Serena as a traveling companion

[KatsumiChris1991]

Nope. She does NOT need a Vivillion(I hate it because of its National Dex Number is the Mark of the Beast.) and She would be Better off with a Popplio when she joins Ash on their Journey through Alola.

Ok?? I did say "or"

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

Nope. She does NOT need a Vivillion(I hate it because of its National Dex Number is the Mark of the Beast.) and She would be Better off with a Popplio when she joins Ash on their Journey through Alola.

If she joins Ash on the journey but I rather see a new female companion.

 

[KatsumiChris1991]

If she joins Ash on the journey but I rather see a new female companion.

You know that's going to happen ever since the Diamond & Pearl series when they stayed in Sinnoh for 190+ episodes

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

You know that's going to happen ever since the Diamond & Pearl series when they stayed in Sinnoh for 190+ episodes

What do you mean? Ash's female companions have been around for one region since Sinnoh. I hope they keep it that way.

 

[KatsumiChris1991]

What do you mean? Ash's female companions have been around for one region since Sinnoh. I hope they keep it that way.

That's what I meant, I guess I worded it wrong.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Indeed she almost won on her first try. Like Dawn did. That is why those two for me became a bit unrealistic. I never really liked Dawn unlike Haruka but I liked Serena a lot. She as Dawn should have never reached Top 2 on her first try. That is why I am thinking that Serena, Clemont and Bonnie will leave. Serena has now only one goal - to become Kalos Queen, the dream binded to one region. She already beaten all her rivals on her first try. To become a Queen she will need to go to that old hag and train with her for many years. She will never beat Elle in a year or two. Ash on the other hand and May/Dawn don't have a dream binded to one region. That is why Haruka travelled with him. Dawn is another case though.

One way or another I see Alola as kind of Orange Islands before Ash's real challenge. I think after Alola we will see him challenging Champions League. If Ash indeed will challenge it in Kalos then maybe we have a chance Serena coming to Alola, then returning with Ash to Kalos to challenge Champions League and leaving with old hag after that. Who knows.

I don't think that Dawn ending up in the finals was unrealistic. Even with participating in the Grand Festival for the first time, she actually did struggle to get all five ribbons, which is more than I can say for Serena and her Princess Keys. Dawn lost four or five Contests during DP, so if anything, her journey to get all five ribbons was more realistic than May's was, even with how May got to a more reasonable rank for a first time Coordinator. My problem with Dawn getting to the finals had more to do with how we barely saw any of her battles leading up to it, making the event more unsatisfying than it should have been. Serena's journey was far more unrealistic, mainly due to how her performances rarely changed and she usually won with quite a few votes too.

And if you don't like Palmero, that's perfectly fine, but calling her an old hag is a bit much in my opinion.

 

[swampertuska]

I don't think that Dawn ending up in the finals was unrealistic. Even with participating in the Grand Festival for the first time, she actually did struggle to get all five ribbons, which is more than I can say for Serena and her Princess Keys. Dawn lost four or five Contests during DP, so if anything, her journey to get all five ribbons was more realistic than May's was, even with how May got to a more reasonable rank for a first time Coordinator. My problem with Dawn getting to the finals had more to do with how we barely saw any of her battles leading up to it, making the event more unsatisfying than it should have been. Serena's journey was far more unrealistic, mainly due to how her performances rarely changed and she usually won with quite a few votes too.

And if you don't like Palmero, that's perfectly fine, but calling her an old hag is a bit much in my opinion.

No, Dawn reaching the Top 2 was the main problem. Remember AD and what May achieved on her first try. If I more or less agree with Zoey reaching the finals that is not the same for Dawn. Nando VS Zoey should have been the finals. And I don't want even to remember Piplup. Glad I will never see him again.

Old hag? Cruel but...

 

[ii kanji]

...true.

 

[Hidden Mew]

No, Dawn reaching the Top 2 was the main problem. Remember AD and what May achieved on her first try. If I more or less agree with Zoey reaching the finals that is not the same for Dawn. Nando VS Zoey should have been the finals. And I don't want even to remember Piplup. Glad I will never see him again.

Old hag? Cruel but...

It was Dawn's first Grand Festival, but I think she had the skills to reach it in spite of that, so I don't think getting to the finals was the main problem. Just because May only got to the Top 8 on her first try doesn't mean that Dawn should have as well when their journeys were handled completely differently. There are less cruel and flamebait-like ways to refer to a character than calling them an old hag.

 

[Lillie]

I think Serena's development was very good, however I wish she had some kind of battling goal like sky battles or challenging the Battle Maison instead of Showcases. I just think she would have turned out as an even better character if she had goal like those two and ultimately received more screen time and focus because of it.

 

[Srebak]

If Serena is going to leave when XYZ is over (which is probably what's going to happen), then they'd better give her one heck of a send off with at least some closure on certain aspects of her character, the same has to be done for Greninja too after all that has happened. For example, there has to be a very plausible reason for Serena to not follow Ash to the next region:

Misty had to take over the Cerulean City Gym

May had reached the point where she needed to go off on her own

and

Dawn was given an opportunity that would have helped further her dreams and goals

I don't really remember why Iris decided to leave (and i don't really care, i was never all that fond of her anyway, to be honest), but the point is, after showing the aspects of Serena's character and her crush on Ash, there has to be a reason for her and Ash to go their separate ways more convincing than her just wanting to try for Kalos Queen again. I can remember a few times when Ash said that he was going to try again after losing the Pokemon Leagues, and yet, he simply moved forward and never looked back. Serena's reason for leaving had better be fitting and satisfying after everything we've seen.


As for the crush thing, from where i stand; the only right way to give this aspect of Serena's character some closure is for her to do something like; start to walk away for a few seconds, then stop, then turn right back around, so that she could run right towards Ash, wrap her arms around him and then give him a big kiss right on the lips. Simply having her leave without giving that story arc some closure would have made adding it in the first place a complete waste of time.

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

As for the crush thing, from where i stand; the only right way to give this aspect of Serena's character some closure is for her to do something like; start to walk away for a few seconds, then stop, then turn right back around, so that she could run right towards Ash, wrap her arms around him and then give him a big kiss right on the lips. Simply having her leave without giving that story arc some closure would have made adding it in the first place a complete waste of time.

That is not going to happen in my opinion. This is an adventure show. Not a romance.

 

[Hidden Mew]

If Serena is going to leave when XYZ is over (which is probably what's going to happen), then they'd better give her one heck of a send off with at least some closure on certain aspects of her character, the same has to be done for Greninja too after all that has happened. For example, there has to be a very plausible reason for Serena to not follow Ash to the next region:

Misty had to take over the Cerulean City Gym

May had reached the point where she needed to go off on her own

and

Dawn was given an opportunity that would have helped further her dreams and goals

I don't really remember why Iris decided to leave (and i don't really care, i was never all that fond of her anyway, to be honest), but the point is, after showing the aspects of Serena's character and her crush on Ash, there has to be a reason for her and Ash to go their separate ways more convincing than her just wanting to try for Kalos Queen again. I can remember a few times when Ash said that he was going to try again after losing the Pokemon Leagues, and yet, he simply moved forward and never looked back. Serena's reason for leaving had better be fitting and satisfying after everything we've seen.

Iris wanted to keep traveling and went off to Johto to battle against Clair, which was a lot more sudden than May and Dawn's departures at least. As for Serena, wanting to try to be Kalos Queen again would be convincing enough. She does have her feelings towards Ash, but the show hasn't really given the indication that she'd choose to keep following him around over her goal. Despite how fans think that Serena is only the girl crushing on Ash, I don't think that the show treats her as such. In my opinion, her best moments have nothing to do with her feelings towards Ash and everything to do with her determination to become Kalos Queen and how much she loves her Pokemon. She doesn't have a reason to leave the group yet, but with the offer to train under Palmero and Ash leaving Kalos after Team Flare is dealt with most likely, she'd going to have to tell them her plans and leave the group. They've set up for Serena to leave through Palmero for quite some time, so it wouldn't be out of nowhere.

As for the crush thing, from where i stand; the only right way to give this aspect of Serena's character some closure is for her to do something like; start to walk away for a few seconds, then stop, then turn right back around, so that she could run right towards Ash, wrap her arms around him and then give him a big kiss right on the lips. Simply having her leave without giving that story arc some closure would have made adding it in the first place a complete waste of time.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. It just wouldn't fit with the tone of the series. Not to mention I'd feel kind of uncomfortable seeing two ten year old children making out. I feel like that needs to be emphasized more when it comes to Pokemon pairings, at least the ones in the anime, than it actually is. Besides that, I think calling Serena's crush a story arc is pretty ridiculous. How could it be considered a story arc when there has been virtually no progression in her feelings throughout the series? She hasn't made any attempts at telling Ash her feelings nor is the crush the main aspect to her character like a lot of fans tend to reduce her as. It hasn't been presented as something that Serena needs to overcome or deal with in order to confess. Serena's Showcase journey is a storyline because there is progression in it. It has a beginning, middle and end to it and she does work towards that goal. The same can't be said for Serena's crush on Ash.

I always saw Serena's crush more as a gimmick than anything else. It's something to make Serena stand out a bit from a marketing perspective and the crush itself is often used for comedy gags like with the so-called date episode and the dance episode. While we might get some resolution for Serena's feelings before she leaves, I don't consider it a story arc or something of high priority for the writers to deal with. The relationship won't go anywhere. That was obvious from day one, so it's not like Serena confessing would magically change Ash and they'd both ride off into the sunset together towards the Alola region.

 

[KatsumiChris1991]

That is not going to happen in my opinion. This is an adventure show. Not a romance.

Doesn't help that both characters are ten and Ash hardly showed any feelings about romance

 

[papabiceps]

As for the crush thing, from where i stand; the only right way to give this aspect of Serena's character some closure is for her to do something like; start to walk away for a few seconds, then stop, then turn right back around, so that she could run right towards Ash, wrap her arms around him and then give him a big kiss right on the lips. Simply having her leave without giving that story arc some closure would have made adding it in the first place a complete waste of time.

I maybe see her teary-eyed hugging him goodbye, but Christ, these are 10 year olds dude.

 

[Master Cyrus]

Many a hentai have been made with younger.

 

[Hidden Mew]

That doesn't make the idea of ten year old children making out any less uncomfortable, especially when most of the people here are well past the target demographic age range. Involving younger characters would be bad too, but at the end of the day, they both involve underage characters.

Also, don't start bringing up hentai here. That can get into inappropriate content material really fast and I don't want this thread to devolve into discussion on the depictions of underage characters in fan made material.

 

[PrettyVenomoth]

Dawn and Iris lasted one region. I don't think they retcon anything. I rather see the new female captain as companion or the female main character of the games as a companion.

They retconned Ash's background so that she predates Misty. Why bother doing that just to get rid after a single region? there is no reason Ash can't have two grown female friends in the same region.

 

[ii kanji]

Does 10-year-old Serena count as a "grown female friend"?

 

[Hidden Mew]

They retconned Ash's background so that she predates Misty. Why bother doing that just to get rid after a single region? there is no reason Ash can't have two grown female friends in the same region.

I don't think Ash meeting Serena before the events of the series really counts as a retcon. A retcon is normally a new detail changed that contradict established history on a character or series. Ash going to camp when he was younger and meeting Serena before Misty isn't really a retcon since it added something new to Ash's past, rather than change something that was already established about him. Something like Mr. Mime always being in Ash's house instead of just staying with his mother after enjoying her food would be an example of a retcon.

Serena meeting Ash before even the original series began isn't really that big of a deal in my opinion. It was just so that Serena could have a crush on Ash before she joined the group. It's not such a huge game changer that it would be unthinkable to get rid of Serena after one region as a result. There's no reason for Serena to go to Alola though. It would do really nothing for her goal and they've already setup for Serena to leave quite awhile ago. Much like with the other female traveling companions, it's not a matter of if Serena will leave, but rather when will she leave.