The Obnoxious Fate

Author: Flintoff Cypress

Based off a story written by Hidenori Kusaka and illustrated by Satoshi Yamamoto.

Chapter 1: Missed Opportunities

"Good morning, Petalburg City! It's a gorgeous, crisp morning..."

With a click, the alarm clock went silent. A green-haired young man got out of bed and looked out of the only window of his room. Petalburg City, while indeed gorgeous to people visiting, provided little visual simulation to a native who has spent their whole life within. Before he could focus on anything, his sleepy haze interrupted by knocking on his door. "Wally, are you awake?" inquired a woman's voice.

"Yes, Mom. I'll be right out" he replied as he rubbed his eyes. Today was his twelfth birthday, and any typical kid would be out of bed and ready to enjoy their big day. A coughing fit reminded him that he wasn't going to have a happy birthday. Down there, he wasn't going to have a party, friends, candles, and a cake. Presents? Ha. Being sick is synonymous with being expensive. His father worked full-time as a network engineer at the Devon corporation. His mother worked part-time and even then she had a hard time managing that around his illness. For a normal family that might be enough, but it was a challenge to keep the lights on and still have money to pay the medical bills. The chances of having any presents down there were slim to none.

After he got dressed for his day, he grabbed a dark green piece of equipment and slipped it on over his shirt. With a click, a mask popped out and covered his mouth and nose ready to deliver him medicine and oxygen. Satisfied by the successful activation of the mask, he pressed a button and the mask retracted into the device. Finally, he walked over to his dresser and looked at his Pokéballs. "Good morning, everyone!" he said as cheerfully as he could. He picked them up and attached them to his belt. He had wrist protectors that they could have attached to, but he never wore them as he felt that he had enough "machinery" attached to him.

Ready for the day, he opened the bedroom door and walked downstairs. "Happy Birthday!" his parents said in unison. "Thank you." Wally said while giving a slight smile. "Are you ready for your party?" his mom said while still acting semi-cheerful. Wally nodded and looked at the floor. The "party" was really an appointment for a checkup. What a wonderful way to spend his birthday.

After a light (and flavorless) breakfast, he got into the car with his mother. As the key turned, the radio kicked on. "...and it will remain partly cloudy for the rest of the day. Eastern Hoenn will experience rain showers in the early afternoon to evening hours. This developing storm front will pick up moisture as it crosses the ocean, and will give heavy downpours for the Sevii islands. It will turn over to snow as it crosses into the Sinnoh region. For those travelling outside of the country, you can expect to see sunny skies when flying into Mistralton City..."

Wally zoned out and ignored the radio as the car slowly backed out and on the road. They lived next door to one of the biggest buildings in Petalberg City: the Petalberg Gym. Two young trainers were entering the building as they drove by. Wally turned and looked the other way, out of concern that he might be recognized by someone who he didn't particularly want to talk to.

"...and in further news, after two months of operation the Battle Frontier has proven it's predicted success. When asked if there were any plans to expand to other regions, owner Scott refused to comment. Insiders have said that administrators from Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh have approached Scott with potential interest in bringing the Battle Frontier to their regions..." the radio broadcaster started to drone on as Wally leaned over and placed his head on the glass on the car window.

Barely two months ago, he was to have the best weekend of his life (so far). His cousin, Wanda, married her fiancé on a boat that would be docking at the Battle Frontier in a few days before the grand opening. It would have been like taking a "double vacation".

Sadly, a week before the boat was to leave port from Slateport City, Wally had his worst attack in a while and had to stay in bed for several weeks and he had to miss his cousin's wedding. As Wanda was his mother's niece, his father used up his vacation time to watch over him in Petalberg while his mother enjoyed the "vacation". "It was a beautiful ceremony." his mother shared when she arrived home, "That boy that you met last year was there. Wasn't his name Ruby or something?"

Remembering that, a part of him was glad that he fell ill. Almost a year ago, Ruby had brought the young man home when he collapsed and then helped him catch his first Pokémon. That was the only time that he felt like he had a true human friend. He was so grateful and overwhelmed with emotion that he gave Ruby his PokeNav. That thing took him ages to save up to buy, but he had no regrets (at least for the time being). After an earthquake separated the two, he spent his time trying to find him. First of all, he had Ruby's Ralts (named Ruru) who was missing her trainer and he wanted his new friend back.

During his time at Sky Pillar, Ruru evolved into a Kirlia. While Wally's trainer, Ruby's father (and Petalberg Gym leader) Norman, said that it was okay for Ruru to evolve, he always wondered if Ruby (who, as a Pokémon coördinator, always took appearance as the highest priority) was furious. Ruby had been to Wally's house, and it was obviously right next door to his father's Gym, so why not a simple "Thank you for returning my beloved Pokémon!".

Shaking his head, Wally took his head off of the glass as the car settled into a parking space. After a little battle removing the seat belt from his respirator, he walked up to the doors and entered the hospital.

A click of a button flipped the respirator mask to his face. Activating the mask probably wasn't necessary, but he really didn't want to breathe in what some of his fellow waiting room occupants were likely going to cough out.

Thankfully, the receptionist seen them coming and greeted them by saying "Hello, Wally! Dr. Tomois is ready to see you now!" Being well-known by the receptionists and nurses made things a little better, but it's still kind of sad when you're their "number one customer".

Dr. Tomois, a pulmonologist that specialized in pediatrics, sat on a stool as Wally walked in by himself. "Surprise!" the doctor said half-jokingly as the green-haired boy habitually sat on the examination table.

"So, today's the big one-two?" Dr. Tomois asked as he opened up a large file folder. Wally nodded. Being depressed by the cold and sterile environment of the hospital, Wally never liked to speak unless necessary. "I'll just gather some data and I'll let you get right to it." the doctor said as he flipped open a small panel on Wally's respirator. As uncomfortable as that respirator was, having a checkup's worth of data instantly available was a huge plus.

The doctor plugged in one end of the cable into the port on the respirator and the other end into his computer. The computer automatically recognized the device and launched a program to provide real-time data. "Everything seems work adequately" Dr. Tomois said. In all honesty, Wally's condition wasn't showing much improvement since the last visit. Dr. Tomois didn't want to give the boy false hope, but he also didn't want to give him less-than-positive news (especially on his birthday).

Without giving any more detail, Dr. Tomois closed the laptop computer, turned to Wally and smiled. "Well, you're all set for the day! Enjoy the rest of the day, birthday boy!" the pulmonologist said cheerfully as Wally got up. Before walking out, Wally turned to the doctor and with a slight smile said "Thank you."

As soon as the door jamb clicked, Dr. Tomois reopened the laptop and took another glance at the data at the screen. He sighed as he laid back in his chair and put a hand on his forehead. Wally, being sick from a really young age, was probably the Medical Center's most frequent patient. Dr. Tomois was just in medical school the first time Wally got sick. Throughout his medical school, internship, and residency experience, Wally was there almost once a week. Then, about a year ago, something changed all that.

Flashback: Summer, Last Year

"I think the best thing for Wally would be to spend some time in the open air." Dr. Tomois stated to Wally's parents. "What do you mean?" Wally's dad said as his glasses lowered down on his nose. "Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against this city, I'm just saying that people who suffer from this often see better results in more rural environments." the doctor clarified. Realizing that he just suggested that the entire family up and move, Dr. Tomois quickly added to that by saying "Of course, I'm not meaning a permanent move. There are specialty camps set up just for this. In fact, there's a wonderful therapeutic camp that opened up just south of Virbank City."

Wally's mother, typically docile, stood up and exclaimed "Virbank City?! VIRBANK CITY?! You want to ship my son halfway across the world to Unova?! Are you insane?!" Dr. Tomois sweat-dropped as Wally's father patted his wife on the back and tried to get her to calm down. After she took a few seconds and removed "choke the pulmonologist" from her agenda, she sat back and calmly replied "Well, my brother lives in Verdanturf Town. Maybe I can make a few phone calls." The doctor nodded in agreement.

Two weeks later, Dr. Tomois made a special trip to Wally's new home. "Good afternoon! I'm Dr. Tomois, Wally's pediatric pulmonologist." he happily stated to the man who opened the door. The man slowly scratched his head, and after thinking for a few seconds realized what the doctor had said and turned around. "Wanda! Your cousin's doctor is here!" the man said as he motioned for the doctor to come in.

"It's so nice to meet you! Wally has told me so much about you!" a young woman who looked suspiciously like Wally exclaimed as she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you..." Dr. Tomois replied as he noticed the man glaring at him and sweat-dropped. The muscular man, her fiancé Riley, pointed his thumb down the hallway and said "He's in the guest room. Third door to the right."

Wanting to get away from the tension, Dr. Tomois wasted no time in walking to the room. "Hello?" he said as he peeked into the ajar door. Wally was lying on the bed, tossing an empty Pokeball up and catching it. On seeing the doctor, he quickly sat up and said "Hi." causing the doctor to recoil as he never usually got any response out of the sickly boy without asking him a question.

Since Dr. Tomois was probably the third most-important person in Wally's life (behind his parents), Wally was a little more extroverted in conversation as Dr. Tomois studied logs that Wally's Aunt and Uncle kept on his health over the past week. "So, you have a Pokémon?" Dr. Tomois asked, curious as he knew where Wally's parents stood on that particular issue.

Wally nodded and tossed out two Pokeballs. In a flash of light, a Kecleon and a Ralts appeared next to him. "Two Pokémon? You've been busy!" the doctor said as he looked at the two monsters before him. "Well, I didn't exactly catch Ruru..." Wally said before he explained about how he met Ruby and how they became separated in that earthquake.

When he finished his story, Dr. Tomois got up and looked out the window as he thought for a bit. Wanda and Riley were taking a walk outside, and just by luck the muscular man looked towards the window and glared at the doctor. Sweat-dropping again, Dr. Tomois turned back around as he got an idea. "Well, if you want to find Ruby, I think I can help you. I came to visit you because I have something you'll be interested in." he said as he handed Wally a pamphlet. "A... wearable respirator?" Wally asked as he thumbed through the booklet. "Yes, but you'll have to go to a facility in Mauville City. It'll take about a week for them to get your biometric data and tune the respirator to your size. After that, you'll no longer be tied to a hospital bed or even the room. I do ask that you come in at least twice a month for checkups and to have the respirator adjusted as you grow up." the doctor said as Wally looked out the window while trying to figure out what to do. Dr. Tomois glanced up to see Wanda and Riley walking by again. Wanda smiled and waved at Wally while Riley gave the doctor the same cold look as before.

After thinking about it for a bit, Wally returned the two Pokémon to their Pokeballs and asked "How soon can I go?".

Present Day.

After his doctor appointment, Wally went back home and up to his room. It was bland, but he could at least be somewhere without that suffocating respirator. As he turned on the television, some questions started to roll around in his head. What was the point? Why did he do anything? Sure, he was a sickly boy who helped save Hoenn (and the world) by releasing Rayquaza, but where did it get him? Outside of his Pokémon (while they were his friends, he really couldn't have anything more than a one-sided conversation with them), he really didn't have any friends. He could be mad and blame his parents for bringing him into this world, but it's not their fault. He's the sick one, and will probably be sick for a long time.

How long was this nightmare going to last? It's time to wake up...

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: This is a story that I've had kicking around on my hard drive for several years. A recent thread on a certain Pokémon forum involving a heated debate over Wally's status as a main character inspired me to dig this out of the archives and post each chapter as I finish and polish it.

This is my first piece of fanfiction in a LONG time, and please leave a review with what you think. I appreciate any constructive criticism, as I can't get better if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks!