Chapter Text
Slateport City: a place with a beach that sells cheap soda pop, a museum dedicated to the ocean, and a community market for items you can't find anywhere else in the region. While Wally was more excited for Mauville city's gym. The beach was a tempting offer to at least stay for a while. At least until he stops puffing for air and his chest stops hurting.
His chest hurts whenever he exerts too much energy or get stressed out. (In hindsight, challenging the seashore house after almost immediately going through route 110 wasn't a smart decision) Sometimes, his chests hurts for being surrounded in polluted air or seemingly no reason at all. So taking a break was mandatory when this happens. He never got to be at a beach before, so this could be fun. Also his Ralts's delighted expression for the beach was definitely something worth staying at the beach for.
He tried making a sand castle with his Ralts, keyword being tried. He wasn't allowed outside as a child and given a lot of books (Turns out reading how to do something is different from actually doing it), so the shape didn't really resemble a castle. The sand was so bumpy it looked more like a sand mound. Not to mention it kept sinking. Wally was a little sad at this failure, but at least Ralts was having fun. So Wally was happy.
Wally saw May walking around the beach and waved to her, "Hey May!", May looked around to see Wally and waved back, "Glad to see you here, May!" "Wally!!" She said as she walked closer to Wally with a smile, "Nice to see you here Wally! What are you doing?"
"I-I was trying to make a sand castle like in the books, but I guess it's harder than it looks. D-Do you want to join me?" She couldn’t say no to a tone like that. She helped him make the sand mound look more like a sand tower. She released her Mudkip, Nincada & Sableye from their pokeballs to play with Ralts in the sand. The two were able to create a much better sand castle with some seashells and Mudkip's water gun. They chatted about how May beated Brawly as their pokemon covered May's Nincada with sand.
“How was fighting Brawly anyway, May?”
“Oh he was easy Wally, He only had a Machop, a Makuhita, and one potion. Your ralts could probably take them out by themselves. And if you can’t, you could catch a Sableye like I did. As long as you’re okay with fumbling in the dark for a bit.”
“Allright. Do you think there is a way I could get to his gym? It’s on an island”
“Yeah, there’s this old man Briney who took me to Brawly’s cave and here with his boat. I could ask him to drop you to Brawly’s gym and then Roxanne’s gym after that.”
“Thanks, May! I’ll catch a Lotad/Lombre and train it to beat Roxanne!”
After some more chatter about how they plan to beat the third gym leader, Wattson, she quickly left to get some soda pop for the both of them.
Wally felt the happiest he had ever been. Being outdoors and playing with friends felt like a dream come true that can only get better. He didn’t feel like his chest hurts whenever he was with his friends. The persistence gnawing from his parents wasn’t there. This is something he couldn’t do if he was stuck at home.
So fate felt all the more cruel to him when a man suddenly approached Wally and grabbed him. Wally knew from the gentle yet firm grip that these hands were his father's. He knew his father would find him at some point but he didn't think it would be so soon. He hoped going to Slateport instead of Mauville would throw off his father.
"Do you know how worried we were, Wally? You could have been sick without any of us to help you. I couldn't find you until I had my day off!" Wally's body tense at the sight of the man. Wally started to stutter his refusal but his words failed him as his father grabbed his arm and started to take him away. Wally's Ralts tried to dissuade his father with pleas to no avail.
May got in their way as she returned with drinks. "Wally, who is this person?" May asked as she walked over to them, ready to throw pokeballs. "I am Wally's father. And I'm here to take Wally back. He has a lung condition and he shouldn't be out here." May took a step back, this was a family matter. His father may be right, but Wally wasn't going down without a fight, "Dad, I don't want to go b-back home. I can feel m-m-myself improving as I'm traveling! I’ve managed to travel through Route 110 all by myself."
"So did I. And I had no pokemon. Route 110 is nothing compared to the other routes.” his father said with a raised tone. Other routes had volcanic soot, heavy sandstorms, and tons of ocean with no quick access to a pokecenter. Not safe for someone who might go suddenly unconscious. He pointed at May to see her reaction only to get no response from her. This was a family thing and she had her own father issues. “You are coming home with me and you are not allowed to go outside until you are properly cured".
Wally was skeptical of this approach on curing him. Being indoors didn't help throughout his childhood, so why would it help now? It was more likely Wally would be stuck home all of his life. He had to prove to his father that he could be out here by himself, but how? He wouldn’t believe what Wally would say. And teleporting out would only be a temporary solution. His father (or someone on behalf of his dad) would find him eventually.
He had to think quickly. But it was no use, he couldn’t think while stressed. The only other thing Wally could think of was to challenge May. However he knew May would destroy him, it would take a miracle to defeat her three pokemon. In addition, May looked uneasy about the situation. She didn't want a part in this family drama. So she wouldn’t vouch for him either. It all seemed over for him.
Just as he was about to resign to his fate however, the three of them finally noticed that everyone was leaving the beach in a fast manner. People were jogging towards route 110 as excited chatter rummaged from their lips. Some of the people had a very big camera that required metal legs to carry. There was no panic shouting so it couldn't be anything dangerous. They seemed excited. But what could it be?
May put her pokemon back in her pokeballs as they exited the beach, they saw the crowd was gathering near the entrance of the Contest Hall. Carrying his companion Ralts in his arms, Wally and the others saw what all the commotion was about. In the center of the crowd was a girl similar to Wally's age with light blue hair and a frilly dress. with an Altaria looking at the crowd. His dad seemed to know who she was due to his shocked reaction but Wally didn’t know who she was. The girl was circling the crowd until she saw Wally and May. She then singled them out and walked closer to them for closer inspection. She seemed to be staring into them, almost as if she was gauging their potential.
He didn't mind her staring at him, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She oozes confidence. Her pose was unwavering, as if she knew she was pretty and was proud of it. Wanting everyone to look at her. And her eyes unabashedly looked at him delightfully. As if he was someone truly special, or at least had the potential to. He desired that same level of confidence in him. Maybe she could teach him. He was so distracted by her that he didn't notice that she was speaking to him until May gently bumped him on the elbow. Wally jolted as a response.
"Wha?! Um, h-hi. Sorry about that" Wally said as he could feel himself blush and lowered his head. He could see everyone staring at him with intrigued stares and it made him want to hide into the crowd. Or have Ralts teleport him away, he didn't care that his dad was still holding onto him and would be teleported away with him. Anything to get away from this awkward situation. The girl didn't seem bothered. "No problem sweetie. I just finished talking with your friend anyway." the girl couldn't help but giggle. Wally felt himself blushing even more as he dug his face into Ralts to hide it. The temptation to teleport away was rising. Thankfully May jumped in to save him.
"This is Lisia, a master rank coordinator proficient in all ranks apparently." May explained as Lisia waved. "She's scouting for new recruits for coordinators. She wants you to try being a Cute Coordinator and for me to be a Cool or Tough Coordinator. I said no because that's not really my thing. I’m more interested in collecting gym badges. Love them tiny shiny trinkets. But you might want to consider her offer." May said as she made a subtle gesture to Wally's dad. His father was carefully watching his son with a guarded face, watching his reactions.
Klinks were moving in Wally’s head. This could be his way out, he might not be able to battle trainers but that could change if he stayed as a Coordinator. There was nothing against battling and doing contests.
He even wouldn't mind becoming a full-fledged Coordinator as long as he could travel the region with his Ralts. More importantly if he would still be able to travel with his Ralts, perhaps he could change his parents' mind. All the walking around could help him with his condition. Overall, it could work out. His mind was set.
"Dad, I want to try being a Coordinator" Wally said to his father who immediately denied him. "Oh my god Wally, if your condition acts up again like last time we still won't be able to help you. Do you even know how to be a coordinator?" His father retorted.
“That was five years ago,” Wally retorted, then quickly changed the subject "I-I could learn. Please dad, let me do this. You don't need to worry about me being in danger if I'm a Coordinator." Wally pleaded. He could see Lisia watching the two with a careful expression. This had to work, Wally was not going back.
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There was a part of him (and his wife) that wanted Wally to explore the region and make friends. Every parent wants their kid to have friends and be happy. However due to their jobs they couldn’t stay with Wally. And if Wally were to get hurt and they couldn’t do anything, they would never forgive themselves. Every parent also wants their kid to be safe.
Despite putting on a strong tone, he didn’t feel all right dragging his son back home when Wally didn't want to. However, if Lisia denies Wally because of his condition, that should convince Wally to stay home by his own volition. He decided what to say as he walked closer to Lisia, "Ma'am, I'm sorry but I don't think my son Wally should do this. He has this lung condition that hurts him whenever he's exposed to polluted air. He needs to stay indoors where he's safe. There's this event that happened five years ago you see.." Wally's dad whispered to Lisia. Lisia pondered on this information for a bit. Wally connected the dots and realized what his dad whispered to Lisia. He was worried she might agree with his dad. And he became even more worried as he realized there wasn't much he could do to convince her. What could he do?
After some agonizing minutes passed for Wally, Lisia looked over at his Ralts. Gesturing for permission to pet Wally’s Ralts. He lifted Ralts to her as she petted his Ralts as if it was a Skitty to which Ralts appreciated. Her Altaria joined in, gently using its beak to pet Ralts. “Ralts are very rare, most people don’t see one in the wild and you happened to catch one by yourself.” Lisia muttered to herself. Ralts only showed up whenever they wanted to. So for Wally to catch it…
“Your Ralts is very strong, did you raise it?” Lisia said out of the blue. “Y-Yeah, I trained it in the nearby routes using no items during battle. I think it's going to evolve soon!”. Wally beamed with pride as Ralts hummed happily as a response. Lisia seemed to ponder that information, Ralts were essentially a baby pokemon. Wally must have some skill to train it without using other pokemon. “And what of your condition, do you still feel pain from your lungs?” Wally paused before deciding to be honest “I-It doesn’t happen v-very often. And when it does happen, it's still not as bad as when I was at Petalburg. I-I know if I keep traveling I’ll get stronger”. He could feel his dad ready to retort otherwise. He was ready to fire back.
Before either one of them could speak, Lisia intervened as she put a hand on Wally’s shoulder. He could feel a blush rising to his cheeks and could see May holding back a laugh. "Wally, how much do you like pokemon?" "A lot!" Wally responded as his Ralts hummed. "Do you want to explore the region to meet new people and pokemon?" "Yes! That’s my life goal!" Wally responds louder. "And are you afraid of failure?"
Wally paused for a moment. He didn't like failure, no one did. However, he remembered how he was going to challenge May in a desperate attempt to stay outdoors. And while he would never admit it out loud, he would never stay home. If his dad took him back, he would have escaped and left home regardless with his Ralts. "I-if i fail ..." Wally said as he gathered his strength, "if i fail I won't let that stop me. I'll improve myself and my pokemon to be better. I won't let failure destroy my dream!" Wally said as confidently as he could. He felt empowered as the cheering crowd only further boosted his courage.
His father saw the crowd’s reaction and knew he was in a pickle. Deep inside, his wife and him wanted what was best for Wally. He could also see the crowd was for Wally being a Coordinator. And they also wanted Wally to have fun. That alone would be hard to battle against, let alone trying to convince Master rank coordinator Lisia to deny his son now. His wife and him remarked beforehand on how small Wally's knowledge about the outside world was from them sheltering him. And now he was seeing it for himself, Wally didn't even know who Lisia was?! The Contest Queen!! How did that happen?! Maybe he should be allowed to explore the region. Books can only go so far.
Still, there was no guarantee he could protect Wally if he went off on his own. There weren't any known evil organizations like Team Rocket in Hoenn but that doesn't mean the region was completely safe. He remembered hearing on the news that a group called Team Magna supposedly stole something from the Devon Corporation. He would never forgive himself if Wally was harmed. However, there was also a part of him that was proud of Wally's speech. He mentally cursed that his job wasn't flexible.
His thoughts were interrupted as Lisia tapped him on the shoulder. "Sir, I will stay with Wally the whole time. And I will make sure he contacts you every now and then. Rest assured if it looks like he might be or in harm, I will bring Wally back to you." That helped a little bit.
After battling himself mentally, he came to a decision out of this no-win situation. He sighed as he kneeled towards Wally. "Make sure you call us every now and then.” His dad walked away from the crowd towards route 110 before turning back to Wally. “Don't forget, if you need anything we are here for you." His dad carefully hid his face as he walked away from the crowd. He had mixed emotions of fear and pride in him and figuring out how to tell his wife what just happened only made him feel more mixed.