Pokemon Wally Quest Guide: Hoenn’s Unsung Hero

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Callum Marshall

Callum is POK Universe's Managing Editor and a long-time-fan of the Pokémon series. He's a Gen-One kid at heart with a huge bias towards the first three generations. However, after reengaging with Pokémon XY, he has caught up with the pack and has absorbed all there is to know with regards to Pokémon, including some very interesting fan-made ROM Hacks!

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As regular readers will know, I’m a certified 90’s kid, and Pokemon was pretty much unavoidable back then. It meant that I came down with a bad case of Pokemon fever, and I’m still yet to recover, as not a month goes by without me interacting with some sort of Pokemon-related media.

With this timeline in mind, you might assume that the original Pokemon titles set in Kanto would be my natural favorite.

Or you Johto-heads out there might be thinking, surely he’s about to say that Crystal was his all-time favorite. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you all, but the 3rd generation, set in Hoenn, was far and away my favorite Pokemon title.

Pokemon Emerald holds a special place in my heart, and that’s why I find myself regularly jumping into new and exciting Pokemon ROM hacks like Pokemon Emerald Kaizo, and Pokemon Glazed to stoke the fire.

So when I encountered a Pokemon ROM Hack that focuses on Wally and his story, I was immediately intrigued.

Wally was always a bit of an enigmatic character. He was a frail character that the player character took under their wing, but the game was never explicitly clear on his illness, his family relationships, or his journey up to the point you meet him at the end of Victory Road.

Well, Pokemon Wally Quest essentially runs with that idea, allowing you to fill the shoes of Wally and assume the role of the true hero of Hoenn in a ROM Hack that makes lots of QoL changes, has a larger focus on doubles battles and creates a narrative to fill the gaps in Wally’s story.

So without further delay, let’s jump into this one. This is POK Universe’s Pokemon Wally Quest Guide.

Story Synopsis

Pokemon Wally Quest casts you in an alternate reality where Wally plays the role of the hero in the third-gen Pokemon story. This essentially means that you will be starting from Petalburg with your Ralts, and will have to follow the typical plotline of Pokemon Emerald.

For the most part, the story is practically the same as the base game, with some changes to map layout, and the addition of some characters and events.

Just a disclaimer for those that expect this game to expand on Wally’s story and offer a unique plot, this game doesn’t really do that.

There are moments where the game will pepper some Wally-specific story beats in, and the inclusion of new characters and events ensures that there are just enough new and fresh moments to keep things interesting.

However, for the most part, the hook of this title comes in the form of the gameplay changes, the QoL additions, and the enhanced difficulty that Wally quest offers.

Also, another disclaimer, because I regularly found myself questioning this. The game is literally a note-for-note copy of Emerald story-wise from Petalburg right up until around Mt Chimney. It’s not a failed download or a bug; that’s just the way it is.

In short, if you want a crazy new story based on Emerald’s base game, you might want to go with something like Glazed instead.

Main Features

If you are wondering why you should check out Wally Quest, then take a look at this list of the cool features that this game has to offer below:

• Removes all HMs for easier navigation
• Pokemon up to 9th Gen
• Includes Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and other modern battle features
• A higher volume of double battles
• Additional Side Quests
• Level soft caps
• Perfect Pokemon IVs
• Additional end-game episodes
• Longer runtime (Elite Four scaled to about Lv85)
• Unique story beats that expand on Wally’s story

Pokemon Wally Quest Walkthrough

Okay, so before we begin, I just want to let you guys know upfront. As this game follows the same general chronology as Pokemon Emerald, unless the game goes off on a narrative tangent, we will not be offering a great deal of detail regarding navigation from point to point.

If you want to brush up on how Pokemon Emerald tends to play out at any point, feel free to check out our Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire Guide, which more or less plays out the same.

Beginning In Petalburg

Okay, let’s get going. As you would expect, as you are playing as Wally, you will begin your adventure in Petalburg Town. You jump into the action and will need to go and see Norman in the Petalburg Gym.

This will trigger the famous cutscene where he hands you a Zigzagoon, and Brendan accompanies you to help you catch your first Pokemon, Ralts. Mercifully, this one already knows how to use Confusion, so training it initially won’t be a stressful affair.

Note: We would recommend that you restart your save until you get a male Ralts. As this will allow you to evolve to Gallade, making this starter a much more viable option for the entire game. However, training up to Gardevoir can be a rewarding experience too. 

After this, you are told to head down to Littleroot Town to speak to the Pokemon Professor, Birch. However, on your way through Oldale Town, you’ll want to head north up to the top of Route 103, as you will need to battle May for the first time.

She has a level-five Torchic, so this battle is about as straightforward as it gets. Take her down, and then make for Birch’s lab, where you will receive your Pokedex and a bunch of Pokeballs.

After this, the game links back up with the standard story, and you just need to approach the game as you would the vanilla version of Pokemon Emerald. Which means you’ll be heading to Rustburo City to take on Roxanne.

Along the way, you’ll have an encounter with the mysterious Zinnia, and you’ll also have to navigate a slightly adapted Petalburg Woods, but overall, there aren’t any major changes here.

When in Petalburg Woods, you’ll have your first encounter with Team Magma as they try to steal the Devon Goods. Here’s how that battle plays out:

• Lv.11 – Poocheyna
• Lv.11 – Numel

It’s a pretty easy fight. If you have trained your Ralts to the point that they have learned Disarming Voice, this will work wonders against Poocheyna.

Then swap to a water-type Pokemon to deal with Numel. I personally used a Lotad that knew how to use Bubble, but there are definitely better options.

After that, keep pushing forward, and you’ll arrive in Rustboro Gym, where you can immediately take on Roxanne, the Rock-type Gym leader.

Rustburo City Gym

Just before we get into the Gym battle, I should take a moment to point out a cool QoL feature that Wally Quest employs.

Players will be able to talk to the greeter in any Gym, and they will offer to battle you to help quickly level up your Pokemon to where they need to be for each battle. So if you feel a little underprepared, be sure to have a chat with him.

So, Roxanne is your first Gym opponent, and unlike some of the other leaders, her team remains largely unchanged from the base game, meaning that if you have a decent water-type or grass-type in your team, you should demolish her with no real issues. Corphish, Krabby, and Lotad/Lombre are good options. Here is her team:

• Lv.13 Geodude (Sturdy)
• Lv.13 Aron (Sturdy)
• Lv.15 Nosepass

The only minor issues here are that both initial Pokemon have sturdy, so you can’t one-shot them. Plus, Nosepass is holding an Oran Berry, making them a little tankier. However, this one will be over before you know it, and you’ll earn your first Gym Badge.

However, this is no time to relax, as Magma ran off with the Devon Goods again, so you’ll need to navigate your way out to Rusturf Tunnel and rescue Peeko.

This area has been expanded a little in this ROM, so expect a few more encounters with trainers before you find the Magma Grunt. When you find them, you’ll have to defeat this team:

• Lv.14 Numel

Just keep that water-type Pokemon you had back in Rustburo Gym at the front of your party, and you’ll make short work of her Numel.

Winning this battle will have you transported back to Devon Headquarters, where you will be asked to deliver a letter to Steven Stone, and you’ll get your super useful and not-at-all-pointless PokeNav.

It’s also worth saying that thanks to the omission of HMs, you can head straight to Verdanturf if you wish. You can buy Energy Root there, so it might be worth a trip, even if the way to Mauville is blocked.

After you get given this quest, you’ll need to pop over to the sailor’s shack house to sail to Dewford, but not before you challenge Brendan, who is waiting for you on the way to Petalburg Woods. Here is his team:

• Lv.12 Bulbasaur
• Lv.13 Cyndaquil
• Lv.14 Mudkip

For this battle, Ralts is a great one to begin with, as Confusion works perfectly on Bulbasaur. Then you might want to swap out to a Pokemon that works well against Cyndaquil, such as a water-type or rock-type.

However, don’t leave your Rock-type out there when you face Mudkip. You’ll want a grass-type Pokemon, or an Electric-type if you happen to have one. After this, it’s time to set sail for Dewford!

Dewford Town Gym

When you arrive in Dewford, you might want to head straight up to Granite Cave and find Steven Stone, but the way is blocked until you defeat Brawly. So fumble around in his dark gym until you find the Fighting-type leader, and take him on. Here is the team you’ll face:

• Lv.18 Mienfoo
• Lv.19 Meditite
• Lv.20 Makhuita

The easiest strategy to employ to make Brawly look like a pushover is to make sure you have a flying-type Pokemon to lead the line.

A move like Gust, Wing Attack, or anything in that ballpark will cut through his team like a knife through butter. Two badges down, and time to see Stephen Stone.

You now have to navigate the dark and dingy Granite Cave. Here’s a quick tip. Because the game no longer has HMs, you cannot teach Flash.

However, you can catch Morelull in the cave that knows this move naturally. This is damn near essential if you don’t want to spend all day in this cave. Don’t be like me as a child and do the equivalent of brute forcing your way through Mt Moon without using Flash.

That being said, you don’t need it to find Steven, who is waiting in the far west room. Hand over the letter, and he will reward you with a Dawn Stone, and then he will bounce.

As he does though, there will be a tectonic shift, and an opening will appear to further explore Granite Cave, which is when Flash will love in clutch.

I recommend you do this, as this will allow you to pick up pretty much every evolution stone you could ever need for your playthrough moving forward.

Also, consider catching a Gible, as Dragon Rage is a really helpful tool in the short term, and Garchomp is a killer Pokemon in the long term.

With nothing left to do, you’ll need to sail onwards to Slateport. When you arrive there, head to the worker in the Slateport Docks, who will inform you where Captain Stern is, which will then allow you to enter the Slateport Museum and deal with Team Aqua. You’ll have to fight two separate battles against the following Pokemon:

• Lv.18 Frillish
• Lv.18 Mantine

I would recommend having a grass or electric Pokemon lead the party to make this a quick and easy set of encounters. If your Ralts/Kirlia/Gallade knows Magical Leaf, they can work nicely too. Just watch out for Frillish’s Night Shade, which can be an issue if you let the battle get away from you.

After this, you’ll hand over the Devon Goods, and you’re free to head up to Mauville City. Along the way, you’ll encounter May for the second time, and naturally, she won’t let you pass unless you beat her in battle, so here’s what you’re up against on this occasion:

• Lv.21 Wartortle
• Lv.21 Bayleef
• Lv.21 Combusken

Much like your battle with Brendan, it’s just about neutralizing these basic starters, ideally with a Grass, Fire, then Water combo. You should nail this in one try and push on to Mauville.

However, instead of doing that, take a U-turn and make your way to New Mauville, as you won’t be able to battle Wattson until the generator is fixed anyway.

This will allow you to grab a decent Electric-type if you still don’t have one. Then after that short detour, make your way up to Mauville City.

Mauville City Gym

Wattson poses the first real challenge of Wally Quest, in my opinion, with a team that can catch you off guard if you let them.

The main issue with this battle is that Wattson has a tendency to switch out his Pokemon both naturally and with the move Volt Switch, making it difficult to plan your next move. However, if you can work to be one step ahead, you can take him down. Here is his team:

• Lv.27 Manectric
• Lv.26 Emolga
• Lv.25 Vikavolt
• Lv.24 Rotom

Grass, Ground, and Electric types are the dream ticket for success in this battle, aside from against Vikavolt, who will be able to use bug moves to take out your grass types.

When you best Wattson, you’ll earn your third badge and will be able to make your way to Fallarbor Town. But, you guessed it, someone is blocking the way. Just past the cable car, you’ll find Brendan, who wants to battle, and this is his team this time around:

• Lv.28 Ivysaur
• Lv.28 Quilava
• Lv.28 Marshtomp
• Lv.28 Pikachu

Aside from the addition of an Electric-type, this remains a simple battle to navigate. Just bring along a ground-type to make short work of Pikachu, and Brendan will leave with his tail between his legs once again.

Leaving you free to proceed through the soot-filled path to Fallarbor Town. You could stay a while and visit the mad fossil collector, but to keep things streamlined, we say proceed straight on to Meteor Falls.

When you get there, you’ll encounter a scuffle between Team Magma, Aqua, May, and Brendan, from which Professor Cozmo will flee.

You need to follow him. When you reach him, he’ll be face to face with Magma’s Archie. Engage with them, and before long, you’ll be rudely interrupted by Zinnia, who wants to battle. Here’s their team:

• Lv.32 Shelgon
• Lv.32 Charmeleon
• Lv.32 (Mega) Ampharos
• Lv.32 Grovyle

Just a heads up, you don’t need to actually win this battle to proceed, but if you want to, you need to watch out for Shelgon and Ampharos. The best way to deal with a dragon Pokemon is with an Ice-type or a much stronger dragon, so that should be how you enter this fight.

Charmeleon will fall pretty easily, then comes the real test. Mega Ampharos. Your Kirlia/Gallade is a good option as it is weak to Fairy-type moves. However, you could also make use of an Ice-type once again. Then Grovyle should be a piece of cake by comparison.

Just note, there is no prize money for winning, and no additional reward. So unless you just want bragging rights, don’t stress too much over the outcome here. He’ll then explain briefly his role as the last Lorekeeper and then bounce. Allowing you to heal up and make for Mt Chimney.

You’ll fight an onslaught of Magma goons from the Cable Car, right up to the top of Mt Chimney.

Barely any of them other than Archie deserve much explanation, but I will concede that Admin Tabitha has quite a tricky line-up. You’ll fight her directly before you reach Archie, and her team is as follows:

• Lv.33 Ninetales (Drought)
• Lv.33 Magmortar
• Lv.33 Houndoom

Realistically speaking, unless you have a weather-altering move, Drought will make water-type moves pretty useless in this fight. Meaning that the best way to approach this one is brute force.

Go with strong Pokemon that aren’t weak to strong fire-moves, and you should be able to push through. Although, keep a water-type on standby, because the rays should fade by the time you face Houndoom.

This only leaves Archie in your way, but he’s no pushover either. His battle will have the same annoying weather effect problems as Tabitha’s, so don’t lead with your water-types. This is his team:

• Lv.35 Torkoal
• Lv.35 Alolan Marowak
• Lv.35 Camelrupt
• Lv.35 Mudsdale

The start and end of this battle are the real hurdles here. Alolan Marowak can be dealt with if you have a Dark-type move to call upon, and Camelrupt, while strong, can be taken out relatively easily.

Torkoal provides an initial problem as the Pokemon has a particularly high defensive setup, and it knows Toxic, meaning that Torkoal will slowly pick away at you with fire attacks while your poison worsens. So keep a few antidotes handy, or have your lead Pokemon hold a Pecha Berry.

Then at the end, you have Mudsdale, which is a pretty powerful physical attacker that knows High Horsepower, is holding Leftovers, and will gradually gain defense after each attack you land through its Stamina ability.

So your goal here is to potentially bulk up your attack before landing a killer blow, or cross your fingers for a well-timed critical hit.

After this battle, Archie will successfully call upon Groudon, but without the Red Orb, he cannot revive Groudon fully, which means the pair of gangs will be on their way to Mt Pyre. However, you’ll be heading to Lavaridge Town Gym to fight Flannery instead.

Lavaridge Town Gym

You can pop into the god springs, or visit the Herb Shop, but if you aren’t keen on procrastinating, you’ll want to hit the Gym. After you navigate this gym’s labyrinthian puzzle, you will face off against the Fire-type leader Flannery. Here is her team:

• Lv.36 Torkoal
• Lv.38 Charizard
• Lv.36 Simisear
• Lv.38 Archanine

Once again, it’s a bloody Torkoal with Drought leading the line. So once again, you’ll want to avoid water types and go with a strong Pokemon that isn’t weak to fire. Brute force should take care of Torkoal, and then you’ll want to switch to an electric type to handle Charizard. It knows both Dragon Rage and Overheat, so be wary, as it packs a punch.

At this point, the sun’s rays should stop, and a water type should be able to sweep the rest of her team. Look at that; you’re halfway to the Elite Four!

At this point, find Roxanne outside the Pokemon Center, who asks you to help her with something in the desert. However, as far as I know, this isn’t mandatory, so you can backtrack all the way to Petalburg Town ahead of your battle with Norman if you wish.

Petalburg City Gym

After making the long journey back to Petalburg, you’ll need to work your way through Norman’s specialist rooms to reach him in the back. At which point, you’ll get a little slither of Wally-specific exposition, and then be thrust into a battle against this team:

• Lv.37 Giraffarig
• Lv.39 Staraptor
• Lv.41 Slaking
• Lv.38 Audino
• Lv.40 Kangashkan

While this might seem like a pretty tanky and stacked team, it’s actually pretty easy to navigate this battle. The only real issue is that pretty much all of his Pokemon know Return, and it seems like Norman is really good pals with his Pokemon because it hits like a truck.

Aside from that, though, as long as you pack an electric type to deal with Staraptor and have a strong fighting type in your ranks, this Gym is a piece of cake.

After this fight, your father will come and grab you, and you’ll have a heart-to-heart with him.

He’ll give you a Surfboard so you can surf without the use of an HM, and he’ll also commend you on your progress but warn you to stay grounded, not get wrapped up in a desperate pursuit of power, and remain ‘a good kid’ above all else.

After this touching moment, you can head to Mauville and cross over the water, as you make your way to Fortree City.

Along the way, you’ll need to pop into the weather station to deal with the Team Aqua infestation, and I would recommend healing using the computer by moving Pokemon in and out of boxes. If you didn’t know that was a thing, you’re welcome.

After battling a handful of Aqua Grunts, you’ll come face-to-face with Team Aqua Admin Shelley, who has this team to call upon:

• Lv.42 Pelipper
• Lv.42 Carracosta
• Lv.42 (Mega) Gyarados
• Lv.42 Floatzel

To make short work of this fight, you’ll want to employ a team of electric and fighting-type Pokemon. The electric types will work well against Pelipper and Floatzl, specifically. Then the fighting types will cut Carracosta and Mega Gyarados down to size.

The inclusion of a mega Gyarados can be a little intimidating, but this is a pretty easy fight. You’ll be rewarded for your efforts with a Castform, which you can promptly assign to a box in your computer to rot for eternity.

Be sure to heal at the computer before you head out, because almost immediately after the Weather Station, you’ll have to face Brendan, and he finally has a team that doesn’t just consist of starter Pokemon. Here is his team:

• Lv.43 Rufflet (Focus Sash)
• Lv.43 (Mega) Swampert
• Lv.43 Raichu
• Lv.43 Excavalier
• Lv.43 Typhlosion
• Lv.43 Venasaur

Ideally, what you want to have here is an electric-type Pokemon to take out both Rufflet and Mega Swampert. Then you want to switch to a ground type to deal with Raichu.

After that, any fire type will demolish Excavalier, and then a water type, followed by that same fire type, will take out the rest. Brendan puts up more of a fight this time, but it’s still pretty easy.

This frees up the path ahead, and there will be no more resistance stopping you from making it to Fortree City.

Fortree City Gym

Those familiar with the Emerald story may assume that a Kecleon blocks the way to the Gym, but that’s not the case here, so you can enter straight away.

After solving the rather rudimentary turnstile puzzles, you’ll battle Winona and her flying birds. Here is her team listed below:

• Lv.46 Skarmory
• Lv.46 Tropius
• Lv.46 Hawlucha
• Lv.48 Altaria
• Lv.47 Mantine

You would think that the obvious choice would be an electric type to lead the line, but as you can see, a fire type would be ideal to take down Skarmory and Tropius.

Then you can switch to an electric type to take out the rest of Winona’s team. It really is that simple; she doesn’t put up much resistance unless you let Altaria Dragon Dance a few times.

After this, you’ll need to hightail it over to Liliycove City. Your next big event is at Mt Pyre, but before you can enter, you’ll have to battle May outside the Lilycove Department Store.

Also, if you feel inclined to do so, you can stop in at the cave a little before the decommissioned Safari Zone to help Wattson and fight Tabitha, but we are keeping this strictly mainline story-oriented. Here is the team you will battle against when you meet up with May:

• Lv.50 Accelgor
• Lv.50 Vullaby
• Lv.50 (Mega) Blaziken
• Lv.50 Alolan Raichu
• Lv.50 Meganium
• Lv.50 Blastoise

The first half of this battle is the biggest hurdle. Both Accelgor and Vullaby will try to use Toxic and Spikes to create a difficult long-term scenario for you. So keep Antidotes and Pecha Berries handy, and try to pick a strong Pokemon with a diverse moveset to avoid constant switching.

A flying-type Pokemon can work well for the first three, provided it has something different to offer when against Vullaby. Then a blend of ground, fire, and grass/electric Pokemon will handle the latter trio.

This then opens up the path to Mt Pyre, which is where you should be off to next. If you are in the market for a Ghost-type Pokemon, now is your chance to grab a decent option.

Battle your way through the series of Magma and Aqua Grunts, and you will eventually happen upon Archie and Maxie, who will form an unlikely partnership to battle you, and Steven Stone.

So make sure the Pokemon you want to take into battle occupies the first three spaces in your party, and then hop into this intense doubles battle.

Note: As the game will inform you, due to the back-to-back encounters that happen in this scene, there is a pretty good chance that the game’s save file can corrupt. So be sure to save state and ensure you don’t lose a tonne of progress!

Firstly, here is Steven’s half of the team that he will be bringing along, so you can plan accordingly:

• Lv.60 Metagross
• Lv.60 Clefable
• Lv.60 Aggron

And here is the team that Archie and Maxie will be coming at you with:

• Lv.53 Mudsdale
• Lv.53 Starmie
• Lv.53 (Mega) Sharpedo
• Lv.53 Kingdra
• Lv.53 Alolan Marowak
• Lv.53 Camelrupt

Here’s a little advice, you don’t need to win this match to progress. I think that the game knows that Steven is more of a hinderance than a helping hand.

But if you want to win this one, you need to bring a few revives with you to cover for Steven’s incompetence, and you need to focus on taking out the Mudsdale fast, as its High Horsepower move will single-handedly wipe out Steven’s team, and your’s too probably.

Provided you can do that and not allow it to build up a strong defensive wall, then an electric Pokemon and a water Pokemon, with one of them preferably knowing Crunch or Bite to deal with Marowak, would be the ideal way to finish things off.

After you win this battle, Zinnia turns up just in time to battle your already depleted squad. As mentioned, you don’t need to win, but if you want to wipe the smug smile off their face, then you’ll need to take down this team:

• Lv.54 (Mega) Charizard
• Lv.54 Salamence
• Lv.54 Ampharos
• Lv.54 Latias
• Lv.54 Latios
• Lv.54 Sceptile

This one looks super tough, but it’s actually super easy to deal with. A couple of ice-type Pokemon will decimate this team without breaking a sweat.

All you need to watch out for are the hold items that these Pokemon have, which will power up any moves that match their primary typing. If they outspeed you, you may be in trouble.

Team Magma/Aqua Hideouts

After this intense scene, it’s easy to get lost if you aren’t paying attention to the text. Instead of heading to the Magma Hideout, you need to meet the Elite Four’s Sidney in the Lavaridge Town Pokemon center first, and after that discussion, you will then need to go to the Magma Hideout halfway along Jagged Pass.

You’ll need to battle your way through the hideout until you reach Archie just in time to watch him activate the Red Orb and bring Groudon to life, who will promptly depart, leaving Archie furious, and guess who he’s going to take it out on.

That’s right, you. Oh, and by the way, this is inexplicably posed as a doubles battle. Don’t ask me why. Here’s his team:

• Lv.57 Carbink
• Lv.57 Torkoal
• Lv.57 Alolan Marowak
• Lv.57 Tangrowth
• Lv.57 Mudsdale
• Lv.57 Camelrupt

This battle has all the annoying aspects of Magma battles that have come before. Honestly, I developed a newfound hatred for both Torkoal and Mudsdale during this playthrough.

A key tip here, aside from packing water types, is to also have a versatile fire type at hand, as Carbink and Tangrowth will both fall quite easily if you do, especially if Drought is still active.

Then naturally, after you deal with Team Magma and Groudon, you have to give their counterpart some attention.

So head to Slateport and head to the Harbor. Talk to Captain Stern and this will trigger the event that inevitably leads to a battle with Maxie. Here is his lineup, and once again, no double battle format this time:

• Lv.57 Politoed
• Lv.57 Kingdra
• Lv.57 Starmie
• Lv.57 Mega Sharpedo

Maxie only has four Pokemon, all of which are weak to Electric moves, so in comparison to Archie, this is pretty laughable. Breeze past this team and they’ll hop in the submarine and head for Lilycove.

At this point, you should do the same. You’ll need to battle your way through the Hideout, and at the end of the line, you’ll face up against Admin Shelley. She’s not much of a challenge, but here is her team anyway as a point of reference:

• Lv.55 Pelipper
• Lv.55 Mega Gyarados
• Lv.55 Carracosta
• Lv.55 Floatzel

Again, Electric Pokemon will handle this quite comfortably. You could also use fighting types for Gyarados and Carracosta if you wish. After this, you have the vast open ocean to explore, but before all that, it’s finally time to take on another Gym. It’s time to head to Mossdeep City!

Mossdeep City Gym

It’s time to take on the Psychic duo of Tate and Liza. In the vanilla game, this would have probably been the only difficult doubles battle in the entire game, but luckily in this fangame, you have had more than enough practice. Here’s how the duo line up:

• Lv.60 Meowstic (Male)
• Lv.58 Meowstic (Female)
• Lv.62 Gardevoir
• Lv.62 Gallade
• Lv.60 Slowbro
• Lv.60 Slowking

For this battle, it’s best to turn to the occult and lead with Ghost and Dark-type Pokemon, as they will make pretty short work of any Pokemon put before them in this battle. It’s really that simple.

You could use Bug types as well, but realistically, aside from maybe Scizor, who would want to use a Bug type this late on?

After this, the game starts to weave in the Delta Episode with the main storyline. So you might want to head to the Mossdeep Space Station and check in on things.

You’ll find Brawly there talking combative asteroid logistics with the station’s scientists before Zinnia comes along to try and disrupt things. You’ll need to deal with this team, but as usual, in Zinnia encounters, winning isn’t essential.

• Lv.63 (Mega) Charizard
• Lv.63 Salamence
• Lv.63 Ampharos
• Lv.63 (Mega) Sceptile

Aside from the addition of Mega Sceptile and the omission of the two Legendary Hoeen Eon duo, the strategy remains the same as the last meeting at Mt Pyre. Use Ice-types, and you’ll have no issues whatsoever. After this battle concludes, you’ll need to head to Route 105’s Island Cave.

Here you will meet Glacia and will need to save her from Magma and Aqua goons; there are a few tough battles here, but nothing so outlandish that you’ll be thrown off your game.

The room ahead is lined with teams that will immediately use Explosion, so the best course of action is to lead with a Ghost Type and have all their attacks have zero effect, allowing you to cruise on through.

Save Glacia, and provided you have also helped out Roxanne and Wattson, you’ll then be contacted by Elite Four Phoebe, who will inform you that the underwater cave on route 128 is your next destination.

This will eventually see you enter and battle your way through the Seafloor cavern, which will be relatively simple right up until you reach Maxie, who is about to use the Blue Orb to revive Kyogre.

This is the real battle with Maxie, unlike the one in Slateport, so prepare accordingly, and thus, it is a double battle. Here is his team:

• Lv.66 Kabutops
• Lv.66 Politoed
• Lv.66 (Mega) Sharpedo
• Lv.66 Amoonguss
• Lv.66 Starmie
• Lv.66 Kingdra

The aim of the game remains the same where Maxie is concerned. Use Electric-type Pokemon to deal with the water types, and ideally, change the weather pattern with moves like Electric Terrain to get rid of the water-type advantage.

However, you will need to bring along a counter for Amoonguss. An Ice-type is a pretty safe option against a team that is largely comprised of water types.

At this point, you will need to make your way to Sootopolis City, where the showdown between Kyogre and Groudon will reach its conclusion. Upon arrival, speak to Juan on the steps west of the Gym, and they will escort you to the Cave of Origin. Here, you will meet Wallace, Brendan, and May.

Here, Wallace will call upon Rayquaza, and after a skirmish in the heart of Sootopolis, Rayquaza will flee, having been gravely injured.

So you have to head to Sky Pilar near Pacifidlog town to heal them. Even Archie gets in on the action, offering his Meteorite from Mt Chimney as a means of triggering a Mega Evolution for Rayquaza.

Make your way to Sky Pillar, and upon arrival at the top, you’ll meet May and Brendan, who prepare to activate the Meteorite with you.

However, Zinnia pops in at the last second, sends the pair tumbling down the cracked openings on the floor, and takes charge of the situation.

They reveal their plan to use Rayquaza to fulfill the Draconoid Prophecy and destroy the incoming asteroid, and what happens to Sootopolis is none of their concern.

They engage Rayquaza, aiming to heal them and harness their power, but the sky dragon remains unmoved, much to their dismay.

Then when you step up to the plate, you activate the Meteorite with assistance from your Pokemon, and Rayquaza rises, taking off to sort out Groudon and Kyogre.

Naturally, Zinnia is stunned, and this bewilderment soon turns to boiling-hot aggression. They come at you to teach you a lesson, with this team. Oh, and this time, you have to win:

• Lv.70 Charizard
• Lv.70 (Mega) Salamence
• Lv.70 Latios
• Lv.70 Sceptile
• Lv.70 Latias
• Lv.70 Ampharos

No real change from the last encounter other than Mega Salamence and a bump in level. Ice-Pokemon will see you through this encounter and definitively put Zinnia in their place. At this point, you’ll be instructed by May via PokeNav to head back to Sootopolis.

When you rejoin the action in Sootopolis, Steven Stone, accompanied by Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, has joined the party, and Rayquaza will swoop down from the heavens to join them.

Join Steven in the middle and prepare for an epic battle where you control Rayquaza and the Regis as you aim to take down Lv.100 Groudon and Kyogre.

Honestly, it seems like it would be tough, but it’s pretty straightforward, so no strategy here; just enjoy the show. After this, this ordeal will end, the weather will subside, and the doors will be open in the Sootopolis Gym for you to go and claim your final Gym Badge from Juan.

Sootopolis City Gym

Navigating this gym, even after multiple playthroughs of third-gen games and fangames, is still mind-melting, so there is no shame in popping open a quick video guide to help clear the ice puzzles within.

When you manage to get to Juan, you will have to take down this team of water and ice Pokemon:

• Lv.72 Wishiwashi
• Lv.72 Swanna
• Lv.72 Primarina
• Lv.72 Greninja
• Lv.72 Blastoise
• Lv.72 Samurott

I would love to say that this Gym offers a multi-faceted challenge beyond bringing a few grass and electric Pokemon, but it doesn’t. Just watch out for Greninja because he is a speedy bugger, but otherwise, this will be a walk in the park.

After this, you’ll be free to take on the Pokemon League. Provided you manage to navigate Victory Road.

Sadly, you won’t have a Wally-related scene when you reach the end as the base games do. Honestly, the lack of Wally-related content made me wonder why they even made him a vocal point of this ROM hack at all.

You’ll make your way through Victory Road before being stopped on the way to the Elite Four by Brendan and May, who want one last battle to test you before you take on the gauntlet ahead.

I would recommend you attack Victory Road with the team you intend to run against the Elite Four so they get the most XP possible, and avoid taking a Morelull into the caves to light the path if you can.

It’s a pain, but it means you’ll have a more well-rounded team. Anyway, here is Brendan and May’s joint line-up:

• Lv.75 Typhlosion
• Lv.75 Meganium
• Lv.75 Blaziken
• Lv.75 Swampert
• Lv.75 (Mega) Blastoise
• Lv.75 (Mega) Venasaur

It’s the natural conclusion of a joint rival battle, all starters. For this one, you just need to run a team that has natural counters to Fire, Grass, and Water by bringing your own Water, Fire, and Grass types and timing switches very well.

Or you could bring along strong neutral typings, and a handful of others that can handle these starters handily without the jeopardy of dancing around to avoid getting the same super-effective moves done to you.

Psychic types will work for the likes of Meganium, Blaziken, and Venasaur; Electric types will take out Blastoise and Swampert. Then just pack a water type to see off Typhlosion. Simple.

All that stands in your way now, is the Pokemon League. So grab some supplies, gear up your potential Hall of Fame-worthy team, and let’s do this!

The Pokemon League

Sidney’s up first, and he runs a team of Dark types, so you can realistically run most teams other than Ghost and Psychic Pokemon against him and probably brute force your way through quite comfortably.

However, if you want to preserve your team for later fights, you need to go in with a stronger strategy. Here is the team you’ll be up against:

• Lv.76 Alolan Persian
• Lv.76 Mandibuzz
• Lv.76 Krookodile
• Lv.76 (Mega) Absol
• Lv.76 Alolan Muk
• Lv.76 Scrafty

Of all the Pokemon listed, Muk is probably the only issue, as they are tanky and can cause an issue with poison status. However, as long as you bring a strong Fighting or Fairy-type Pokemon along, you shouldn’t have too many problems here.

There are also some annoying aspects to the fight, like Mandibuzz’s Roost and Persian’s Parting Shot. However, these only serve to draw out the battle rather than cause any actual challenge.

After this, you’ll be up against Phoebe, who will lead with a team of Ghost types. So your Gardevoir/Gallade is next to no use here. You could try and go mano a mano with your own Ghost types, but that’s risky. We have other options for you, don’t worry. Here is the team Phoebe runs:

• Lv. 77 Pallosand
• Lv.77 Gourgeist
• Lv.77 Mimikyu
• Lv.77 Jellicent
• Lv.77 (Mega) Banette
• Lv.77 Aegislash

The key to this one is having a couple of Pokemon in your team that know dark-type moves. I say this because it’s pretty unlikely you have a dark type in your team. It tends to be a neglected type.

However, you would be surprised how far moves like Night Slash or Crunch can get you in this battle.

The only hang-ups would be Jellicent’s Toxic coupled with Leftovers, giving it a bit of staying power. Plus, you could get caught out with Destiny Bond as well, so be wary of that. Next is Glacia.

Glacia is the Ice queen of the group, and while you would assume that a powerful fire-type would walk all over her team, it may take a little more thought to take her down than spamming Flamethrower. Here is her team below:

• Lv.78 Froslass
• Lv.78 Alolan Sandslash
• Lv.78 Abomasnow
• Lv.78 Alolan Ninetales
• Lv.78 Walrein
• Lv.78 Manoswine

Fire will get you most of the way there in this battle, as Ninetales, Abomasnow, Froslass, Sandslash, and Monoswine are all susceptible.

Your main outlier is Walrien, who is a Water/Ice type, making fire a natural force against them.

So keep a grass, electric, or fighting type on hand to take them out before bringing the fire type back out to clean house. Then the last of the Elite Four is the aptly named dragon tamer, Drake.

As is tradition, the last of the elite four tends to run a team composed of Dragons, and much like the battle with Phoebe, you could just go in all guns blazing with your own dragons and aim to hit fast and hard, but we have alternate strategies that might work even better. Here is Drake’s team:

•  Lv.79 Kommo-o
• Lv.79 Flygon
• Lv.79 Goodra
• Lv.79 Dragalge
• Lv.79 (Mega) Altaria
• Lv.79 Turtonator

What, not Dragonite? Shameful. Drake has a very strong and versatile team here, but it does have two clear weaknesses. If you lead the line with a strong Psychic-type and a strong ice type, you should be able to run through his team with minimal issues.

The only exception is Turtonator which is a Rock/Fire type, meaning that nothing will be 4x effective, but if you have a Rock, ground, or Dragon type, you will gain a slight advantage, enough to see you over the line.

Also, watch out for Dragalge’s Shadow Ball if you are running a Psychic led team, as this will hit hard.

Congrats on besting the Elite Four, but the Champion Wallace is still standing in the way of Wally’s eternal glory.

Wallace runs a team of water types primarily, and I would argue that it’s a little easier to contend with than Drake’s team, but even still, he’s no pushover. Here’s the final team that stands between you and champion status:

• Lv.80 Azumarril
• Lv.80 Quagsire
• Lv.80 Empoleon
• Lv.80 Toxapex
• Lv.80 Milotic
• Lv.80 (Mega) Slowbro

Electric Pokemon will help you see off the likes of Empoleon, Slowking Azumarril, and Milotic, so they will be a huge help.

However, don’t rely on them fully, as they will be of little use against Toxapex, who is mainly weak to Ground and Psychic moves, and Electric moves won’t affect Quagsire at all, so you will want a grass Pokemon to call upon to deal with them.

Also, watch out for Toxapex’s Scald which will cause burning, and Azumarill’s Perish Song, which will probably force you into switches you don’t want to make.

However, when you defeat his final Pokemon, you have done it. You have transformed Wally from a frail child from Petalburg to the Grand Champion of Hoenn, a story for the ages.

Post Game Content

While I won’t be going into detail about what end-game content Wally Quest has in store for the player, I can assure you, after the Elite Four, there is plenty to get on with. I’ll keep it as brief as I can, but here are some of the unique things you can do after you enter the Hall of Fame:

• Join a specialist team to take down the incoming asteroid
• Battle to take down Zinnia once and for all
• Fight Deoxys
• Deal with Team Plasma
• Encounter just about every Legendary
• Rematches with Gyms and Elite Four

It’s quite a sizable chunk of the end-game story that will see your party to Lv.100 easily. Plus, it is probably the richest story content you’ll find in the entire ROM, making it well worth sticking around.

Pokemon Wally Quest Guide: FAQs

Petalburg’s Pokemon Master

As I wrap things up on Pokemon Wally Quest, I have to say, I sort of expected more from this game. For the first half of the game, you simply follow the story of Emerald to the letter, with a few minor plot point additions along the way.

The game has a lot of welcome QoL changes, and a steeper difficulty to keep things engaging from a gameplay perspective, but overall, I would have loved more character development and unique story beats to really expand on Wally’s story.

Thankfully though, these do start to become more prevalent as you push on past Lavaridge Town, and from then onwards, Pokemon Wally Quest was a very engaging and challenging Emerald Rom Hack.

It’s not exactly too far removed from the base experience, but just different enough that I would consider this one a novel fangame worth playing when you get a chance.

I hope my guide helps you navigate this re-imagined version of Hoenn with ease, and as always, thank you for reading POK Universe!