Serena's pros: 1: She's pretty 2: She had guts to show her feelings 3: She's overall a good character with a good arc Serena's cons: 1: Her fans just wouldn't stfu💀
Yeah, that's what made me despise the shipping the longest time (and Serena herself). Even today, I avoid fics that lay it on thick, I just think Serena's a mid character nowadays, I don't really see her on the same scope of some of the other female companions.
Granted, I didn’t think about it, but Pikachu was significantly nicer in XY(Z) in general though. He only ever shocked people he didn’t mean to when he was nervous, like Bonnie in Ep. 1. Pikachu never really shocked anyone through the rest of the series (other than the exceptions of him being mind controlled)
I honestly perfer the way serena was, Her personality the lore and everything, She actually knew ash before he was even a trainer and was there for him at his lowest we need someone like serena again or her once again
If we're being honest, the main reason is usually Amourshipping, but I personally think Serena is a really cool and unique character, having a past with Ash, her character arc, and her chemistry with the rest of the cast made her really fun to watch, not surprised she was one of the most requested character returns next to Greninja
I ranted about this in my own comment but what I like about her the most is how she shows that you don't need to take superman, slap boobs on him and make him 30000% more sarcastic to get a strong woman, because as she demonstrates by simply existing it is possible to have a strong female character whose strength is undeniably founded in femininity
that's very true i still personally like dawn more but not by much i always thought dawn was another lead as well and was just as much a main character as ash was but after a certain point she did get a little stale only because near the end of her journey the writers didn't know what to do
I think Serena was made more to support Ash and her friends, while he primary story kind of took a back-seat. Dawn on the other hand, was in a lot ways, somebody that drove Ash to be better and vice versa. Because while their goals were different (pokemon master v. top coordinator), Ash and Dawn went out of their way to drive the other to be better. Ash repeatedly competed in contests, which not only gave him a chance to diversify his training skillset, but it also inspired Dawn to persist, especially when things were going bad and she didn't think she could hack it as a coordinator.
Serena was the first time Ash's travelling group didn't have an older brother/house-husband like Brock or Cilan with them, so the two essentially had to step up to fill that role which gave shippers something to eat. There was always a nagging sensation that Ash's travelling groups would have fallen apart at the start without Brock being the rock that he is. Dawn was pretty much season 1 Ash almost verbatim, but as a girl. Piplup, Ariados, Mespirit, Mamoswine instead of Pikachu, Fearrow, Ho-oh and Charizard. A hot-headed go-getting day dreamer (who seem to have been raised by a single mom) that gets smacked over the head with wake up calls that achieving their dream will be hard. She really shows how far Ash has come because season 1 Ash would have thrown hands with Paul.
@@generalsynnacle23 True. If she ever gets a new Pokémon, I hope it's not Altaria. With Lisia as her current rival, I can't see her getting an Altaria.
@@darkdragon7210 Someone in this comment section said Mudkip, and I kinda of agree. In XY we had both a Mega Sceptile and a Mega Blaziken, so it would make sense for someone to get a Mudkip.
Brock and Misty were special in their own ways, they were like ash's guides, like ash was that noob friend that started playing a mmo after everyone else and brock and misty were those friends always following the noob and giving tips until the noob gets good.
Speaking of showcases, I love the character designs of the performers. My favourite background performers are; Blanche, Sara Lee, Amelia, Concetta, and Alouette.
The haircut always weirded me out, and not just because I think no one, male or female, looks good with short hair (it's bald or "Sephiroth" in my books - no middle ground), it's that for some reason, after the hair cut, she looked oddly younger for some reason.
@@LordNanfoodle But actually she was already "deaged" since she appears for the first time in the anime. Her original game artwork looks like a 16-18 girl, in the anime she is 10.
@@Amaster-1309 I didn't like her Before that But I remember the day I came home from School to see her cut her hair .. bruh neurons Activated and I have been a fan since then
Anyone else ever noticed XY is the only series where the female companion from the previous series didn’t appear at all? I was surprised we didn’t see Iris again but at least she appeared in a bigger role in Journeys.
My guess is that since XY was earning a positive reception, it really doesn’t need to have a past female companion to accompany them. Would’ve love to see Iris in XY tho (even if she’s not my favorite), she would’ve come back as a bit more on the friendlier side.
@@spontaneouswizard358 yeah, that came to my mind since I did remembered that they brought in both Dawn and Cynthia to get the B&W series to be better, but the negative already suffered the series at that point on. In the case here in XY, since the reception is positive that it doesn’t need any callbacks to make it even better since it already is great at that point.
A big thing that made people like her was that she was following the absolute plane crash of a travelling companion that was iris so her being a good little goober was even more appreciated
For me Serena was the *BEST* Pokegirl Ash has traveled with. From the lore, personality, growth of character, and chemistry with Ash. I think it would have been nice if Pokemon made a few special episodes exclusively of Ash’s previous companions on their own journeys. Kinda like they did with Alain in the XYZ Mega Evolution Specials.
Journeys did a side episode on legends Arceus with a non canon story with dawn returning. Hopefully legends ZA makes the dream happen by bringing back XYZ gang for a few episodes. Technically this can happen. Imagine having Ash Greninja lore
@@dragonshiny7321Really, Dawn and Serena are the only ones who have this mutual support and work as Ash's half, any of them would be great as a partner for him, I can't see for example May, Lillie or Misty (despite the provocations in Kanto but only humor and didn't go forward) ending up together with him.
My only opinion was that Serena should have caught a Rhyhorn. When she raced her Mom later they would have used their own Rhyhorns but during the episode conflict her Rhyhorn would evolve to Rhydon (Whether it goes to Rhypeior or not doesn't matter the the sake of this moment). It would have been an awesome symbolic moment to show that Serena has "evolved" past the person she was when still living with her Mom. A missed opportunity for a huge symbolic moment.
@@nerbprincess6671 Serena with a Marshtomp... Why does it sound like the perfect idea to me? Probably some bias on my part since it's my favorite Pokemon line.
Haters still say that Serena didn't help Ash in Snowbell, when he himself shows the opposite and thanks her several times. They say that Serena was very dependent on Ash. On the contrary, she loved him but never stopped following her dream because of him. In her first loss, she may have cried, but at no time did she put herself down or hurt herself. She always sought to do better and be a better person, maturing and seeking to help and be kind to other people. Her love for Ash was more than one of her many adorable qualities as a character, easily one of the best, if not the best pokegirl.
@@joaozin5061 It's not haters who say that. It's people who wish Serena had gotten better treatment. Also, she literally abandoned her dream for Ash's sake, at first. And she didn't actually love Ash.
@@LittleAl016 I don't know what anime you watched, buddy, but Serena hasn't given up on her dream, she's chasing it like never before, and honestly... with all of Serena's tips, if that's not love, I don't know what is.
Serena loved Ash and saw him as a source of admiration and inspiration, but at no time did she put her feelings above her dream, she was never indecisive about separating from him to pursue her goals.
She wasn't mean for the sake of it like the other girls, she had genuinely admiration for Ash and became a better person for it and obviously is the only canon relationship for Ash..she was awesome ❤
Dawn wasn't mean to Ash for the sake of it either. Their bickerings were usually due to outside circumstances frustrating them to where they butted heads, like that one tag battle episode.
After watching that episode I would rewatch it for no reason then my dad made a little joke thinking I have a crush on her which I can confirm is not true
Serena felt like the most mature female companian. She started out unsure of herself, but eventually found her path. Her relationship with Ash where they both lifted each other up, and brought out each others strengths. THE snow scene where Ash and her argue felt so real. It wasn't your usual cheery pokemon ep. In the end Serena leaves Ash and the gang better and more wise than she started. Its a shame her last appearance was given to Chloe 💀and not Ash. Anyways wonderful vid, please keep talking about Xy it keeps it alive for me. Legends ZA is coming soon so XY content should be on the rise.
One of the things I love the most about Serenas characterization is how she demonstrate that you can be a well written strong woman who doesn't take shit from anyone and who is not some damsel in distress without letting go of femininity. Like Serena is not afraid of stepping up and battling when she needs to, like against team rocket or when Ash was sick and this one guy came to challenge him. She is also not afraid to tell others in her group, especially Ash, off. But most of all she is undeniably feminie throughout it all. Like yes you don't need to be feminine just because you're a woman, but the amount of tough girlboss mary sues in popular media (Looking at you MCU) lately leads you to believe that your two options are sarcastic demigoddess whose personality is best summed up as "Punch first, ask questions while punching!" or helpess damsel in distress who is more a plot-device than a character and nothing inbetween. Like don't get me wrong the badass girlboss thing was awesome the first time it happened. Hell I love badass women. But if they're just badass for the same of being badass why bother? Meanwhile Serena solves problems through her kindness, through being nice, she supports her friends in any way she can and she knows when niceties and kindness won't help and when to fight. Like even ignoring the fact that she's a performer, which apparently is a feminine thing to do, she is undeniably feminine and anyone who would call her weak because of that is either an idiot or hasn't watched xyz. In summary: Serena is strong, Serena is cute, Serena is caring and I love how she shows "Hey, there's strength to be found in femininity also!"
Except "strong" is not a word I would use to describe Serena. And we already had an example of "strength can be found in femininity, also!" as far back as in Indigo League, and she's a far better example of that than Serena could ever measure up to be.
Serena is definitely one of my favorite characters across the Pokémon anime, and definitely my favorite of Ash's companions. Cute, relatable, and compassionate, but with a fire to keep going and not let others bring her down! Such an attractive and appealing set of characteristics.
Serena is such a well written character I agree she’s still my favourite character in the whole Pokemon franchise!! I think the whole think about ash being depressed about losing they tried recreating it during journeys but kinda failed when Goh did it:( also I’m excited for the zigard video!!!
exxacctly, i see so many people in the fandom hating on serena because she was "only a love interest".. NUH UH!!!!!!! she had her own development of trying to find out what she wants to do in life, and she found her passion for performing, and she never wanted to give up after that. sure, ash helped her along the way, but she found out how to do things on her own too!!! shes waaay more than a love interest, serena is an amazing character and her moments with bonnie were so wholesome
the problem is that's all the fanbase talk about her relationship with ash that's why so many people were butt hurt when her and ash didn't really talk in her last episode yet that same episode showed she had some character growth and tried to share some with chole
@@Tesla2586 First of all, Ash is 10. Secondly, he had a love interest already. And thirdly, the attempts the show made to pair Ash and Serena together weren't authentic, was only because some of the higher ups wanted it, and it contributed to the drop in ratings the XY anime had every week until the Kalos League. The target audience outright found "AmourShipping" boring, pointless, and hard to relate to.
@@LittleAl016 Okay I refuse to acknowledge him as 10. By this point we are at gen 6. And I also dont believe each series is standalone either. The showrunners are dumb if I buy into that crap. He looks and acts at least 15 or 16. So I WILL view him as such. Also Serena looked to be either younger or about the same age as Ash when they were kids. Does SHE look 10 years old to you? Cause she sure as hell doesnt to me. Also Ash never had a girlfriend. Misty never got romantic with Ash. Neither did May. Dawn kinda had a whole Kouhai/Senpai thing going with Ash. But it never got romantic. So I would be curious who this GF is.
As a girl who was 11 and obsessed with XYZ, I LOVED serena!!! She was just so relatable to me, and the scene where she cut her hair literally cut deep so hard I STILL talk about how it felt seeing that for the first time. seeing a female character that felt actually real and not just the female side character was so so nice. Whats funny is, i didnt realise the kiss scene until years later, i was too young to know that it was a kiss, i was so confused LOL
Now that was a throwback to my 11 year old self. (It's been almost a decade since the XYZ anime?! 😭) I remember how much I loved Serena back then. She was great. I always wanted to be like her because she was such a strong, relatable and well written character. I think I need to rewatch the anime now.
The pokemon Journeys writers were on some bullshit with Serena like why make Journeys the series where they return to every region and have so many missed opportunities, I would have paid actual money to get a whole episode with just Serena and Ash again
Despite the short meeting, it shows that they respect amourshipping and what was written in XY, they avoided them interacting for a long time to avoid approaching this more romantic thing, but who knows one day that won't happen, Ash can still return, not even he and his friends achieved their dreams, if they make Ash grow old and put him in a relationship, Serena is literally already written for that 😁 (I hope to see the Kalos gang as a promotion for ZA)
@@kioger8956 I understand, I would like that too, but I'm impressed by how in one minute it showed the dynamic of double support that they both have, Serena was the only person that Ash willingly told what he was doing and his position in the PWC, both telling him to do his best and cheer for each other, best duo, both want to be the best in their areas.
@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967 I still have faith that in 2026 or 2027 Ash will appear, I don't think they will discard him and his friends, no one has completed their dreams yet, the same goes for Ash and Serena, I still want to see if the idea of them following their dreams and then being together after that comes to fruition, until today no one from TPC or Superiors has contradicted what Yajima wanted, on the contrary, they allowed and supported it. Bringing Serena to promote ZA would be very good too.
@@Kaze8822 If that was the case, he wouldn't go through every comment on the video trying to sell out Misty as "number one unquestionable wife material for Ash"
she's the definition of a strong female character. both bold and caring, with her own story and character development. love that for her. she inspired me a lot as a tween i also like the turn the female characters took after her, lillie's story with trauma and chloe's with undecision and anxiety really got to me
I honestly thought she was popular not only she is a nice person but the fact she is the female player character of the X/Y games and she owns an Eevee that becomes the mighty Sylveon.
She felt like she had her own content within the show. The performances really shed light onto her character and her abilities. I feel like the other pokegirls, you would hear about their end goals and desires, but they didn't really get the screen time to convey that. Maybe one or two episodes, but it feels like Serena's goal grew alongside Ash's, which was pretty cool. The writers clearly liked Serena lol
I really couldn’t care that much about Serena in the anime, I liked her character in the Manga and I have great memories playing as her character in Pokémon X but I didn’t really like her character in the show
Honestly XYZ had probably the best side characters out of them all cuz they felt like they legitimately were dynamic characters alongside Ash. For as much as I love the Black and White anime (since it was the first one I watched) I thought that Iris's "you're such a kid" gag got old so quickly. Cilan was alright though. He was a fun side character (except for the fact that he falls under the "Jason Grifith has a single tone of voice" category cuz GOD he has the same vocal delivery as Sonic in Sonic X and 06.)
I honestly liked Cilan he was a breath of fresh air from brock who really didn't do much of anything for as long as he lasted one thing I liked about cilan is that unlike brock the anime didn't forget he was a gym leader and he had his share of good battles. And while I agree Irish "kid" remarks got old fast I didn't hate her as much as the fanbase did she was just ok (still liked cilan better)
The pokemon nostalgia just hits too hard. Its hard to forget this pokemon season, it was my favourite. Serena not only had a good character but had an eevee which just reminded me of how much i loved eevee.
5:22 .....umm this is not the first time ash had some trouble like this, hell not only he nearly lose sight of this in his willingness to defeat paul, but there is multiple instances of friends and pokemon that cheers them up when he is stuck in a difficult battle, for example dawn teaching him the "spinning technique" a coordinator move used for battle. Honestly, this re-teaching of lessons are the reasons old fans are sure that ash gets brain reset every season.
You're comparing the snap to reality to a coordinator technique. Ash was frustrated that he lost and didn't win. LITTERALLY THE ENTIRE SERIES WHENEVER HE LOST he got mad or guilty. This happened with his loss against sawyer, wulfric, dianthia, and alain. It was a reoccurring thing throughout the entire series. Unlike in the past, where it would serve as merely a "lesson," the xy series litterally focuses on ash losing and becoming fixated on a loss and then serena finally wakes him up for the first time. It's evident in journeys and sun and moon.
She was just so dynamic with ash. She needed him for so long but eventually used his strength to build her own. She had her own arc and helped ash get over his things. My headcanon is that they kept talking after the series so that ash would never get discouraged and neither would she. I also think they like aged up during the xy anime and then ash went back to being a kid in sun/moon
She's cute, somewhat relatable and had decent character development. And when she kissed Ash, my inner childhood went gaga. May used to be my fav back then, but havent seen her in a while... so.... Yeah. Serena all the way.
Serena was always my favorite pokegirl since xy came out bc of her design and lore. Her hair cutting thing literally made 11 year old me cry, and all the performances were so cool.
omg i used to love serena so much. i would literally fight people on the internet as a like 9-year-old over them calling pokeshipping (ash x misty) better than amourshipping (ash x serena). i hated all of the other girls because they weren't serena and would roleplay as her on roblox mlp games that allowed you to spawn as a image instead of model. i would even only play the episodes where she was most prominent in lmao, i was obsessed bro 😭
Misty may have been a jerk but by xy time if ash got sick and she knew she would at minimum be concerned while brock would do something about it as they do care for each other it just they get on each others nerves sometimes (most of the time in OS) but there still friends at the end of the day.
@@Pokiiii62where do you get the idea she wouldn’t care about him being sick? She literally took care of him and Tracey in season 2 when they had stun spore(even helped Jessie who suffered the same condition regardless of her being an enemy)
You're selling Misty short. She would be confronting Ash's problems directly, and get him to pick himself up by the bootstraps, of, if failing that, pick him up by the bootstraps herself. She would never make Ash's situation about her like how Serena did.
@@LittleAl016 it’s good that you’re defending Misty, but please be careful not to criticize Serena in anyway. Especially when both fandoms called a truce in CZcams.
I do have to counter Misty not caring. She actually went diving for an ingredient for an antidote after Ash and Tracey were hit with. Vileplume’s Stun Spore, even leaving some for James and Meowth afterward knowing Jessie also was afflicted with the same thing.
Serena is the BEST because she was NEVER mean to ash not even once which shows her GREAT personality and character. ALSO Serena had her OWN dream compared to all the other girls who were there just for shock value which is dumb as fuck.
All the girls have different personalities, they are not clones of Misty. Misty is strong headed and ‘fiesty’, but unlike what you’ve said, she does care for Ash deeply, however she doesn’t express it like Serena, Serena is more open to expressing her emotions. May is like the extroverted version of Serena, quite likeable, but she is not a Misty clone. She is actually quite cool headed unlike Misty, and quite agreeable like Serena. Dawn is slightly similar to Misty in her low agreeableness, but she is very introverted and more reserved. And finally we have Iris. She is like Dawn but more carefree, free spirit, extroverted version. I think it’s quite shallow reason to say all the other girls are just Misty tropes, and that Serena is the only special one. I think they are all unique in their own ways. For me personally, I ship Misty and Ash. But I don’t hate Serena, like how can I😌
Misty was fiesty & iron willed & was a heroic counterpart to Jessie with both sharing similar poor backgrounds. May was much different she wanted to see the world & discovered a love for contests. Rather than an abusive tsundere, May was her own character. Dawn had firm goals from the start & it's hard to explain May & Dawn. Iris was drastically different in that she was a wild child that Ash ran into. Looking back I only remember why Misty & Serena traveled with Ash, although considering how much Cerulean City overprices their bikes it's understandable why Misty was a debt collector.
sadly its the shippers is the reasons she's so popular she has a good character its just lost in all the love interest stuff fans whine about that's why in her last episode people complained how she had little dialog with ash even though in that same episode she was not only more confident than her past self she became somewhat of a mentor to the current female chloe hell people don't even talk about how her performance was on par with honen's top performer lisia
Both Dawn and Serena are my favorite in their own ways, and it’s mostly their personalities. Serena the kind and gently one, and Dawn the persistent and confident one.
Except that's not true, Misty did care about Ash and for Ash when he was sick, the Orange islands episode with misty needing to get a cure for stun spore and her chasing Poliwag as the only pokemon who could collect the plant needed.
@@LittleAl016 To fight someone who just wouldn't take no for an answer until he could fight Ash, the same Ash who was in no condition to fight? Not only was that episode a gag, but Serena also trying her best to help Ash they way she could, taking care of him, helping him get better and even keeping harm and trouble away from him.
@@insecure8926 Serena didn't need to wear Ash's clothes just to do that, and it's weird that she even considered wearing them at all. Plus, Clemont could have done the same thing.
@@LittleAl016 Clemont and Boonie were looking for a medicine, there was no one else besides Ash and Serena there. She kinda to use those clothes considering that Ash was becoming quite popular in Kalos, does making him recognizable.
Serena is the goat!!! I loved her as a kid and wanted to be her! Like- i would say, "If pokemon existed, i would wanna be a performer like Serena!" When i was little! Heck! I still wanna be her!
Hello there as someone who grow up watching Pokémon since the very beginning, as in season 1, I just saw Serena as a normal pokegirl. I’ll be honest to this day I still don’t understand what made Serena so special and different from Misty, May, Dawn and Iris. Every pokegirl had their different takes. Misty was a gym leader and yes she had some anger issues but she also had her soft spots. I feel like she mellowed out when she got tokapi. May at first didn’t like Pokémon and only wanted to travel but once she learned about Pokémon contest she was hooked. Sure she could have joined Ash in battling the gyms and impressing her gym leader of a father but she choose Pokémon contest and her father was really proud of her. Dawn knew at a young age she wanted to follow in her mother’s foot steps and do Pokémon contest and winning the grand festival. Again she could have done what Ash did and challenged the gyms but she wanted to do Pokémon contest. Iris just wanted to follow Ash but she had a goal to be a dragon pokemon master. To this day I still ship Ash and Misty and not for nostalgic reasons but I saw at one point that Ash liked Misty back. This point is just me but I saw more moments of Ash liking Misty back than I saw Ash liking Serena back. I’m sorry but that just me.
@@Kings0424 Yes it did. Considering that she's not a faithful adaptation of the character she's supposed to be adapting. (A trait shared with only Dawn, as far as Ash's companions are concerned.) She's a Pokémon Trainer who barely battles, and doesn't battle strong opponents. And how her crush on Ash was handled would make anyone with decent media literacy question how it got greenlit.
@@darkdragon7210 it’s weird that technically in the games she is but in the anime its her sisters but after traveling with Ash she took over as the gym leader from her sisters
@@LittleAl016 It's their favorite character, of course the creator will be biased. Plus, the comment about Misty was clearly a joke. Video as funny and cool.
@@insecure8926 Was it really a joke? Because the only thing funny about it was the 🤡 who made the joke. And a content creator, when making analyses, should strive for objectivity. And this video is clearly not objective, given how it pretty much makes up lies in regards to not only Misty, but also May, Dawn, and Iris, just to make Serena look better in comparison.
@@insecure8926 Was it really a joke? Because it wasn't funny. In fact, all this video does is pretty much lie about Misty, May, Dawn, and Iris, just to make Serena look better.
@@LittleAl016 It was a joke, since it's heavily exaggerated. Either way, all four of those had at the very least some amount of bickering with Ash. Serena was unique on that regard because she never bickered with Ash.
There's an episode called "The Stun Spore Detour" about how Misty would treat Ash who is sick. Btw, the episode "For Crying Out Loud" is also the one that impressed me deeply about Misty.
I acknowledge her because as you said, she broke the ash-girl-companion personality formula, she just felt fresh compared to the others She's not being a jerk to ash for no reason, she's surprisingly mature despite being 10, she has motherly vibe and always care for their team
True, she really did help him out when she yelled at him, but I didn't really like how she made it sound like Ash couldn't have any feelings other than happy.
Serena fans will hate me for my opinion, but I genuinely wish she was either a one off character or a secondary character that's only in a few episodes instead of being part of the main group. like seriously In my eyes I saw her as the third wheel of the group, inserting herself into Ash's journey just to follow her crush around. Oh, and let's not forget that she ALSO had to be the 'contests' girl companion, even though we had May and Dawn go through those same journeys before. And speaking of, if they REALLY wanted to have those contests episodes, I personally think it would have been more interesting if they gave that side journey to Bonnie! atleast then they could have kept Serena around as a recurring character when it was a contest focused episode. Hate me all ya want, but I'm actually glad that despite the couple of episodes that took place in Kalos, only ONE episode had Serena, and even in THAT one episode she only interacted with Chloe, only seeing Ash at the literal end of the episode. Heck, for a moment it actually looked like the anime had ignored Serena's existence when they did the Kalos episodes! Meanwhile it's no surprise why *DAWN* had many episodes she appeared in!
Then who should've been the Pokegirl of Kalos/ XY? Don't you mean 4th wheel? They weren't Contests, they were Showcases! Showcases, Bonnie isn't OLD enough yet so it wouldn't make sense! Um, that episode in Journeys took place in Hoenn NOT Kalos!!! Yeah, that was ANNOYING, Especially in her episode! BDSP & Legends Arceus PROMOS!!!
@@Timmothy_plays I won't go against your opinion, it's fine if you don't like the character. That being said, Dawn showed up so much to promote Legends Arceus and BDSP.
@@subhasishghosh6924i thought pokemon was aimed at children not toddlers who cant handle someone not liking there favorite character as much as they do
XYZ was legit my childhood, especially Korrina. She’s the reason I just love lucario. I’m really heartbroken she showed up only once and barely said hi to ash. I wish they would’ve showed her becoming kalos queen and maybe had her travel with ash in one of the seasons, since they did that with dawn, Brock, misty, etc. Ash even saw Bonnie and Clemont in an entire episode and interacted with them, but in the episode where Serena actually showed up, she only really talked with Chloe. She even had impact in Chloe to be a performer and not to care what people think of her. She’s definitely not like the other poke girls either considering she knows who she really is and changed ash. Plus she does Pokémon showcases and not contests. And there’s a difference. She’s has what it takes to be kalos queen and I know this is a lot for just a character but when I was litttle she really inspired me and kinda made me who I am today
Iris wasn't even Misty 2.0. Her character arc and development path was wildly different, and one of the best development arcs behind only May's and Lillie's.
4 VIDEOS REMAINING TILL THE TALE OF ZYGARDE!!!!
LESSGOOO 💚⏳
Tale of Zygarde? What u mean?
(Im new to the channel lol)
@@jakneez Idk but it sounds mega hype
@@WiiFan-1300 yeah I originally thought it was related to the game and the lore u know?
Serena's pros:
1: She's pretty
2: She had guts to show her feelings
3: She's overall a good character with a good arc
Serena's cons:
1: Her fans just wouldn't stfu💀
And I refuse to stfu, best poke girl. lol
Not really, it was the shipping, it has always been the shipping.
she is 10 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
@@RODIOMG7I thought serena was pretty when I was ten
Yeah, that's what made me despise the shipping the longest time (and Serena herself). Even today, I avoid fics that lay it on thick, I just think Serena's a mid character nowadays, I don't really see her on the same scope of some of the other female companions.
Man when Serena kissed Ash in the second to last episode of XYZ I lost my shit as a 10 year old
Same! Journeys Serena was epic but too bad it was too short
May : "hold my Mistletoe!!!"
real 😭
fr they were my first otp
why does he get all the baddies
She really is the kindest out of all of them.
Even Pikachu never dared to shock her (never directly intended to).
FRRRR I REALIZED THAT
Granted, I didn’t think about it, but Pikachu was significantly nicer in XY(Z) in general though. He only ever shocked people he didn’t mean to when he was nervous, like Bonnie in Ep. 1. Pikachu never really shocked anyone through the rest of the series (other than the exceptions of him being mind controlled)
@@Halo916_ well he shocked Clemont in a game of whack a mole when finding Dedenne.
“If yo pika shocks yo bih yo gon’ leave her rn”
@@Pokiiii62 Misty crying in the corner:
I honestly perfer the way serena was, Her personality the lore and everything, She actually knew ash before he was even a trainer and was there for him at his lowest we need someone like serena again or her once again
That's very valid
We don’t have Ash anymore, so not really. Liko and Roy’s story is very different.
Except she was only "there for him" conditionally.
@@LittleAl016 Not conditionally, always
@@insecure8926 Conditionally. Not always.
The animators actually took time to give her her own screentime and moments which led to watchers actually growing a bond with her
Fr,There were freaking episodes dedicated for her back to back!
Minor correction, animators dont make the story, the writers do
If we're being honest, the main reason is usually Amourshipping, but I personally think Serena is a really cool and unique character, having a past with Ash, her character arc, and her chemistry with the rest of the cast made her really fun to watch, not surprised she was one of the most requested character returns next to Greninja
Frrr bro, I love her character
I'm surprised they didn't end up together, I think they still could if they are in horizons together as side characters or something so its possible
@@stealthnightgaming3349 yea i want the same thing to be honest
@@user-ke8rq8fx8z I suspect quite a lot of people do
I ranted about this in my own comment but what I like about her the most is how she shows that you don't need to take superman, slap boobs on him and make him 30000% more sarcastic to get a strong woman, because as she demonstrates by simply existing it is possible to have a strong female character whose strength is undeniably founded in femininity
Her story was kinda similar to dawn, since they both felt like a co lead in the series and not just a side character, the difference is the attitude
Like Paul and that guy from the og Pokemon series that abandoned his Pokemon but Paul's is more expanded on.
that's very true
i still personally like dawn more but not by much
i always thought dawn was another lead as well and was just as much a main character as ash was but after a certain point she did get a little stale only because near the end of her journey the writers didn't know what to do
@@Lanz_gaB Except Serena feels more like a side character than a co-lead.
I think Serena was made more to support Ash and her friends, while he primary story kind of took a back-seat. Dawn on the other hand, was in a lot ways, somebody that drove Ash to be better and vice versa. Because while their goals were different (pokemon master v. top coordinator), Ash and Dawn went out of their way to drive the other to be better. Ash repeatedly competed in contests, which not only gave him a chance to diversify his training skillset, but it also inspired Dawn to persist, especially when things were going bad and she didn't think she could hack it as a coordinator.
Serena was the first time Ash's travelling group didn't have an older brother/house-husband like Brock or Cilan with them, so the two essentially had to step up to fill that role which gave shippers something to eat. There was always a nagging sensation that Ash's travelling groups would have fallen apart at the start without Brock being the rock that he is. Dawn was pretty much season 1 Ash almost verbatim, but as a girl. Piplup, Ariados, Mespirit, Mamoswine instead of Pikachu, Fearrow, Ho-oh and Charizard. A hot-headed go-getting day dreamer (who seem to have been raised by a single mom) that gets smacked over the head with wake up calls that achieving their dream will be hard. She really shows how far Ash has come because season 1 Ash would have thrown hands with Paul.
Also, because Serena was a performer, all of her Pokémon were very dripped out
@@Jacobturtle best comment
Though one big issue was that Serena barely caught any Pokemon of her own. Literally only two in over 100 episodes.
@@generalsynnacle23 True. If she ever gets a new Pokémon, I hope it's not Altaria. With Lisia as her current rival, I can't see her getting an Altaria.
@@insecure8926 Then what should she get?
@@darkdragon7210 Someone in this comment section said Mudkip, and I kinda of agree. In XY we had both a Mega Sceptile and a Mega Blaziken, so it would make sense for someone to get a Mudkip.
Brock and Misty were special in their own ways, they were like ash's guides, like ash was that noob friend that started playing a mmo after everyone else and brock and misty were those friends always following the noob and giving tips until the noob gets good.
Misty was far more than "Ash's guide".
@@LittleAl016 Please, till orange league she has to be the most annoying female lead in the pokemon franchise.
@@dibyaudhdas1978 You're thinking about Serena, not Misty.
@@LittleAl016 For free? Wow, that's very mature of you.
@@dibyaudhdas1978 her and ashes beef in indigo was legendary tho
Serena is the whole reason I love Sylveon man 😭
She is still my favourite Pokémon character to date
That's what I'm thinking tho, because of Sylveon! Well, and Braixen too.
Only one of the reasons for me. I've done at least a few rounds on Pokemon Showdown and man is Sylveon specially tanky.
@@ShimShim-x4q Same, plus the Pixilate Hyper Voice combo was insane.
@@insecure8926 The moove pool with special boost in defense and attack>>
@@christ5431 Yeah, it's my favorite Eeveelution for sure. I think only Jolteon comes close on my list.
Serena's Showcase probably has one of the top tier pokemon animations imo. Even the writers agree that Serena deserves the shine of awesomeness!
Frr!
No in reality the new Pokemon writers (after xy) hate Serena
@@parvkaurav7973 frick those writers
Speaking of showcases, I love the character designs of the performers. My favourite background performers are; Blanche, Sara Lee, Amelia, Concetta, and Alouette.
@@rezeno5665 Sara lee and the eevee duo was Amazing I really like the Glaceon collar and the Lypheon costume
The scene where she cut her hair was something I did not expect coming from pokemon. It symbolizes a great change
The haircut always weirded me out, and not just because I think no one, male or female, looks good with short hair (it's bald or "Sephiroth" in my books - no middle ground), it's that for some reason, after the hair cut, she looked oddly younger for some reason.
@@LordNanfoodle Hair style change do be like that sometimes huh lol
I guess it was because Yvonne also had short hair in game later
@@LordNanfoodle But actually she was already "deaged" since she appears for the first time in the anime. Her original game artwork looks like a 16-18 girl, in the anime she is 10.
THAT ONE EPISODE WHERE SHE CUT HER HAIR WAS CRAZY
FINALLY SOMEONE MENTIONS IT OML
ISTG THAT EPISODE CHANGED ME AS A PERSON AD THE FIRST THING I WANTED TO DO AFTER WATCHING IT WAS TO GET A HAIRCUT
@@pocketNonsense LEGIT ALTERED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY
Epic character development that was
@@Amaster-1309 I didn't like her Before that But I remember the day I came home from School to see her cut her hair .. bruh neurons Activated and I have been a fan since then
Isn't it simillar to the time I cut my hair??
it was also the beginning of my character development!
me and Serena are simillar that means..
Anyone else ever noticed XY is the only series where the female companion from the previous series didn’t appear at all? I was surprised we didn’t see Iris again but at least she appeared in a bigger role in Journeys.
My guess is that since XY was earning a positive reception, it really doesn’t need to have a past female companion to accompany them. Would’ve love to see Iris in XY tho (even if she’s not my favorite), she would’ve come back as a bit more on the friendlier side.
@@brickbanditstudios6037 that’s a good theory actually.
@@spontaneouswizard358 yeah, that came to my mind since I did remembered that they brought in both Dawn and Cynthia to get the B&W series to be better, but the negative already suffered the series at that point on. In the case here in XY, since the reception is positive that it doesn’t need any callbacks to make it even better since it already is great at that point.
@@brickbanditstudios6037 I mean it’s never officially been confirmed but I like your explanation overall.
@@spontaneouswizard358 thanks tho. At least I said it as a guess, who knows about regarding of barely any callbacks in XY(Z)
A big thing that made people like her was that she was following the absolute plane crash of a travelling companion that was iris so her being a good little goober was even more appreciated
Never understood the hate for Iris. Besides her annoying catch phrase, I thought she was a good companion.
@@droolingderp24 Oh not me. Her attitude drove me nuts. I couldnt sit through much of Gen 5.
@@droolingderp24 Does Iris even call Ash a kid also in the original version?
I still have to watch X/Y in Japanese.
Iris was peak wym. And then they made her a true dragon master in the end
@@MidoriNatsume I have no idea.
Serena was the nicest of Ash’s female companions
FRRR
Unlike the girl before her......
Yes!
@@murderman7265 hey don't slander Iris, she's a good character in her own right (bw is underrated and they overused a quote on Iris)
@@murderman7265 you mean the more successful one?
For me Serena was the *BEST* Pokegirl Ash has traveled with. From the lore, personality, growth of character, and chemistry with Ash. I think it would have been nice if Pokemon made a few special episodes exclusively of Ash’s previous companions on their own journeys. Kinda like they did with Alain in the XYZ Mega Evolution Specials.
Same here!!
Same🗿👍
Pokemon chronicles and the Japan exclusive special episodes anyone?
Journeys did a side episode on legends Arceus with a non canon story with dawn returning. Hopefully legends ZA makes the dream happen by bringing back XYZ gang for a few episodes. Technically this can happen. Imagine having Ash Greninja lore
I remember at end of bw they did a brock and cilan episode.
Serena feels like an actual friend rather then a sibling
Granted most sibling esc poke girls are entertaining in their roles
Dawn tho. She brought a _great_ energy that could've gone either way.
@@E4439Qv5Dawn is the only other pokegirl that I can see get-together with Ash. Her and Serena had the best character development
@@dragonshiny7321Really, Dawn and Serena are the only ones who have this mutual support and work as Ash's half, any of them would be great as a partner for him, I can't see for example May, Lillie or Misty (despite the provocations in Kanto but only humor and didn't go forward) ending up together with him.
@@joaozin5061 **coughcoughMistycoughcough**
@@dragonshiny7321 No. They actually didn't. And you're forgetting that Misty exists.
My only opinion was that Serena should have caught a Rhyhorn. When she raced her Mom later they would have used their own Rhyhorns but during the episode conflict her Rhyhorn would evolve to Rhydon (Whether it goes to Rhypeior or not doesn't matter the the sake of this moment). It would have been an awesome symbolic moment to show that Serena has "evolved" past the person she was when still living with her Mom. A missed opportunity for a huge symbolic moment.
@PurpsJL_HAQ I always think serena needed an arc with an 'ugly' pokemon. My main idea was marshstomp but this makes a lot of sense!
@@nerbprincess6671 She needed a character arc, period.
@@LittleAl016 She had a character arc, you're just ignoring it for no reason.
@@nerbprincess6671 Serena with a Marshtomp... Why does it sound like the perfect idea to me? Probably some bias on my part since it's my favorite Pokemon line.
@@PurpsJL_HAQ Although that seems cool... I can't see Serena willingly catching a Rhyhorn before said race. But again, cool idea.
Haters still say that Serena didn't help Ash in Snowbell, when he himself shows the opposite and thanks her several times. They say that Serena was very dependent on Ash. On the contrary, she loved him but never stopped following her dream because of him. In her first loss, she may have cried, but at no time did she put herself down or hurt herself. She always sought to do better and be a better person, maturing and seeking to help and be kind to other people. Her love for Ash was more than one of her many adorable qualities as a character, easily one of the best, if not the best pokegirl.
@@joaozin5061 It's not haters who say that. It's people who wish Serena had gotten better treatment. Also, she literally abandoned her dream for Ash's sake, at first. And she didn't actually love Ash.
@LittleAl016 Yes she did. She does loves Ash and she was able to find her dream with the help of Ash idiot
@@Kings0424 Obsession does not equal "love". And she abandoned her "dream" in favor for a more "kiddy" version of it.
@@LittleAl016 I don't know what anime you watched, buddy, but Serena hasn't given up on her dream, she's chasing it like never before, and honestly... with all of Serena's tips, if that's not love, I don't know what is.
Serena loved Ash and saw him as a source of admiration and inspiration, but at no time did she put her feelings above her dream, she was never indecisive about separating from him to pursue her goals.
She wasn't mean for the sake of it like the other girls, she had genuinely admiration for Ash and became a better person for it and obviously is the only canon relationship for Ash..she was awesome ❤
Dawn wasn't mean to Ash for the sake of it either. Their bickerings were usually due to outside circumstances frustrating them to where they butted heads, like that one tag battle episode.
None of the girls were "mean to Ash for the sake of it". Also, you're forgetting that Misty exists.
@@esteban8471 Dawn is undoubtedly top 2 pokegirls ever
@@LittleAl016 He's not, her romantic feelings got retconned
@@insecure8926 No they didn't.
the fact her Pancham never met Ash's Krookodile feels illegal
yeah they could've bond over their shades given from their trainers
Pokemon XY and XYZ were genuinely and still are two of my favorite ever shows
Same here
It STILL hits me in the feels when I saw the kiss.
2016-2024. Nothing's changed.
After watching that episode I would rewatch it for no reason then my dad made a little joke thinking I have a crush on her which I can confirm is not true
Serena felt like the most mature female companian. She started out unsure of herself, but eventually found her path. Her relationship with Ash where they both lifted each other up, and brought out each others strengths. THE snow scene where Ash and her argue felt so real. It wasn't your usual cheery pokemon ep. In the end Serena leaves Ash and the gang better and more wise than she started. Its a shame her last appearance was given to Chloe 💀and not Ash. Anyways wonderful vid, please keep talking about Xy it keeps it alive for me. Legends ZA is coming soon so XY content should be on the rise.
Thanks so much, friend, for the words. And the snow scene was PEAK POKÉMON!
@@Pokiiii62i love the theme as well!
yoooo wsp wonka
@@mcstupidly I have been found out💀
@@DaARK_Chocolategang indeed😭
1:28 the music synced with the animation
AYYY SOMEONE NOTICED IT!!! LETS GOOOOOO
Yessir
@@Pokiiii62what’s the song?
@@Aidansstuff_ death by glamour from undertale
One of the things I love the most about Serenas characterization is how she demonstrate that you can be a well written strong woman who doesn't take shit from anyone and who is not some damsel in distress without letting go of femininity.
Like Serena is not afraid of stepping up and battling when she needs to, like against team rocket or when Ash was sick and this one guy came to challenge him. She is also not afraid to tell others in her group, especially Ash, off. But most of all she is undeniably feminie throughout it all. Like yes you don't need to be feminine just because you're a woman, but the amount of tough girlboss mary sues in popular media (Looking at you MCU) lately leads you to believe that your two options are sarcastic demigoddess whose personality is best summed up as "Punch first, ask questions while punching!" or helpess damsel in distress who is more a plot-device than a character and nothing inbetween.
Like don't get me wrong the badass girlboss thing was awesome the first time it happened. Hell I love badass women. But if they're just badass for the same of being badass why bother? Meanwhile Serena solves problems through her kindness, through being nice, she supports her friends in any way she can and she knows when niceties and kindness won't help and when to fight. Like even ignoring the fact that she's a performer, which apparently is a feminine thing to do, she is undeniably feminine and anyone who would call her weak because of that is either an idiot or hasn't watched xyz.
In summary: Serena is strong, Serena is cute, Serena is caring and I love how she shows "Hey, there's strength to be found in femininity also!"
great observations mate
Except "strong" is not a word I would use to describe Serena. And we already had an example of "strength can be found in femininity, also!" as far back as in Indigo League, and she's a far better example of that than Serena could ever measure up to be.
@@LittleAl016 worst criticism I’ve seen in a bit
@@LittleAl016 Dude is under every comment downplaying Serena lmao
@@mcstupidly No. It's actually seeing what you want to be blind to.
Serena is definitely one of my favorite characters across the Pokémon anime, and definitely my favorite of Ash's companions. Cute, relatable, and compassionate, but with a fire to keep going and not let others bring her down! Such an attractive and appealing set of characteristics.
Serena is such a well written character I agree she’s still my favourite character in the whole Pokemon franchise!! I think the whole think about ash being depressed about losing they tried recreating it during journeys but kinda failed when Goh did it:( also I’m excited for the zigard video!!!
AGREED FRIEND!!! (YOUR NOT READY FOR THE ZYGARDE VIDE AHHHH)
exxacctly, i see so many people in the fandom hating on serena because she was "only a love interest".. NUH UH!!!!!!! she had her own development of trying to find out what she wants to do in life, and she found her passion for performing, and she never wanted to give up after that. sure, ash helped her along the way, but she found out how to do things on her own too!!!
shes waaay more than a love interest, serena is an amazing character and her moments with bonnie were so wholesome
FOR REALL, AND BONNIE AND HER BEING LIKE SISTERS WAS WHOLESOME 😭
the problem is that's all the fanbase talk about her relationship with ash that's why so many people were butt hurt when her and ash didn't really talk in her last episode yet that same episode showed she had some character growth and tried to share some with chole
Hating her cause she is a *love interest* is shallow anyway. Whats wrong with Ash having romance guys? I wanted more scenes like that. Not less.
@@Tesla2586 First of all, Ash is 10. Secondly, he had a love interest already. And thirdly, the attempts the show made to pair Ash and Serena together weren't authentic, was only because some of the higher ups wanted it, and it contributed to the drop in ratings the XY anime had every week until the Kalos League. The target audience outright found "AmourShipping" boring, pointless, and hard to relate to.
@@LittleAl016 Okay I refuse to acknowledge him as 10. By this point we are at gen 6. And I also dont believe each series is standalone either. The showrunners are dumb if I buy into that crap.
He looks and acts at least 15 or 16. So I WILL view him as such.
Also Serena looked to be either younger or about the same age as Ash when they were kids. Does SHE look 10 years old to you? Cause she sure as hell doesnt to me.
Also Ash never had a girlfriend. Misty never got romantic with Ash. Neither did May. Dawn kinda had a whole Kouhai/Senpai thing going with Ash. But it never got romantic.
So I would be curious who this GF is.
As a girl who was 11 and obsessed with XYZ, I LOVED serena!!!
She was just so relatable to me, and the scene where she cut her hair literally cut deep so hard I STILL talk about how it felt seeing that for the first time.
seeing a female character that felt actually real and not just the female side character was so so nice.
Whats funny is, i didnt realise the kiss scene until years later, i was too young to know that it was a kiss, i was so confused LOL
HAHA FAIR, but same feelings here, friend. Serena was just such a good character 😭🙏
We all need a Serena in our lives 😌
Well fun fact pikachu Never thunderbolted her and really calm with her from the start
Let’s not forget when her haircutting scene, that was incredible and so meaningful
serena didnt bring anything to the table, SHE BROUGHT THE TABLE
REAL
@@Kevin_Rouki 😂
Now that was a throwback to my 11 year old self. (It's been almost a decade since the XYZ anime?! 😭) I remember how much I loved Serena back then. She was great. I always wanted to be like her because she was such a strong, relatable and well written character.
I think I need to rewatch the anime now.
The pokemon Journeys writers were on some bullshit with Serena like why make Journeys the series where they return to every region and have so many missed opportunities, I would have paid actual money to get a whole episode with just Serena and Ash again
Despite the short meeting, it shows that they respect amourshipping and what was written in XY, they avoided them interacting for a long time to avoid approaching this more romantic thing, but who knows one day that won't happen, Ash can still return, not even he and his friends achieved their dreams, if they make Ash grow old and put him in a relationship, Serena is literally already written for that 😁 (I hope to see the Kalos gang as a promotion for ZA)
@joaozin5061 they disjt even have to talk about a relationship i just wanted more than a 1 minute convo as Ash floated away on a boat
@@kioger8956 I understand, I would like that too, but I'm impressed by how in one minute it showed the dynamic of double support that they both have, Serena was the only person that Ash willingly told what he was doing and his position in the PWC, both telling him to do his best and cheer for each other, best duo, both want to be the best in their areas.
@@joaozin5061 It would happen, even at their age. You never know.
@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967 I still have faith that in 2026 or 2027 Ash will appear, I don't think they will discard him and his friends, no one has completed their dreams yet, the same goes for Ash and Serena, I still want to see if the idea of them following their dreams and then being together after that comes to fruition, until today no one from TPC or Superiors has contradicted what Yajima wanted, on the contrary, they allowed and supported it. Bringing Serena to promote ZA would be very good too.
Bro I wanted to BE her as a kid, I love Serena😭❤
Definitely she’s had one of the best development in the series
No she didn't. It was actually the worst.
@@LittleAl016 I guess you have a different view on it
@@Kaze8822 Well, considering that, to truly develop as a character, she needed to get over her crush on Ash...
@@LittleAl016 Should Hinata do the same?
@@Kaze8822 If that was the case, he wouldn't go through every comment on the video trying to sell out Misty as "number one unquestionable wife material for Ash"
All us as children went CRAZYYYY 😍😍😍 I love her sm
FRRRR
Serena is my second favourite pokegirl after Dawn, although she could easily be number 1 for me
Very valid friend
For me, it’s the other way around, Dawn being my second fave and Serena being my #1
she's the definition of a strong female character. both bold and caring, with her own story and character development. love that for her. she inspired me a lot as a tween
i also like the turn the female characters took after her, lillie's story with trauma and chloe's with undecision and anxiety really got to me
I honestly thought she was popular not only she is a nice person but the fact she is the female player character of the X/Y games and she owns an Eevee that becomes the mighty Sylveon.
Dawn is my favorite but Serena is one of the most important and is my second.
@@jamesghosttree5619 This I agreed
She felt like she had her own content within the show. The performances really shed light onto her character and her abilities. I feel like the other pokegirls, you would hear about their end goals and desires, but they didn't really get the screen time to convey that. Maybe one or two episodes, but it feels like Serena's goal grew alongside Ash's, which was pretty cool. The writers clearly liked Serena lol
FOR REAL THE WRITERS WERE COOKING
2:07 "Thrown him in the deep end, she would not have cared."
LOL
I really couldn’t care that much about Serena in the anime, I liked her character in the Manga and I have great memories playing as her character in Pokémon X but I didn’t really like her character in the show
Dude. Her character in the manga is outright the day when compared the night that her character in the Pokémon Anime is.
Honestly XYZ had probably the best side characters out of them all cuz they felt like they legitimately were dynamic characters alongside Ash.
For as much as I love the Black and White anime (since it was the first one I watched) I thought that Iris's "you're such a kid" gag got old so quickly. Cilan was alright though. He was a fun side character (except for the fact that he falls under the "Jason Grifith has a single tone of voice" category cuz GOD he has the same vocal delivery as Sonic in Sonic X and 06.)
PEAK STATEMENT
I honestly liked Cilan he was a breath of fresh air from brock who really didn't do much of anything for as long as he lasted one thing I liked about cilan is that unlike brock the anime didn't forget he was a gym leader and he had his share of good battles. And while I agree Irish "kid" remarks got old fast I didn't hate her as much as the fanbase did she was just ok (still liked cilan better)
@lightyoshiman Iris was fine but yea Cilan was the better of the two side characters.
Are you sure you're talking about XYZ, and not SM?
@@LittleAl016 I mean, they are good squad too.
The pokemon nostalgia just hits too hard. Its hard to forget this pokemon season, it was my favourite. Serena not only had a good character but had an eevee which just reminded me of how much i loved eevee.
5:22 .....umm this is not the first time ash had some trouble like this, hell not only he nearly lose sight of this in his willingness to defeat paul, but there is multiple instances of friends and pokemon that cheers them up when he is stuck in a difficult battle, for example dawn teaching him the "spinning technique" a coordinator move used for battle.
Honestly, this re-teaching of lessons are the reasons old fans are sure that ash gets brain reset every season.
You're comparing the snap to reality to a coordinator technique. Ash was frustrated that he lost and didn't win. LITTERALLY THE ENTIRE SERIES WHENEVER HE LOST he got mad or guilty. This happened with his loss against sawyer, wulfric, dianthia, and alain. It was a reoccurring thing throughout the entire series. Unlike in the past, where it would serve as merely a "lesson," the xy series litterally focuses on ash losing and becoming fixated on a loss and then serena finally wakes him up for the first time. It's evident in journeys and sun and moon.
She was just so dynamic with ash. She needed him for so long but eventually used his strength to build her own. She had her own arc and helped ash get over his things. My headcanon is that they kept talking after the series so that ash would never get discouraged and neither would she. I also think they like aged up during the xy anime and then ash went back to being a kid in sun/moon
She kinda has that Winry Rockbell energy tbh, who is also an amazing character
She's cute, somewhat relatable and had decent character development.
And when she kissed Ash, my inner childhood went gaga.
May used to be my fav back then, but havent seen her in a while... so....
Yeah. Serena all the way.
5:17 true. character development goes crazy
Frrr
Serena was always my favorite pokegirl since xy came out bc of her design and lore. Her hair cutting thing literally made 11 year old me cry, and all the performances were so cool.
Short answer:
XYZ literally is the embodiment of SHOUNEN specially because of serena
Future Mrs.Ketchum
Wrong comment for this sort of video.
@@LittleAl016 Correction, right comment for this sort of video
@@insecure8926 Nope. Serena belongs with Calem, not Ash.
@@LittleAl016 ah youre one of THOSE guys. figured in the other thread. ew
@@betelgeux6010 You mean someone who cares about Serena as a character? Because that's what I am.
She was also the one who introduced me to a food called
"Macarons" i wouldn't be able to know or taste it in real life without her knowledge. 🙏
omg i used to love serena so much. i would literally fight people on the internet as a like 9-year-old over them calling pokeshipping (ash x misty) better than amourshipping (ash x serena). i hated all of the other girls because they weren't serena and would roleplay as her on roblox mlp games that allowed you to spawn as a image instead of model. i would even only play the episodes where she was most prominent in lmao, i was obsessed bro 😭
Misty may have been a jerk but by xy time if ash got sick and she knew she would at minimum be concerned while brock would do something about it as they do care for each other it just they get on each others nerves sometimes (most of the time in OS) but there still friends at the end of the day.
Of course, I didn't mean to portray her as a horrible friend because she isn't, but she is a sister type
@@Pokiiii62where do you get the idea she wouldn’t care about him being sick? She literally took care of him and Tracey in season 2 when they had stun spore(even helped Jessie who suffered the same condition regardless of her being an enemy)
You're selling Misty short. She would be confronting Ash's problems directly, and get him to pick himself up by the bootstraps, of, if failing that, pick him up by the bootstraps herself. She would never make Ash's situation about her like how Serena did.
@@LittleAl016 it’s good that you’re defending Misty, but please be careful not to criticize Serena in anyway. Especially when both fandoms called a truce in CZcams.
@@sammydroubi6022 I'm aware that both fandoms called a truce. However, I see a lot of people from Serena's fandom breaking that truce.
Out of all the girls that Ash was with the top 3 that influenced him the most was May Dawn and Serena
Nope. It's definitely Misty, Delia, and Dawn. Serena doesn't even make the cut.
@@LittleAl016 I’m right about dawn
@@LittleAl016 On your headcanon maybe.
@@insecure8926 No. It's actually according to the showrunners themselves.
@@LittleAl016 The showrunners from your imagination, it seems.
I do have to counter Misty not caring. She actually went diving for an ingredient for an antidote after Ash and Tracey were hit with. Vileplume’s Stun Spore, even leaving some for James and Meowth afterward knowing Jessie also was afflicted with the same thing.
Serena is bold and helpful. She's female Brock.
That thumbnail art for this video was awesomely adorable! Great job!
Serena awakened my love for ever ngl. It was a TOP TIER series fr.
Sereena is still the famous pokegirl...i just love her
Ryuga is much better than Serena
Metal Fight >>>>>>>>> Pokemon XY
Serena has popularity and i can see why❤️
4:46 battle against a true hero goes hard🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥
Serena is the BEST because she was NEVER mean to ash not even once which shows her GREAT personality and character. ALSO Serena had her OWN dream compared to all the other girls who were there just for shock value which is dumb as fuck.
All the girls have different personalities, they are not clones of Misty. Misty is strong headed and ‘fiesty’, but unlike what you’ve said, she does care for Ash deeply, however she doesn’t express it like Serena, Serena is more open to expressing her emotions. May is like the extroverted version of Serena, quite likeable, but she is not a Misty clone. She is actually quite cool headed unlike Misty, and quite agreeable like Serena. Dawn is slightly similar to Misty in her low agreeableness, but she is very introverted and more reserved. And finally we have Iris. She is like Dawn but more carefree, free spirit, extroverted version.
I think it’s quite shallow reason to say all the other girls are just Misty tropes, and that Serena is the only special one. I think they are all unique in their own ways.
For me personally, I ship Misty and Ash. But I don’t hate Serena, like how can I😌
Misty was fiesty & iron willed & was a heroic counterpart to Jessie with both sharing similar poor backgrounds. May was much different she wanted to see the world & discovered a love for contests. Rather than an abusive tsundere, May was her own character. Dawn had firm goals from the start & it's hard to explain May & Dawn. Iris was drastically different in that she was a wild child that Ash ran into. Looking back I only remember why Misty & Serena traveled with Ash, although considering how much Cerulean City overprices their bikes it's understandable why Misty was a debt collector.
@@WaterKirby1994 well explained there my friend!😌 And yeah Cerulean City Bikes are a scam😫
Nobody actually does hate Serena. But that doesn't automatically mean that they like her, either.
@@LittleAl016 But people like her nonetheless
@@insecure8926 A vocal minority, and it's not even for her actual character.
sadly its the shippers is the reasons she's so popular she has a good character its just lost in all the love interest stuff fans whine about that's why in her last episode people complained how she had little dialog with ash even though in that same episode she was not only more confident than her past self she became somewhat of a mentor to the current female chloe hell people don't even talk about how her performance was on par with honen's top performer lisia
Both Dawn and Serena are my favorite in their own ways, and it’s mostly their personalities. Serena the kind and gently one, and Dawn the persistent and confident one.
I loved her in her series and her appereance in Journeys, how she handled the situation was something I didn't expect
Except that's not true, Misty did care about Ash and for Ash when he was sick, the Orange islands episode with misty needing to get a cure for stun spore and her chasing Poliwag as the only pokemon who could collect the plant needed.
And she actually put in work to help make Ash better. As opposed to deciding to put on Ash's clothes for whatever reason.
@@LittleAl016 To fight someone who just wouldn't take no for an answer until he could fight Ash, the same Ash who was in no condition to fight? Not only was that episode a gag, but Serena also trying her best to help Ash they way she could, taking care of him, helping him get better and even keeping harm and trouble away from him.
@@insecure8926 Serena didn't need to wear Ash's clothes just to do that, and it's weird that she even considered wearing them at all. Plus, Clemont could have done the same thing.
@@LittleAl016 Clemont and Boonie were looking for a medicine, there was no one else besides Ash and Serena there. She kinda to use those clothes considering that Ash was becoming quite popular in Kalos, does making him recognizable.
@@insecure8926 Helping Bonnie looking for medicine would have done more than pretend to be Ash.
Serena is the goat!!! I loved her as a kid and wanted to be her! Like- i would say, "If pokemon existed, i would wanna be a performer like Serena!" When i was little! Heck! I still wanna be her!
My favorite scene with Serena was when she shows up in Journeys. And Ash just ran past her without even acknowledging her
Das crazy
@@Pokiiii62 based Ash
Melia: First time?
Her looks, her personality, her outfits...everything about Serena is just perfect
❤️
The shipping.
Hello there as someone who grow up watching Pokémon since the very beginning, as in season 1, I just saw Serena as a normal pokegirl. I’ll be honest to this day I still don’t understand what made Serena so special and different from Misty, May, Dawn and Iris. Every pokegirl had their different takes. Misty was a gym leader and yes she had some anger issues but she also had her soft spots. I feel like she mellowed out when she got tokapi. May at first didn’t like Pokémon and only wanted to travel but once she learned about Pokémon contest she was hooked. Sure she could have joined Ash in battling the gyms and impressing her gym leader of a father but she choose Pokémon contest and her father was really proud of her. Dawn knew at a young age she wanted to follow in her mother’s foot steps and do Pokémon contest and winning the grand festival. Again she could have done what Ash did and challenged the gyms but she wanted to do Pokémon contest. Iris just wanted to follow Ash but she had a goal to be a dragon pokemon master. To this day I still ship Ash and Misty and not for nostalgic reasons but I saw at one point that Ash liked Misty back. This point is just me but I saw more moments of Ash liking Misty back than I saw Ash liking Serena back. I’m sorry but that just me.
What actually does make Serena different from Misty, May, Dawn, and Iris, only ends up doing so in a negative way.
@@LittleAl016 No it didn't idiot
@@Kings0424 Yes it did. Considering that she's not a faithful adaptation of the character she's supposed to be adapting. (A trait shared with only Dawn, as far as Ash's companions are concerned.) She's a Pokémon Trainer who barely battles, and doesn't battle strong opponents. And how her crush on Ash was handled would make anyone with decent media literacy question how it got greenlit.
Misty wasn't the Gym Leader that was her Sisters!
@@darkdragon7210 it’s weird that technically in the games she is but in the anime its her sisters but after traveling with Ash she took over as the gym leader from her sisters
I like Serena alright but Dawn was my favorite
Serena was and is my favorite female character in Pokémon.
XY and XYZ will always be my favorite Pokémon.
My favorite Pokemon characters are
1. Serena
2. Clemont
3. Bonnie
4. May
5. Brock
VALIDDDD
@@Pokiiii62 thank you ☺
>bonnie over brock and may
at least make your bait believable
@@sour1980 "oh no someone has a different opinion than me, send em to the gulag!!!"
@@FrostWasAbductedYT but what did bonnie ever do
Actually misty did take care of ash and tracy in orange islands when he was paralyzed with stun spore , small detail missed, but amazing video
The video wasn't actually good. It's pretty dang biased.
@@LittleAl016 It's their favorite character, of course the creator will be biased. Plus, the comment about Misty was clearly a joke. Video as funny and cool.
@@insecure8926 Was it really a joke? Because the only thing funny about it was the 🤡 who made the joke. And a content creator, when making analyses, should strive for objectivity. And this video is clearly not objective, given how it pretty much makes up lies in regards to not only Misty, but also May, Dawn, and Iris, just to make Serena look better in comparison.
@@insecure8926 Was it really a joke? Because it wasn't funny. In fact, all this video does is pretty much lie about Misty, May, Dawn, and Iris, just to make Serena look better.
@@LittleAl016 It was a joke, since it's heavily exaggerated. Either way, all four of those had at the very least some amount of bickering with Ash. Serena was unique on that regard because she never bickered with Ash.
I had a crush on Serena as a kid and my good friend told my brother as a joke…our friendship was never the same after that
She makes for a good protagonist.✔️
Her performances are beautiful.✔️
Ash.⭕
She was my first crush 😂🤪 0:20
Brooooo same 😭
Same XD
Serena is basically the Hinata of the Pokémon anime😊
Serena’s arc and her cutting her hair short chemically changed my brain man
There's an episode called "The Stun Spore Detour" about how Misty would treat Ash who is sick.
Btw, the episode "For Crying Out Loud" is also the one that impressed me deeply about Misty.
I acknowledge her because as you said, she broke the ash-girl-companion personality formula, she just felt fresh compared to the others
She's not being a jerk to ash for no reason, she's surprisingly mature despite being 10, she has motherly vibe and always care for their team
Me and friends literally had a serena fan club on roblox 😭
LOL VALID
The OG generation was lucky to have Misty, I am sadly a Gen Z born in 2004 and I liked how the anime was drawn 6 years before I was born.
Especially since Misty's the GOAT.
@@LittleAl016 cap. serena better
@@cookieking465YES YES YES WWWWWWWWW YES!
Gen Z CARRIES
Serena is not only my favorite Pokémon character, but of all anime
Serena is the BEST Pokegirl EVER
Man this brings back nostalgia!
True, she really did help him out when she yelled at him, but I didn't really like how she made it sound like Ash couldn't have any feelings other than happy.
She was the most Feminine, easy
Serena fans will hate me for my opinion, but I genuinely wish she was either a one off character or a secondary character that's only in a few episodes instead of being part of the main group.
like seriously In my eyes I saw her as the third wheel of the group, inserting herself into Ash's journey just to follow her crush around.
Oh, and let's not forget that she ALSO had to be the 'contests' girl companion, even though we had May and Dawn go through those same journeys before.
And speaking of, if they REALLY wanted to have those contests episodes, I personally think it would have been more interesting if they gave that side journey to Bonnie! atleast then they could have kept Serena around as a recurring character when it was a contest focused episode.
Hate me all ya want, but I'm actually glad that despite the couple of episodes that took place in Kalos, only ONE episode had Serena, and even in THAT one episode she only interacted with Chloe, only seeing Ash at the literal end of the episode.
Heck, for a moment it actually looked like the anime had ignored Serena's existence when they did the Kalos episodes!
Meanwhile it's no surprise why *DAWN* had many episodes she appeared in!
Then who should've been the Pokegirl of Kalos/ XY?
Don't you mean 4th wheel? They weren't Contests, they were Showcases!
Showcases, Bonnie isn't OLD enough yet so it wouldn't make sense!
Um, that episode in Journeys took place in Hoenn NOT Kalos!!!
Yeah, that was ANNOYING, Especially in her episode!
BDSP & Legends Arceus PROMOS!!!
@@Timmothy_plays I won't go against your opinion, it's fine if you don't like the character. That being said, Dawn showed up so much to promote Legends Arceus and BDSP.
Your opinion sucks
The end
@@subhasishghosh6924i thought pokemon was aimed at children not toddlers who cant handle someone not liking there favorite character as much as they do
@@IdiotSandwich-yp2ke I thought toddlers could understand sarcasm, I guess mentally impaired ones cant
XYZ was legit my childhood, especially Korrina. She’s the reason I just love lucario. I’m really heartbroken she showed up only once and barely said hi to ash. I wish they would’ve showed her becoming kalos queen and maybe had her travel with ash in one of the seasons, since they did that with dawn, Brock, misty, etc. Ash even saw Bonnie and Clemont in an entire episode and interacted with them, but in the episode where Serena actually showed up, she only really talked with Chloe. She even had impact in Chloe to be a performer and not to care what people think of her. She’s definitely not like the other poke girls either considering she knows who she really is and changed ash. Plus she does Pokémon showcases and not contests. And there’s a difference. She’s has what it takes to be kalos queen and I know this is a lot for just a character but when I was litttle she really inspired me and kinda made me who I am today
Iris was the only misty 2.0.
Dawn had a good friendship with Ash, where they barely ever fought.
Iris wasn't even Misty 2.0. Her character arc and development path was wildly different, and one of the best development arcs behind only May's and Lillie's.
@@LittleAl016 Iris is Misty 2.0. She was annoying as hell
@@Kings0424 No she's not, in both regards.
@@LittleAl016 You're RIGHT, Iris wasn't Misty 2.0 she was much Better!!!