Did ORAS do Wally justice?

[Hidden Mew]

I would say that they did Wally justice to a certain extent. His development seemed to be handled better here than in the original versions, or at least he seems more memorable due to the graphics in his design. It makes a bit more sense that he would show up in Victory Road since we've seen that he's been facing Gym Leaders. His appearance in the original games always felt too sudden and random since we hadn't seen or heard about Wally in ages beforehand. He is still likable and I felt pretty bad for beating him since he was more of the underdog in the rivalry. That and he came off as genuinely sweet with how he tried to get his first Pokemon and ask your character for a battle.

That being said, I think that they still could have done more with Wally. Giving him a few more appearances during the storyline so we could battle him and see more progress of his journey would have been really nice. Having him more involved with the Team Magma/Aqua conflict and/or the Delta Episode, beyond getting his Key Stone stolen, would have been nice. I didn't like Brendan/May in the original games, but I grew to like them a bit more partly because of having a couple of more appearances and their facial expressions giving them a bit more personality. Or I just found them more endearing due to their obvious crush on the player character. Still, Wally did get some justice in OR/AS, but not as much as I would have hoped. The remakes still could have benefited from having more Wally.

 

[Moonshade]

;3; WALLY IS THEE SWEETEST KID IN THE GAME!! He never says it but, i seriously talked to myself during his parts, then that THEME SONG!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!

 

[Ampharos King]

Barely. True, Wally has a much bigger role than he ever had in RSE, but he still remains a very underdeveloped character (at least in the game perspective).

For one, we barely even see the character's accomplishments or growth. Monumental events such as Wally obtaining a Key Stone and becoming strong enough to challenge all of the gyms took place outside the main plot.

If ORAS was released prior to Gen IV, I probably would say that Wally is a developed character. But the Gen IV and V games really hit the nail with character development; the rivals, antagonists, and even some Gym Leaders were actually shown progressing and growing alongside you on your journey. We saw how and why those characters had insecurities or emotional issues, and how their interactions with you and some other characters encouraged them to change. When we compare Wally to established characters like N, Hugh, Cheren, and Barry, we can see that the young lad's growth is not all it is cracked up to be.

Two, Wally was largely overshadowed by the other rival in the game. For most of your journey, you were practically interacting with that character and, on one occasion, even fighting alongside that character against Team Magma/Aqua grunts. It would have been nice to see Wally take some role in the main story and battle the evil organization in those games.

Three, Wally doesn't do much after the main story, not even during the Delta Episode. He had his Key Stone stolen in the DE, and you'd think he would go out of his way to get it back as opposed to leaving it up to the main player.

In all honesty, the main reason why I said Wally "barely" got any justice in ORAS is because, in all material respects, he is the first real rival character that actually goes out of his way to obtain really viable competitive Pokémon. Who would have expected an in-game character to actually use Rough Skin Garchomp, Gale Wings Talonflame, and Huge Power Azumarill? I surely did not.

Tl;dr: Wally got some notable improvements to his character in ORAS, but unfortunately we never saw the character change and grow within the scope of the game. The character still has a very small influence in the game, and perhaps he will be most memorable by players as being the rival with Mega Gallade, Rough Skin Garchomp, Gale Wings Talonflame, and Huge Power Azumarill.

 

[MysteryMusic95]

yeah it did

 

[Articwolf10]

Heck yes it did. Wally is just amazing in this game. From his Mega Gallade to his encounter theme to his final battle... he just screams amazing overall.

About Wally becoming "a soulless competitive player" at the end thing, I don't think he's really became that. I would say he's like Ash: he is constantly swapping his Pokémon around and trying to build a strong, viable team, but he still cares about all his Pokémon equally. The only difference between him and Ash is that he actually suceeds in becoming a strong trainer.

It's not Ash not succeeding but him getting reset over and over compare him in Johto compared to Univa (Pikachu losing to a SNIVY seriously wtf?) It's why I think the Anime would be better off if it did like Origins with the actual PC as the central character of that series. Origins was great but so short