Alright, I've been a PokeShipper since the beginning. I was three years old when I watched the very first episode of Pokemon. Since that day, it has become my favorite television show.
I always saw Ash and Misty as the perfect pairing. Misty's feelings for Ash were obvious, and many assume (including me) Ash was just too immature to realize his feelings for her. He was just a 10-year-old kid that loved Pokemon -- girls weren't on his mind.
I began to lose focus on the show after Misty left, and I had completely left it once the voice actors changed. I heard updates along the way so I know what has happened over the past seven or so years. I would never actually come back to the show, I just waited for the day for Misty to return and have the writers finally do something between her and Ash. May, Dawn, and Iris were nothing -- the only actual time Pokemon ever came close to shipping (apart from maybe May and Drew but I don't know much on that) was between Ash and Misty.
Now that I've heard what has happened in X/Y so far... just, woah. I am shocked that the writers are going in this seemingly shippy direction... but I can't say that it makes me mad. I actually like it. Hearing that Ash was still 10 in the beginning of B/W made me mad because it felt to me like after all those years, he still had not matured one bit. But now, form what I've heard, Ash seems to have matured in this saga. And now there's this girl around who likes him.
Look, I've been rooting for Ash all the way. It seems the writers have decided to totally do away with Misty at this point. They've moved on from her. I think this new thing between Ash and Serena is very promising. In fact, I think I'm gonna actually tune in to the episodes once they're dubbed. I'm glad the writers are finally appealing to the fans.
What made the Original Series of Pokemon (mainly Kanto) so great was the PEOPLE. Yeah sure, the Pokemon were awesome. But what set Kanto apart from being just a Pokemon advertisement to an actually GOOD television show was the human interaction amongst the main trio and the rocket trio. Over the past few years, I feel as if all the focus has been shifted to the Pokemon. Now, it seems the people are getting some focus again as well. And I could not be happier.
So, I will always be a PokeShipper, but heck, toss me on this bandwagon, too. It's been ten years since I've truly been hooked into the Pokemon anime, but I'm back baby. Can't wait to see how this works out.
Oh, and nothing against you guys, but I think I'm gonna avoid this thread for a while, or at least not really post all that much. I do not want to be spoiled haha.
WOO, POKEMONNNNNNN!