#and u can see a little ruby on brendan's bracelet as well as a sapphire on may's earring

[cjsees-art]

I know it's a concept that has been done to death already but here's my imagining of how the hoenn rivals would look like some years after the games, at ages ~23-25!! Headcanons and additional fun under the cut

In my personal version of how the events of ORAS/RSE went down, I figure it took the group of them a couple of years to rise through the ranks and beat the gyms simply because it's more believable than the entire thing happening in less than a month. Right after the conclusion of the game they're around 17-19; this art is set a few years after that!

The reason Wally is the Champion is this: Brendan (as the player character, since I always picked Brendan as a kid, but could just as easily be May) beats Steven and becomes Champion, but pauses upon winning. He brings up the fact that yes, he may have won, but the person who worked way harder than both him and May for every step of the way was- you guessed it- Wally. Brendan says Wally fought for the position harder than anyone else, and the only reason Brendan became Champion was because Wally started with a big disadvantage despite being a far more dedicated and determined Trainer. He and May both agree that the biggest Champion out of the three of them was and always has been Wally, and so Brendan hands the position to him, while the other two go off to continue training and helping others, kind of like Red does. I might draw it into a comic if I have the energy later :D

Headcanon time!! Brendan:

mellows out a lot with age! he absolutely still loves battling and having a good time but he's started thinking a lot more about what he does before doing it thank goodness

in this version of the story he's norman's kid and maintains a healthy relationship with his dad, because I don't feel like making norman a bad parent and I want brendan to have good things

yes he eventually does away with the stupid hat but definitely keeps it around somewhere, possibly lets one of his mons wear it

a trans man because I'm projecting and I say so

prefers wearing loose thin layers, whilst may likes bulkier, stiffer jackets

eventually he goes on to become hoenn's regional professor

Wally:

becomes well-known for being a genuinely fantastic region champ—he tries to stay out of the spotlight, but is always kind and polite to his challengers, and stays remarkably humble

lets kids braid and put little ponytails in his hair

speaking of hair he probably grows it out at some point but I didn't draw it that way because I would basically just be drawing N so for now he remains dandelion hair boy

stays in touch with the other two and they train together sometimes

thinks it's hilarious that he's the second hoenn champion within the last five years to have a name that contains the word wall

he/they nonbinary supremacy there is no way this guy is cis

will probably run a pokemon center in verdanturf or somewhere nice after eventually being replaced

May:

while brendan mellows out may gets even more chaotic

she's can be a bit tricky to keep up with, but friendly and fun to be around nevertheless

will pat you on the back and offer you a potion after you lose to her encourages all her challengers to keep in contact with her so she can watch them get stronger and cheer them on

strong as heck, can and will beat you (and brendan) in every arm wrestle

lesbian but not dating lisia despite that ship's relative popularity bc I always thought the age gap was pretty hm (lisia and flannery are dating tho)

later on in life would probably take over the battle tower/battle frontier, either as one of the brains or as the overseer for the whole shebang

...and yes all of them get accidentally adopted by their eccentric gay uncles archie and maxie who they all have good relationships with bc I love them

#do not tag as ship! #*chanting* squad squad squad sQUAD SQUAD SQUAD #oh btw may's jacket has prof birch's surname in japanese on it! #and u can see a little ruby on brendan's bracelet as well as a sapphire on may's earring #thought it'd be a fun lil detail #pokemon oras #pokemon #pokemon may #pokemon brendan #pokemon wally #feel free to ask questions :D