Chapter 3

The third Crystal Star appears on a large arena in a floating town. To reach Glitzville, Mario and the gang must visit Don Pianta. He offers them the ticket they need after doing him a favor. Once Mario and his team arrive in Glitzville, they enter the Glitz Pit, a popular place in which fighters brawl everyday, and spot the Crystal Star on the Champ's Belt, held by Rawk Hawk, the current champion of the Pit. They sign up in the Pit, battle through the ranks, and eventually gain a newborn Yoshi as a partner. Soon, a mysterious figure known only as "X" starts sending cryptic e-mails to Mario. The e-mails lead Mario and his partners to discover that the Star on the belt is a fake, and that the real Crystal Star is being used by Grubba, the promoter of the Glitz Pit. Mario & co. expose his wrongdoings and chase him into the fighting arena, where he transforms into Macho Grubba in order to eliminate Mario and his friends. However, the group manages to defeat him. After the battle, Jolene, Grubba's assistant, appears and reveals herself as the mysterious X, explains her story, and gives Mario the Gold Star.

At the X-Naut base, TEC-XX asks Peach to go ask Grodus a question relating to his plans. The Princess goes undercover in an X-Naut disguise and learns that Grodus is plotting to use the Crystal Stars to take over the world. TEC allows her to send this message to Mario. Meanwhile, Bowser and Kammy are searching for one of the Crystal Stars in the Great Tree, where they discover that Mario has already got the Crystal Star.

Mario & co. receive another message from Peach; they promptly reveal the fourth crystal star's location.