#realized i didn't talk about dppt all too much

[aqqleshiqqing-archive]

roark looks so cute raghhh i like him

[a-tale-of-legends]

Brainstorming ideas for the rivals relationship with each other, starting with Wally since he popped into my head first.

Blue: Fucking tired of his dramatic ass ( read: they are best friends)

Silver: Get along well! Wally was too sweet to be mean to when they first met, but also very strong. Battle Tower buddies :) ( Wally takes over for Anabel in my au, and Silver ends up managing the Johto Battle Tower).

Barry: Was a bit much for Wally at first, it was hard for Wally to keep up at first....still is. But ever since the first time they met I feel they've grown to be friends.

Barry and Wally are actually the same age in my au. By dppt, they're both 13( dppt takes place 3 years after emerald in my au.). I have Barry be 13 because why not. He's already older in canon, why not make it by a few years ( Danica, the protag, was 11 at the time). Anyway, this is to say that Blue was the oldest of the initial 4 ( by a single year) and Silver was the baby, which Blue made sure to bring up. A lot. Wally had to prevent Silver from decking Blue in the face so many times....

Bianca: Mostly knows her through Kohaku ( a fellow pokemon professor) and general Chosen Shit. Sweet girl! Admires her ability to recognize her own limits and be okay with them. It took him a while for him to do that. Despite being only met her recently, he's proud of her? Does that makes sense?

Cheren: Someone who he feels sorry for. Because Blue just. Would not stop bothering him. He decided to join Jin and Kohaku to the pwt. He didn't participate, he wasn't a part of the gym unit or a past champion, but he was allowed to interact with the competitors. He then saw blue, who then saw Cheren, and it went downhill from there.....okay that's a lie. Things were tense, yes, but it seems they ended up being friends by the end of it. Blue said something about the two having a lot in common, more than he realized. So....yay? Friendship? Personally, Wally relates to Cheren on some level. The drive to be stronger, be better, to let it warp his mind....yeah. He gets that. He's happy that Cheren found his own path in the end. He can kinda get why him and Blue ended up becoming friends. That, and they're both nerds ( Green's words, not his, he swears)

Hugh: Actually doesn't know him all too well. Cheren mentioned him having a bit of a temper, which makes him beg that he doesn't get into a spat with Silver if they ever met ( he knows that Silver isn't as... prickly as he was before, but he's still Silver). Though Cheren says he's a good kid, so Wally takes his words on it

For this batch, the Unova rivals are all younger than Wally, Hugh by a lot. In bw, Wally would be 16 with Cheren and Bianca being 14-15( thinking about dumping up Cheren's age to 15 I mean). Not a super big age difference, but on an experience level, it's a lot. By b2w2, Wally is 18 with the rivals being 16-17 ( Bianca and Hugh being 16, Cheren being 17.... this might change in the feature).

I feel like Wally doesn't know the Kalos rivals all too well. He had definitely seen the news about them ( its when he finally starts to notice a certain pattern with these types of events), and is deeply concerned for their mental health, cause holy shit. Post XY, he would have definitely seen them around so-

Shauna: Given her status as the information tracker of the Chosens,Wally has been in contact with her plenty of times. They have great conversation, Shauna showing him all the pictures she would take when she's out scouting, and Wally talking to her about his own traveling experiences.

Trevor: Since one of his partners is a professor, it's no surprise he would hear about Sycamore's latest professor assistant. I feel Trevor would be closer to Kohaku since the whole researcher thing, but given Trevor also has some interests in being a trainer, and is more attune to fairy types/ the fairy egg group, Wally kinda becomes a mentor figure to him. It's a weird position for him, he never considered himself the mentor, rather the mentee. Though he guesses it's been years since he was young and inexperienced.

The Kalos rivals ages are always changing in my head, but I, for the life of me, cannot picture them as 10, I cannot. They are mid to late teens. xy takes place the same time as B2w2 in my au, sooo the same applies the xy rivals here from above.

Hau: First things first. Blue was the one that asked him to come to the Battle Tree, not the other way around ( not that blue has been pushing this narrative, more so media coverage of it, which is annoying.) Okay onto Hau. Really good kid. Which has Wally worried. Fears that people would take advantage of his kind nature, and is horrified to learn that has happened in some cases. Appreciates blue and red taking up the "uncle" role for him and the other kids in Alola( how did they reach that? He has now fucking clue, but it's sweet).

Gladion: Another kid that Wally is worried about. I don't think Wally would exactly know about Gladion's situation, but has gotten some context clues about what's going on ( also Green traveling with Lillie in Kanto helps bridge the gap in information). Wally doesn't stay in Alola like Red and Blue, but he makes an effort to call them every once in a while, both to check up on them and the kids. Anyway, Gladion has definitely challenged Wally to a battle at some point. Maybe multiple points.....okay an interesting plot point I can see for Gladion is him traveling through Hoenn at Wally's request. Ooooh, and Gladion already becomes a dark type E4 member in my au, so that really could be interesting if he meets Sydney hmmmmmmm.....food for thought.

Hop: " Oh, Barry 2.0" ( he means this in the most affectionate way possible....also doesn't say it out loud). I don't thiiiiiiink Wally would know him well? Like with the Chosen stuff, everyone ends up knowing everyone one way or another, but personally, I don't think their connection is that deep. Wally is still very nice, and is someone that Hop admires,but I'm struggling to sense a deeper bond between the two, which is okay!

Bede: " lmao, Silver 2.0"( again, he means this in the most affectionate way possible). It's a similar case to Hop, but given how Wally compares Bede to Silver, he tries to help Bede with his emotions any way he can. Again, not super close, but the kindness is always there.

Marnie: Past experiences ( Gladion and Hau) has him Concerned ™. But also he knows she's a sweet kid, who's honestly trying their best. They all are really, and the best Wally can do is support them as an adult.

Wally has not met the Paldea kids at all so I'm looking past them for now.

Tldr: Blue, Barry and Silver are essentially Wally's bff's, the people he's closest too. The gen 5 rivals are people he, for the most part, Gets ™. The gen 6 rivals aren't as close, but not too far from where the gen 5 rivals are with him, but is also where he starts to Notice The Pattern. Gen 7 rivals are where he takes more of a backseat than anything, but I can see him being someone of admiration for Hau and Gladion ( especially Gladion). And lastly, the gen 8 rivals are the ones he's not as close too overall, but finds them charming all the same. Also it's his worried parent arc lol.