I suppose it makes some sense for Serena to need help, since even now they convey her as a fairly mediocre battler (in fairness Ash is a half hearted performer whose never won anything in that regard, Zoey sure knew that). They'd have to contrive her into a much more experienced trainer to realistically take down a large fraction of Flare single handed, even compared to Team Rocket who've had proper heated battles with the organisation before.
And concerning Ash, no I certainly don't think he's abusive, it was just having another plot where Ash snaps to often might imply such for some fans, especially from how shy and blindly fond of him Serena sometimes is (see how quickly she decided the argument was her fault). It would be interesting though, even if he doesn't find out she loves him outright, he realises exactly how far her care and idolisation is for him. I feel like he always just assumed she had her quest and he had his, not her's revolved so much around being with him.
I think that's what makes the forest scene more tragic, Serena idolised Ash before he even earned ONE badge (granted Ash liked Serena before she even knew what she wanted to earn).
I do like at least that Serena likes Ash not just because of of being dazzled by his charm or good looks or anything. They make a point to show her kindness is instinctive, especially around Bonnie, it never feels like a case of 'I wouldn't give a damn about any of you if my future hubby wasn't here'. It's maybe why I can buy into the idea that she'd like Ash even if he suffered a snap back. Sure she'd probably be left a little disappointed that BW Ash wasn't perfectly competent, but from what I remember the gentleness and well intentions were still always there, and he'd still have times he pulled through for her big time. OS Ash might have been the nearest to completely disillusioning her due to how arrogant and insensitive he could sometimes be, and even then he might have gotten round her eventually.
