgrem Sw Sh Curry 34-36 7.94% Shiinotic Sw Sh Curry 34-36 8.93% Morgrem Sw Sh Curry 34-36 9.01% Shiinotic Sw Sh Curry 34-36 9.01% Ponyta Galarian Form Sw Sh Curry 34-36 9.93% Hattrem Sw Sh Curry 34-36 9.93% Phantump Sw Sh Curry 34-36 9.93% Sinistea Phony Form Sw Sh Curry 34-36 9.93% Spritzee Sw Sh Curry 34-36 9.93% Hattrem Sw Sh Curry 34-36 10.14% Oranguru Sw Sh Curry 34-36 10.17% Indeedee Female Sw Sh Curry 34-36 11.17% Phantump Sw Sh Curry 34-36 11.27% Swirlix Sw Sh Curry 34-36 11.27% Sinistea Phony Form Sw Sh Curry 34-36 11.27% Passimian Sw Sh Curry 34-36 11.55% Sinistea Antique Form Sw Sh Curry 34-36 12.16% Indeedee Male Sw Sh Curry 34-36 12.68% Sinistea Antique Form Sw Sh Curry 34-36 13.80% A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Wanderers

• There are two Impidimp seen hiding behind luminescent mushrooms, and are encountered when interacting with them. One is near the entrance, the other is near a dead end to the east, just before Cook Derek. They respawn every time when exiting and re-entering the area.
• Morgrem is located to the left of Madame Judy, behind a large tree. It does not respawn.

Available Pokémon
Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Impidimp Sw Sh Wanderer 31 N/A Morgrem Sw Sh Wanderer 38 One A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Trainers

Trainers
Trainer Pokémon Cook Derek ケンサク Kensaku Reward: $4,080 Milcery♀ Lv.33 No item Sinistea Phony Form Lv.33 No item Shiinotic♀ Lv.34 No item Daring Couple Robert and Jacqueline ユウタとミレイ Yūta and Mirei Reward: $7,344 Ninetales♂ Lv.34 No item Kirlia♀ Lv.34 No item Madame Judy メグミ Megumi Reward: $6,600 Indeedee♂ Male Lv.33 No item Indeedee♂ Male Lv.33 No item

Ballonlea

Ballonlea is one of Galar's smaller settlements, with Ballonlea Stadium as the main feature. It’s worth stopping to look around and chat, as you can easily miss things otherwise. The man who wants to be a Pokémon by the pile of wood gives you an Acrobatics TM if you wear the Fire-type uniform you received as a reward for defeating Kabu's Gym and the Fire-type tracksuit jacket from the boutique found in the west of Hammerlocke. An elderly lady in one of the houses gives you the TM that Stow-on-Side's Gym Leader would have gifted in the other version to yours - this means you’ll receive Hex in Sword and Revenge in Shield. You can also obtain an Eviolite, a held item that boosts the defense and special defense of Pokémon that can still evolve, after defeating Breeder Elena and her Dottler.

Items

Items

Item Location Games TM78 (Acrobatics) From the man next to the southern house, if the player wears the Fire-type Tracksuit Jacket  Sw  Sh  Choice Scarf From the old man named Frank in the southern house after delivering him the Old Letter from Hammerlocke  Sw  Sh  Big Mushroom ×2 In front of orange mushrooms between the two houses (hidden)  Sw  Sh  TM77 (Hex) From the old lady in the northern house  Sw  TM42 (Revenge) From the old lady in the northern house  Sh  Eviolite From Pokémon Breeder Elena in the northern house after defeating her  Sw  Sh  TM21 (Rest) Near the tall green mushrooms northeast of the Pokémon Center  Sw  Sh  Balm Mushroom Next to the pink mushrooms on the ledge east of the Pokémon Center (hidden)  Sw  Sh

Trainers

Trainers
Trainer Pokémon Pokémon Breeder Elena エレナ Elena Reward: $2,880 Dottler♀ Lv.30 Eviolite

Baloonlea Stadium

Upon entering Ballonlea Stadium, you’ll be greeted by Marnie and her Morpeko, and she’ll give you a copy of her League Card, noting that you two are essentially rivals now, before leaving. Ball Guy is back, and his prize this time is a Love Ball, a ball that has a higher catch rate on Pokémon of the opposite gender to yours. There’s also a trade available with a young girl dressed as an Eevee in the lobby, who’s after a Galarian Yamask, and she’ll trade you the regular version in return.

Gym Mission

The Gym Mission itself is relatively straightforward - you’ll face three trainers, and Opal will ask you a quiz question in each battle. Getting the question right boosts certain stats by one stage, but getting it wrong will lower them by one stage. The first question is impossible to get wrong, and the other two aren’t too difficult if you’ve been paying attention. After you’ve bested the Gym Trainers, it’s time to take on Opal herself. She’ll continue to question you periodically throughout the battle, although this time the stat changes from right or wrong answers are two stages rather than just one. These answers are less obvious and don’t rely on Pokémon knowledge, so thankfully we’ve done the hard bit for you.

Quiz 1

Question	Choices		Affected stat(s)
Do you know about Fairy type's weaknesses?	Poison type	Steel type	Attack and Special Attack (1 stage each)
What was the previous Trainer's name?	Annetta	Annette	Speed (1 stage)
What do I eat for breakfast every morning?	Curry	Omelets	Defense and Special Defense (1 stage each)

Quiz 2

Turn	Question	Choices		Affected stat(s)
1	You… Do you know my nickname?	The magic-user	The wizard	Speed (2 stages)
4	What is my favorite color?	Pink	Purple	Defense and Special Defense (2 stages each)
8	All righty then… How old am I?	16 years old	88 years old	Attack and Special Attack (2 stages each)

Trainers

Stow-on-Side Gym Trainers Trainer Pokémon Gym Trainer Annette コト Koto Reward: $3,264 Spritzee♀ Lv.34 No item Slurpuff♀ Lv.34 No item Gym Trainer Teresa チヨ Chiyo Reward: $3,264 Swirlix♂ Lv.34 No item Aromatisse♂ Lv.34 No item Gym Trainer Theodora タチ Tachi Reward: $3,360 Morgrem♂ Lv.35 No item Gardevoir♂ Lv.35 No item Gym Leader Opal Ballonlea Stadium Sword and Shield Reward: $6,080 Types: Poison Fairy Ability: Levitate Held item: None Weezing♀ Lv.36 Sludge Poison Special   --       Fairy Wind Fairy Special   --       Tackle Normal Physical   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Types: Steel Fairy Ability: Intimidate Held item: None Mawile♀ Lv.36 Draining Kiss Fairy Special   --       Crunch Dark Physical   --       Iron Defense Steel Status   --       Astonish Ghost Physical   --       Types: Fairy Flying Ability: Hustle Held item: None Togekiss♀ Lv.37 Air Slash Flying Special   --       Draining Kiss Fairy Special   --       Ancient Power Rock Special   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Type: Fairy Unknown Ability: Sweet Veil Held item: None Gigantamax Alcremie♀ Lv.38 Draining Kiss Fairy Special G-Max Finale   --       Acid Armor Poison Status Max Guard   --       Sweet Kiss Fairy Status Max Guard   --       Curse Unknown Status Max Guard   --

Opal’s team can be tricky, as she uses Galarian Weezing and Mawile, dual-type Pokémon that help cover Fairy's weaknesses. Poison types that usually have a good matchup are neutral into the Weezing and do no damage to her Mawile, whereas Steel-type moves hit everything for at least neutral damage. Fire-type Pokémon provide natural resistance to Fairy moves, but beware of Ancient Power on Togekiss. Both the Mawile and Alcremie have moves that boost defense by two stages, and with Mawile's Intimidate they can make things tough on physical attackers. As the Alcremie Gigantamaxes as soon as it hits the field, the chances of it using Acid Armor are low, as it would have to outlast the three turns of Gigantamaxing first.

Upon your triumph, Opal will hand over the TM for Draining Kiss, the Fairy Uniform, and the Fairy Badge, and maybe mercifully, she will let you know that she doesn’t want you to take over from her as the Ballonlea Gym Leader and you’re free to continue your Gym Challenge.

Hammerlocke

When you leave Ballonlea Stadium, Opal will generously offer you a free ride to Hammerlocke - you are under no obligation to take it, but it’s where you need to go anyway so it makes sense to take her up on it. Head east towards the main stadium and you’ll find Bede, who’s still determined to regain his challenger status and become Champion. Opal has other ideas, seizing the opportunity to train him as her protégé, and the two of them head back to Ballonlea to work on his training. Continue heading east towards the train station, where Sonia's waiting to talk to you about the significance of what you saw in Stow-on-Side. Before she can get fully into the swing of things, you're interrupted by an almighty explosion that shakes the stadium, and appears to trigger a new Power Spot all the way through Hammerlocke. Leon arrives to check things out and, for the first time ever in a Pokémon game, the adults take the initiative of investigating themselves, leaving you free to chat with the newly arrived Hop before heading out east into Route 7.