Sports Crystal

Sports Crystals are special objects that appeared in Mario Sports Mix. It is a crystal with a piece of sports equipment inside. Each crystal represents a sport that corresponds to the color of the crystal. There are four of them in total. The Sports Crystal is also the power source of the Star Ship.

In the beginning of the Story, Toad is gardening when the crystals fall from the sky and crash. He and the three other Toads examine it and have an idea that these Sports Crystals will help Mario, his friends, and his foes introduce these four sports to the Mushroom Kingdom, so a tournament is held to see who are the best players of the Mushroom Kingdom to receive these crystals. When all of the crystals are collected, it becomes a Dark Sports Mix Crystal, a special crystal that allows players to battle Behemoth, and when the beast is defeated, the crystal will turn into a rainbow-colored crystal, which enables them to play the Sports Mix mode.

Color and Sports
There are five Sports Crystals in all and each one represents a sport:
 * red Crystal — Basketball;
 * limegreen Crystal — Volleyball;
 * gold Crystal — Dodgeball;
 * blue Crystal — Hockey;
 * purple/bluelimegreengoldred Crystal — Sports Mix.

Trivia

 * The crystals can also be seen on the file selection screen. They indicate which Sports Crystals have been collected by the player.
 * The crystals also are seen in volleyball after each set; they show how many sets a team has won.
 * White Mage's earrings bear a resemblance to the sports crystals.
 * The crystals bear a resemblance to the Earth, Fire, Water and Wind Crystals, which are main items in the Final Fantasy Series.