As I mentioned in the episode review thread, I have some Amour-specific thoughts after watching the new full-episode subs. It took a while to post this because I struggled to put my thoughts into words. And I got stuck overanalyzing things...
Tasting Essay Time!
The last three minutes of the episode were amazing. I couldn't think of a better way to handle their first scene together in over five years. I think they reinforced the ship and, in my opinion, provided some evidence that Ash feels something more than friendship towards Serena. And while JN is starting to get short on time, I really don't think this is the last we've seen of Serena in this series.
It was kind of awkward when Ash ran into Dawn and Chloe near the end of the Darkrai/Cresselia two parter. He was more focused on Cresselia than catching up with Dawn. Ash and Serena's interaction was very different. He seemed genuinely excited to see her, and he started talking with her right away. He focused on her, not her Pokemon or the Contest. It's significantly different than his interactions with any of his former companions.
They both seemed disappointed that they had to cut the conversation short when the boat was ready to depart. You can feel the disappointment they share because they don't more time.
I feel like they are building things back up by flipping around Ash and Serena's last few interactions at the end of XY. He doesn't confess to Serena, but he tells her about his tangible goal that is achievable. This is not only a goal that she accepts, but she aligns her goal to his. There is no question or hesitation from either of them. They say a lot without directly saying it.
One more thing that stood out to me was that Serena told Ash that she was rooting for him (and Chloe). This is the same thing that Ash told her at the of XYZ. She has grown to be his equal, and it feels like he has accepted that he is her goal.
There is one more interesting reversal that I noticed. The end of this episode is a reversal of the end-of-series Pokegirl goodbye. I went back and rewatched Dawn's goodbye when Ash left Sinnoh and Lillie's goodbye when she left Alola (I couldn't rewatch May's goodbye because Amazon wants to charge me for the Hoenn seasons). In both cases, the girl runs back towards Ash and yell out thank you and goodbye. Here, it's Ash who's yelling out to Serena, and its the opposite of the usual "Ash and Pokegirl go their separate ways" stuff.
Serena doesn't seem depressed or sad when we finally see her face after the boat pulls away. She's smiling, and her "Let's Go" to Sylveon fells like its delivered with a renewed sense of purpose.
Amourshipping is not only on solid ground, but, in my opinion, it's kind of subtly confirmed as a two-way ship. They've built Serena up to be Ash's equal - a mature, confident young woman who is reaching the top of her field. She is someone who has achieved her goal, and is now waiting for Ash to achieve his.
As I said above, I think this sets up Serena's return later in Journeys. I think this will happen for two reasons. The first is logistical reasons. You don't go through the effort to redesign the character and go to great lengths to hide their return for a single appearance.
The second reason is Chloe. We know that Chloe is a romantic from the Chrysa/Psyduck episode. She also figured out that Ash was the Pokemon fanatic that Dawn traveled with. Now that she knows that Ash and Serena also traveled together. It won't take her long to see that Ash was the person who had that profound impact on Serena's life, and I could see her going out of her way to get them connected.
If people want Ash and Serena actually professing their love for each other, start dating and eventually get married, then they ought to look at Phineas and Ferb: Act Your Age to see how the anime would have to handle it. Like Pokémon, Phineas and Ferb all takes place in the summer. A hundred and four days to be exact. And how many episodes there in Phineas and Ferb? 129. And how long did the actual show ran? 8 years. Yes, it is an eternal summer in Phineas and Ferb that also somehow got Christmas episodes. So how does one deal with childhood romance paying off?
A deliberate time skip where the protagonists are older and more mature to seriously engage in a romantic relationship. Now Pokemon isn't going to do that any time soon because future is never that clear (especially when it comes to Ash's new Pokémon). But if they want to actually realize Ash and Serena as an official couple, the time skip is needed as it allows the characters to finally grow up while still leaving room for more adventures in the vague timeline gap.
Ironically, Phineas is just like Ash, oblivious to Isabella's crush on him throughout the eternal summer. He wouldn't realize his own crush on Isabella or the fact Isabella had a crush on him until he finally grows up years later. Turns out Phineas may be oblivious as a kid, but his subconscious does love Isabella.
The same thing can be said about Ash. He may be oblivious on the surface, but his subconscious feelings do surface from time to time when it comes to Serena. It just requires a little time skip and growth in maturity for him to fully comprehend what he's feeling. But that is best left to imagination as the seeds are already there. There's no need to water them and watch them grow unless the anime team really wants to explore a world where Ash is grown up.
I was just thinking about this episode as I wrote this. I think the payoff will be sooner than "undefined future" though. I feel like the writers are moving the pieces into place for Ash's endgame...