Pokémon Already Proved Who Ash Ketchum's True Love is, & It's Not Misty (2024)

Despite being one of fans' most beloved ships in Pokémon, Ash and Misty have proven not to be one of the series' long-term couples. Over the years, the anime has presented the main hero with numerous companions. Of all the girls Ash has been friends with, though, none have been as close to a potential relationship as Serena.

Pokémon began airing in 1997 in Japan, with the English release following a year later. From the beginning, fans have had a number of ships they've cheered on. One of the popular pairings in the Pokémon anime series was Ash and Misty, his long-time traveling companion. Considering the age of the characters (Ash is consistently said to be 10 years old in every Pokémon season) and the audience, it makes sense that there wouldn't be any official relationships early on. However, after twenty-five years, there still haven't been very many romantic developments for the series' long-term hero, aside from one particular character: Serena.

Serena is Ash's True Love in the Pokémon Anime, Not Misty

Pokémon is Produced By OLM & Based on the Video Game Franchise By Game Freak

A few moments and songs from the series and associated films have implied that Misty has romantic feelings towards Ash. Misty's feelings were teased in Pokémon the Movie 2000, and the episode Misty Meets Her Match! in Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, as well as in the songs "Misty's Song" (Pokémon: 2.B.A. Master) and "He Drives Me Crazy" (Totally Pokémon), which are sung from Misty's perspective and discuss the feelings she can't openly share.

However, these teases of romance were never fully developed, and many of the hints towards a romantic Ash and Misty relationship were added by the dub. Misty would eventually leave the show as a regular, to be replaced by other female leads like May, Dawn, Iris, and eventually, Serena, a new romantic "rival" of sorts from Pokémon XY, the sixth generation series. As such, fan ships are typically split into two groupings: PokéShipping (Ash and Misty) and AmourShipping (Ash and Serena).

Serena is unique among Ash's female traveling companions in that she met Ash before the series when the two were younger; he helped her at a summer camp after she injured herself. Throughout XY, it's clear that Serena has a crush on him, to the extent that it's even discussed by others. While the two have never had an official relationship, an implied kiss between Ash and Serena did occur when the XYZ seasons starring Serena ended and the two said goodbye. That gives her a leg up on Misty, who never had any kiss with Ash.

Did Pokemon Ever Actually Hint That Ash & Misty Were A Potential Couple?

Many of the Hints Towards an Ash/Misty Romance Were Dub Original

The Ash/Misty ship in particular is more common in the Western fandom than it is in Japan, although it obviously has its fair share of supporters there as well. This is in part due to some of the changes which the Pokémon anime dub made to dialog, attempting to make Misty's feelings for Ash into something more overt. There are obviously moments in the original which weren't changed, such as Misty blushing when thinking about Ash, but these were often turned up when translating to make them more obvious, and imply an intensity that was absent in the Japanese versions.

One of the most infamous examples of how the dub changed Misty's dialog to suggest a relationship between them is in "The Heartbreak of Brock," where Misty comments about marrying Ash, a line that wasn't in the Japanese version at all. Additionally, there was the "2B A Master" music CD which was released in support of the anime and featured a song entitled "Misty's Song," which sings about her feelings for Ash and how she wants to confess them. This song was also featured in the "Pokémon Live!" stage play, but is entirely the creation of Western companies like 4Kids.

While Misty clearly does have some feelings for Ash, even in the Japanese version, the idea of a full romance blossoming is largely due to changes made in the dubbing process. There's no indication that the original anime was ever planning to canonize Ash and Misty, although the manga adaptation The Electric Tale of Pikachu does hint at a relationship fairly heavily. Still, this manga represents a distinctly different continuity than the anime, so it can't really be used to support plans for the anime itself.

No Romance for Ash Ketchum

Despite these teases and many other potential romantic interests along the way (Melody in Pokémon the Movie 2000, Latias/Bianca in Pokémon Heroes, Miette in Pokémon XY/XYZ), Ash has not disclosed romantic feelings for any of his companions. It is well-known that he values his companions, as well as the time he has spent with them. Ash has sometimes expressed that he misses them or carries reminders of them with him, such as Misty's fishing lure. It's fair to point out, though, that Ash also has a fishing lure from Cilan, another traveling companion with whom he had no romantic connection.

When it was announced that Ash Ketchum would be leaving the series, many fans hoped that a romance would finally be established for Ash. Those hopes became even stronger once it was clear that Misty and Ash would reunite for Ash's final 13 episodes, offering a chance to provide a capstone to their relationship. However, the series once again ignored Ash and Misty's potential romance; their interactions in these final episodes were no more romantic than in early episodes, and she played a relatively small role in the finale.

Even Ash and Misty's final goodbye was disappointingly casual, putting the last nail in the coffin for a canonical Ash and Misty romance. Serena herself saw one last return appearance late in Pokémon Journeys as well, but in that episode, she and Ash only see each other momentarily and don't get the chance to speak, leaving their potential romance unresolved as well.

Serena may not be as prominent as Misty in the Pokémon franchise as a whole, but she has been the girl who has come closest to declaring her feelings for Ash, and even took a step further in revealing them, which gives her more claim to the title than Misty.

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Pokemon

Created by

Satoshi Taijiri , Ken Sugimori , Junichi Masuda

First Film

Pokemon: The First Movie

Latest Film

Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle

First TV Show

Pokémon

First Episode Air Date

April 1, 1997

Current Series

Pokémon

TV Show(s)

Pokémon

Video Game(s)

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet , Pokémon Legends: Arceus , Pokemon Snap , Pokémon GO

Summary

Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the "two-game" trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could "catch 'em all."