So... We've been pretty quiet, considering recent events (i.e. Serena kissing Ash). Even the Amourshippers noticed.
So I just wanted to say, don't get too discouraged! I mean, yeah, it upsets me, but none of this means that Amour is canon or that Poke is sunk.
Beause it was almost all from Serena's side. Ash was definitely moved by what she did, but he didn't act as if he reciprocated her feelings. There's a lot of talk about how his eyes sparkled, but just because he was touched and happy that someone he thinks a lot of likes him, doesn't mean his feelings are the same. He didn't blush and it seemed like he didn't really know how to respond at first; seemed kinda shocked to me. Interesting that he didn't act that way until she actually kissed him, as opposed to when she confessed... Anyway, that think about him moving his foot? Yeah, she was leaning on him. He probably had to balance to keep them both from falling. You could look at the kiss as kind of an anti-hint, the anti-hint, for Amour (though I'm certainly not saying that that's the most valid interpretation or anything).
And that brings me to Poke. Misty's still the only girl who he got jealous over and super-embarrassed about. One commenter on Youtube said that if Misty had done what Serena did, Ash would've blown his top, and yeah, I agree. The thing that really bugs me with what happened is, what do the writers intend for it? Are they giving it a hopeful spin?
But then, Ash's Japanese voice actress still cares about Misty and her relationship with Ash. Maybe the writers will let her decide who he ends up with (I mean, I know of at least one time where that happened in a show; I think sometimes writers feel like the voice actor embodies the character). And many of the same writers who wrote Poke are still there. Maybe they wanted to ship Ash with someone because it makes for a cute and interesting character and dynamic (and good ratings XD), but they didn't want Ash to feel the same. I remember how, even after Misty left, the writers kept focusing on her relationship with Ash in her special episodes. Clearly, they didn't intend to show that she'd felt friendzoned or gotten over it. In fact, they made it a point to say that she hadn't. Which really surprised me, actually; wouldn't it have been easier, and more in line with Pokemon's general tone, to have her be fine with leaving? I man, Pokemon's a show where everyone's friends forever and confident about that; to have Misty so hung up on it and conflicted about what to do said to me that no, what we saw in her wasn't just us, that it really was written into her character... and that she and her relationship with Ash were important enough to them that they didn't want to have her get over it and bounce back right away. And I keep thinking that the reason we haven't seen any hints from Ash for any other girl (nothing that couldn't be interpretted as friendship or brotherly love, anyway) is because they're sticking with their original plan-- he's meant to end up with Misty. By the way... this is probably nothing, but did anyone else notice that in the flashback to when Ash and Serena met as children, he's wearing Misty's original colors? It's probably just a coincidence, but it felt to me like the writers were kinda implying that he's still meant for her, like they were marking him as hers, almost. Some people think she'll make an appearance in Alola, since it's a water-focused region (yeah, I'm not holding my breath, either, but you never know for sure). Plus! A lot of stories like to call back to the beginning at the end, to remind the viewers of the journey, and also to imply the cyclic nature of life. If the writers of Pokemon decide to do that... yeah, it's gonna be Misty, whether they do a flash-forward and they're married, or it's just a hint at the end.
So... in the end, I think Ash's response to Serena was intentionally ambiguous. He didn't have to accept or reject her. No one had their heart broken, Amourshipping isn't sunk... but they're not ruling any other ship, either, past or present. It was the safest path they could've taken (though I really am surprised they had her kiss him on the lips; pretty racey for a kids' show, in Japan, at least!). I think a lot of it had to do with Serena's character development; the way she was written, it would've been cheating her, and the viewers who loved her, to not have her confess. It was meant to please the Amourshippers, too, but... I kind of wonder if the reason the writers didn't have Misty confess is that they didn't want to end it there, that they wanted to keep us wondering. As far as when "Gotta Catch You Later" was actually written... yeah, there's a good chance that's the case.
In the end, Ash probably won't end up with anyone. It's probably better that way. As much as I'd like Pokeshipping to be canon... at this point there are so many people so emotionally invested in different Ash ships, a lot of people would be hurt no matter who it was. Better that no one has to deal with that and we can all keep believing that Ash is most likely to end up with who we like. I guess... I mean, I'd really like to let go of it... but I don't think Poke getting sunk would help me achieve that; it'd just break my heart and make me work to minimize the importance of the canon to myself. Plus, I don't want to see Ash and Misty with a kid, since it wouldn't be Satsumi, and...
Anyway, the main point is, don't take it too hard! Nothing's really changed, in the end.
EDIT: Hey! I just realized something exciting! So, the Amourshippers are all excited because the director tweeted out that there was a hidden message from the staff to the viewers in the final XYZ episode. One fan asked if it were the baby's breath in front of Ash's home, which would symbolize eternal love, etc. So the creator said that yes, that was it... But when I looked at the scene, it's after Ash remembers all the friends and important events from his XYZ journey; the last flashback is his parting with Greninja, not Serena. So to me, that seems to be the creators telling us that the characters will be friends forever, and maybe also a sign of gratitude to from them.
But none of that's the important part. The important part is that part about baby's breath representing eternal love and all that. Guess what the Japanese word for baby's breath is? "Kasumi sou" (literally, "mist grass"). Shortened to just "kasumi" sometimes. You could say that it's just supposed to mean "mist" to refer to her relationship to water and water Pokemon. But. Misty's sisters are all named after flowers. She was the odd one out in the English, but not in the Japanese. There's no way that wasn't supposed to be a double meaning. That's a pretty strong implication that the writers intended Misty to love Ash and for them to end up together, when they wrote the original series at the very least.
So if they're showing baby's breath now... are they hinting that Misty's gonna appear soon? ...Yeah, I doubt it, too. But I don't think there's any way that it didn't call Misty to mind for them, either. Maybe it's a way of saying that she's still the one meant for Ash... or it may just be that they mean, Ash hasn't forgotten Misty (or all his old friends, but especially Misty) either. Maybe they're saying, hey, Serena may have just kissed Ash, but don't think we've forgotten Misty? Even if it's just a coincidence that they thought of that flower, I think they probably think of it as a happy accident. ...Aw!
