I have not been able to post for the past week because I'm in a very intensive course. It will still last for another week so I'm gonna be absent for a while still. But OMG the topic clog is real!
There's way too many topics for me to quote every single question and answer it separately, but I'm gonna try my best to answer them all in one go.
My thoughts on the most recent episode: I loved it! As I expected Miette teased Serena about her feelings every time she got the chance and Serena is still defending her title of Tomato Girl XD. I also really loved to see Ash compliment Serena again. Also, I know I'm REALLY late but the detail that I think stood out to me the most from this episode is: BONNIE KNOWS! (maybe, still waiting for subs). Anyway, this was a great episode not just for AmourShipping, but for Serena's character as well. This was her first victory and her first step towards becoming Kalos Queen. It was a truly amazing episode. Undoubtedly a 10/10.
I'm almost sure Miette is coming back in the future. Now Miette is acting as Serena's rival not just in her dream, but in love. Still, I don't think Miette really feels attracted to Ash. I think all of her teasing and threatening is to motivate Serena to step up her game.
About Bonnie's effect on Amour, I would actually like to believe that she has known for a fairly long time now, but has not done anything about it because she is waiting for Serena to get more confidence. I'd say that when she sees that Serena feels more confident around Ash and about her feelings, she will start doing what she can to bring them together; I'm also confident that if Clemont doesn't find out by himself, Bonnie will tell him and they will work together to give Ash and Serena some quality time alone to develop their relationship. Additionally, I don't think Bonnie will screw it up. Even she should know that this situation is very serious and that she has to be very careful with it.
About knowing the future of Amour, I would not want to do that. I would prefer to just wait every week for the new episode, and let myself get surprised by it. It has happened to me that I come to this thread the same day an episode comes out before watching said episode, and I don't feel as excited while watching it because of the spoilers (yes, I do realize that the title of the thread has "Spoiler Warning" in it, but that's not the point).
About the XY083 screenshot, I don't think Serena is like that because she is cold. If that was the case I would not imagine Ash's facial expression being like that. I think she maybe got hurt or something along those lines. Pikachu's facial expression makes me believe this even further: he is visibly concerned about Serena. Ash evidently is too. Maybe she bent her ankle or something.
I have two topics I think might be interesting to discuss
Questions:
Would you rather see Serena in the master class for the tripokalon before the kalos league or after the league?
and
The way the pacing has been going for Serena's development in the tripokalon's basically 20 episodes since the first tripokalon(episode 60), do you think they should have Serena enter tripokalons a lot sooner or just keep the pacing for the tripokalons where it's at?
This would give Serena more time to develop her team and have more time to come up with new ways to do her performances!
1) I would rather see it before the Kalos League, and I also think it is the most logical choice since the regional league serves as the culmination of Ash's adventures in that region, and so is better off being the last thing Ash does in that region. Also, May and Dawn competed in the Grand Festivals before Ash got to the respective league, so it would make sense if the same happened with Serena. I also like
platane_hakase's idea, where Serena, as the newest Kalos Queen, makes a special performance as part of the Kalos League's opening ceremony, along with the lighting of the torch and all of that stuff.
2) I think the pacing is all right as it is. At this pace I'd say Serena would obtain her final Princess Key between XY120 and XY140. In between she could capture the Eevee as well as the other three Pokémon of her team as you said.
I'm just going act a number of questions about the ship feel free to answer I want your most honest answer if you do and also be optimistic and creative.
1: If this ship were to go forward what would you like to see that involves development?
2: Do you think having Ash and Serena battle each other in official pair matches would help improve the ship?
3: Do you feel like there's something that is holding Serena back from telling Ash how she feels? (No writers taking their time)
4: What do you think would help Ash become somewhat less oblivious to how Serena feels? (Allowing him to become older, letting him focus a bit more on Serena, having concentrate less on battling, that kind of stuff)
5: If there was a place where Serena were to tell Ash how she felt where would it be for you? (Mine would be back where Professor Oaks camp was where they first met)
I'm actually going to praise you for making these questions. They all cover the most essential aspects of AmourShipping and so are very important to discuss. All right, here we go!
1) Only one thing would leave me completely satisfied: Ash hints. Serena is fine as she is; we know she's at the point of no return now. I've said this many, MANY times, but I'll do it again: the future of AmourShipping now depends only on Ash himself.
2) If Serena and Ash were to battle against each other, I think it would be for Ash to master a new strategy for future battles. We know that when Ash makes training in Kalos, Clemont is his go-to partner since Serena's focus is not battling. However, I could imagine a situation where Ash is having trouble with a certain move of a certain Pokémon, and designs a strategy to counter said move, but none of Clemont's Pokémon can simulate said move effectively, yet Serena's Pokémon can, and so Ash trains with Serena instead. Also, I think that by training together Ash could take some ideas of Serena's performances and adapt them for battle (like the "Ice Aqua Jet" back in Sinnoh), and Serena could also take some of Ash's battling strategies and adapt them for her performances.
I'm going to support
JigglyScrub here and say that Ash and Serena battling alongside each other in a double battle would really strengthen their bond, since learning to work together as a team can really allow people to understand each other better. If it happens I'd like it to be in a tournament where the pairs are selected at random. Ash, Serena and Clemont register, and at the end Ash and Serena end up paired together while Clemont ends up with someone else (like Shota maybe).
3) Well, the fear of rejection is always present when you fall in love with someone and want to confess: I know because I've experienced it before. Also, them being such good friends makes the fear of rejection even worse for Serena; she might be thinking that if Ash rejects her (which hopefully NEVER EVER happens) their friendship is going to suffer because of that. That's just natural when you fall in love with a friend: if you get rejected or if the relationship ends, there's always the possibility of the friendship you had with your partner before getting completely ruined. Additionally, we can't lie, if you confess to a friend and get rejected, you'll feel awkward when you are around your friend for some time afterwards.
I think it's all of these feelings, which are completely normal and natural in a situation like Serena's, that are holding her back for her confession. She won't confess unless either she gets over these feelings or if she feels she will never see Ash again.
4) I agree with
Trublsmbob here: if Serena gets more obvious about her feelings, Ash will have no option but to notice them eventually. Furthermore, making Ash age would also help a lot because when people enter the period of adolescence, they start to understand many aspects of life a lot better, and romance is no exception to that rule.
5) For this one I have two options. The first one is where they first met, in Professor Oak's summer camp, in Pallet Town. Ending it where it all began would be a great way to give Amour the canonization it deserves. My second option would be in the airport of Lumiose City, when Ash is about to leave to Kanto. Serena, knowing she might not see Ash in a long time, might confess to take the weight off herself, which would be a great closure to the Kalos arc. I'm perfectly fine with either option to be honest.
#AmourWins (just because)