People Who Look Like They Are Fine (except Gladion 0-0) But Actually Arent.

had a friend help share my art, so thanks (theyre kinda just here but im grateful)

the quality isnt the best but whatever (and there is accidendental red marker on wallaces eye;-;)

Get Ready! Here I Come! A Wally Analysis

Oh Wally, one of my favorite rivals and Hoenn Characters! He's definitely one of the many characters from Hoenn that was definitely benefited by the ORAS storyline adding much needed character development and screen time.

Wally as a character broke a lot of molds for his introduction in gen 3. He's the first rival to not be the first battle or get one of the main starters! He's also the first rival to be a secondary rival (as Brendan/May are the first) but ultimately become the primary rival as Brendan/May pretty much give up on keeping up with the player by Lilycove.

Let's start with Wally's name, in English Wally is derived from "Wallflower" which is a term for people who may come off as either shy, awkward and/or introverted. In Japanese, his name is Mitsuru which can mean "to be frail" or a reference to the crane ("tsuru") which would then reference the thousand origami cranes that are often given to people who are seriously ill. Indeed a lot of the names he has across localizations seem to reference his him either being shy or frail.

Which makes sense given that when we first meet him he's is quite sickly and rather shy (the shyness is much more prominent in his animations in ORAS). Based on what we know about his condition (needing more fresh air and it improving as he was able to travel more) it's likely he had asthma, which can indeed improve as you grow older (provided it doesn't come back, like mine did). Wally's introduction being the catching tutorial is probably one of the best of the series simply because it involves the growth of a new character instead of just it showing the player (who most likely already knows how to catch Pokemon). It's really nice to see Wally so excited about catching his first Pokemon. This is magnified by the fact that when you look at his room it's filled with a lot of textbooks on how to catch Pokemon, showing this was a major dream for Wally for the longest time and now he's finally getting a chance to fulfill said dream. Wally's introduction is probably my favorite of any rival we've had in the series just because of how sweet it is and how creative they were by using his introduction as a tutorial.

Now let's step back for a second and look at Wally's team. His signature Pokemon is the Ralts line with him evolving the Ralts he caught in the capture tutorial into a Gardevoir in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and Gallade in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. Both Gardevoir and Gallade evoke guardian angel and knight vibes with their Pokedex entries and appearances. You would think this would mean that Wally is a guardian/protector…but really this involves Wally being the one needing protecting. Obviously as the trainer Wally does take care of his Pokemon, but given his sickness he relies on his Pokemon. IN the first match we have against him in Mauville City, his Ralts has Teleport, which is a great move to quickly get you back to the last Pokemon center. Perfect for someone who might get sick and need to leave an area immediately

Indeed Wally makes multiple mentions to relying on his Pokemon

"I'm always relying on Gallade. This is my chance to help him out for a change." <- Serena's Dessert Party Story Event "When I was younger, I wasn't able to get outside much… Spending time with Pokémon helped me get better." <- Random Conversation in Pokemon Center in Pokemon Masters Ex

It's really cool to see this play out with a major NPC as most oftentimes in the game we don't really seeing humans actively needing help from Pokemon unless they are minor NPCs

But then let's look at the rest of his team when he fights you at Victory Road. It consists of a Delcatty, Magneton, Roselia, Altaria and the Gallade(ORAS)/Gardevoir(RSE). What's interesting to note is that outside of his starter most of his Pokemon's base forms can be found near Verdanturf. Skitty can be found Route 116 (on the other side of Rusturf Tunnel which connects Rustboro and Verdanturf). Roselia is found on Route 117 (connecting Verdanturf to Mauville City. Magnemite can be found in New Mauville but also in horde battles on Hoenn Route 110 (which is just underneath Cycling Road which is near Mauville). Swablu is the mon that's found farthest away on Routes 114/115 which are close to Meteor Falls (easier to get to via Fallarbor Town but you can go up through Rustboro City).

This is interesting to note because it gives the impression that Wally stayed closed to his Uncle's House in Verdanturf when initially catching and training Pokemon. Presumably this is so one he can boost up his confidence and two to help build his stamina as the air there is a little cleaner and would help improve his respiratory condition. This is something I really like about Wally in the fact that he has far more humble beginnings compared to many rivals who often get traditional starters and come from rather privileged families. I feel like he's more emblematic of what the average trainer would go through normally in the Pokemon world, which makes his true strength later on that much more impressive.

Now we don't see Wally much in our Gen 3 playthroughs and some players express frustration about that because we're used to having rivals challenge us on a more constant basis. But actually makes sense given this line of dialogue

"I lost to you, , but I'm not feeling down anymore. Because I have a new purpose in life. Together with my Ralts, I'm going to challenge Pokémon Gyms and become a great Trainer. Please watch me, . I'm going to be stronger than you. When I do, I'm going to challenge you to another battle." -At his Aunt and Uncle's house in Verdanturf

He expresses the desire to challenge you again, but he wants to build up strength before hand. Again subverting the rivals before him (even Brendan/May in the same game until Lilycove where they give up) he doesn't see himself as better/more experienced. So his loss doesn't affect him the same way. He knows he has a ways to go and decides he wants to focus on building himself up before challenging you again. And going back to his team composition he really wants to be sure he's prepared so he sticks to a small region of traveling before branching out. Which no doubt helps him conquer the gyms at a blistering rate. You'll notice around through the game that if you check the gym statues his name actually appears first on gyms. Because like Blue and Silver he ends up outpacing you. In ORAS the News portion of the Pokenav actually comments on a trainer who is conquering the gyms at a blistering pace which we'll later find out is him

"Oh, ! I…I left my uncle's place in Verdanturf without telling anyone. I wonder if he's furious with me… , you understand how I feel, don't you?" <- Wally in Emerald on the Match Call after you beat Flannery

This is a line that stuck out to me even as a kid playing Emerald on GBA SP. He actually snuck out in order to continue training his Pokemon. But he feels bad for doing it because on some level he understands that his family is just trying to look out for his health. But also he still wants to make his dreams come true even if it upsets them. It's also really nice touch in Emerald when he does call you because it shows he really considers you to be a friend even though you guys don't see each other much (one of the many reasons I wish we would've gotten Delta Emerald just to keep the Match Calls because they provide a lot of insight to the Hoenn cast, among other things).

In ORAS at least it seems to be less of a sneak out thing as we do see him in Petalburg after defeating Norman and he does get his dad's encouragement to continue traveling, with both Norman and his dad remarking on our strength as we head on out.

We don't see Wally again until Victory Road where he surprises with a battle and in ORAS giving us one of the best themes of a Pokemon character EVER in my opinion. Since Hoenn was my introduction to the Pokemon main-series games and Wally was really my first true rival of the series hearing the epic music and seeing the visual was amazing. It brought a tear my eye, honestly. Also just seeing how his animation in ORAS changes where our first battle he has a very timid look, but on Victory Road he challenges us with a more confident stance showing how much he has grown. And when he loses he expresses frustration.

We see him again in ORAS in the Delta Episode being harassed by either Courtney or Matt for his Key Stone after he already had his stolen by Zinnia which he'll eventually get back. But when we see him at the Battle Resort we notice something a bit different about him. He seems to be a little bit more impatient, running so fast he knocks the Team Aqua/Magma admins aside. He does apologize to them afterwards, but it's definitely a change from what we've seen of him thus far. And then after defeating him the first time at the Battle Resort we get treated to this line"I knew my team makeup was still off. Then…I guess I need to take this guy out. No, if I do that, I'll be wide open for… Hmm… Then if I replace this move here… Yeah… Yeah, that should do it! Oh! Excuse me! I couldn't help myself! But you're just as brilliant in battle as ever, <player>! Still, don't you count on me just losing to you forever. I've met a lot of people who have helped me grow since coming to the Battle Resort, and it has reminded me all over again how much fun it is to really go all out in battle! Thanks again, <player>! Let's battle again sometime!"

This is a bit concerning. Now to be fair other trainers who swap out Pokemon. He's not the first or the last. But you can kind of tell how serious he's become about trying to win. When we battle him he drops his Delcatty and Altaria for Talonflame, Azumarill and Garchomp with rather strategic movesets.

And then we get to Pokemon Masters. Specifically the Melancholy Wally event where he's paired up with a shiny Gardevoir. He really wants to team up with Diantha who refuses because she says he "lacks something". Which he takes to mean as strength when she really meant how he and his partner shine with their bond. And as we see throughout the event he is actually really prioritizing winning and technical battle stuff over just bonding with his Gardevoir, causing it to disappear. Which makes him really upset leading to this heartbreaking line "Is it because I'm weak? Do you not like battling with me anymore?"

We see Wally does have a bit of a complex, no doubt influenced by him being a sick shy child who was a little overprotected by his family. But then when he sees Noland teaching others how to battle he remembers something… "Although he lost the battle...he looks so happy..."It's all coming back to me...I was once like him...And it was so much fun. But now, all I think about is winning or losing...And I'm not enjoying Pokémon battles like I used to... ... ... ...Now that I think about it, when was the last time I had fun with Gardevoir? I should apologize...I was horrible to Gardevoir!"

He realizes where's he gone wrong. He's too focused on the outcome of the battle and forgetting the most important thing is about maintaining your bond with your Pokemon. And this again goes back to that post-defeat quote at the Battle Resort. When he started to care more about winning and optimizing tactics over bonding with his Pokemon.

With the recent Galar Neo Champions promos people have been joking about how he was paired with the jerk rival Blue, Silver and Bede. When you look at the Melancholy Wally event and his dialogue at the Battle Resort, you realize this was intentional. Because while he may not tease or put down others, he is very much falling into the "jerk rival trap" of caring more about strength over just enjoying time with their Pokemon. Luckily on Pasio he seems to be just like Blue, Silver, and Bede, overcoming that pitfall. This is something I really appreciate about Wally because it's nice to see the friendly rivals fall into bad-Pokemon training habits. Just because you're not strutting around thinking that you're the best thing since slice bread doesn't mean you can't have nasty traits or habits that need to be broken and I kind of wish they did that more often because it's rare to see.

But yeah Wally's a super interesting character who proves you don't need to have a lot of screen time to make a big impact.

poh-kespe

idk i forget the poh-keh entirely

I'm just assuming everyone puts the stress on the first syllable. I've always pronounced it the first way (Poh-Kay-Speh /'poʊkeɪspɜ/) as in Pokemon Special, but I heard someone say Pokespi recently, which really fucked with my brain. Bonus points if english isn't your native language and you tell me how you say it in the comments.

Wallace head cannons :0

if this poorly formatted i apologize i'm using text to speech because i feel like this may take too long to type

but i will type this first part

Name: Wallace Stone (I'll take suggestions for fancy middle names)

Birthplace: Sootopolis city

Signifigant other: Steven Stone (Obviously married)

also taking name suggestions for Lisia and Steven*

i tried typing this but it did not work so instead i'm just gonna say that he has an a neice named Lisia and an unamed older sister

Parent/Guardian: Jaun (absent parents)

Sexuality: Pansexual, Asexual

Pronouns: He/They

i will post my head cannons underneath the spot if well if i even remember to eventually

in which steven fucking dies (again)

finally somebody i can relate to as an artist

:)

you can trust me to draw wallace’s bangs on the wrong side everytime

SNAKES!

i have a snake her name is tetris (or snoodle)

she is my pride and joy

most snakes don't actually wanna interact with people so if you leave them alone they will leave you alone