Morax
King of heroes
You need to take off those rose tinted glasses.
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Did Serena and Clemont even like each other?
- Thread starter divinepokemonXZ
- Start date
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Mr.Munchlax
Great Ball Rank Trainer
Well, she's connected to Goh due to their history, but not so much Ash
Dragonsoldier77
Bittersweet Satisfaction
That‘s kinda what i hinting at. While we are often told how they‘re childhood friends, they‘ve barely interacted in a way that shows it. So in then end it feels like she‘s connected with goh as much as with ash.
Power Up
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This reminds me of the time when you literally got factual things wrong about when arcs in XY occurred. Really don't think you watched XY/XYZ at all with how bizarrely wrong your " opinions " are lmao.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
People need to stop to act like they never watched XY(Z) just because they don't agree with your statements
Power Up
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People need to stop being wrong about things that happened in the show.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
Except he is not, at all
Power Up
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Yes, Serena in the the beginning of XY was definitely not characterized as being aimless in search of a goal with multiple episodes and arcs building on that idea.
Serena's " pairing " with Ash as far as shipping goes in its intensity and level at which the fandom perceives it occurring in XY/XYZ is so absurdly incongruous with the reality of what happened in the show.
That poster's idea of Serena basically boils down to them viewing Serena as a lovesick puppy tripping over her heels and twiddling her thumbs while longingly staring at Ash from afar which is so embarrassingly wrong hence the need to call it out.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
Reminder that even a temporary companion like Korrina had an actual focused arc on her before Serena, which shows the priorities about finding a goal for Serena.
Power Up
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Considering that she had several episodes prior focused on her character before the Mega Evolution arc with the Summer Camp Arc literally coming around 5 episodes after, I don't think this is as much of a dunk as you imply.
Do I think that Serena's character arc could have been handled better? Of course I do. She definitely needed more episodes and could have been built much better in early XY. But that doesn't change the fact that even in early XY, Serena was never characterized as just being the girl for the Ash pairing.
Not to mention that after the Summer Camp Arc, there was a consistent barrage of fantastic Serena focused episodes that I have zero qualms about at all that make her the best written female character in the Pokémon anime. But yes, according that that poster, Serena's supposed original purpose of being paired up with Ash persisted even after she got a goal and was a central defining part of her character. Give me a break.
Ragnarok4
2024
You're right, the fanservice was present, but I don't agree with what some people here say about Serena's purpose.
Dragonsoldier77
Bittersweet Satisfaction
So basically korrina is the best character in the anime because no other character gets a focus of 5 straight episode for them right?
Power Up
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I don't think liking someone and the anime naturally showing reactions that come with that is " fanservice. " It's just that since it was such a new concept for the anime, people decided to over focus on the romantic nature of Ash and Serena's relationship that was decidedly present, but never in your face that gave way to the perception that it was the defining aspect of Serena's character and her relationship with Ash.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
Ask Dawn, who got her first dedicated arc before DP010
Pokegirl Fan~
Liko>>>>>Ash
It was mostly the hype bait from the previews and episode summaries that pushed the shipping subplot part of Serena's character in our faces as well as the fandom (both the ones that supported the ship and those that hated it). Some of her episodes especially in the second year of XY mostly focused on her character and not as much on the shipping subplot.
Mr.Munchlax
Great Ball Rank Trainer
Eeeeeeehhh Serena’s arc was good, but I wouldn’t say she was the best written female character. Her crush on Ash wasn’t as much of a focus as some fans make it out to be, but it was one of the driving forces that pushed her to leave home in the first place (the other being how she didn’t want to practice Rhyhorn Racing). Not to mention that Pokémon Showcases felt like they were something added at the last minute & were catered specifically towards Serena’s interests. If anything, she was the second best since since the episodes focused on her in the beginning were interesting, she gradually grew into her own character after becoming a performer, and after the Master Class you saw how her goal to make people smile was a driving force during the Team Flare arc and afterwards
Personally, I think Dawn was the best written female character since she was given most of the focus in the first episode of DP, she had several arcs where she learned to overcome her confidence issues, was treated as a co-protagonist almost as much as Goh, and you naturally got to see her grow as a trainer (aside from just being handed a Togekiss in the end).
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Dragonsoldier77
Bittersweet Satisfaction
Ah right, how could i forget about the 5 episode dedicated arc of......being introduced?
Power Up
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Yeah, that was just my opinion of course. I just personally really relate to the feeling of being aimless and in search of a goal l and the idea of finding something to dedicate yourself to and the dynamics with failure that come along with that where I think Serena's character really excelled in its exploration of that concept.
As far as her crush on Ash being the driving force, I don't think it was more so her crush, rather I definitely think Serena's relationship with Ash was one of the major driving forces, if not the major driving force of her character, but I don't see it as strictly romantic. When I think of Serena and Ash's relationship, specifically in how Ash impacted Serena, I view it more through the prism of inspiration and how Serena viewed Ash as someone relentlessly dedicated and passionate about a goal and how Serena took from that in pursuit of her own dreams.
That dynamic of their character of course is downplayed in discussions when it was much more of a defining aspect of their relationship and Serena's character.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
The best Serena's focused episode is easily XY053. Don't ask me
The fact that Aria debuted in the Pokevision episode but nobody mentioned that she was the Kalos Queen or something about Showcases only makes that worse.
No, we talk about DP009-DP012, which is her 5th-8th dedicated episode. At that point in XY, Serena only had 1 dedicated episode, vs Dawn's 8 episodes.
Aryash Bajaj
Say I'm fat again!
One important thing I've learned after coming to the internet is that character development, character arc and character agency have no meaning whatsoever and their definition can be changed to whatever suits your favored stance. Apply that stuff wherever you like.
When I'm seeing character development or arcs being compared as a quantitative value instead of a qualitative one, either I'm incredibly stupid or the other person.
When I'm seeing character development or arcs being compared as a quantitative value instead of a qualitative one, either I'm incredibly stupid or the other person.
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