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Should Serena Stay?

Should Serena Stay for Alola?

  • Total voters
    72
I think that she should only return as a cameo unless she gets an entirely new goal that is battle oriented. Unfortunately, the only way that could happen without totally ruining her character and character development would be if it was ever revealed that her current goal was a false goal implanted by the Malamar Cult or some other entity, which may be just as bad. As such, I'll stand by my original feeling of her only returning for a cameo role like most of the other Poké girls did.
 
No. To be perfectly honest, I don't really see the advantage of Serena staying for another series. I think that only her hardcore fans/fans of Amourshipping would really want that so that they can get more teases for a relationship that won't go anywhere, but I don't really see how going to Alola would benefit her character. I doubt that Alola would have Showcases and I still hope that they're just a Kalos Exclusive concept.

Even if Alola did have Showcases, she would be giving up the chance to train under a former Kalos Queen, which would help her reach her goal of becoming a new Kalos Queen, for Ash. That would be bad writing and I'd argue out of character for Serena. She obviously has a crush on Ash and enjoys traveling with him, but unlike a lot of other fans, I don't think she'd choose him over her goal. Her story isn't about her crush on Ash. It's about finding something she was really passionate about, becoming more confident and becoming more nurturing/caring towards her Pokemon. All of her character development centers around Showcases and trying to become a better Performer, not about her feelings on Ash. She'd feel sad about it of course, but she isn't going to choose Ash over her own goal. She didn't take the offer right away because she still wanted to travel with her friends and there was no need to jump on it right away, but when push comes to shove and the group starts going their own way, she'll take Palmero's offer.

I wouldn't be against her appearing at some point in Alola though. Unlike with Iris, I could see her randomly showing up in Alola and wanting to go out of her way to meet up with Ash again. Plus, she does seem to be at least a bit more popular than Iris was, so that would give her an edge. I still wouldn't mind if they got rid of that tradition for good and just gave older characters specials instead. If they can find a good story driven reason to bring Serena back, then that's great, but if it's forced in much like Dawn's return was, then they're better off with just specials. The main downsizes for just having specials are the fact that they wouldn't be dubbed and that it would limit the character interactions, but I think that would be a better option than forcing in older characters like they've done in the past.
 
I'd argue that they've been setting up for Serena's departure since her first Showcase. That's when Palmero first took notice of her and that build up over the course of her Showcase arc. It would be bad writing for Serena to stay after all this buildup to her departure. At least the Battle Frontier arc was still part of AG, so it made sense as to why they kept May and the rest of the cast for that arc. Serena going to Alola wouldn't really make any sense.
 
No. She should leave at the end of Kalos. Ash getting a new female companion every region since Sinnoh is refreshing and stops it from getting boring. Both Unova and Kalos in the anime series provide unlikable female companions for me. Maybe Alola would give us one that I would like that would join Misty, May and Dawn as my favorites.
 
Flynn said:
No. Tripokalons are essentially popularity contests, so it doesn't make sense for her to go to another region where she'll be a nobody. She'd be throwing away the recognition she earned in Kalos.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't think that going to a new region would really make that an issue. Serena defeated a fan favorite in what I assume was her home town for her third Princess Key, despite how the fan favorite had a much better appeal and the hometown advantage. She would just continue to win Princess Keys and create a new bunch of recognition in Alola. Despite being basically popularity contests, Showcases didn't really emphasize creating fans to vote for you, but just the performances themselves, so Serena going to a new region wouldn't really change anything. She won't go for multiple reasons though, especially when they've never had a female lead last more than one series anyway.
 
What people fail to realize when they say Serena is popular and comparing her to Misty is that Gold/Silver didn't have a female protagonist introduced until Crystal which wasn't released till after the anime was well into the Johto region. Once Ruby and Sapphire revealed May, Misty was dropped with a finger snap. Heck Dawn was and still is popular, yet we only got one on screen cameo (albeit the longest yet) from her in Unova.

So yes, I'm saying no. Her crush on Ash is not enough of a reason for her to take away time from the Alola region.
 
Last edited:
Pokefan19 said:
What people fail to realize when they say Serena is popular and comparing her to Misty is that Gold/Silver didn't have a female protagonist introduced until Crystal which wasn't released till after the anime was well into the Johto region. Once Ruby and Sapphire revealed May, Misty was dropped with a finger snap. Heck Dawn was and still is popular, yet we only got one on screen cameo (albeit the longest yet) from her in Unova.

So yes, I'm saying no. Her crush on Ash is not enough of a reason for her to take away time from the Alola region.
Click to expand...

People making those comparisons are also forgetting that Johto was still part of the original series, so I don't think that they would have replaced Misty for it, especially when their only reason for replacing Brock was being afraid that his design was insulting to International audiences. I agree that popularity really isn't enough to keep a female character going. Dawn was arguably one of the most popular female leads in the anime's history and easily had the most attention during DP, but she was still sent off after the fourth generation was no longer the new generation. For better or for worse, the cast, besides Ash and Team Rocket, are going to be replaced with each new series and promoting the newest games does matter more than individual characters' popularity among the fans.
 
Just by reading the title, I was prepared to list off all the reasons she should but I'll just point to Hidden Mew's first post and spare myself the effort. There's 0 reason for Serena to keep traveling with Ash.

She already has a goal set for herself and she should follow it, not Ash. The impression I've gotten from Sun/Moon so far is that they're intended to have their own separate culture from anything we've seen before, what with there being island challenges instead of gyms. Creating watered down Contests for the anime was bad enough, but if they transfer them to Alola just because of Serena it'd leave a horrible taste.

Let someone else shine. Be it Mallow, the female protagonist, Lillie, whatever.
 
Hidden Mew said:
People making those comparisons are also forgetting that Johto was still part of the original series, so I don't think that they would have replaced Misty for it, especially when their only reason for replacing Brock was being afraid that his design was insulting to International audiences. I agree that popularity really isn't enough to keep a female character going. Dawn was arguably one of the most popular female leads in the anime's history and easily had the most attention during DP, but she was still sent off after the fourth generation was no longer the new generation. For better or for worse, the cast, besides Ash and Team Rocket, are going to be replaced with each new series and promoting the newest games does matter more than individual characters' popularity among the fans.
Click to expand...
The only other loose argument for Serena returning is that the Sun/Moon Heroin's design is so generic, that Serena could very well fit the mold and go unnoticed. That being said, it's still a silly notion brought forth by the Amourshippers who refuse to believe their queen will leave the show at the risk of the fandom losing a huge chunk apparently. If the show can survive Dawn leaving and Best Wishes after the Team Plasma cancellation, I'm almost certain it will do just fine once Serena bites the dust.
 
Pokefan19 said:
The only other loose argument for Serena returning is that the Sun/Moon Heroin's design is so generic, that Serena could very well fit the mold and go unnoticed. That being said, it's still a silly notion brought forth by the Amourshippers who refuse to believe their queen will leave the show at the risk of the fandom losing a huge chunk apparently. If the show can survive Dawn leaving and Best Wishes after the Team Plasma cancellation, I'm almost certain it will do just fine once Serena bites the dust.
Click to expand...

I've heard that claim too and I agree that it's pretty strange. I didn't think that the designs for the new characters were generic, but rather their outfits, even though the female trainer's default outfit has grown on me quite a bit. I have seen some nice fanart of Serena wearing the outfit, but it just wouldn't make any sense. Not only because of everything they've set up for Serena's character and her storyline, but there isn't a good reason for them to keep a sixth generation character around to promote the seventh generation games. There isn't a good reason in or out of universe to keep Serena around and I highly doubt that they'll lose a lot of attention by not having Serena around. If fans are able to stick around the rest of XY after the Kalos League, despite the immediate backlash that the finale had, then I don't see why Ash not getting to be with Serena for another series is going to do that much harm to the fanbase.
 
Some might start saying the anime is awful when Serena leaves Ash. I disagree entirely. The show revolves around Ash and not his companions. We don't need the same old companions every region. To say there would be a backslash if Ash goes to Alola alone is ridiculous in my opinion. Ash can survive without his companions.
 
I love Serena. I want her to stay for soooo many reasons. But there's a couple reasons why I put cant decide.

1. I REALLY want a confession scene. I feel like it would be the best way to close amourshipping. Let's face it, Ash is still too young to have a girlfriend, and while they could continue to drag out the ash-is-oblivious-while-Serena-chases plot, it's gonna get old for both amour shippers and antiamourshippers. One group will get bored and want progress while the other group gets annoyed. So let Serena have a moment where she confesses and let's see Ash's reaction. I feel like this can only happen if Serena is about to leave and she feels like it's her last shot.

And a kiss on the cheek!

2. There's always the possibility that I will like the new girl more. I too am hoping for some kick-butt battler.

That being said...I still really like Serena and the deep friendship she has with Ash. I want them to stay together!

So I'm undecided.
 
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