Ship Tease / Pokémon: The Series

These are the entries to Ship Tease from the Pokemon anime.

Ships involving Ash and another character

Pokéshipping (Misty)

• Back in the early days, there was Pokéshipping (Ash/Misty) teasing going on since about the eighth episode (especially with 4Kids going out of its way to create extra evidence). To this day, it contains some of the only Ship Teasing that seriously hints at Ash reciprocating the girl's feelings.
• One of the most prominent examples is at the end of The Ghost of Maiden's Peak. Ash sees Misty in a yukata, with her hair down, and his reaction could not have been more Shojo. Misty actually has to snap Ash out of his stare before they go dancing together.
• In The Water Flowers of Cerulean City Misty's oldest sister suggests Ash and Misty are a couple, causing Misty to blush furiously at the idea.
• Likewise in Electric Shock Showdown during another one of the duo's petty spats Nurse Joy comments that "they say if two people fight, they really care about each other", prompting a rapid mutual denial and a smile from the Nurse.
• The Tower of Terror spoils Ash/Misty fans with a handholding scene, Misty being driven to tears at the thought of Ash dying, and Ash borderline flirting with Misty while in a ghostly state.
• Corollary to the above point, Misty was shown to consistently have extreme reactions to Ash putting himself in danger throughout the show, whether it be by begging for his safety while digging him out of a cave in during Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon or physically restraining him to stop him from diving into a lake to relocate a bomb in The Legend of Dratini.
• Bye Bye Butterfree Misty's advice for Butterfree is to be assertive, insisting that:
  Misty: Love is all about attacking your opponent first. Get in a quick punch and surprise them, then while they're still weak, take the lead and you'll beat them hands down. Trust me, I know that's the best way to win.
  Brock: You mean it?
  Misty: Sure do. That's love.
• In March of the Exeggutor Squad, Misty is forced to fill in for a magician's assistant, which includes dressing up in a rather skimpy outfit. Turns out Ash and Brock are among the (scarce) audience, and the former makes a compliment about her outfit, causing her to blush furiously.
• The two get a brief Sleep Cute moment in "The Song of Jigglypuff" the first time Jigglypuff's singing induces a Forced Sleep.
  • A second time in Lights Camera Quacktion, causing the two to collapse on top of one another.
  • A gigantic ancient Jiggypuff does it a third time in The Ancient Puzzle Of Pokemopolis.
• Princess vs. Princess features Misty entering the Princess Festival Contest, one of the main prizes being a picture with the movie star host. Ash becomes visibly jealous about the idea of Misty competing for a picture with him.
• The Misty Mermaid. Over the course of the episode, Ash doesn't spare any compliments about Misty's underwater performance.
• Despite being very friendly to Ritchie ever since meeting him, Misty nearly knocks his block off in Friend and Foe Alike when she thinks he had something to do with Ash's absence during a very important Pokémon battle.
  • Misty is very supportive in general throughout the final stretch of the first season, taking Ash's training more seriously than he does, rooting for him during the tournament (both during and between matches, chiding Brock for cheering for an attractive opponent), and try helping him after his loss.
• Misty's jealous reaction to Melody flirting with Ash in the second movie. Hell, Misty's whole plot in that movie was her coming to terms with her feelings for Ash, whatever they are. It starts with getting jealous of Melody and being annoyed by her constant teasing and ends with her happily admitting that yes, she does care a great deal for him and jumping in the cold sea to save his life. No wonder many Pokeshippers consider this movie their favorite.
• And how about the time Team Rocket teased Ash and Misty on their airship? It resulted in a denial and blush from both of them!
  • That piece of ship teasing even made its way to the episode card.◊^note The hiragana says, "Arama, sorette tottemo <3" something like, "Look at that, that's totally <3"
• The Orange Island episode Navel Maneuvers provides some of the most prevalent Ship Tease from Ash in the entire show, the main point of the episode being Ash's extreme jealousy and competitive nature against a Gym Leader who manages to get Misty's romantic attention. The three most notable examples in the episode involve Ash running toward Misty with open arms and a sparkling background, Ash nearly falling off a mountain when he becomes jealous of the attention Misty is giving the Romantic False Lead, and Ash becoming visibly disappointed when Misty mentions the Gym Leader is more her type. Ironically, the gym leader in question makes several comments throughout the episode to suggest he is actually a Shipper on Deck for Ash and Misty.
• Misty Meets Her Match revisits many of the plot points touched on in Navel Maneuvers, except for this time Misty's new suitor, Rudy, has an open interest in her. The episode features more obvious jealousy from Ash (to the point where he actually uses Charizard in a gym challenge, despite the fact it still didn't obey Ash at the time), and the crux of the entire episode focuses on Misty trying to decide whether she should stay with the Romantic False Lead or continue traveling with Ash. After Rudy dedicates his battle against Ash to Misty and promises her a happy life, a water Pokémon gym, a tropical island home, and even an adoptive little sister...Misty decides to cheer Ash on, motivates him to win the battle, and continues traveling with him instead. It should also be noted that Rudy himself notices Misty likes Ash and more or less cedes Misty to Ash at the end of the episode after she chooses to leave with him. This episode inspired some very, um, interesting synopsis from Poké.com◊ and Boomerang.◊ Ha!
• In the aptly titled ''Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?'' episode, Misty tries to secretly bring the feuding Nidoran owners together, convinced that "they are not mature enough to admit it but they really like each other". Tracey chimes in that it's exactly the same thing between her and Ash, prompting furious denials. Later, when the two Pokemon of the week evolve, Tracey speculates whether or not it was due to their kiss or due to the recent battle, leading to this conversation:
  Ash: [with a blank expression] You think people change when they get kissed?
  Misty: [blushing and raising her eyebrows] Guess we'll have to find out ourselves!
  Ash: [blinks repeatedly] Uh...
• A double whammy for Ash/Misty in episode 198 of the original series: When Brock meets a girl who falls in love with him, she talks about how she wants to marry Brock. Ash makes an offhanded comment about how weird it would be if Brock got married. Misty then says, "You and I will be married someday, too." Ash first nods his head, then reacts accordingly when he realizes just how Misty said it (this). Of course, her dialogue was very different in the Japanese version, but it still counts as 4Kids-fueled tease at least. Later in the episode, when she talks to Brock she gives him a warning:
  Misty: Take it from me. It's a lot easier to like someone who likes you than to like someone who doesn't.
  Brock: How do you know?
  Misty: Uh, well, that's what I've heard.
  Brock: Love isn't always easy, is it, Misty?
• Even more crush jealousy is touched on in Love, Pokémon Style! but this time with Misty as the jealous one! A new Romantic False Lead named Macy is smitten with Ash during the Johto League, and Misty is very unamused with it, doing whatever she can to keep the two separated and claiming Ash is "booked." Misty insists that she's not his girlfriend. She's his coach!
• Another 4Kids dub moment — in Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker, when Ash is consoling Max about having to part with Jirachi, he mentions that a "good friend" left him once, and he misses her every day, in a charmingly obvious reference to Misty (in the original Japanese, Satoshi is speaking in general about all the friends he's made, not just one particular individual).
• In the Chronicles episode "A Date With Delcatty", Misty is approached by a young man looking to ask her out on a date. Her response is an attempt to awkwardly turn him down, in which the question of another man is raised (and Misty's Psyduck has no little bit of fun with this). Granted, this could be interpreted for any male character, and some did think that the comment was with regard to Tracey, but as clearly indicated with the above Ship Tease, it was most likely referring to Ash. A prior Chronicles Episode Cerulean Blues had closed with her thinking about Ash (in the English dub, it's both Brock and Ash) and wishing he knew she was successful as a Gym Leader.
• In the Diamond and Pearl episode Buizel Your Way Out of This Ash is shown to be very possessive of the fishing lure Misty gave him back in The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing, going as far as having a fight with Dawn when she asks to see it. He's also visibly relieved when he gets it back from Buizel at the end of the episode.
• Back when it was still under the 4Kids banner, many of the extra materials threw their weight behind this. Misty has at least two Image Songs about Ash ("Misty's Song" from Pokémon 2.B.A. Master being the most well-known), and the two share a duet on the Christmas CD Pokémon Christmas Bash (about mistletoe, no less).
• This old relationship chart◊ from back in the day, where the line connecting Ash and Misty is marked by a simple '?'. ^note Ash and Gary are “ライバル”, rivals, Ash and Brock are “親友”, close friends.
• Ash and Misty had a number of notable Shippers on Deck throughout their run, including Tracey, Daisy, Nurse Joy, several gym leaders, and even Team Rocket!
• Several of the above mentioned Ship Teases also occurred in the manga adaptation of the anime, but there were a number of unique scenes too, such as Ash and Misty both openly flirting with each other on several◊ occasions◊ and Brock◊ being added as a Shipper on Deck.
• The Electric Tale of Pikachu was a bit more... mature in their Ship Teases.◊
• Misty's first appearance on Pokémon Sun & Moon brought back some slight ship teases such as:
  • Some◊ instances◊ of blushing.◊
  • Ash making this◊ face while watching Misty battle and being very impressed by her in general.
  • Misty borderline flirting◊ with Ash during their battle.
  • Some good old-fashioned teasing, with Ash clearly wanting Misty to be impressed by his growth as a trainer and Misty having none of it.
  • The stinger, which features Misty jokingly asking Ash to let her keep his Z-Ring while blushing and poking his forehead, which gives a whole new meaning to the name Pokeshipping...
• With Ash and Pikachu's story set to wrap up with the eleven episode mini-series Aim To Be A Pokemon Master, Pokeshippers were not left disappointed with the scenes they were treated to in its second episode, which saw Misty make her triumphant return to the series as a regular.
  • Ash and Misty's sweet and sour banter is as lively and wildly tempered as ever, with Ash being at his most smug around Misty, which triggers her.
  • The significance of the fishing lure Misty gifted to Ash is touched upon, with Misty disapproving of a replacement lure Ash now uses.
  • Misty becomes the first gym leader to score a major upset over the reigning Pokemon world champion when she defeats Ash in a contest to determine who catches a Clauncher. Ash takes it all in good stride though.
  • Misty's reunion with Ash in the forest, shyly and apprehensively asking him if she can accompany him (for the sake of keeping their Pokemon together of course!), evokes an elated and excited response from Pikachu and 'persuades' a tellingly smug Ash to accept her company. The look on Misty's face as they walk off into the sunset together is one of unparalleled joy. It's not difficult to see why Pokeshippers may prefer this episode to be the true Series Fauxnale of Ash's era.
• One of the Japanese Hoenn intros has various characters on playing cards; Misty and Delia are on the same Queen of Hearts card, possibly signaling them as the two most important women in Ash's life.

Bouldershipping (Brock)

• In the episode "Two Degrees of Separation" where in one instance Brock introduces Ash to a female driver named Claudina who he'd been hoping to score with. Interesting to note that the entire time he's doing so he's being all touchy feely with Ash, hugging him close and poking and prodding at his face in a playful manner. Later, he finds out that Claudina already has a boyfriend, and she drives away. Which leads to this scene from the English dubbed version.
• In the episode "Love at First Flight" May tricked Ash into dressing up as a woman they had just met, named Juliet, in order to help a man named Romeo confess the feelings that he had for Juliet. Brock tried to help too and ended up getting carried away,even chasing poor Ash around and trying to hug him while declaring "My sweet Juliet! Heal me with your love!" *releases hearts*

Advanceshipping (May)

• May guilt-trips Ash into travelling together. When he agrees, she takes an Aside Glance, pumping her fist and saying "Yes!"
• While Max is clearly rooting for their father Norman during the Petalburg Gym battle, he admonishes his sister in her indecisiveness on who she wants to win. During the gym battle, May has made her choice: it's Ash.
• Stranded on an island, a Donphan Rolls in the direction of the twerps, and Ash dives toward May to push her out of the way. Later, while trying to find Brock and Max, May imagines that she might get lost in the woods with Ash forever, and panics with a blush on her face.
• Twice did May manage to get Ash to calm down when he gets angry and tries to pick a fight with someone: first in Destiny Deoxys with Tory Lund, and the second time during the Lucario movie, with Lucario himself. Both instances also involve May putting her body incredibly close to Ash.
  • After the fight with Lucario, in which Ash was thrown into a spring, May follows him around as he dries himself off, thinking he might need some attention lest he catch a cold. And, to support the earlier train of thought that May seems to be able to reason with Ash, when she points out that it's his fault why he had that fight with Lucario, instead of snapping back at her he calms down and agrees guiltily.
• In a literal ghost town, May's the only one who couldn't sleep. When she hears strange noises in a nearby room, she crawls out of her sleeping bag. Did she go to her brother? To Brock? No, she went to Ash^note Who happens to have his sleeping bag close to her, especially compared to Max's, which might count as a hint on its own, pressing her hands against him to get him to wake up.
• Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea is one of the Advanceshippers' favorites for its mass quantities of tease. Ready? (Takes a deep breath)
  • The twerps are initially left behind on the docks while the Blue Lagoon leaves with Manaphy. Manaphy wakes up and, sensing that its "parent", May, is not nearby, and cries, using Heart Swap on Ash and Jackie (the one holding Manaphy). Manaphy instantly calms down when it finds that it was now "Ash" who was holding it. This, added with how Ash is the one to play with Manaphy (by calling out his team) later in the movie, seems to imply that Manaphy sees Ash as its second parent.
  • Inspired by Jackie's story of why he became a Ranger, Ash dives into the sea, and would soon be followed by May and Manaphy. A school of Luvdisc ^note according to the Pokedex, it is the Pokémon that symbolizes love just happen to swim with them during that scene.
  • Ash puts May, Pikachu, and Manaphy inside the Phantom's capsule, assuring them that he will save the Sea Temple, leaving while ignoring May and Pikachu's protests. When he starts to lose consciousness underwater, May and Pikachu would pray for his safety, which Manaphy relays telepathically through Heart Swap to Ash, reviving him and giving him one last burst of strength needed to save the temple. With the temple raised above the surface, May climbs out of the capsule, wondering if Ash died in the process, looking as if she was about to tear up. She would immediately light up in joy when she sees him alive and well, chasing the Phantom when the latter returns and kidnaps Manaphy.
• May's rival in the Pacifidlog Contest fantasizes about sharing a Contest Ribbon with her lover. It just so happens that the AG series ends on such a note between Ash and May. It was like they reached a mutual understanding; without exchanging any words, May would toss the Ribbon into the air and then Ash had Sceptile slice it in half. Later during May's return in the DP saga, May asks Ash if he still kept his half of the Ribbon, showing it to Dawn. May mentions that her half is her good luck charm in her Johto adventures because it reminds her of Ash, while holding it to her chest.

Pearlshipping (Dawn)

• During Ash's Gym battles against Roark, Maylene, and Volkner, Dawn cheers (no, not just praises him, actually dresses in a cheerleading outfit, along with some of her other Pokémon) for Ash.
• Lyra brings up the idea of an actual relationship with Ash, and asks Dawn if the two of them are already in a relationship. Dawn gets oddly defensive at that point.
• The Diamond and Pearl opening theme "High Touch!" pretty much sounds like one big Ship Tease between Ash and Dawn.
• Dawn goes to great lenghts in "Uncrushing Defeat" to cheer up Ash after his loss to Paul in the previous episode. Nurse Joy even comments on how much she is doing just for his sake.
• Dawn turned down not one, but two offers to travel with someone else (one from Kenny and another from Zoey) to continue traveling with Ash.
• In "Cream of the Croagunk Crop" Ash actually asks Dawn to dance. She refuses, since the dance in question was pretty embarrassing, but it's not something you'll imagine him asking.
• Dawn was devasted when Ash and Brock were leaving, clearly close to tears. What cheered her up? Ash yelling to her "No need to worry" from the boat.
• Pokémon Journeys: The Series: At the start of the Finals of the Masters Eight, Dawn shows up in person to cheer Ash, essentially taking the place that Goh had, stating that she had seen Ash's battles through broadcasts but she had to be personally there to cheer Ash on.

Negaishipping (Iris)

• Best Wishes wasted no time in throwing out some Ash/Iris Ship Tease right in the third episode. Sadly, there weren't as many hints here than with Ash's other female companions.
• Dark-skinned girls are not the type of girls to blush and/or get googly-eyed when they legitimately like someone, so there were fewer opportunities for visual hints on Iris's part. That being said, Iris did get googly-eyed briefly when she thought Ash was gonna get killed.
• An episode in Decolora had Ash and Iris suffer a Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure. When Ash set up the table for dinner, he unwittingly added a place for Iris. The group reconciled and Ash and Iris exchanged gifts: an apple for Ash and a flower for Iris.

Amourshipping (Serena)

• The very first Ship Tease is the most subtle one, which is an XY poster◊ featuring Serena for the first time. Sharp-eyed viewers would notice that unlike other Pokégirls in the past, Serena is looking up at Ash and more importantly, she has a Crush Blush on her face.
• Hints that Ash and Serena may be Childhood Friends created a ship tease before the XY anime even aired. The friendship ultimately turned out to be just spending one summer camp together, but that just makes the early hints on Serena's side all the more powerful. Ash really made an impression on her.^note What happened was something like this: when they were just kids and at summer camp together, Serena got lost in the woods and hurt her knee. Ash found her and used a handkerchief to treat her knee. When he finished, Serena was afraid to walk, so he took her hands and got her on her feet again but used a little bit too much force. She crashed into him, ending up in what was basically a hug, something that Serena was very much aware of. He then led her back to the camp, still holding hands. In the years afterwards, Serena never forgot about the incident and when she saw Ash on television at the beginning of the season (XY002), she uses the start of her own Pokémon journey as a means of meeting him again and, when she indeed finds him, returning his handkerchief to him.
• Serena showed several hints for Ash in her opening episodes, blushing, acting shy, admiring him from afar and others. In fact, the list became so long and explicit that unlike most other Ash ships, Amourshipping survived Bulbapedia's shipping page purge, being one of two Ash ships (the other being Pokéshipping) to still have an article on Bulbapedia because of its massive impact on the fandom.
• In the official character connection table, the line connecting Serena to Ash is marked◊ スキ...?^note Japanese for "Likes...?" Shippers will argue that suki can also be translated as "loves". It's also notable that the line in question is Pink. The fact that they made a relationship flowchart at the start of this arc only makes the teasing more obvious. However, it should also be noted that the (stock blue) line connecting Ash to Serena is marked "Friend!"
• Lots of promotional posters are doing this. One of them has Serena blushing at Ash from afar, and the Valentine's Day poster isn't even trying to be subtle.◊
• Serena has shown an incredibly significant amount of concern for Ash during his battles and when he is put in danger. She shouts his name on a very frequent basis.
• She is even getting romantic rivals. In XY026, Miette immediately picks up on Serena's interest in Ash and even goes so far as saying that if Serena doesn't make her move soon, she may end up taking Ash away from Serena. It's notable that Serena doesn't deny her interest in Ash, so far, the only girl to do so.
• In XY031, the gang, including Korrina and her Lucario, poses for a photo. Serena and Ash are standing next to each other, with Serena sliding closer to him just before the picture is taken. Rather obviously too, as Bonnie notices it (but not Ash, of course). A little later, when everyone has gotten their copy of the photograph, Serena looks at it dreamily and sighs happily, until Ash calls her to hurry and she turns around with a blush on her face.
• Her Mirror Self yelled encouragement worthy of a Shipper on Deck in an effort to bridge the gap between the Mirror Universe and the main world so that Ash could return to the latter. Sadly, there was no evidence of said Mirror Self having any feelings for her Ash...but said Mirror Ash did run away after a Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure between the Mirror selves in a manner similar to many Hurt Comfort Fics.
• On (the actual) Ash's side of things, he holds her hand to cross a river in "The Bamboozling Forest!", and in "Day Three Blockbusters!", he tries to save her from falling from a cliff by grabbing her hand. He ended up falling as well, but it's the thought that counts. Plus, his injury allowed Serena to perform an After Action Patch Up.
• Whenever Serena does get annoyed by Ash, often for food mannerism or impulsive desire for battle, Ash doesn't argue back and instead sheepishly goes along with Serena's lessons. Literally, the only time he has ever been in a truly heated argument with Serena is after his loss to Wulfric, and that argument is treated as an O.O.C. Is Serious Business. Prior to Serena, Ash always talked back towards Misty, May, Dawn and Iris whenever they get into a childish petty argument over something.
• XY Episode 59's Japanese Title, "Ash and Serena's First Date!? The Vow Tree and the Present!!", was a classic example of Tonight, Someone Kisses. The Dub Title, "Under the Pledging Tree," was more indicative of the episode's actual nature as a Christmas-Surrogate. The Not a Date wherein Ash and Serena went shopping for gifts separate from Clemont and Bonnie actually was not a date, though Serena had the possibility in mind, and when Ash asked her about what she was planning to get, she quickly replied "I'm not sure yet!", while chuckling nervously. However, while the gifts were for the Pokémon, there were two exceptions, both for Serena: a Performance Dress from her mother...and a blue ribbon from Ash. Though it may be seen as giving a gift where it's needed, it was still clearly included as Ship Tease for the couple.
  • This is only the third time, in the first 860 episodes, that Ash gave a tangible item as a gift^note as opposed to a trade or encouragement/wisdom to a fellow human in the Competence Zone, the first was a Beedrill to Casey in Johto, the second was Iris' aforementioned flower.
    • However, unlike the gifts he gave to Casey and Iris, Ash gave a gift to Serena without advice from another person.
  • Ash was scratching his nose while he presented the gift. While not as obvious as a Crush Blush, it may be taken by some shippers as a sign of Shyness.^note From the usually outgoing and adventurous, if Chaste, Ash!
  • Serena changed her appearance drastically following her defeat at the Performances in the following episode, with a new haircut, hat, and outfit. The kicker? Ash's blue ribbon is a key part of her new look. For bonus points, it's essentially a mini-bow on her chest. Looks like someone is attempting to invoke Male Gaze on Ash...
• Bonnie seems very aware of Serena's crush on Ash, and remarks on it a few times. Clemont, on the other hand, is oblivious.

  Bonnie: Ash can be so dense...
  Clemont: What are you talking about, Bonnie?
  Bonnie: Of course you're the same.

• The Japanese title of XY's 104 Episode, "Party Dancecapades!", is called "Ash and Serena! Catch One at the Dance Party!!". While the title and previews misled several shippers into thinking that Ash and Serena were going to dance together (Episode Writer Omode confirms that it was about Eevee), there were still a great number of hints to go by. Serena displays a variety of emotions regarding to Ash and the party, from the Crush Blush that appears every time she thinks about dancing with Ash to being shocked by her rival Miette getting Ash as a dance partner first to going all Ocular Gushers when the dance party ended just as she was about to dance with Ash.
• In XY's 109 Episode, "Master Class Choices!", Serena learns that the Pokémon Showcase Master Class takes place in Gloire City, which is a significant detour from Snowbelle City, the final destination for Ash's Eighth Badge. Before Serena could even say anything, Ash immediately tells her that they will all go to her final Showcase even though it would delay his League journey, which makes Serena smile. Considering that Ash has gotten pissed off of any delay to his next Gym in the past, this is remarking mature and gentlemanly of him.
• XY episode 114 features Serena taking care of Ash after he falls ill. Previews for the episode heavily featured a scene of Ash collapsing into Serena's arms, which included close-ups of both blushing, but it was revealed in the actual episode that Ash was just delirious from his illness. This Ship Tease even goes the extra mile in the actual episode by having it legitimately look like Ash is confessing his love to Serena for a solid second! Though translations are always tricky, the dialogue was roughly the equivalent of Ash falling on Serena and saying "I...I...Iron Tail, Pikachu." The episode later has Serena dress as Ash to distract a rocker that wanted to challenge him while he was resting, and the way the scene was composed indicated that she changed clothes in the very same tent he was resting in.
• After losing to Wulfric and Sawyer, Ash heads off into the Winding Woods alone. Serena instinctively went off to find him before even consulting the others. When she does find him, Serena's attempt to cheer him up goes sour, and she angrily tells Ash that the way he currently is now is not the person she "admires" (and due to the words spoken, it just might actually be an Anguished Declaration of Love!). Serena angrily returns to the main group, but she immediately changes her mind and tries to find him again, this time with Bonnie, Clemont and the Pokémon. Guilt that doesn't subside until they all find Ash. On his side of things, Ash gets angry not at Serena, but at himself because he snapped at her, which he saw almost brought Serena to tears. And it was that realization that helped Ash snap himself out of his Heroic BSoD, and he made sure to thank Serena for her words at the end of the episode.
  • It is worth noting that when he returns, Serena greets him with the words "Welcome back, the one I admire".
• In the final episode:
  • Shippers had a field day at the start when we finally see Serena and Delia meet onscreen^note the conversation implied Ash already introduced his Kalos friends to Delia prior to this episode, and when Delia suggests they come over to visit any time, Serena lights up. She still hasn't changed her mind about going to Hoenn, but who says that she's not going to take her up on that invitation later? Of course, this pales in comparison to the next two.
  • Ash is never going to understand a Love Confession even if he was the one being confessed to. Serena knows that, and so confides her feelings in a way that he might finally understand: While she is going to focus on her Performer goal, she has no intention of giving up on him, and even plans to become more attractive to Ash the next time they meet.
  • Just when it seems that the anime couldn't top itself with all the major hints having been exhausted, the MOTHER of all Teases unexpectedly drops upon the viewers when Serena straight-up kisses Ash before she leaves. Even though it is a Kissing Discretion Shot, the expressions from the rest of the Kalos gang make it clear what exactly happened at that moment. This also marks Serena to be the third person to have affectionately kissed Ash (the others being Melody and Bianca/Latias) and the first main girl to do so.
• In Journeys Episode 105, despite their short reunion, they were still able to share their current goals with each other and promise each other that they would both succeed in their endeavors. Most notably, unlike the other returning companions who either give a quick goodbye or inexplicably disappears in the next episode, Serena and Ash have a prolonged farewell scene, with both of them staying in sight of each other until the ship literally disappears into the horizons.

Aureliashipping (Lillie)

• Even though they literally just met and hadn't properly introduced themselves yet, Lillie feels comfortable enough to hide behind and hold onto Ash for protection after a Tauros startles her.
• When Lillie feeds a Butterfree in SM008, Ash is noticeably impressed and compliments her, causing her to break out into a Luminescent Blush.
• In SM029, Lillie is so impressed by Ash's plan of eating to counteract Morelull's Life Drain that she starts blushing and sparkling, and then assists him by handing him more food.
• Though Ash is caring for Nebby, Lillie still named it, and seems to have the closest relationship with it other than Ash, making her the closest thing Nebby has to a "mother".
• SM049: In order to help her recover from her reawakened phobia, Ash decides to accompany Lillie on her walk with Snowy. He then cheers her up by having RotomDex show Lillie a video of Pikachu making a funny face which works, causing Lillie to blush and thank Ash for cheering her up.
• SM050: When Lillie calls Ash to look at Nebby, the way the two quietly watch Nebby sleep looks like two parents watching their baby sleep in peace.
• In the End-of-Episode Silliness of SM056, after watching the recording of Jigglypuff's singing from earlier, the group ends up falling asleep from it, with Lillie noticeably falling asleep on Ash.
• In the final episode of Sun and Moon saga, as Lillie is about to leave on a voyage with her family, she says her goodbyes to her friends, but gets slightly shy while saying farewell to Ash. As the ship leaves the docks, Lillie remembers all the memories she had with Ash and rushes to the end of the ship to shout to Ash that she's glad to have met him and thank him for everything he's done for her.

Journeyshipping (Goh)

• In just the second episode, Ash and Goh end up under a rainbow, then 3nd up on a bed of flowers, on which they end up looking into each others eyes for two seconds.

Rivals

• Also in Best Wishes, there was some shipping between Ash and Trip going on. Trip seems to have the same personality as Paul...until BW022 when you realize he's a full blown Ice King but this attitude is limited to Ash only. In that episode the minute Ash tries to praise him, Trip avoids eye contact which is a huge sign of Sugar And Ice. Later appearances drop the Jerkass side completely.^note Though that could be due to the sequel games upsetting the apple cart as much as anything. And when does any of Ash's rivals actually help him out concerning one of his Pokémon? Trip would be the first if you don't count Gary after he Took a Level in Kindness.

Other Humans

• In the Original Series episode "The School of Hard Knocks", Ash, the Chaste Hero, literally drooled at Giselle's picture. And after their battle she seemed to have earned quite some respect for him.
• Though she didn't pursue Ash further, Melody in the second movie has an interesting distinction: she is one of the only three beings that have kissed Ash thus far in the anime.
• Macy, a Fire-type specialist who served as one of Ash's Johto league opponents, ended up developing a crush on him after he helped her out by rescuing her Vulpix from the Team Rocket trio.
• Salon Maiden Anabel from the Battle Frontier series has shown to have a crush on Ash, as evident by her many interactions with him throughout her two episodes. This is especially true in the second episode, "Second Time's the Charm."
  • Anabel doesn't skip a beat jumping into the lake to begin a playful splash fight with Ash.
  • A moment where the gang tries to speak with their Pokémon telepathically, Anabel asks Ash if he can read her heart. Ash obviously fails to do so, but that doesn't stop Anabel from looking infatuated towards him. Said moment is what makes it quite clear that Anabel has a crush on him.
  • When it's time for the gang to leave, Anabel holds her hand that she used to shake Ash's hand goodbye. She blushes while thinking that if Ash really could sense another person's feelings, he would have noticed the feelings Anabel has for him.
• Angie from Solaceon Town is often mentioned as much as any female companion in the race for Ash's heart.
  • She was set up as a Distaff Counterpart to Ash for a Summer Camp arc with a lot of Birds of a Feather moments,^note Big Eating, Sleeping during class, etc. and got a crush on him when he saved her from being trapped in the Spirit World. ^note Note that she appeared before Serena was introduced on-camera.
  • He later defends her against her parents when she inadvertently causes one of their Day Care clients to evolve.
  • Angie seems to be telling a lot of stories about Ash to her parents. To the point that they suggested that she marry Ash and take over the Day Care Center.
• From the Sun and Moon anime there are a couple instances of teasing for Lana.
  • When Ash is first introduced to Lana's little sisters, they ask Lana if he's her boyfriend, to which she reacts by turning red and denying frantically.
  • Later in the series, Ash and Lana are going fishing and meet Olivia, who asks them if they are "on a fishing date". Again, Lana gets quite flustered.
  • It also seems that Lana walks to and from school together with Ash, as seen in "Yo, Ho, Ho! Go, Popplio!" and "A Team-on-Team Tussle!".

Pokémon

Yes, even Pokémon couldn't escape from Ash's charm.

• Ash and Latias from the Pokémon Heroes movie. Latias has been openly crushing on Ash, in both human and Pokémon form. She's also one of the only three beings that have kissed Ash thus far in the series.
• Chikorita also seemed to have a pretty big crush on Ash during the Johto arc.
• Aipom had a crush on Ash as well, though that disappeared when she was traded to Dawn for Buizel.

Ships not involving Ash

Rocketshipping

• Jessie and James are a total Ship Tease, especially in the ''Pokémon Chronicles'' episode ''Training Daze'' where James falls awkwardly on top of Jessie and makes her blush◊. In fact, the whole Shipping term was named BECAUSE of these two, dubbed "RocketSHIPPING" back then!
• Don't forget Jessie and James' marriage and Babies Ever After scene at the end of The Electric Tale of Pikachu. It more or less drove the fandom nuts at the time.
• And there's Jessie's Suspiciously Specific Denial for why she saved James in "The Ghost of Maiden's Peak." For bonus points, the look on Meowth's face clearly shows he's not buying that denial.
• The fact that James' sadistic fiancée Jessiebelle (the reason he ran away from home in the first place) is practically an Identical Stranger to Jessie is often taken as "smoking gun" evidence. (James sees Jessie as a substitute for someone he was supposed to marry but was afraid to.) Before she finds out about Jessiebelle, Jesse even suggests that she and James "fake a wedding" so he'll get his inheritance. And at the end, they look like they're about to kiss before Meowth interrupts.
• Many episodes later, it's revealed that James had initially been attracted to Jessiebelle before finding out what her personality is like. Now he hangs out with someone who looks just like her. Hmmm.
• In The Movie 2000, Meowth points out that they act "icha icha" or "love love" all the time in both the English and Japanese versions. According to Urban Dictionary, "'icha icha,' also referred to as 'Rabu Rabu' (love love), means to act lovey-dovey in public. Acting 'icha icha' in public is not a big deal in Western countries. However, in Japan, acting 'icha icha' in public makes some people uncomfortable somehow." So, scenes like James falling asleep atop Jessie's legs in S01 are definitely seen as lovey-dovey PDA. Talk about Ship Tease!
• XY episode 63 has Jessie falling for a doctor and almost leaving Team Rocket to be with him. Thankfully, he loves someone else. James and Meowth overhear Jessie, and this results in James tearfully deciding that I Want My Beloved to Be Happy.
• "Noodles! Roamin' Off" is another "Team Rocket splits up" Villain Episode. Near the end Jessie and James are almost killed by an angry shiny Metagross. James tells Jessie that he's glad to have met Jessie and Meowth while Jessie says that she hopes to be reunited with James in the afterlife.
• Japanese radio dramas milk this ship for all its worth. Musashi and Kojiro had a series called Team Rocket's Secret Empire where they tell stories. In at least one of them their characters are explicitly in love. Their characters are even named "Jessie" and "James" in the episode.
• In Pokémon Shipwreck James and Jessie have a tearful hug when they believe they're going to die. It's also one of the few times James calls Jessie "Jessica". Later on James freaks out about having to cross near fire. Jessie gives him a few slaps and tells him that they can do it together and that she won't abandon him.
• Bulbapedia's article on Rocketshipping has too many to list. It's one of the longest articles on the entire website, over twice as long as the article on Pokeshipping. It's a Shrug of God on James' voice actor's part.

Other Heterosexual Human Shippings

• One episode preview threw up a storm in the shipping fandom by focusing almost entirely on a romantic scene between Tracey and Misty, despite the latter's long-established crush on the protagonist (and the fact that Tracey was a total Shipper on Deck for Ash and Misty back when he traveled with them). As it happened, the whole scene was just made up by one of Misty's sisters who thought that Tracey would make a handsome prince for her upcoming water ballet.^note Which could just as easily be interpreted as said sister thinking that he's hot, fueling the ship tease between said sister and Tracey from the previous episode they were both in. Then they did it again in the preview for the next episode both characters appeared in. This time it was a blushing scene that turned out to just be over a photograph of the whole group in Team Rocket's latest scheme. It didn't help that Misty was holding her new baby Pokémon that she had received from Tracey.
• Brock is a Casanova Wannabe whose advances are usually shrugged off by the other character, once he's peeled away from them. However, there are some who have reciprocated the feeling:
  • Lucy is smitten upon first sight of Brock and she blushes furiously every time he holds her hand or roots for her in the battle against Ash. Brock's cheering is so intense that May openly questions whose side he's on. It's later revealed that she has an affinity for Pokémon with squinted eyes, a resemblance to Brock that Lucy fondly recalls after he and his companions have left.
  • Holly was initially uninterested in younger men like Brock, but she changes her tune upon seeing his impressive performance in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition. When Brock instinctually grabs her hands and pulls back in embarrassment, Holly takes them back and compliments him. She even gets a little jealous when Brock starts flirting with Nurse Joy. After she and Brock get eliminated, Holly blames herself and leaves Brock under the vow that she will train to become a worthy tag-team partner to him.
  • Olivia responds positively whenever Brock flirts with her, blushing on numerous occasions. When Team Rocket captures their friends, Brock helps Olivia perform a Z-Move, performing a routine resembling a partner dance and bringing their faces together, something that Olivia notices at the last second. The Z-Move, in question, is a Continental Crush that summons a large rock that not-so-coincidentally is heart-shaped.
• May and Drew have their moments. Plenty of them.
  • Giving May a rose ends up being something Drew does in nearly every episode he appears in, with the excuse of it being for her Beautifly, not her. Mean? Yes. Complete ship tease? Also, yes. It doesn't take long before May is teasing Drew about the "fact" that the rose is for her Beautifly. By the Battle Frontier episodes, he drops the excuse, knowing it fools nobody anymore.
  • Their other Contest rivals, Solidad and Harley, also assume there's something going on between them. Solidad also mentions that May is the only person Drew ever talks about anymore.
• Cilan/Iris also had their share of moments. Iris usually huddled by Cilan whenever her fear of ice types was evident. Cilan insisted that Iris' character was a Princess Incognito in a movie they were filming and, in a later episode, had a Blue Corner moment when Iris called him a pain. Love Triangle with Ash? Try the One True Threesome entry back in his folder.
• Cilan and Burgundy. Burgundy is incredibly obsessive over Cilan for beating her in a Gym battle. In her later appearances, she's rather kind and civil to everyone (people and Pokémon alike) except him. And in the Club Battle arc, she and Cilan actually put aside their differences and did a Team Rocket Motto-esque sequence together! It was kind of competitive between themselves, but so was the song between Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. She's clearly a Tsundere.
• When they are about to enter the Floaroma Contest, Dawn notices Kenny staring at her in a fancy dress and adopts some flirtatious poses to tease him about it. The English dub also adds an extra moment in "Four Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port", where Dawn's letter to Kenny includes a postscript, admitting that he looked "kind of handsome" when he beat Ash in a battle.^note The original Japanese audio used a more neutral "kind of cool" instead.
• Dawn was a Gary Fangirl and he didn't seem to mind.
• There were Reggie/Maylene moments, too; in stark contrast to Paul's treatment of her.
• Conway is seen stalking Dawn in about every episode he's in.
• Gardenia may have had a crush on James. She traveled to check up on his Grass-types.
• Bianca and Stephan in the Clubsplosion. The former constantly touches and plays with the latter's and his Sawk's muscles.
• In the same vein, Bianca and Virgil in the Vertress Conference. From giving ice cream to him and his Eevee to wanting to give him a special prize for winning, it's clearly evident there's something going on.
• Professor Oak and Ash's mom Delia. Half of the time one appears they're together. Being in the same town may excuse that, but them being on quite a few trips together? Perhaps the real reason Ash is so Oblivious to Love is that he doesn't want to think about his mom possibly dating his teacher.
• "Candid Camerupt!" (AG046) sets up Max with Vivi, the youngest daughter of the Winstrate family. She's the one who initiates the teasing, calling Max cute and making him promise that they'll be "friends" forever, causing him to go weak in the knees and lose his concentration. May picks up on this and is extremely receptive to the idea of Max having a girlfriend. And then the two have a friendly Pokémon battle, where Ash's Corphish goes buck wild against Max's orders and takes out her Marill; Vivi is enraged and yells at Max, saying she hates him. Ouch.
• Gym Leaders Viola and Grant are rather flirtatious when he first appears at the Battle Chateau. This is further evidenced during the battle against the megalith when Grant rescues Viola and the two hold onto each other. They continue to embrace even after the danger has subsided.
• All this time with no comment of Mairin informing Alain he's "exactly [her] type" (although, to be fair, Mairin has a fair case of the boy crazies and goes heart eyed over Siebold in Act I not too long after saying this) AND Lysandre even calling her Alain's "unusually tiny girlfriend"?! (Note: this only happens in the original, the dub nixes this probably due to a fear of unwholesome connotations and because it's decidedly unsettling coming from an adult who's absolutely seeing Mairin as a child— he even kneels while talking [about, not even directly to] her). Alain probably isn't that much older than her, but it was probaly skipped over just to stay on the safe side, given that the (pre-Sun and Moon) anime art style draws everyone significantly older than their actual age and they behave in a more mature fashion given their greater responsibilities and world experience (compare: XY Ash is still ten, Brock was only fifteen according to an official Japanese book).
• In the original Japanese dub, Butch and Cassidy were much more hinted at being a couple, though it was watered down in the English dub. Them having no crushes on other characters, and Cassidy defending Butch after the latter was sprayed in the face by a Luvdisc helps.

Other Human Same-Sex Pairings

• While many of Pokémon's pairings are full of Ship Tease, Appealshipping (Zoey/Dawn) takes the cake. Their scenes together are just tinged with touchy-feely-blushy moments.
  • Dawn and Zoey's Coordinator outfits and color schemes contrast.
  • Dawn becomes friends with Zoey quickly. Zoey offers to help Dawn with her hair when they're still strangers.
  • Dawn blushes after Zoey compliments her and wishes her luck on her first contest. It could be blushing from being nervous about the contest, or it could be blushing because of Zoey.
  • Zoey helps Dawn through her depression after one too many Contest losses gets her down.
  • It doesn't help how hard Dawn took Zoey's words to heart.
• Volkner and Flint are really close. Flint even tries to cheer up Volkner during his funk.
• Korrina and Bea upon their first interaction we see with her is run up and hug her in episode 85. Then she's cheering for her as well as Ash in their World Coronation match.

Various Pairings involving Pokémon

• Dawn's Buneary has a massive canon crush on Pikachu, showing attraction and shyness often. From Pikachu's reaction during Dawn's visit to Unova, there's a chance that it's mutual.^note Bonus in that they share a breeding group. A Thunderbolting Buneary, anyone?
• There's also Meloetta, who turned into Launcher of a Thousand Ships when she receives a crush from Oshawott in her first episode, then a Love Triangle with him and Dawn's Piplup in the very next episode. The love triangle ends up an eight-episode-long story arc.
• Ash's Greninja and Serena's Delphox, mostly during their time as Froakie and Fennekin gets some of them, likely to mirror the relationship between their respective trainers. The major one was when Froakie used frubbles to clean Fennekin's tail and their reactions after that fuels it even more. Besides that, they were often around one another during breaks, and there was a frame in an episode where they were explicitly staring at each other. They mostly disappeared after Frogadier evolved into Greninja.
• Clemont's Bunnelby appears to reciprocate the obvious crush from Lilia's Buneary, sweating a bit while sitting next to her and holding her hand when she goes on a walk. Chespin and Pancham get jealous over their relationship, but Buneary only has eyes for Bunnelby, which he doesn't mind.
• Sophocles' Togedemaru has been shown to be very cuddly with Ash's Pikachu. At the end of the sixth episode of the Sun and Moon series, Sophecles matter-of-factly states that his Togedemaru is a girl while she's doing so.