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- #1
Q: What is Shipping?
A: Shipping is the belief of love existing, now or at sometime in the future, between two (or more) characters from some fictional creation, such as the Pokémon Anime. Since 1999, the term has also been extended to include a belief of love existing between a fictional character(s) and a real person/real people, and for a belief of love between two (or more) real people. While both of these are usually made up as jokes, some of them are quite serious, and there have really been people who have fallen in love with a character from, say, the Pokémon Anime, or with a person from the Bulliten Boards such as this one.
Q: I'm confused. What's Shipping?
A: *Sigh* Belief that love exists between two (or more) fictional characters/people, happy?
Q: Why are you even including the bits about real people in those definitions, given that you're about to give us a more simple definition, insofar as it applies to the Ships that actually get discussed and/or debated?
A: If I wasn't the one writing all these questions, I'd be smacking whoever asked that for being smart. In any case, it's just because I like to be complete.
Q: So really now.....what is Shipping?
A: As far as the debates and discussions are concerned, as well as the rest of this FAQ for that matter, Shipping is the belief of love existing, now or at sometime in the future, between two or more characters from the Pokémon Anime, or one of the Pokémon Manga series.
Q: What Ships are there?
A: Long story short...a lot. There's other topics here with links to the most recent versions of the (In)Complete List. I'd give you examples of some of the popular ones, but that list changes enough that I really don't want to be updating this post constantly.
Q: Okay, so now I know what Shipping is. So what can I use to prove my Ship?
A: There are two general broad categories of acceptable evidence. Hints, and Meta-Hints. There's also flat out proof, but that's pretty damn rare.
Q: So, what is a Hint?
A: A hint is a piece of dialogue (spoken or "thought" (ie. internal dialoge/monologue) made by the character(s), or an action of the character(s), that directly or indirectly 'hints' to them having feelings for another character.
Q: And a Meta-Hint?
A: A Meta-Hint is generally anything that 'hints' towards a character having feelings for another character, that wasn't actually done by the character in question. In most cases, what are classed as Meta Hints are things believed to show the intent of the creators of Pokémon towards potential character relations. These could be quotes from interviews, background music playing during scenes, odd images in the animation (Such as the infamous Vine Whip Heart), and so on.
Q: "OMG, Jessie & James got married in the Manga, RocketShipping is proven!!111"
A: Yes, and no. Hints (Or in this case, blantant proof), are only valid for the specific Pokémon Universe/Timeline they come from. For example, in this case, with Jessie and James being married in the Pokémon Mangas created by Toshihiro Ono, this is proof of RocketShipping for this specific manga series only, and not for the Anime (Though, given that Ono's manga was supposed to be based off the Anime, it could potentially be a meta-hint there), or for any of the other Pokémon Manga series. Likewise, that Red and Misty married in one of the Mangas (Yes, it happened) doesn't make any difference to any of the other Mangas, nor does it hint to Ash having feelings towards Misty in the Anime. For a more in depth explanation, see the Canon Rules below.
Q: "OMG, have you heard Misty's Song, etc? They, like, totally prove AAML!!111"
A: Shooting this one down always takes a little while. Scroll down to the Canon Rules.
Q: Why do you use the English dub names instead of the Japanese names when discussing the Ships?
A: Generally, just for the sake of convenience, and ease of entry into the discussions of people perhaps not quite so familiar with the names as we are.
Q: What if I don't give a damn about debating? What if I just like talking about my favourite two characters getting together, and stuff like that?
A: That's perfectly fine. The only times you'll get harassed to debate is if you start proclaiming your Ship is true, or actually go looking for a debate in some way like that.
Notes for Debating:
Just a few basic principles anyone in or wanting to get into Shipping Debates should take note of.
1) People will not accept your arguements without evidence. Be prepared to back up your claims.
2) Add http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ to your bookmarks, and self-check your arguments against the logical fallacies there. You *will* be pulled up on them if you make them, and in the process have your argument invalidated.
3) Try not to go over old material too much in a debate unless you've got new evidence that deserves to be discussed. There's no need for further re-hashings of long dead topics.
Canon Rules:
Just so you know in advance....the following are my own Canon Rules, and mine alone. They might not be accepted by everyone else. If that's the case though, I'll be editing these, so by the time most of you read this, it should be to the point where it can take you through any proper Shipping debate.
1) Evidence from the various Anime & Manga universes/timelines is generally only applicable to that universe/timeline. There is, however, one potential exception. Depending on the situation (For example, the crossover chapter in Magical Pokémon Journey, featuring the Anime characters), some proof/hints/meta-hints might be able to be counted as meta-hints for other specific universes/timelines.
2) The original Japanese holds precedence over all translations.
3) Information stated in official translations are only considered canon if not contradicted by the original Japanese, and not contradicted by any of the other official translations. No official translation has precedence over any other official translation.
4) Derivative works, such as the Americian CD's and Pokémon Live, are considered to be based off the Pokémon Anime for the purposes of debate. However, as they are derivative works and not an actual part of the Anime, they are only permissible as proof if they were produced in and for Japan, in Japanese. ie. If the next English Pokémon CD had Misty's voice actor scream "I love Ash and we just did naughty but nice things behind the Pokémon Centre!", it would be at best a Meta-Hint, but more likely just be dismissed entirely (Such as Misty's Song, etc).
A: Shipping is the belief of love existing, now or at sometime in the future, between two (or more) characters from some fictional creation, such as the Pokémon Anime. Since 1999, the term has also been extended to include a belief of love existing between a fictional character(s) and a real person/real people, and for a belief of love between two (or more) real people. While both of these are usually made up as jokes, some of them are quite serious, and there have really been people who have fallen in love with a character from, say, the Pokémon Anime, or with a person from the Bulliten Boards such as this one.
Q: I'm confused. What's Shipping?
A: *Sigh* Belief that love exists between two (or more) fictional characters/people, happy?
Q: Why are you even including the bits about real people in those definitions, given that you're about to give us a more simple definition, insofar as it applies to the Ships that actually get discussed and/or debated?
A: If I wasn't the one writing all these questions, I'd be smacking whoever asked that for being smart. In any case, it's just because I like to be complete.
Q: So really now.....what is Shipping?
A: As far as the debates and discussions are concerned, as well as the rest of this FAQ for that matter, Shipping is the belief of love existing, now or at sometime in the future, between two or more characters from the Pokémon Anime, or one of the Pokémon Manga series.
Q: What Ships are there?
A: Long story short...a lot. There's other topics here with links to the most recent versions of the (In)Complete List. I'd give you examples of some of the popular ones, but that list changes enough that I really don't want to be updating this post constantly.
Q: Okay, so now I know what Shipping is. So what can I use to prove my Ship?
A: There are two general broad categories of acceptable evidence. Hints, and Meta-Hints. There's also flat out proof, but that's pretty damn rare.
Q: So, what is a Hint?
A: A hint is a piece of dialogue (spoken or "thought" (ie. internal dialoge/monologue) made by the character(s), or an action of the character(s), that directly or indirectly 'hints' to them having feelings for another character.
Q: And a Meta-Hint?
A: A Meta-Hint is generally anything that 'hints' towards a character having feelings for another character, that wasn't actually done by the character in question. In most cases, what are classed as Meta Hints are things believed to show the intent of the creators of Pokémon towards potential character relations. These could be quotes from interviews, background music playing during scenes, odd images in the animation (Such as the infamous Vine Whip Heart), and so on.
Q: "OMG, Jessie & James got married in the Manga, RocketShipping is proven!!111"
A: Yes, and no. Hints (Or in this case, blantant proof), are only valid for the specific Pokémon Universe/Timeline they come from. For example, in this case, with Jessie and James being married in the Pokémon Mangas created by Toshihiro Ono, this is proof of RocketShipping for this specific manga series only, and not for the Anime (Though, given that Ono's manga was supposed to be based off the Anime, it could potentially be a meta-hint there), or for any of the other Pokémon Manga series. Likewise, that Red and Misty married in one of the Mangas (Yes, it happened) doesn't make any difference to any of the other Mangas, nor does it hint to Ash having feelings towards Misty in the Anime. For a more in depth explanation, see the Canon Rules below.
Q: "OMG, have you heard Misty's Song, etc? They, like, totally prove AAML!!111"
A: Shooting this one down always takes a little while. Scroll down to the Canon Rules.
Q: Why do you use the English dub names instead of the Japanese names when discussing the Ships?
A: Generally, just for the sake of convenience, and ease of entry into the discussions of people perhaps not quite so familiar with the names as we are.
Q: What if I don't give a damn about debating? What if I just like talking about my favourite two characters getting together, and stuff like that?
A: That's perfectly fine. The only times you'll get harassed to debate is if you start proclaiming your Ship is true, or actually go looking for a debate in some way like that.
Notes for Debating:
Just a few basic principles anyone in or wanting to get into Shipping Debates should take note of.
1) People will not accept your arguements without evidence. Be prepared to back up your claims.
2) Add http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ to your bookmarks, and self-check your arguments against the logical fallacies there. You *will* be pulled up on them if you make them, and in the process have your argument invalidated.
3) Try not to go over old material too much in a debate unless you've got new evidence that deserves to be discussed. There's no need for further re-hashings of long dead topics.
Canon Rules:
Just so you know in advance....the following are my own Canon Rules, and mine alone. They might not be accepted by everyone else. If that's the case though, I'll be editing these, so by the time most of you read this, it should be to the point where it can take you through any proper Shipping debate.
1) Evidence from the various Anime & Manga universes/timelines is generally only applicable to that universe/timeline. There is, however, one potential exception. Depending on the situation (For example, the crossover chapter in Magical Pokémon Journey, featuring the Anime characters), some proof/hints/meta-hints might be able to be counted as meta-hints for other specific universes/timelines.
2) The original Japanese holds precedence over all translations.
3) Information stated in official translations are only considered canon if not contradicted by the original Japanese, and not contradicted by any of the other official translations. No official translation has precedence over any other official translation.
4) Derivative works, such as the Americian CD's and Pokémon Live, are considered to be based off the Pokémon Anime for the purposes of debate. However, as they are derivative works and not an actual part of the Anime, they are only permissible as proof if they were produced in and for Japan, in Japanese. ie. If the next English Pokémon CD had Misty's voice actor scream "I love Ash and we just did naughty but nice things behind the Pokémon Centre!", it would be at best a Meta-Hint, but more likely just be dismissed entirely (Such as Misty's Song, etc).
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