Ranking the Pokégirls

[Eeveelutiongen1to7]

So as we all know, Ash has many female companions, also known as Pokégirls. Now how would you rank the Pokégirls based on:
-bond with Ash
-goal improvement
-looks
-Pokémon

My top 3 would be:
1.Serena
2.Dawn
3.May

And no I like that Pokégirl without a proper reason! You can also see it the other way: which Ash fits the Pokégirl the best?

 

[Slapstick-Olivia]

Misty, Dawn and Uris... ups... I mean Iris. Because I think those three are the once Ash has interacted the most. May and Ash have nothing really in common, Serena was more of a groupie for Ash and with Lillie, Mallow and Lana it is kinda the same with May. They is not something that bounds them.

 

[Genaller]

I’ll just be considering the 5 main pre-SM Pokegirls (so no Bonnie, Lillie, Mallow and Lana).

— Bond With Ash

1. Serena
2. Misty
3. May
4. Dawn
5. Iris

This 1 easily goes to Serena. Her feelings started as blind infatuation, but gradually blossomed into feelings of genuine love espciallly after seeing Ash’s imperfections as a person. We know that Ash at the very least acknowledges and accepts her feelings given that he didn’t reject her kiss and also given that it was Ash who was shown remembering the major Amour moments in his final flashback sequence including a seemingly random moment where he fell on Serena in XYZ 22. Whether he reciprocates romantically is up for debate though regardless the writers have made it clear that Serena is currently meant to be Ash’s end game (even if we end up never actually seeing that end point). It should be noted that Ash and Serena have a very strong platonic connection as well with Ash inspiring Serena to better herself as a person and Serena motivating Ash to persevere and also to stay true to himself. Finally regardless of the current nature of Ash’s feelings for Serena, it’s clear that Ash values her over all of his other female companions since Ash never did what he did for Serena in XYZ 45 with any other pokegirl.

For the record I do not acknowledge Ash as a 10 year old or at least as a 10 year old by the standards of our world (I’ve already gone over the contradiction that arises from accepting Ash to be 10). In the same vein I don't acknowledge Serena as being 10 since you only need to be at least 10 and not exactly 10 in order to get your first Pokémon and before wanting to meet Ash Serena had no need of getting a partner pokemon since at the time she was training to be a Ryhorn racer at home. May and Dawn on the other hand both either wanted to or were encouraged to start their journey ASAP hence why they’d be 10 as of their debut. Just a heads up that I’m assessing Ash as a person who has gradually grown throughout his journey.

Misty was of course Ash’s first traveling companion and the 2 gradually went from being at odds with each other to being very close friends with teases of them possibly being romantically interested in each other especially in the Orange Islands series. My interpretation is that Misty and Ash were at some point attracted to each other though they couldn’t understand those feelings due to being too young during OS; however, when they needed to part Ash pretty much friend zones her after which all of their interactions in AG and SM are primarily platonic indicating that Misty has accepted how Ash feels about her and has moved on. Even with all of that in mind the 2 have an extremely strong bond given that Misty spent the most time with Ash out of any pokegirl and how emotional their parting was.

It’s a really tough call between Dawn and May. Ash served as a mentor figure to both of them and developed close friendships with them. Basically Ash was more influential to May than he was to Dawn since May tried to model aspects of herself after Ash in particular her battle style and this was due to not having a strong identity at the start of the series in contrast with Dawn; however, Dawn was more influential to Ash by doing stuff like cheering for him during gym battles and also providing Ash inspiration for some of his strategies (e.g. spin dodging, Ice Aqua Jet, Counter Shield). I’m giving May a minute edge due to her climactic contest battle with Ash and subsequent half ribbon that symbolized their friendship though Dawn despite being fourth for me had a really strong bond with Ash as well.

Yeah the BW tiro split held no emotional weight whatsoever; that should make it obvious how little Ash and Iris cared about each other relative to Ash’s other pokegirl relationships.

— Goal Improvement

1. Dawn
2. May
3. Serena
4. Misty
5. Iris

This category hands down goes to Dawn. Dawn initially thought she knew what it took to be a good co-ordinator though she was given a rude awakening. The main improvement that she made was a switch from prioritizing the display of her Pokémon’s moves to prioritizing the display of the Pokémon themselves. What makes Dawn’s improvemnt standout is not the quantity of improvement, but rather the detail and care given to illustrating where she was deficient and how she had since corrected that flaw not to mention the execution of how she became aware of the issue as well the journey she had taken before realizing how to resolve said issue. I also appreciate how emphasized Dawn’s training was as well as how intricate her combinations became as the series went by.

May and Serena both started out as not having a goal and while both of these cases had their own writing problems, I prefer how Serena’s was handled due to her actually trying other things before deciding to go all-in on showcases (gained a better appreciation for Ryhorn Racing, Battling (against TRio though what’s important is that she explicitly took note of battling as something she could do), Grooming, Pokevision and Baking), and while it was convenient that showcases incorporated a lot of what she had previously tried, I appreciate the underlying message that nothing you do in life is meaningless. Both May and Serena’s rate of improvement at their goal seemed undeserved to a degree though still May did struggle considerably more due to having far better rivals in the form of Drew and Harley in addition to her vanity mini arc. May truly came into her own during her return arc where she finally found her own distinct style after leaving Ash and this improvement is what gives her the edge over Serena (in this category) for me.

Honestly I’ve never been a fan of how this show handled type master goals. On the 1 hand Misty actually caught a good number of water Pokémon though on the other hand Iris was more pro-active in developing her skills by participating in several battle tournaments and emotionally connecting with several dragon type Pokémon. Yes there was the Whirl Cup arc though that on its own doesn’t make up for the lack of progress Misty made towards her goal throughout OS. Iris would’ve gotten the 4th spot for me if it was for 1 tiny issue; her Axew didn’t evolve even once! Her initial goal was to fully evolve Axew and yet she couldn’t make any progress towards that over the course of an entire series + a special. I’m not saying it had to become a Haxorous though it should have at least become a Fraxure towards the end of BW or in the special in order to show progress for Iris. Instead Iris just seems incompetent for not being able to evolve a Pokémon that explicitly wants to evolve. Despite this I would’ve put her over Misty if it weren’t for SM doing a good job at illustrating her progression by showing that she’s obtained a strong bond with a Gyarados (a species that she previously hated) to the point where she can use Mega Evolution.

— Looks

1. May
2. Serena
3. Misty
4. Iris
5. Dawn

May definitively has my favorite pokegirl design. I really like the extreme dark and light combinations of colors on her clothes and her bandanna is flipping aweosme. Serena’s design (after she cut her hair) gives a very classy and mature vibe. How do I say this; her design looks pretty but it isn’t sexualized unlike Misty, May and Dawn all of whom in one way or another seemed more sexualized (e.g. bikini outfits for Misty, May’s unrealistic breast size for her age in AG and Dawn showing way too much leg). Even when she wore that Fennikin oufit or wore supposedly “skimpy” (according to some people) outfits for her performances, she always maintained her classiness (for me anyways). Misty had an interesting design which could come off as tomboyish or feminine depending on her mood. While I did criticize Misty for being sexualized at times, I also think Misty could look really classy when she wanted to such as her kimono and mermaid outfits. Iris’s hair is wierd though it does symbolize her fiery spirit, so it’s not all bad. Dawn’s hat is a repulsive abomination that should be eviscerated from the face of existence... that is alll.

— Pokémon

1. Dawn
2. May
3. Iris
4. Serena
5. Misty

Dawn wins this category by a lanslide. All of her Pokémon had distinct and vibrant personalities with most of them having a good degree of depth. May’s Pokémon also had their moments though overall their personalities didn’t have the detail and nuance of Dawn’s; her Blaziken was especially awesome though. Iris is placed where she is primarily due to the badassary of her Dragonite as well as the character arcs for Excadril and Dragonite gaining trust and respect for Iris as a trainer. Serena only had 3 Pokémon but had an intimate connection with all of them. Misty on the other hand had many Pokémon with “fodder” or bare bone personalities. Her highlights would be Psyduck, Togepi, Politoed, and her Gyarados after she left Ash though I don’t think it was enough to put her over any of the others. I could go into lot of detail regarding each of the pokegirls’ Pokémon though this post is getting way too long.


Here are 2 additional categories that I think are the most essential to determining which Pokégirl was the best. I won’t go into detail on them in this post though I’ll probably critique the pokegirls on these aspects in a future post. Here they are:

— Characterization

1. Dawn
2. Serena
3. Misty
4. May
5. Iris

— Character Development

1. Serena
2. Dawn
3. May
4. Iris
5. Misty


Overall: Dawn >= Serena > May >> Misty > Iris

Basically when being critical I think Dawn is the overall best written pokegirl in the show (though Serena isn’t far behind); however, I think Serena is my favorite pokegirl because of her relationship with Ash (note that even without Amour I still consider Serena to be 2nd only to Dawn). It boils down to a “head vs heart” issue for me though I’m the type of guy to go with my head more often than not hence why I’d award Dawn the title of best pokegirl!

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Dawn
Lillie
Misty
Iris
May
Mallow
Lana
Serena
Bonnie

I feel like Ash is the closest to Dawn and Misty, Dawn and Lillie have the best character development, Dawn, Lillie, and Serena have the best character designs, and Dawn, Misty, and Iris have the best Pokemon.

 

[Eeveelutiongen1to7]

I’ll just be considering the 5 main pre-SM Pokegirls (so no Bonnie, Lillie, Mallow and Lana).

— Bond With Ash

1. Serena
2. Misty
3. May
4. Dawn
5. Iris

This 1 easily goes to Serena. Her feelings started as blind infatuation, but gradually blossomed into feelings of genuine love espciallly after seeing Ash’s imperfections as a person. We know that Ash at the very least acknowledges and accepts her feelings given that he didn’t reject her kiss and also given that it was Ash who was shown remembering the major Amour moments in his final flashback sequence including a seemingly random moment where he fell on Serena in XYZ 22. Whether he reciprocates romantically is up for debate though regardless the writers have made it clear that Serena is currently meant to be Ash’s end game (even if we end up never actually seeing that end point). It should be noted that Ash and Serena have a very strong platonic connection as well with Ash inspiring Serena to better herself as a person and Serena motivating Ash to persevere and also to stay true to himself. Finally regardless of the current nature of Ash’s feelings for Serena, it’s clear that Ash values her over all of his other female companions since Ash never did what he did for Serena in XYZ 45 with any other pokegirl.

For the record I do not acknowledge Ash as a 10 year old or at least as a 10 year old by the standards of our world (I’ve already gone over the contradiction that arises from accepting Ash to be 10). In the same vein I don't acknowledge Serena as being 10 since you only need to be at least 10 and not exactly 10 in order to get your first Pokémon and before wanting to meet Ash Serena had no need of getting a partner pokemon since at the time she was training to be a Ryhorn racer at home. May and Dawn on the other hand both either wanted to or were encouraged to start their journey ASAP hence why they’d be 10 as of their debut. Just a heads up that I’m assessing Ash as a person who has gradually grown throughout his journey.

Misty was of course Ash’s first traveling companion and the 2 gradually went from being at odds with each other to being very close friends with teases of them possibly being romantically interested in each other especially in the Orange Islands series. My interpretation is that Misty and Ash were at some point attracted to each other though they couldn’t understand those feelings due to being too young during OS; however, when they needed to part Ash pretty much friend zones her after which all of their interactions in AG and SM are primarily platonic indicating that Misty has accepted how Ash feels about her and has moved on. Even with all of that in mind the 2 have an extremely strong bond given that Misty spent the most time with Ash out of any pokegirl and how emotional their parting was.

It’s a really tough call between Dawn and May. Ash served as a mentor figure to both of them and developed close friendships with them. Basically Ash was more influential to May than he was to Dawn since May tried to model aspects of herself after Ash in particular her battle style and this was due to not having a strong identity at the start of the series in contrast with Dawn; however, Dawn was more influential to Ash by doing stuff like cheering for him during gym battles and also providing Ash inspiration for some of his strategies (e.g. spin dodging, Ice Aqua Jet, Counter Shield). I’m giving May a minute edge due to her climactic contest battle with Ash and subsequent half ribbon that symbolized their friendship though Dawn despite being fourth for me had a really strong bond with Ash as well.

Yeah the BW tiro split held no emotional weight whatsoever; that should make it obvious how little Ash and Iris cared about each other relative to Ash’s other pokegirl relationships.

— Goal Improvement

1. Dawn
2. May
3. Serena
4. Misty
5. Iris

This category hands down goes to Dawn. Dawn initially thought she knew what it took to be a good co-ordinator though she was given a rude awakening. The main improvement is that she made was a switch from prioritizing the display of her Pokémon’s moves to prioritizing the display of the Pokémon themselves. What makes Dawn’s improvemnt atandout is not the quantity of improvement, but rather the detail and care given to illustrating where she was deficient and how she had since corrected that flaw not to mention the execution of how she became aware of the issue as well the journey she had taken before realizing how to resolve said issue. I also appreciate how emphasized Dawn’s training was as well as how intricate her combinations became as the series went by.

May and Serena both started out as not having a goal and while both of these cases had their own writing problems, I prefer how Serena’s was handled due to her actually trying other things before deciding to go all-in on showcases (gained a better appreciation for Ryhorn Racing, Battling (against TRio though what’s important is that she explicitly took note of battling as something she could do), Grooming, Pokevision and Baking), and while it was convenient that showcases incorporated a lot of what she had previously tried, I appreciate the underlying message that nothing you do in life is meaningless. Both May and Serena’s rate of improvement at their goal seemed undeserved to a degree though still May did struggle considerably more due to having far better rivals in the form of Drew and Harley in addition to her vanity mini arc. May truly came into her own during her return arc where she finally found her own distinct style after leaving Ash and this improvement is what gives her the edge over Serena (in this category) for me.

Honestly I’ve never been a fan of how this show handled type master goals. On the 1 hand Misty actually caught a good number of water Pokémon though on the other hand Iris was more pro-active in developing her skills by participating in several battle tournaments and emotionally connecting with several dragon type Pokémon. Yes there was the Whirl Cup arc though that on its own doesn’t make up for the lack of progress Misty made towards her goal throughout OS. Iris would’ve gotten the 4th spot for me if it was for 1 tiny issue; her Axew didn’t evolve even once! Her initial goal was to fully evolve Axew and yet she couldn’t make any progress towards that over the course of an entire series + a special. I’m not saying it had to become a Haxorous though it should have at least become a Fraxure towards the end of BW or in the special in order to show progress for Iris. Instead Iris just seems incompetent for not being able to evolve a Pokémon that explicitly wants to evolve. Despite this I would’ve put her over Misty if it weren’t for SM doing a good job at illustrating her progression by showing that she’s obtained a strong bond with a Gyarados (a species that she previously hated) to the point where she can use Mega Evolution.

— Looks

1. May
2. Serena
3. Misty
4. Iris
5. Dawn

May definitively has my favorite pokegirl design. I really like the extreme dark and light combinations of colors on her clothes and her bandanna is flipping aweosme. Serena’s design (after she cut her hair) gives a very classy and mature vibe. How do I say this; her design looks pretty but it isn’t sexualized unlike Misty, May and Dawn all of whom in one way or another seemed more sexualized (e.g. bikini outfits for Misty, May’s unrealistic breast size for her age in AG and Dawn showing way too much leg). Even when she wore that Fennikin oufit or wore supposedly “skimpy” (according to some people) outfits for her performances, she always maintained her classiness (for me anyways). Misty had an interesting design which could come off as tomboyish or feminine depending on her mood. While I did criticize Misty for being sexualized at times, I also think Misty could look really classy when she wanted to such as her kimono and mermaid outfits. Iris’s hair is wierd though it does symbolize her fiery spirit, so it’s not all bad. Dawn’s hat is a repulsive abomination that should be eviscerated from the face of existence... that is alll.

— Pokémon

1. Dawn
2. May
3. Iris
4. Serena
5. Misty

Dawn wins this category by a lanslide. All of her Pokémon had distinct and vibrant personalities with most of them having a good degree of depth. May’s Pokémon also had their moments though overall their personalities didn’t have the detail and nuance of Dawn’s; her Blaziken was especially awesome though. Iris is placed where she is primarily due to the badassary of her Dragonite as well as the character arcs for Excadril and Dragonite gaining trust and respect for Iris as a trainer. Serena only had 3 Pokémon but had an intimate connection with all of them. Misty on the other had many Pokémon with “fodder” or bare bone personalities. Her highlights would be Psyduck, Togepi, Politoed, and her Gyarados after she left Ash though I don’t think it was enough to put her over any of the others. I could go into lot of detail regarding each of the pokegirls’ Pokémon though this post is getting way too long.


Here are 2 additional categories that I think are the most essential to determining which Pokégirl was the best. I won’t go into detail on them in this post though I’ll probably critique the pokegirls on these aspects in a future post. Here they are:

— Characterization

1. Dawn
2. Serena
3. Misty
4. May
5. Iris

— Character Development

1. Serena
2. Dawn
3. May
4. Iris
5. Misty


Overall: Dawn >= Serena > May >> Misty > Iris

Basically when being critical I think Dawn is the overall best written pokegirl in the show (though Serena isn’t far behind); however, I think Serena is my favorite pokegirl because of her relationship with Ash (note that even without Amour I still consider Serena to be 2nd only to Dawn). It boils down to a “head vs heart” issue for me though I’m the type of guy to go with my head more often than not hence why I’d award Dawn the title of best pokegirl!

Good ranking, I am glad you don't put one pokégirl at top with all the catagories. I thought this was the best way to judge the girls. Sorry for that Uris thing lol

 

[AznKei]

Good ranking, I am glad you don't put one pokégirl at top with all the catagories. I thought this was the best way to judge the girls. Sorry for that Uris thing lol

Yeah, his constructive analysis is better than writing stuffs like hating the Pokegirl because "She didn't contribute anything in the show" or "She's useless".

For me, I'm the most familiar with Serena but I'm not interested with her relationship with Ash, because XY just happened to be the only series I watched fully. Lana, Mallow, Lillie are interesting Pokegirls, but since SM is still ongoing it remains to be seen how far the producers/writers can push them until the end of the series.

 

[Eeveelutiongen1to7]

Well, my own ranking after thinking alot about it:

Looks:
1. Dawn/Serena
2. May
3. Lillie
4. Uris oops Iris/Misty
5. Mallow/Lana.

Both Dawn and Serena have a cute design and looks. May's outfit is also nice. Lillies outfit fits her eyes, but it is kinda bland. Iris and Misty are meh and Mallow/Lana are idk no opinion.

Character developpement

1.Dawn
2. Serena/May
3. Lillie
4. Misty
5. Lana/Mallow/Iris
Dawn changed a lot since her travelling with Ash. May and Serena both started with nothing and found their dream. Lillie overcame her fear. Misty wasnt that hard on Ash anymore at the end. Iris,Mallow and Lana didnt changed that much.

Pokémon

1. May
2. Dawn
3. Iris
4. Serena/Misty
5. Lillie/Mallow/Lana
May has a full evolved starter and many diffrent Pokémon. Dawn too, but no evolved starter. Iris had a strong Dragonite. Serena and Misty's teams didnt change that much and Alola's Pokégirls only have one Pokémon.

Bond with Ash
1. Serena
2. May and Dawn
3. Misty
4. Mallow/Lana/Lillie
5. Iris
Serena has the deepest bond with Ash, since they know eachother since their childhood. Dawn and May had both a good bond with Ash. Misty and Ash had a bond. Lillie,Mallow and Lana have a better bond with Ash then Iris, because Ash and Iris relationship didnt change.

So if I have to rank the girls:
1. Serena and Dawn
2. May
3. Lillie
4. Mallow,Lana and Misty
5. Iris or Uris

 

[Eeveelutiongen1to7]

Which Ash fits the Pokégirls the best?

 

[Slapstick-Olivia]

Bond with Ash
1. Misty
2. Dawn
3. Iris
4. May, Serena, Lillie
5. Bonnie, Mallow, Lana

Goal improvement
1. Dawn and May
2. Serena
3. Misty, Iris
4. Bonnie, Lillie, Mallow, Lana

Looks
1. Misty
2. Iris
3. Lana
4. Dawn
5. Mallow
6. May
7. Lillie
8. Serena
9. Bonnie

Pokémon
1. May
2. Iris
3. Dawn
4. Misty
5. Serena
6. Bonnie, Lillie, Mallow, Lana

Hmmm.... according to my ranking it seems that Ash has no real emotional bound with either Bonnie or the S&M girls. And it seems the S&M girls and Bonnie are also not really to much into Pokémon and their own goals.

 

[satopi]

I chose Lillie and Dawn. It's hard to say which bond fits Ash the best, but I enjoyed most of his bonds that I can't decide. I'm in the same boat as @Pokegirl Fan~ .

 

[Slapstick-Olivia]

I chose Lillie and Dawn.

I can see why you picked Dawn, but Lillie on the other hand not. Lillie seems to hang out more with the other girls and not with Ash.

 

[DatsRight]

I can see why you picked Dawn, but Lillie on the other hand not. Lillie seems to hang out more with the other girls and not with Ash.

I do admit I'd like to see Lillie with Ash more, but maybe that's why I treasure whenever they DO finally bond, since Lillie blatantly has a developed social life and background besides Ash, but he still manages to inspire her and be her second 'onii-sama'. I also liked Lillie's personal woes were one to get a real serious reaction out of Ash (if partially because he was starting to worsen things by mistake) and he started suddenly becoming more protective and going out of his way to watch over her. That elated fist pump when she hugs Silvally, he was so invested in her coming through. I think Lillie was a Pokegirl that actually made Ash rethink his handling of his human friends, that maybe he was becoming a bit too passive and formal, and he should go out of his way to know them more.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Bond with Ash:
1) Serena
2) Dawn
3) Misty
4) May
5) Iris

Ash and Serena's bond isn't that obvious initially since she was pretty shy and quiet. However, it was clear that emotionally, they really helped each other through different odds, such as the talk when they fell off the cliff, Ash remembering her advice for the Korrina gym battle, the meaning of a simple ribbon for Serena, and her crucial role in helping him snap out of his issues in the winding woods.

Dawn and Misty are almost tied (though I give a slight edge to Dawn), since they have the most visible friendship and bond with Ash. Dawn and Ash were equals, and their constant training together, hi fives, cheerleading and similarities in attitudes really showed they were always on the same wavelength. Misty was his original friend, and along with Brock, was crucial in shaping Ash during his early years where he was a hot headed, cocky brat. Beneath her fiery exterior, Misty showed plenty of moments where she feared for Ash during any danger, and her care for him.

Goal Improvement:
1) May
2) Dawn
3) Serena
4) Misty
5) Iris

Dawn's contests looked better in DP for sure, but I still think May's constant improvement in contests was more engaging as a viewer. Unlike Dawn, May didn't know anything about contests, and had to constantly improve by herself. She also became super vain, and got a rude reality check. Also not to mention, she had better rivals in Drew and Harley that really pushed her.

Looks:
1) Serena (after XY060)
2) May
3) Misty
4) Serena (before XY060)
5) Iris
6) Dawn

Now this is the most subjective category, but I really loved Serena's makeover. Her short hair really suited her, and looked much classier, along with giving her a more matured look. Equally close is May's, as I liked her bandanna as well, and overall color theme of red and black.

Pokémon:
1) Dawn
2) May
3) Serena
4) Iris
5) Misty

Dawn's Pokémon suited her perfectly. They all had their own character and each member had their time to shine in contests. From the proud and cheery Piplup, hyperactive Pachirisu, stubborn Mamoswine, and even the last minute Togekiss, which showed its caring nature, all her Pokémon had various personalities and were really fun.

Now based on just these categories, Dawn edges out Serena for me, but if it included character progression and development as well, Serena would've been ahead of Dawn slightly, since that's the primary reason I like her.

 

[Ignition]

I’ll just be considering the 5 main pre-SM Pokegirls (so no Bonnie, Lillie, Mallow and Lana).

— Bond With Ash

1. Serena
2. Misty
3. May
4. Dawn
5. Iris

This 1 easily goes to Serena. Her feelings started as blind infatuation, but gradually blossomed into feelings of genuine love espciallly after seeing Ash’s imperfections as a person. We know that Ash at the very least acknowledges and accepts her feelings given that he didn’t reject her kiss and also given that it was Ash who was shown remembering the major Amour moments in his final flashback sequence including a seemingly random moment where he fell on Serena in XYZ 22. Whether he reciprocates romantically is up for debate though regardless the writers have made it clear that Serena is currently meant to be Ash’s end game (even if we end up never actually seeing that end point). It should be noted that Ash and Serena have a very strong platonic connection as well with Ash inspiring Serena to better herself as a person and Serena motivating Ash to persevere and also to stay true to himself. Finally regardless of the current nature of Ash’s feelings for Serena, it’s clear that Ash values her over all of his other female companions since Ash never did what he did for Serena in XYZ 45 with any other pokegirl.

For the record I do not acknowledge Ash as a 10 year old or at least as a 10 year old by the standards of our world (I’ve already gone over the contradiction that arises from accepting Ash to be 10). In the same vein I don't acknowledge Serena as being 10 since you only need to be at least 10 and not exactly 10 in order to get your first Pokémon and before wanting to meet Ash Serena had no need of getting a partner pokemon since at the time she was training to be a Ryhorn racer at home. May and Dawn on the other hand both either wanted to or were encouraged to start their journey ASAP hence why they’d be 10 as of their debut. Just a heads up that I’m assessing Ash as a person who has gradually grown throughout his journey.

Misty was of course Ash’s first traveling companion and the 2 gradually went from being at odds with each other to being very close friends with teases of them possibly being romantically interested in each other especially in the Orange Islands series. My interpretation is that Misty and Ash were at some point attracted to each other though they couldn’t understand those feelings due to being too young during OS; however, when they needed to part Ash pretty much friend zones her after which all of their interactions in AG and SM are primarily platonic indicating that Misty has accepted how Ash feels about her and has moved on. Even with all of that in mind the 2 have an extremely strong bond given that Misty spent the most time with Ash out of any pokegirl and how emotional their parting was.

It’s a really tough call between Dawn and May. Ash served as a mentor figure to both of them and developed close friendships with them. Basically Ash was more influential to May than he was to Dawn since May tried to model aspects of herself after Ash in particular her battle style and this was due to not having a strong identity at the start of the series in contrast with Dawn; however, Dawn was more influential to Ash by doing stuff like cheering for him during gym battles and also providing Ash inspiration for some of his strategies (e.g. spin dodging, Ice Aqua Jet, Counter Shield). I’m giving May a minute edge due to her climactic contest battle with Ash and subsequent half ribbon that symbolized their friendship though Dawn despite being fourth for me had a really strong bond with Ash as well.

Yeah the BW tiro split held no emotional weight whatsoever; that should make it obvious how little Ash and Iris cared about each other relative to Ash’s other pokegirl relationships.

— Goal Improvement

1. Dawn
2. May
3. Serena
4. Misty
5. Iris

This category hands down goes to Dawn. Dawn initially thought she knew what it took to be a good co-ordinator though she was given a rude awakening. The main improvement is that she made was a switch from prioritizing the display of her Pokémon’s moves to prioritizing the display of the Pokémon themselves. What makes Dawn’s improvemnt atandout is not the quantity of improvement, but rather the detail and care given to illustrating where she was deficient and how she had since corrected that flaw not to mention the execution of how she became aware of the issue as well the journey she had taken before realizing how to resolve said issue. I also appreciate how emphasized Dawn’s training was as well as how intricate her combinations became as the series went by.

May and Serena both started out as not having a goal and while both of these cases had their own writing problems, I prefer how Serena’s was handled due to her actually trying other things before deciding to go all-in on showcases (gained a better appreciation for Ryhorn Racing, Battling (against TRio though what’s important is that she explicitly took note of battling as something she could do), Grooming, Pokevision and Baking), and while it was convenient that showcases incorporated a lot of what she had previously tried, I appreciate the underlying message that nothing you do in life is meaningless. Both May and Serena’s rate of improvement at their goal seemed undeserved to a degree though still May did struggle considerably more due to having far better rivals in the form of Drew and Harley in addition to her vanity mini arc. May truly came into her own during her return arc where she finally found her own distinct style after leaving Ash and this improvement is what gives her the edge over Serena (in this category) for me.

Honestly I’ve never been a fan of how this show handled type master goals. On the 1 hand Misty actually caught a good number of water Pokémon though on the other hand Iris was more pro-active in developing her skills by participating in several battle tournaments and emotionally connecting with several dragon type Pokémon. Yes there was the Whirl Cup arc though that on its own doesn’t make up for the lack of progress Misty made towards her goal throughout OS. Iris would’ve gotten the 4th spot for me if it was for 1 tiny issue; her Axew didn’t evolve even once! Her initial goal was to fully evolve Axew and yet she couldn’t make any progress towards that over the course of an entire series + a special. I’m not saying it had to become a Haxorous though it should have at least become a Fraxure towards the end of BW or in the special in order to show progress for Iris. Instead Iris just seems incompetent for not being able to evolve a Pokémon that explicitly wants to evolve. Despite this I would’ve put her over Misty if it weren’t for SM doing a good job at illustrating her progression by showing that she’s obtained a strong bond with a Gyarados (a species that she previously hated) to the point where she can use Mega Evolution.

— Looks

1. May
2. Serena
3. Misty
4. Iris
5. Dawn

May definitively has my favorite pokegirl design. I really like the extreme dark and light combinations of colors on her clothes and her bandanna is flipping aweosme. Serena’s design (after she cut her hair) gives a very classy and mature vibe. How do I say this; her design looks pretty but it isn’t sexualized unlike Misty, May and Dawn all of whom in one way or another seemed more sexualized (e.g. bikini outfits for Misty, May’s unrealistic breast size for her age in AG and Dawn showing way too much leg). Even when she wore that Fennikin oufit or wore supposedly “skimpy” (according to some people) outfits for her performances, she always maintained her classiness (for me anyways). Misty had an interesting design which could come off as tomboyish or feminine depending on her mood. While I did criticize Misty for being sexualized at times, I also think Misty could look really classy when she wanted to such as her kimono and mermaid outfits. Iris’s hair is wierd though it does symbolize her fiery spirit, so it’s not all bad. Dawn’s hat is a repulsive abomination that should be eviscerated from the face of existence... that is alll.

— Pokémon

1. Dawn
2. May
3. Iris
4. Serena
5. Misty

Dawn wins this category by a lanslide. All of her Pokémon had distinct and vibrant personalities with most of them having a good degree of depth. May’s Pokémon also had their moments though overall their personalities didn’t have the detail and nuance of Dawn’s; her Blaziken was especially awesome though. Iris is placed where she is primarily due to the badassary of her Dragonite as well as the character arcs for Excadril and Dragonite gaining trust and respect for Iris as a trainer. Serena only had 3 Pokémon but had an intimate connection with all of them. Misty on the other had many Pokémon with “fodder” or bare bone personalities. Her highlights would be Psyduck, Togepi, Politoed, and her Gyarados after she left Ash though I don’t think it was enough to put her over any of the others. I could go into lot of detail regarding each of the pokegirls’ Pokémon though this post is getting way too long.


Here are 2 additional categories that I think are the most essential to determining which Pokégirl was the best. I won’t go into detail on them in this post though I’ll probably critique the pokegirls on these aspects in a future post. Here they are:

— Characterization

1. Dawn
2. Serena
3. Misty
4. May
5. Iris

— Character Development

1. Serena
2. Dawn
3. May
4. Iris
5. Misty


Overall: Dawn >= Serena > May >> Misty > Iris

Basically when being critical I think Dawn is the overall best written pokegirl in the show (though Serena isn’t far behind); however, I think Serena is my favorite pokegirl because of her relationship with Ash (note that even without Amour I still consider Serena to be 2nd only to Dawn). It boils down to a “head vs heart” issue for me though I’m the type of guy to go with my head more often than not hence why I’d award Dawn the title of best pokegirl!

It's like you read my mind. 100% agree with this!

 

[DatsRight]

Which Ash fits the Pokégirls the best?

I tend to think each incarnation of Ash is often tailor made to work as a foil to each Pokegirl.

Misty had a headstrong rookie (but one still sharp enough to call out her own flawed side).
May had a mentor type, but fallible enough to give her a backbone.
Dawn had a kindred spirit.
Iris had a dopey but more more laid back Ash to punctuate her wild energy and occasional complacentry.
Serena had someone inspirational.
Lillie had a sweet but energetic big brother who could appeal her to be more outgoing.

The one exception I might call is for Serena because of her crush. She could have used a more emotive and flawed Ash to give it more substance, someone that looks less one dimensionally perfect (and was maybe more observant of her own flaws). The Snowbelle arc practically had her lampshade her own character issue, she saw Ash as a figurehead who was meant to be inspirational instead of a human being she could have a depthful relationship with. Sure she reevaluated from that, but did Ash or her change or have a more developed relationship afterwards? Even just SM Ash who is still nice and inspirational too, but has clear foibles and isn't a hunk at face value would work, especially since he is more liable to immerse into the other characters' problems, making it feel more like Serena is working off of a person.

I might also say Iris would have worked with SM Ash as well because the fact he is much more competent than he looks compared to BW Ash would have played on her aforementioned ego (though later BW did dabble in this, plus BW Ash still being more laid back kept Iris' dynamic as the more outgoing one). I did like how SM Ash served as a return meeting with Misty in this regard, with Misty thinking nothing has changed, but then being completely taken by surprise by how deadly he has became in battle.

 

[Aquafinna]

Bond with Ash

Dawn
Misty
Lillie
May
Serena
Iris

I always considered Dawn to have the closest realtionship with Ash during Diamond Pearl and felt they really helped each other in their individual journeys and goals. They supported and aided each other in time of need and bounced really well of each other.


Looks

Serena (pre hair cut)
Lillie
Iris
May
Misty
Serena (post hair cut)

Serena’s design was by far the best to me when she had her original look. After the haircut, her hair looked rough at times and her outfit wasn’t as well detailed as it was in the beginning.


Pokémon

Iris
Dawn
Lillie
Serena
May
Misty

I enjoyed how Iris’ Pokémon all had distinctive traits and personality quirks. We also got to see Iris individually work with each one through their smooth edges and see her gain their trust.

 

[WhiteBlair]

From a mature audience perspective, I find Dawn's, Serena's and May's characterization in the anime way better than any other characters introduced for specific reasons:

The aforementioned three characters put outstanding effort to achieve their goal, and hard work paid off as a result. After all, I'm watching an anime and I'd like to see side-characters' development to the fullest as they are featured in 1, tops 2, seasons the most. In those instances;

1. May finished in a respectable position as the Top 8 (Hoenn) and Top 4 (Kanto) of Grand Festivals. Plus, having Pokémon such as Blaziken, Glaceon (first Debut) and Venusaur are remarkable for a female side-character. I'm convinced that after AG ended, May was eventually going to be seen somewhere else in the anime, or as a special episode, as a strong trainer keep improving and seen in contests here and there in TV commercials.
2. Dawn finished as runner-up, but despite her team was not as strong as May's, it certainly had more connection and personality. Piplup's confident and brave attitude, Buneary's romantic interest for Pikachu, Swinub's evolving all the way into Mamoswine, Togekiss' interest in contests, Pachirisu, Quilava from Lyra's egg as HGSS reference. I even liked the trade between Aipom and Buizel, as both Dawn and Ash realized their Pokemon have different stage interests to shine.
3. Serena's first forty episodes of struggling and trying various hobbies finally pays off to become a runner-up in Showcases, a contest where she was about to become the next Kalos Queen. She made new friends, new rivals (the one with Amelia was amazing) and the emotions were there. Eevee's (Sylveon's) development was on point. I'm not very into anime relationships, but it doesn't change the fact that their special interest was outstanding especially how Ash was given a more mature look in XYZ. If there is something I disliked about Serena, it's probably Pancham. That's it.

I love Misty ever since my childhood, but the issue is I have never given such an image that she is an expert GYM leader, rather your casual weak trainer who almost always loses to every challenger. The moments I was so hyped to see Misty battling was ruined everytime Psyduck came out of its PokéBall while I was hoping to see Starmie to slay (It was my favorite Pokemon back in the day). Matter of a fact, the only remarkable battle I remember about Misty top off my head is probably her surreal battle against Molly in Movie 3. Boy, Staryu disbanded Mantine's whirlpool like a boss.

I dislike Iris in many ways. First, I never liked the 'Tarzan' image she was given. I never thought she was fitting to the series in Unova, perhaps it could've been better to have her featured in Alola. Second, her goal and what she has made to accomplish that goal were completely off. Axew must have evolved at least, since Iris took part in many battle tournaments along with Ash and was used in battle more than any other PokéGirl partook. Not only that, but her friend in Dragon Village manages to evolve her Zweilous into Hydregion, and Iris, as a recongized trainer, was still with her Axew. Not counting Dragonite as his development was based on refusal to listen Iris' orders. I mean, I'd have preferred such incident to happen after a Pokémon evolves, not the ones you capture in wild.

Other than that, Iris being the BW2 champion didn't even make sense as she failed to make it up in the anime. Even in the special episode, the only worthy incident was not her development, but seeing Rayquaza. Could have been much better if at least some significant progress was made in her team so, we'd given an image that she may appear in future episodes, even brief appearance like Brock and Misty, as the new champion of Unova.

 

[DatsRight]

A recurring problem with some of the Pokegirls is that they usually have the more diverse goal than Ash, but the writers aren't always as good at developing it or attributing proper character agency from it. Along with being that awkward middle road where they're not meant to be as powerful as Ash but are still pushed to be more competent than the third wheels (sometimes even when they're not), they tend to be more reliant on plot armour than the other protagonists, with the writers tending to treat their fallible spots more gingerly.

May's sometimes primordial state contests and Serena's almost tailor made showcases are often criticised for being kinda boring and not enforcing much of a unique style and flare out of the Pokegirl in question, even if the focus on their internal development flowed okay. Along with the fact that, in terms of filler, they usually get the more bare bones or repetitive plots like Team Rocket at their most dumbed down and effortless, which don't get as engaging involvement from them as some of Ash or even some of the third wheel's filler stories. And certainly don't expect the Pokegirl to suffer the Worf Effect like the others do. You'll find the majority of each series' most underwhelming or unfinished battles be their doing because again, lower experience than Ash, but don't like them taking beatings like him or the third wheel. Even the Pokegirls who aren't primarily battlers will seldom have it pushed as an actual weak spot, in fact they're more liable to get pushed for superficial badassery (eg. Serena's record of bare bones or unfinished battles which were implied in the end to put her on the same level as Ash with his developed gym battle record. Well she lost a whole lot less than Ash, I'll give her that).

Misty (Kanto at least), Dawn, Iris and Lillie I could argue were best at subverting this and having more engaging roles in many episodes that played on their more unique niches, as well as a harsher but necessary dose of fallibility or humility about them at times (as in they were allowed to fail or do incredibly stupid things with consequences and learn from them, which made them feel more human) allowing them to slowly configure a style and agency to themselves, even if formula sometimes bogged them down like the other characters. Besides maybe May, whose down the middle due to her aforementioned varying contests, with the others I sometimes get too much of a "She's a cute girl, let's go easy on her" vibe with the writing direction, which often limits how far their attributes can grow and gain a unique role in the story.

 

[Power Up]

Serena big first. Dawn would be second for me. While I hate Misty, she has great development with Ash

Pretty sure this is going to turn into another Serena bash thread, but hey, let's see how it goes.

 

[Genaller]

Serena big first. Dawn would be second for me. While I hate Misty, she has great development with Ash

Pretty sure this is going to turn into another Serena bash thread, but hey, let's see how it goes.

What would your ranking be by category (bond with Ash, goal improvement, character design, Pokémon, characterization, character development)? Is Serena first at everything for you?