A vibrant town that has grown up around an ancient mural tucked away in the mountains. (Japanese: 古代の 芸術を 中心に 栄えてきた 山間の 町A town in the mountains that has flourished around ancient art.)
Stow-on-Side Stadium is the town's official Gym. In Pokémon Sword, it is led by the Fighting-typeexpertBea, while in Pokémon Shield, its leader is the Ghost-type expert Allister.
Ancient mural
At the northernmost point of the town is a large stone wall with a recreation of an ancient mural on it. During the game's story, it collapses due to the damage caused to it by Bede to reveal a hidden chamber containing statues of Zacian, Zamazenta, and the twin kings of ancient Galar.
Bargain shop
The bargain shop keeper will sell the player one item per day for $3,000. He will also tell the player which item he will sell the next day, if asked. Once the player reaches Stow-on-Side for the first time, if the player did not purchase the daily item from the bargain shop on the previous day, he will sell that item for $5,000.
A man next to the bargain shop will buy one valuable item from the player per day at a higher price than what a Poké Mart would offer. The highest gain — $17,500 increase from the normal price — may be achieved by selling a Balm Mushroom, Pearl String, or Comet Shard.
A man sitting on an western building's rooftop will offer to trade the player his HatennaSw/ImpidimpShnicknamed "Fringe"Sw/"Peepers"Sh in exchange for a Maractus.
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.
Stow-on-Side first appeared in JN043, where Sonia took Goh to visit the ancient mural. When they were about to leave, one of Oleana's subordinates attacked them with his GigantamaxGarbodor. In response, Goh Dynamaxed his Raboot. During the ensuing battle, Raboot accidentally destroyed the mural, revealing a set of statues hidden behind it. The battle concluded in the next episode, with Raboot defeating its opponent. After examining the statues and identifying then as Zacian and Zamazenta, Goh and Sonia headed to the Slumbering Weald to go find the two Legendary Pokémon.
In JN045, a GalarianYamask was shown to have involuntarily Dynamaxed at Stow-on-Side due to Eternatus's influence. Once Eternatus was defeated and the Darkest Day ended, it reverted back to normal.
After Sōdo won his Gym battle, the local mural was attacked by Bede, who was searching for Wishing Stars for Chairman Rose. However, Rose soon appeared in person, and, disappointed in Bede's actions, revoked his Gym Challenger status.
Trivia
The street lamps here are modeled after Chandelure.
Stow-on-Side shares similarities with Lentimas Town in Unova. Both of them are desert towns a little out of place, surrounded by mountains, and reminiscent of Latin or indigenous populations in North America.
Stow-on-Side is the only known location with hyphens in its English name.