Who does Ash love?

[Habunake]

The ship should be renamed the S.S. Anne.

It sunk, and ain't coming back.

 

[FabuVinny]

No, the SS Anne was perfectly fine when Ritchie was on it in his hoso.

There's always been lots of AdvanceShippers around. They just don't post much.

 

[Cybersai]

There's always been lots of AdvanceShippers around. They just don't post much.

Which is a shame, it would have been a bit interesting to hear what other people had to say during debates while AG was still going on.

Maybe they were just afraid of heavy retaliation from Pokeshippers?

*shrugs*

I also see that Pearlshipping is barely popular on this forum, or at least not yet anyway.

 

[Barb]

Pearlshipping isn't as popular because many of us only see the dub and not the Japanese eps.

 

[Habunake]

And Hikari hasn't done anything really yet too merit Pearlshipping.

 

[Cybersai]

Pearlshipping isn't as popular because many of us only see the dub and not the Japanese eps.

Eh, that's not really a big deal. Advanceshipping already had a sizeable fanbase before the dub of Hoenn ever came out in the U.S.

Although I can see why easily, AG1-AG4 had May extremely clingy to Ash. She was basically all over him in the first few AG eps, especially since they got to travel together alone in AG1 and AG2, before Max or Brock joined. I can see why Pokeshippers resented May in the beginning, her body language and tone was extremely flirty with him in the early Hoenn eps. I've been rewatching them on the Advanced Boxset. (also nice to hear the 4kids voices again, but that's for another thread)

Heh, I love the way Ash is introduced to May's parents in AG3. Norman basically entrusts Ash with the safety of his two children out of nowhere. For all he knew, Ash could have ditched Max in a hole somewhere and kidnapped his precious daughter. Norman must be extremely trusting.

 

[Jo-Jo]

I think Advanceshipping might have gotten a bigger fanbase to start with because it was the first big alternate het-ship to Pokeshipping to come along for Ash since the series began. I imagine loads of people who were sick of nothing but AAML fics jumped at the chance to pair Ash with someone new. Pearlshipping doesn't have that incentive.

 

[Cybersai]

Hm, good point. That's pretty much the reason I liked Advanceshipping so much when AG first started.

May represented the first girl Ash could have theoretically been paired up with aside from Misty, and I found their interactions much more appealing. Considering Ash had to look out for May (and Max), it made their interactions fun to watch.

I also imagine as for Pearlshipping, people realize Hikari will just be written out at the end of D/P anyway, so if the show continues Ash won't be traveling with her anymore. Back when AG and May first started, nobody really knew how long she'd stay or if the writers would introduce a different girl every series.

Considering Hikari (most likely) only has a limited timeframe of around 4 years on the show, it really makes hoping for the ship to be canon unlikely unless the show ends itself after D/P. More likely Hikari will be written off with Nozomi at the end...heehee.

 

[Jo-Jo]

I'll laugh very hard if Hikari doesn't get written out after D/P.

Pearlshipping did accumulate quite a fanbase before the series even started on SPPF. I guess it doesn't register on the radar as much because its supporters tend to keep to themselves - plus it's not as contentious as Advanceshipping was. The Pokeshipping community was on red-alert to begin with about the possibility of Ash being paired with the new girl, but now that AG's over and Ash/May never acted as more than friends towards each other, the paranoia has lessened. So Hikari isn't viewed as a threat to the same degree by Pokeshippers, and Advanceshippers don't bother worrying about Pearlshipping when Contestshipping's the bigger threat by far.

 

[Cybersai]

I'll laugh very hard if Hikari doesn't get written out after D/P.

It would be a shocker, but we know it won't happen anyway.

No matter how popular Hikari and her rivals get over the course of D/P, she'll end up facing the same problems as May when the 5th gen stuff starts rolling around. May/Drew/Harley were very popular and the writers knew people liked them tremendously, but they simply couldn't keep them since May was the "R/S girl" and essentially a last-gen protagonist.

By the time the 5th gen rolls around, Hikari will face the same problem of being "outdated," and since she's considered the face of D/P, she'll get written out with her rivals too. I just hope we don't get a third girl doing Contests, that would be serious overkill. -_-

I am curious if Shinji will manage to survive the transition though. He's not from the games and if they get rid of him Ash will lack a rival again, but he is essentially a D/P character too...so...who knows.

Pearlshipping did accumulate quite a fanbase before the series even started on SPPF. I guess it doesn't register on the radar as much because its supporters tend to keep to themselves - plus it's not as contentious as Advanceshipping was. The Pokeshipping community was on red-alert to begin with about the possibility of Ash being paired with the new girl, but now that AG's over and Ash/May never acted as more than friends towards each other, the paranoia has lessened. So Hikari isn't viewed as a threat to the same degree by Pokeshippers, and Advanceshippers don't bother worrying about Pearlshipping when Contestshipping's the bigger threat by far.

Yeah, it also has to do with the fact that AG was the first time this major switch happened. People were shocked that Misty is gone, wondering why May was here, and since Drew didn't show up all the way till AG35 or so (which wasn't shippy), Advanceshipping was a major possibility on everyones mind.

This time people know what to expect. It's also why people don't complain about May leaving as much as they did Misty, (notice how its only been about three months and barely anyone complains about May leaving anymore?), it's part of the routine by now and since this is the second time this has happened, people have accepted it. Its also why (if I'm allowed to say this), people have stopped campaigning for Misty to return to the anime. With Hikari on board, its gotten pretty obvious the writers will have the newest female protagonist from the games each saga, whereas back in AG nobody knew what the hell was going on and thought Misty/May was going to be like Brock/Tracey, or that Misty would return and we'd have both May/Misty on the group at the same time.

The writers have finally made their intentions clear with D/P and Hikari now, IMO. All that speculation has pretty much ceased and we now know the formula the writers will use from now until the series ends.

I also must say, Pearlshipping doesn't even seem to be popular in Japan either. I mean, I've seen a few fanarts of it here and there, but otherwise there's basically nothing.

There is some Hikari/Nozomi stuff showing up though, which means the Japanese fans are considering it a serious possibility for Hikari's canon ship.

 

[xRubyx]

I think Ash loves Misty, and Misty loves him back even though he is clueless, you just know he loves her. Even if they are both so far away.

 

[FabuVinny]

They're not that far away. And we know they stay in contact by phone off-camera.

 

[Cybersai]

Ash and Misty seem pretty indifferent to me, especially in their AG appearances.

Seriously, they barely had any noteworthy scenes in those entire three episodes at Pallet. If the writers aren't showing anything, there's a reason for it. I think people need to stop thinking about how they interacted with each other in 1998 and think how they interact with each other NOW.

If you want to see a crush that actually amounted to something on the show: see: May/Drew. Its laughable to assume the former in AG is as noticeable as the latter, especially with the way AG ended.

 

[Swifty]

I think people need to stop thinking about how they interacted with each other in 1998 and think how they interact with each other NOW.

No problem, because they interacted with each other pretty much the same as they did before in 2001.

 

[Cybersai]

No problem, because they interacted with each other pretty much the same as they did before in 2001.

Oh really? So Misty having basic conversation with him and not caring that she has to return to the Cerulean Gym anymore isn't any different?

Their goodbyes at the end of the Cleffa episode was similar to saying goodbye to any filler character. They just turned around and walked off, and didn't even bother waving to her goodbye like they used to.

Misty didn't even walk up to Ash in that ep and say goodbye to him one on one, she just turned around and walked off. Pretty sad, huh?

Considering Misty probably won't be seen again until Ash returns home from Shinou, I love how Pokeshippers are going to spend the next 3 years without any Ash/Misty interaction and still think the writers have it as a current plotline on their minds.

If there's a 5th gen that still uses Ash as the main character, what are you guys gonna do then? After Hikari leaves and is replaced by girl #4, and Misty continues to rot in Cerulean for another 3-4 years, then what?

Its already been 4 years of AG, plus another 4 of D/P, and possibly even another 4 of the 5th gen after that with no Pokeshipping. That's 12 years altogether, pretty shameful to hold out for 12 years of your life for something that may or may not happen. I'm sure when we're all in our 30's still waiting for Pokeshipping to happen, something can be said to be definitely wrong here.

 

[Cat Silver]

AshxJames or AshxTracey dangit!

... Maybe Brock, in one of those really bad comfort fictions. "Oh you didn't get the girl? What? Joy/anyfemalealive has broken your heart?! Let me make you happy again! *Clueless moment.* *Insert Snogging.*"

And then my brain breaks.

*ahem* I personally think AshxPikachu is the best ship Around.

Sure, Misty sure got misty-eyed around him but he's clueless about her as anything more than a friend. May, oh Good Lord no. She's pathetic! I refuse to admit anything! Haven't anything about Hikari, but eh... I'm more of a yaoi shipper than het. I didn't vote in the poll solely because it said "other female".

*Pauses hard.*

Wait. GARYXASH OH GOD. *flail* I'm sure we can come up with a reason! Consider how much fanart there is of them! Mind you using their Japanese names most like, but I fail at remembering anything outside of Saotoshi. *Beats self with a pine log.* But yes! They're so cute in the rival style pairing!

 

[Cybersai]

May, oh Good Lord no. She's pathetic! I refuse to admit anything!

Haha, grow up. What are you, another whiny Misty elitist?

 

[Luna Tiger]

Haha, grow up. What are you, another whiny Misty elitist?

Considering she didnt praise Misty as Ash's best match, I don't think that's the case. Stop jumping on people when they say anything remotely negative about May by connecting it to Misty.

And Cat Silver, don't bash May here.

 

[Habunake]

May by connecting it to Misty.

Sadly, that usually is the case. XD

Not that Scott is right though.

 

[Princess Ketchum]

no one xD he is not intrested in love