- Joined
- Mar 14, 2021
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So you found Amour creepy because you thought Serena was stalking Ash?OKAY, I guess I gotta reveal how cringe I was growing up.
So. Uh. Storytime. Pokémon was one of my first anime, and I started watching back during BW. I was not expecting to get so engrossed during the show's airing cycle that I would watch ALMOST EVERY EPISODE OF IT. I'm not even kidding! I think the only episodes I'm missing are the ones that didn't get dubbed and a few odd episodes back during BW; all of the subsequent seasons I watched front to back. I'm a Unova baby...though my first Pokémon game was Platinum. I missed out on the DP airing cycle. Somehow, my little ten-year-old girl brain latched on hard to Ash. In this iteration, no less. But it was what it was. That stupid little twerp was my first anime crush and I've still got a soft spot for him, even now when I'm officially waaay too old for him. I imagine that latching had some sort of effect on my psyche because I'm now actively unlearning how to stop suppressing my emotions. Oops. Also watched...at least two-thirds of Indigo League during this time? And the bulk of Orange Islands. That was kind of it.
I came back later for XY just after a big cross-country move, and quit during the dubbing hiatus between XY and XY&Z because they were taking too long for my middle schooler brain. Honestly glad I skipped out on the remainder of Kalos, but that's for reasons I'm technically required to keep out of this thread. (tldr; I'm a former Amourshipper, and the ship's become something of a sore spot for me now. I have a super vague explanation of sorts tucked away in the shipping threads here.) Ash-Greninja's cool as fuck though, and I'm glad I eventually ended up nabbing one of those poseable figures. Also...less fortunately, this is the era my One Singular Ash Ketchum figure is from. So uh...yeah, now the little guy has baggage by association. Sorry dude. Least you look cool on my shelf with my 30 other Pokémon.
And then Journeys started getting dubbed and I knew I had to watch it after my attempts to pirate the JP iteration of SuMo died where it sat...five minutes into the first episode of the season because the website kept crashing. So I kinda watched SuMo happen from afar (though I was fond of how chunky/stocky they made him after the initial shock with the terrible choice of pose on the reveal poster, it was really cute). Maybe I'll come back later and watch it in full.
Journeys for me, has been peak Pokéani fiction. Ash and Goh have a relationship that's just so strong and really the kind of quality I've been after for years. Even if you don't look at it through the lens of shipping, they cover each others' weaknesses so well, and the stronger emphasis on the two of them rather than a trio or a set of five characters really gave them space to just...breathe, and it felt good to watch. It also got me through a helluva hard time. The show, the pair, everything. It helped in a way I don't even really know how to explain beyond being an anchor. I can barely believe Journeys is already over, let alone the fact that it's time to say goodbye to my very first anime crush and all his growth. I have high hopes for our new protagonists...I just have to hope that if Ash is a parent, the mother goes unconfirmed. If they hardcore canonize Amour I might just have to give up Pokéani altogether.
Please come back!
Ash and Serena both support each other and the ship isn’t one sided! It’s an amazing and wholesome ship!