Why do fans like Serena so much?

[KenzeyEevee]

Why do they like her so much? Or why dont you like her?

 

[Cresselia92]

Huh… people like Serena much? To the contrary, I’ve seen plenty of people who hated her guts, labeling her bland, simple shipping fodder and underdeveloped.

As of me, I really like her because I can relate with her a lot. We have similar personality and similar past, with both of us disliking riding animals (Rhyhorn for Serena and horses for me). I also found the whole shipping thing cute.

I just wish she was developed a bit more and more consistently, that’s all.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Er...
Because different people have different preferences?

 

[BraixenFennekin]

I really liked Braixen and Sylveon

 

[Hidden Mew]

I don't know how popular Serena is in relation to the other female leads, but a big reason for her popularity is her pairing with Ash. I still think that fans made a bigger deal about her crush than the show did though. There were definitely teases for it throughout the show and the initial information about Serena before XY aired at least implied that there was a crush, but I've seen fans treat her like shipping was the only noteworthy thing about Serena. I can see why people would get that impression and for better or for worse, kissing Ash at the end of XY is probably one of the more memorable things about Serena that fans would bring up, but I also think that does a bit of disservice towards her character.

None of Serena's best moments in the series have anything to do with her crush on Ash. Her best moments in my opinion revolve around her determination to become Kalos Queen and becoming a better trainer with her Pokemon. While I do still loathe Pokemon Showcases, I like the character development that Serena got from her journey. Her development was believable and handled pretty well for the most part. She's pretty likable and I think that she had a nice friendship with the rest of the XY cast.

I definitely had problems with her storyline, such as how long it took for her to find a goal and the goal itself not being nearly as challenging as the show kept trying to claim it was, but at least she was likable enough to where it wasn't harder to sit through Showcases. She isn't my favorite female lead, but I think she would be third after Dawn and May in that list.

 

[Alola]

Well, I can think of several reasons:

~She's based off Serena from the games, who is one of the most popular female player characters that we've had of late. People like her design especially, so an animated version only capitalizes off of that success. Admittedly, I really liked her design, both before and after her haircut.

~The fact that initially she lacked a goal was a breath of fresh air, for any of Ash's companions. But notably, she didn't want to master a type like Misty or Iris, or be a Coordinator like May or Dawn. She was full of potential, excelled in several hobbies, and was relatable in that sense to many a viewer.

~She's just a very nice person. We had just come from Iris' combative and snarky nature, so seeing Serena be unfailingly polite and rarely ever angry was quite a change. A lot of people liked that about her, as well as other personality traits that she showcased (haha, get it?) from time to time. Not counting Sun & Moon, she certainly is the nicest female companion we've had so far.

~Her selection of Pokemon was popular. Fennekin/Braixen got really big because of her in Japan, so much so that Braixen earned a slot in the Pokken game. Pancham was charming and owning a Slyveon was just the icing on the cake.

~The idol sensation was also pretty big in Japan during her time on screen. Her character ending, and later profession as a Pokemon Performer, reflected that and surely boosted her popularity.

~Then you have the ship-teasing. Throughout the entire XY(Z) saga, and then with the big kiss that ended it-she's got the farthest out of all of Ash's potential love interests. It also helps that she was pretty explicit about her love for him, and that garnered her many a fan.

~She had some funny moments on screen, like her impersonation of Ash or when she used to mutter what everyone was thinking under her breath.

 

[Gabo2oo]

I don't like Serena much, but she kissed Ash on the mouth. I'm pretty sure big part of the fanbase (namely, the children this show is targeted towards) have one heck of a reason there.

 

[Mikuri]

Huh… people like Serena much? To the contrary, I’ve seen plenty of people who hated her guts, labeling her bland, simple shipping fodder and underdeveloped.

Yes, they do.

After the Advanced Generation series ended, May's fans were obviously sad with her departure, but they were in no way confused or outraged. They knew Misty had left the cast at the end of the original series, and they also knew it was time for May to step down for a new female lead to enter. When Dawn left the main cast it was a shock to virtually no one. There were a few holding on to hope that Dawn—being the first and so far only co-protagonist on the show—would stick around, but when they learned that she would not be traveling with Ash to Unova, they moved on fairly quickly. When Iris left, people were not only fine because they already knew it was the norm for the leading lady to last only one series, they were also glad to see her go.

It all changed with Serena. There is a sizable amount of art depicting Serena wearing Moon's clothes and numerous online petitions to bring Serena to the Sun & Moon series. Serena's fans act like they were betrayed and they have this feeling that her departure is unreasonable, unjustified. Of course not all people are the same, and not every fan of Serena thinks that way, but there is a vocal part of her fans that think she should be a part of the main cast forever and do not accept the fact she left. What made Serena popular was the shipping factor, and fans of AmourShipping think she is destined to be with Ash forever, so to them it makes no sense that she left his side.

As for me, I don't like Serena very much, and I don't dislike her either, but I do think that she is overrated. I've seen people saying that the scene in which Serena cuts her hair at the pier after losing her first Pokémon Showcase is the most beautiful and emotional the anime has ever produced. *major eyeroll* I've said here and here the reasons why I think Serena failed as a character, so if anyone's interested in my opinion on her, check out these posts. There's more scattered around the forums, but I think these two cover it well.

I still think that fans made a bigger deal about her crush than the show did though.

Our entire fandom blows things out of proportion, but Serena's fans had the writers on their side, specially Omode. I mean, an episode titled Satoshi and Serena's First Date!? The Tree of Promises and the Presents!! is ridiculous. Also, I think it was Shokotan who called Serena a "legendary heroine" (pause for laughs) while commenting on her best moments, which of course featured several AmourShipping hints.

There were definitely teases for it throughout the show and the initial information about Serena before XY aired at least implied that there was a crush, but I've seen fans treat her like shipping was the only noteworthy thing about Serena.

Not the only one, but the major one. The writers made that crystal clear in her final episode, in which she literally turns to Ash and says "you are my goal". And here I thought that her goal was to become Kalos Queen?

None of Serena's best moments in the series have anything to do with her crush on Ash. Her best moments in my opinion revolve around her determination to become Kalos Queen and becoming a better trainer with her Pokemon.

That's your own personal opinion, many would say otherwise. I agree that Serena's best moments come from her career as a Performer, but as I said the show itself treats her crush on Ash as her defining trait.

 

[Lillie]

I liked her personality and her character design. I also liked that she was based off of the female protagonist from the XY games.
I'm not really a fan of how she was handled, but whenever she did get some character development it was pretty good.

 

[Johtohfiller]

Her storyline has pacing issues but I still like her a lot, out of the main girls she's either my second favorite after Dawn or tied with her. I've never seen people talk about her relationship with her mom that much but I thought that was well done.

 

[SonansuMan]

I personally don't like Serena, but I can think of multiple reasons why others would:

* Struggled initially in development around the first season but had her character greatly expanded and touched on around the second and third season

* Similarly to Dawn, was the semi-protagonist for a good portion of the XY series.

* Showed one of the biggest examples of maturity out of characters in the series

* Had the closest affiliation of Ash compared to any other girl he's traveled/accompanied

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

I don't know how popular Serena is in relation to the other female leads

Thankfully we have these polls to check:
Bulbagarden travelling companion poll
NEWS: - Pokemon travelling companion poll

After the Advanced Generation series ended, May's fans were obviously sad with her departure, but they were in no way confused or outraged.

Have you met Scott?

When Dawn left the main cast it was a shock to virtually no one. There were a few holding on to hope that Dawn—being the first and so far only co-protagonist on the show—would stick around, but when they learned that she would not be traveling with Ash to Unova, they moved on fairly quickly.

Maybe too quickly, considering what came out after that...

It all changed with Serena. There is a sizable amount of art depicting Serena wearing Moon's clothes and numerous online petitions to bring Serena to the Sun & Moon series. Serena's fans act like they were betrayed and they have this feeling that her departure is unreasonable, unjustified.

I'm not really sure that there is so much difference between disappointments of fans of different characters. I clearly remember that there is a big disappointment about Hikari's leaving the show. I think fans of Hikari were not vocally "strong" about their disappointment because they didn't want to look like the fans of a certain other character. I think people were more vocal about Kasumi and Serena's leaving the show because of most of their fandoms were also shippers. Shippers were always the most vocal parts of every fandom. Even Hikari's leaving the show was most vocally criticized by Pearlshipper part of her fandom. There is also other reasons that might help: People were obviously upset about Kalos League loss and SM's new art style, there was much less internet petitions back then in 2010, etc.

What made Serena popular was the shipping factor, and fans of AmourShipping think she is destined to be with Ash forever, so to them it makes no sense that she left his side.

Were they wrong though? I think it's the main crust of the problem. When you think about it... it really makes no sense for Serena to leave the person she romantically interested, just to participate on a contest at Hoenn. We still don't know what happened to her. Did she give up being the Kalos Queen and now doing contest in Hoenn? Did she return to Kalos and doing chores for that creepy old woman? Did she go to Kanto and doing chores for Satoshi's mama? We'll never know! Same could be said for Hikari, she never gave a reason to not travel with Satoshi. Satoshi had no plan about the region he'll go next, yet Hikari said nothing about traveling with him again and part with him on pretext of a modelling job. Why is that? There is a implication that she is grown and no longer need Satoshi and Takeshi's help, so, she leave her friends because she no longer needs them? They're important for her as long as they're useful to her? The show never gave an answer for that. We were always too eager to belittle "BRING BACK MISTY/SERENA" part of fandom, yet aren't they were right to demand their favourite character back, or at least a better explanation for their no longer traveling with the person they supposed to attached? Maybe we were too quiet about Hikari's farewell to the show and should follow others' example?

 

[Hidden Mew]

Yes, they do.

After the Advanced Generation series ended, May's fans were obviously sad with her departure, but they were in no way confused or outraged. They knew Misty had left the cast at the end of the original series, and they also knew it was time for May to step down for a new female lead to enter. When Dawn left the main cast it was a shock to virtually no one. There were a few holding on to hope that Dawn—being the first and so far only co-protagonist on the show—would stick around, but when they learned that she would not be traveling with Ash to Unova, they moved on fairly quickly. When Iris left, people were not only fine because they already knew it was the norm for the leading lady to last only one series, they were also glad to see her go.

It all changed with Serena. There is a sizable amount of art depicting Serena wearing Moon's clothes and numerous online petitions to bring Serena to the Sun & Moon series. Serena's fans act like they were betrayed and they have this feeling that her departure is unreasonable, unjustified. Of course not all people are the same, and not every fan of Serena thinks that way, but there is a vocal part of her fans that think she should be a part of the main cast forever and do not accept the fact she left. What made Serena popular was the shipping factor, and fans of AmourShipping think she is destined to be with Ash forever, so to them it makes no sense that she left his side.

I do remember people being sad over May's departure, especially when D/P were going to include Contests, and people expected Dawn to stick around too, but it was different than with Serena. I remember seeing those fanarts of Serena in Moon's clothes and the petitions for her to come to Alola. Based on what I saw, the majority of people who wanted Serena to stay were more focused on having Ash travel around with a girlfriend or get more shipping teases rather than anything that helped Serena's own character development or her goal.

Our entire fandom blows things out of proportion, but Serena's fans had the writers on their side, specially Omode. I mean, an episode titled Satoshi and Serena's First Date!? The Tree of Promises and the Presents!! is ridiculous. Also, I think it was Shokotan who called Serena a "legendary heroine" (pause for laughs) while commenting on her best moments, which of course featured several AmourShipping hints.

Those episode titles were some of the teases the show provided and I do remember some fan backlash to the Sylveon episode since people wanted more Ash and Serena moments too, but I still think that the crush itself was blown out of promotion mostly by the fans. The show did provide fuel for the fans, so it's not like it came out of nowhere, but generally speaking, I don't think it was treated as big of a deal within the show. I don't remember Shokotan calling Serena a legendary heroine though. That is giving her a bit too much praise.

Not the only one, but the major one. The writers made that crystal clear in her final episode, in which she literally turns to Ash and says "you are my goal". And here I thought that her goal was to become Kalos Queen?

Yeah, that didn't help matters either. I appreciated how the dub handled that line. I think Serena said that Ash would like the person she would become, or something along those lines. It can still be read as Serena wanting to be more appealing to Ash, but at the very least, it wouldn't be as blatant as saying that Ash is her goal.

That's your own personal opinion, many would say otherwise. I agree that Serena's best moments come from her career as a Performer, but as I said the show itself treats her crush on Ash as her defining trait.

I wouldn't say that Serena's crush on Ash is her defining trait. The show treated it more like a gimmick than anything else. It's one reason why I couldn't really consider her crush as a subplot. It was something to make Serena stand out among other female leads, as well as provide some teases for the pairing, but I don't think of it as her defining trait or that the show treated her crush as such. I think it would have been a bigger deal in the show if that was the case and aside from their attempts to tease the audience with the pairing, it really wasn't.

 

[Huikyeong]

Because people like cute girls and Serena was cute

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Had the closest affiliation of Ash compared to any other girl he's traveled/accompanied

I don't see them really close that much, at least not close as Hikari or Haruka was, because of obvious reasons: Serena has a secret crush on him and I don't think that you can really close to someone if you're hiding something like that from him.

Because people like cute girls and Serena was cute

I read this in Shinji's voice. Something he would actually say.

I wouldn't say that Serena's crush on Ash is her defining trait. The show treated it more like a gimmick than anything else. It's one reason why I couldn't really consider her crush as a subplot. It was something to make Serena stand out among other female leads, as well as provide some teases for the pairing, but I don't think of it as her defining trait or that the show treated her crush as such. I think it would have been a bigger deal in the show if that was the case and aside from their attempts to tease the audience with the pairing, it really wasn't.

I disagree with this completely. Her romantic attraction towards Satoshi is one of her defining personality traits, saying anything less would be an understatement. It's also wrong to assume that her crush is blown out of proportion by shippers or it was just teasing on part of writers. Kotone's words about Satoshi and Hikari would be teasing, what Serena done was much more than that, and shippers weren't in the blame, show-runners did everything they could do to promote their "ship", they went even far enough to give them a kiss scene, a thing none of us veteran viewers ever expected to happen. Serena's crush is important part of her personality and it's focused on many episodes. Her crush is the reason for her traveling with Satoshi, it's the defining trait of the relationship between them, you can't brush it aside as mere gimmick.

I've seen people saying that the scene in which Serena cuts her hair at the pier after losing her first Pokémon Showcase is the most beautiful and emotional the anime has ever produced. *major eyeroll*

Well, it depends on the viewer and her/his preferences. But what I like about that scene was how they actually show her crying wholeheartedly about something upset her. This show always had a tendency to suppress these kind of negative feelings, treat crying as a sign of weakness. Characters are forced to hide these kind of feelings and show no negative emotions. It was nice to see a character to embrace these feelings and let it go.

 

[Mikuri]

Have you met Scott?

I remember reading and replying to his posts. Good times. He missed May very much and often criticized Dawn and everything surrounding her for the silliest of reasons, but I don't know if he ever went as far as creating online petitions to bring May back to the show.

Maybe too quickly, considering what came out after that...

I'm in no way saying that Dawn's fans aren't passionate enough or that they don't care about her as much as Amourshippers care about Serena. As it should be clear by now, Dawn is my favorite character and I was sad to see her go. I think the Diamond & Pearl series was the show at its best and from the looks of things no other series will ever be as good, let alone surpass it. However, it's one think to miss the best written female lead of the show, and another thing to go around collecting signatures to try and persuade the show's executive produces to bring my favorite character back. That's batshit insane. I'm not doing that.

I'm not really sure that there is so much difference between disappointments of fans of different characters. I clearly remember that there is a big disappointment about Hikari's leaving the show. I think fans of Hikari were not vocally "strong" about their disappointment because they didn't want to look like the fans of a certain other character. I think people were more vocal about Kasumi and Serena's leaving the show because of most of their fandoms were also shippers. Shippers were always the most vocal parts of every fandom. Even Hikari's leaving the show was most vocally criticized by Pearlshipper part of her fandom. There is also other reasons that might help: People were obviously upset about Kalos League loss and SM's new art style, there was much less internet petitions back then in 2010, etc.

Missing your favorite character is perfectly normal and is something we all feel. The difference lies in the way we express it. We can accept the fact that this never-ending show has moved on to a brand new series because that's how things work, or we can embarrass ourselves with delusional petitions.

Were they wrong though? I think it's the main crust of the problem. When you think about it... it really makes no sense for Serena to leave the person she romantically interested, just to participate on a contest at Hoenn. We still don't know what happened to her. Did she give up being the Kalos Queen and now doing contest in Hoenn? Did she return to Kalos and doing chores for that creepy old woman? Did she go to Kanto and doing chores for Satoshi's mama? We'll never know! Same could be said for Hikari, she never gave a reason to not travel with Satoshi. Satoshi had no plan about the region he'll go next, yet Hikari said nothing about traveling with him again and part with him on pretext of a modelling job. Why is that? There is a implication that she is grown and no longer need Satoshi and Takeshi's help, so, she leave her friends because she no longer needs them? They're important for her as long as they're useful to her? The show never gave an answer for that. We were always too eager to belittle "BRING BACK MISTY/SERENA" part of fandom, yet aren't they were right to demand their favourite character back, or at least a better explanation for their no longer traveling with the person they supposed to attached? Maybe we were too quiet about Hikari's farewell to the show and should follow others' example?

Then again not much of Serena's journey makes sense. I don't think Serena's fans are upset she left due to the reason provided being lame. They would be disappointed with her departure one way or another. They wanted her to be around Ash for eternity. The writers could have said Grace was terminally ill and they still would want her to go on to the next series rather than stay home to be with her mom.

I don't think they're right to demand their favorite character back. We have to understand how things work and Pokémon the anime works by soft resetting itself with each new generation of games. It's like vegetarians asking McDonald's to only sell salads because animals are dying for us to consume meat. It's unthinkable. Smart people ask for things that can actually be accomplished. Do you really think the writers will bring Misty back from beyond the grave because a bunch of people in their late twenties are unhappy with the current cast?

Those episode titles were some of the teases the show provided and I do remember some fan backlash to the Sylveon episode since people wanted more Ash and Serena moments too, but I still think that the crush itself was blown out of promotion mostly by the fans. The show did provide fuel for the fans, so it's not like it came out of nowhere, but generally speaking, I don't think it was treated as big of a deal within the show. I don't remember Shokotan calling Serena a legendary heroine though. That is giving her a bit too much praise.

I usually blame the fans for being delusional, for getting their hopes sky high, for expecting things they shouldn't, and for not knowing any better. You may remember me laughing while everyone was crying their eyes out after learning of Ash's loss in the Lumiose Conference, and again, I know this fandom blows things out of proportion. However, I feel that you are trying to lessen the importance given to AmourShipping over the course of the XY series, both within and outside the show. Not saying Amourshippers were right in hoping that Ash would ask Grace to bless his marriage to Serena. On the contrary, I'm saying they're crazy. But did they had help. And what a help it was. Their craziness was supported by the anime staff.

I wouldn't say that Serena's crush on Ash is her defining trait. The show treated it more like a gimmick than anything else. It's one reason why I couldn't really consider her crush as a subplot. It was something to make Serena stand out among other female leads, as well as provide some teases for the pairing, but I don't think of it as her defining trait or that the show treated her crush as such. I think it would have been a bigger deal in the show if that was the case and aside from their attempts to tease the audience with the pairing, it really wasn't.

What would you say is Serena's defining trait then? Certainly not her passion for Pokémon Showcases, a competition that she only discovered a year after her debut appearance and that got dropped by the writers months before the series concluded.

Serena's crush on Ash is her defining trait. Serena did not start her journey because she wanted to go out and share experiences with a partner Pokémon. It was because she wanted to return a handkerchief to Ash. She wasn't trying to escape her mother, she was hoping to meet Ash after seeing him on TV. Ash was the reason Serena left home, and after 140 episodes, Ash was still the reason Serena wanted to be a better version of herself. I'm not making things up or telling you my interpretation of what I saw, I'm telling you what actually happened and that's something you can see for yourself.

Well, it depends on the viewer and her/his preferences. But what I like about that scene was how they actually show her crying wholeheartedly about something upset her. This show always had a tendency to suppress these kind of negative feelings, treat crying as a sign of weakness. Characters are forced to hide these kind of feelings and show no negative emotions. It was nice to see a character to embrace these feelings and let it go.

Uh no. This series has a problem in showing male characters crying. They will usually have males displaying vulnerability through anger (see Paul's entire existence for reference) or the need to be alone. Ash lost that Full Battle against Paul in Lake Acuity and what did he do? He lied on a grass field with his hat covering 90% of his face. Crying scenes are reserved for girls. May was shown crying after her loss to Solidad in the semifinals of the Kanto Grand Festival. And Dawn had a fair share of moments in which she was shown crying over upsetting events. Serena was breaking no barriers.

In my opinion the scene in which Serena cries and proceeds to cut her hair was nothing but the writers trying to compensate for not doing enough with her character for a full year. The scene was void of any real meaning. A person can only cry the way Serena cried when they deeply care about something. Serena was crying for a thing she didn't know existed a few episodes prior to that moment. There's no way on Earth she could be that depressed.

When Dawn lost her first Pokémon Contest, she called her mom crying. Dawn always wanted to be like her mother. She grew up polishing Johanna's gold trophies and she left home because she made it her goal to become a Top Coordinator. While on the phone, Dawn went as far as apologizing to Johanna. She wanted to make mama proud and she failed.

Spot the differences.

 

[Antiyonder]

I definitely had problems with her storyline, such as how long it took for her to find a goal and the goal itself not being nearly as challenging as the show kept trying to claim it was, but at least she was likable enough to where it wasn't harder to sit through Showcases. She isn't my favorite female lead, but I think she would be third after Dawn and May in that list.

Agreed. As for her storyline, yeah I'd say that having her not getting an immediate endgame goal could have worked, but rather than just have her traveling with the group for a good chunk of the series and doing very little, others I recall suggested that she could have tried for different types of goals, only to quit until attempting the Showcases.

Gives her something more meaningful in the meantime, plus it give validity to Grace's concern that it would be just another thing she tries and quits at rather than merely telling us these concerns.

Our entire fandom blows things out of proportion, but Serena's fans had the writers on their side, specially Omode. I mean, an episode titled Satoshi and Serena's First Date!? The Tree of Promises and the Presents!! is ridiculous. Also, I think it was Shokotan who called Serena a "legendary heroine" (pause for laughs) while commenting on her best moments, which of course featured several AmourShipping hints.

I'd also argue that the backstory of them meeting when they were younger seemed like it was done to give the two such a feel. I mean you could rewrite their meeting to be restricted to the present and aside from a few episodes, it really shouldn't change much of what was written later.

 

[Almonds]

Well, I can think of several reasons:
~The idol sensation was also pretty big in Japan during her time on screen. Her character ending, and later profession as a Pokemon Performer, reflected that and surely boosted her popularity.

I never really took notice of this when I first saw Dori Dori as the new ending. However, now that I think about it, it was after idol animations like Love Live! kick-started the idol genre sensation. Despite its flaws, I did like the Showcases because of how they included dancing with Pokemon on stage.

Also, this might be a minor thing, but Serena was also given a ton of different clothing while she stayed - even for no particular reason (like when she, Bonnie and Diancie played dress-up at the mall in Movie 17). It's probably the influence of customization from the games, but it was really nice to see characters change clothes and/or hairstyles every now and then.

 

[EscLucy]

I didn't like Serena that much. She felt bland to me and her character development was still quite weak. I didn't really like Showcases so that didn't do her any favours. Even though she was overcoming her fear of her first performance (when Fennekin fell), I still didn't like her character development. Like many other trainers, she got stronger after time progressed. That isn't character development. Also, I don't like that she is liked mainly because of a ship (Amourshipping), which whilst the ship was done well for a family show, was still quite simple.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I usually blame the fans for being delusional, for getting their hopes sky high, for expecting things they shouldn't, and for not knowing any better. You may remember me laughing while everyone was crying their eyes out after learning of Ash's loss in the Lumiose Conference, and again, I know this fandom blows things out of proportion. However, I feel that you are trying to lessen the importance given to AmourShipping over the course of the XY series, both within and outside the show. Not saying Amourshippers were right in hoping that Ash would ask Grace to bless his marriage to Serena. On the contrary, I'm saying they're crazy. But did they had help. And what a help it was. Their craziness was supported by the anime staff.

I don't think I'm trying to lessen the importance given to Amourshipping. It's more like I just didn't really see it as that big of a deal in the first place. The anime staff definitely added fuel to the fire for fans of the pairing, but I didn't think it happened as often as people claimed it did. They would throw some teases every now and then, with some being more blatant than others like their "date" episode or almost getting a chance to dance together, but I didn't think it was as prominent as fans of the pairing made it out to be. Maybe it helps that I just wasn't into the pairing. There are few Pokemon anime pairings I can really get behind with and even fewer Ash related pairings since those really go nowhere. That might have made it easier for me to see it as a gimmick, which I still stand by.

What would you say is Serena's defining trait then? Certainly not her passion for Pokémon Showcases, a competition that she only discovered a year after her debut appearance and that got dropped by the writers months before the series concluded.

Serena's crush on Ash is her defining trait. Serena did not start her journey because she wanted to go out and share experiences with a partner Pokémon. It was because she wanted to return a handkerchief to Ash. She wasn't trying to escape her mother, she was hoping to meet Ash after seeing him on TV. Ash was the reason Serena left home, and after 140 episodes, Ash was still the reason Serena wanted to be a better version of herself. I'm not making things up or telling you my interpretation of what I saw, I'm telling you what actually happened and that's something you can see for yourself.

She did later say that she left home because she didn't want to be a Rhyhorn Racer, but that could be read as a retcon and even if that was the case, going to find Ash was definitely set her off on that journey. As for what I think her defining trait is, I would probably go with determination. While Serena didn't discover Pokemon Showcase until well after joining the cast, I think that her determination to become Kalos Queen says a lot more about her character than just girl with crush on Ash does. Most people are going to see her crush as the most noteworthy thing about her for various reasons though.

Agreed. As for her storyline, yeah I'd say that having her not getting an immediate endgame goal could have worked, but rather than just have her traveling with the group for a good chunk of the series and doing very little, others I recall suggested that she could have tried for different types of goals, only to quit until attempting the Showcases.

Gives her something more meaningful in the meantime, plus it give validity to Grace's concern that it would be just another thing she tries and quits at rather than merely telling us these concerns.

I wish that had happened since it would have given her something to do for her first year. I remember people really liked that she didn't know what to do at first because it made her more relatable. I can understand that appeal, but Serena not having a goal didn't really bother her until the Summer Camp arc. Even then, she learned about Showcases soon afterwards, making that conflict pretty moot. If she had struggled to find something that she liked, that would have given her a much more relatable conflict. Plus, it definitely would have made Grace's concern when Serena did want to perform in Pokemon Showcases much more reasonable. While that is one of Serena's best episodes, it would have worked a lot more if we did see her try and give up on different goals. It would have given the situation much more emotional weight if this was the first goal she truly liked after struggling to find one.