Serena's goal.

[Geo-Oblivion's Wrath]

We're 11 episodes into the saga though and we know what the next half dozen episodes will be about.

Compared to, what, 100+ episodes? As frustrating as the wait will have to be, I guess that's the writers want. And despite the fact that Serena's appearances in the New Year's preview were lacking, that's what the preview is: a preview. It just shows the basics and is completely capable of withholding any important information.

The fact that Serena still doesn't have a goal and isn't likely to get one anytime soon is a huge issue. And I'm sure people will bring up May and how she didn't get a goal right away either, but at least AG had Contests which were always a viable option for her. XY on the other hand, doesn't have anything that Serena can do.

Just because the writers are giving her the same treatment as they did with May doesn't mean that we must expect her path to be on par with May's. This is XY, not AG. Of course there's gonna be major differences.

Sky Battles would make her Fennekin irrelevant, the Battle Chateau seems like a facility where only strong trainers like Gym Leaders can compete in, and there's almost no way that she would battle at the Battle Maison given that it's essentially a Battle Tower and way too advanced for her.

Well, I can't comment on Sky Battles, since it's obvious they are what they are gonna be in the anime. But as for the Battle Chateau/Maison, you say that it's too strong/advanced for her. But isn't that what training is for? First, we're obviously gonna need more Pokemon for Serena, but considering that we've got 100+ episodes to go, there's a lot of time for Serena to catch at least one Pokemon. And then, with those 100+ episodes, there'll definitely be enough time for Serena to be motivated to train. And then she can become strong enough to participate in the Battle Chateau/Maison.

There are no viable options for Serena's goal in this saga in my humble opinion.

Like I said before, this is XY, not AG. We can't expect there to be blatant hints for Serena's future in terms of a goal like there was with May. And, as AshsPikachu said, PATIENCE is key.

I think the biggest problem here is that people are losing patience quickly. People think that just because Serena hasn't picked her goal yet, that she's only in the series for shipping purposes.

Well, the Pokemon fandom, or at least the majority, has been known to be rather impatient and spoiled. I heard it from another thread. It figures if people are instantly impatient.

 

[AshsPikachu]

We're 11 episodes into the saga though and we know what the next half dozen episodes will be about. The fact that Serena still doesn't have a goal and isn't likely to get one anytime soon is a huge issue. And I'm sure people will bring up May and how she didn't get a goal right away either, but at least AG had Contests which were always a viable option for her. XY on the other hand, doesn't have anything that Serena can do. Sky Battles would make her Fennekin irrelevant, the Battle Chateau seems like a facility where only strong trainers like Gym Leaders can compete in, and there's almost no way that she would battle at the Battle Maison given that it's essentially a Battle Tower and way too advanced for her. There are no viable options for Serena's goal in this saga in my humble opinion.

Battle Maison too advanced for her? You may be right but how do you know for sure? The writers could easily make it happen if they really wanted to imo. And if that doesn't happen... remember she is still interested in fashion.. the writers could possibly incorporate that into something and make it her goal.

 

[Geo-Oblivion's Wrath]

Battle Maison too advanced for her? You may be right but how do you know for sure? The writers could easily make it happen if they really wanted to imo. And if that doesn't happen... remember she is still interested in fashion.. the writers could possibly incorporate that into something and make it her goal.

Plus, the anime can just make the Battle Maison not advanced (can't think of a better description). If the writers can add battles into Contests, then they can do absolutely anything to change any in-game activities and events if they decide to incorporate it into the anime.

 

[Lorde]

Battle Maison too advanced for her? You may be right but how do you know for sure? The writers could easily make it happen if they really wanted to imo. And if that doesn't happen... remember she is still interested in fashion.. the writers could possibly incorporate that into something and make it her goal.

The Battle Maison is essentially a Battle Tower like I said. Aside from its location, which seems completely out of the way, I couldn't see Serena battling there since it's a hardcore battling facility. And I wouldn't trust the writers to water it down; I have no faith in their ability to use creative liberty just for the sake of giving Serena a goal. They really seem to be milking the shipping thing for all it's worth, which is why I'm almost completely convinced that Serena's just in the cast so that she can be paired up with Ash. :x

 

[LizardonX]

Who said Fennekin has to be relevant to any of Serena's goals? Torchic was completely useless before evolving, togepi was a helpless baby for 300 episodes, and Neither emolga or Excadrill were dragons. Nothing says fennekin is, will, or even should be a part of whatever serena ends up doing.

 

[Geo-Oblivion's Wrath]

The Battle Maison is essentially a Battle Tower like I said. Aside from its location, which seems completely out of the way, I couldn't see Serena battling there since it's a hardcore battling facility. And I wouldn't trust the writers to water it down; I have no faith in their ability to use creative liberty just for the sake of giving Serena a goal.

How hard is it to understand that the anime can change stuff, since it's the anime, not the games? Better yet, how in the world have you forgotten about all of those scenes that I just mentioned? They imply that, at the moment, the writers ARE thinking about giving Serena something to do that won't involve Ash.

Whatever. I'm done arguing with you. It's obvious you're being intentionally blind to those facts and want Serena to become shipper fodder for the sake of shipping fodder. I'm done.

They really seem to be milking the shipping thing for all it's worth, which is why I'm almost completely convinced that Serena's just in the cast so that she can be paired up with Ash. :x

I thought that's what your AmourShippy side wants?

Who said Fennekin has to be relevant to any of Serena's goals? Torchic was completely useless before evolving, togepi was a helpless baby for 300 episodes, and Neither emolga or Excadrill were dragons. Nothing says fennekin is, will, or even should be a part of whatever serena ends up doing.

But Serena clearly said that she wanted to do something with Fennekin. Besides, if Fennekin evolves, then it could become of use to whatever goal she plans on pursuing, so I find that argument to be completely moot.

 

[Navin]

Someone needs to make a goddamn sticky saying that people can have goals while having romantic feelings for others. And patience is a virtue, my friends.

 

[Lunanight]

I would have said that Serena could challenge the Battle Maison...then I remembered that it is basically the Kalos Battle Frontier. Meaning that if in the event the Battle Maison is visited, the only one I see challenging it is Ash. Even that would be handled like how they handled Sinnoh's BF (one battle, Ash loses, never mentioned again).

Onto Serena, I think she might go for the Battle Chateau and reach the highest title obtainable there (Grand Duchess for her?) which means that she can battle gym leaders without actually earning the gym badges. Since Ash is battling gym leaders as his main goal, and Clemont is a travelling companion which means it would be unlikely he'd be involved, its unlikely she would do it. Though maybe after the XY anime is finished and the group goes their seperate ways, Serena will challenge the Battle Chateau, Clemont and Bonnie likely to return to the gym (Cilan didn't stick around with Ash after Best Wishes into the next region so their chances are also slim), while Ash goes onto the Gen 7 Region/Region of whatever game gets a remake by then.

Again, her goal depends on whether the writers want to make Ash go for the Battle Maison after the League, or whether he's just going to go to another Region. If its the former, its likely to be something which is not the Battle Maison/Chateau. If its the latter where they go their own ways, it can literally be anything - it might end up being the Rhyhorn Racing IMO. She might not like it now, but that doesn't mean she won't later on. May originally disliked Pokemon and wanted to just travel, now she likes Pokemon and is a Coordinator. So her goals might not be as predicable as we like to think. Afterall, Brock wanted to become a Pokemon Doctor at the end of DP...even though it was established his goal was a Pokemon Breeder. So her goals might change between when she finds her first goal and the end of XY.

 

[Lorde]

Someone needs to make a goddamn sticky saying that people can have goals while having romantic feelings for others. And patience is a virtue, my friends.

I don't think the writers are capable of juggling Serena's goal and her feelings for Ash. I really think they need to choose one or the other, and given that Serena has yet to find a goal to work on, I think they've decided to develop her crush on Ash instead. As for the patience thing, maybe it's just self-entitlement, but I've waited long enough. Serena should've had a goal from the beginning before she set off on her own imo.

 

[Navin]

I don't think the writers are capable of juggling Serena's goal and her feelings for Ash. I really think they need to choose one or the other, and given that Serena has yet to find a goal to work on, I think they've decided to develop her crush on Ash instead. As for the patience thing, maybe it's just self-entitlement, but I've waited long enough. Serena should've had a goal from the beginning before she set off on her own imo.

They are more than capable. Contestshipping is canon and May and Drew both had goals even while juggling feelings for each other.

 

[The Great Butler]

"Patience is a virtue," "they'll have her goal established eventually!," "P A T I E N C E"...

Somehow I get the feeling that should XY end and she gets a goal one episode before leaving just to excuse kicking her off, at least one person will try to claim that means they were right to wait three/four years swearing up and down something would be done with her.

Did you guys learn nothing from the last thing we kept hearing "it'll come eventually!!!!!" about?

There's still a chance that Serena develops even without a goal.

Think about it. A girl without a dream, really, what is her purpose?

To make up for that horrible, horrible character she replaced by doing nothing but loving Ash.

She's travelling, alright, but don't you think she would be kinda bothered by seeing everyone so passionate about stuff - Ash about his goal and battles, Clemont about his gadgets and desire to get stronger? I could imagine Serena perhaps getting slightly depressed about her lack of dreams. Then maybe she could try to go back to Rhyhorn racing she ended up ditching the first time and then we could get a whole character arc of Serena being confused about her life, etc.

That would just retread another element of Dawn's story.

There are a lot of possibilities and ways to develop Serena without a goal. Sadly however, these writers cannot exactly be trusted a development of a character without a goal. :/

Like what?

 

[Geo-Oblivion's Wrath]

"Patience is a virtue," "they'll have her goal established eventually!," "P A T I E N C E"...

Somehow I get the feeling that should XY end and she gets a goal one episode before leaving just to excuse kicking her off, at least one person will try to claim that means they were right to wait three/four years swearing up and down something would be done with her.

Did you guys learn nothing from the last thing we kept hearing "it'll come eventually!!!!!" about?

I don't really think that'll be possible, unless it's some newbie who's saying that. Otherwise, the general consensus is that most people will immediately lose faith once 30 episodes passes without her having a goal. That's what I hear from some people.

 

[The Great Butler]

I don't really think that'll be possible, unless it's some newbie who's saying that. Otherwise, the general consensus is that most people will immediately lose faith once 30 episodes passes without her having a goal. That's what I hear from some people.

You are right, though, that does seem to be the general consensus.

 

[Lorde]

Contestshipping is canon

When did this happen? Because I don't recall getting an invitation to May's and Drew's wedding.

But seriously, I agree that all the "let's be patient" excuses are becoming more and more redundant as the weeks go by. I heard the same excuses in BW when it came to certain things, and in the end I was still disappointed because those things never happened despite all the time I spent "being patient." If Serena didn't get a goal during her introduction (not counting her desire to find Ash), then it seems incredibly unlikely to me that she'll have one at all. There's just no point in waiting years for it to happen in my humble opinion.

 

[Supersonicbro]

i dont understand why people are thinking she won't get a goal or that she will just be shipping bait.

Most of her character involves her finding a goal for herself. Of course she's gonna have something. And the fact that it's so hard to figure out and guess means that the writers are gonna use this mysteriousness to prolong her getting a goal.

She will get a goal, but what it is and when she'll find it will be mysterious just because the character serena doesn't know either what she wants to do YET.

 

[dman_dustin]

Well then, if a main character never has a resolved goal, then what's the point of Serena being on the show anyway, if she's just gonna be there? That said, what's the point of Ash being on the show anyway, if he's gonna just be there? That said, what's the point of the show being here anyway, if it's just there? The anime should've be cancelled a long time ago with its pointlessness! *sarcasm*

If Serena's gonna have to be on the show, then at least make her existence worthwhile and not through a dumb reason like her just being Ash's crutch throughout the entire show.

Didn't realize the point of watching this show was to see character's goals be resolved?

Look most character development, or focal episodes, with the exception of Ash has always revolved around something not related to their goal or resolving it or even coming close.

And most goal related episodes merely revolve around just a little bit.

Well okay that's not entirely fair, I mean okay if you have a trinket related goal, you do get lots of goal focus, like Ash, May, and Dawn, but otherwise you're going to be a background character.

So how about Serena's goal doesn't really matter unless its a trinket related goal, and instead of having a non specific goal where we will only get maybe 5 out of 130 episodes revolved around the goal.

Why not just focus on Serena just as a character, what she likes, what she doesn't like, how she reacts to certain circumstances.

Because honestly having a goal isn't really going to change anything, other than maybe 1 every 50 episodes might revolve around that goal.

I mean seriously how many REAL Connoisseur episodes existed for Cilan, like....3 episodes. Maybe more if you include the other episodes regarding Burgundy. I mean we didn't get to know how one advances to the next class of Connoisseur, we don't know how Cilan became an A-class connoisseur, and nothing happened regarding Burgundy either.

In fact the only thing that was really fleshed out in regards to Cilan was his many likes of various things. Subways, science, I think photography was one of those, being a detective, so on and so forth.

But very little was anything focused on his goal to become a S class Connoisseur.

So if Serena has a non trinket goal, I really can't see how its going to be any different.

 

[Supersonicbro]

Didn't realize the point of watching this show was to see character's goals be resolved?

Look most character development, or focal episodes, with the exception of Ash has always revolved around something not related to their goal or resolving it or even coming close.

And most goal related episodes merely revolve around just a little bit.

Well okay that's not entirely fair, I mean okay if you have a trinket related goal, you do get lots of goal focus, like Ash, May, and Dawn, but otherwise you're going to be a background character.

So how about Serena's goal doesn't really matter unless its a trinket related goal, and instead of having a non specific goal where we will only get maybe 5 out of 130 episodes revolved around the goal.

Why not just focus on Serena just as a character, what she likes, what she doesn't like, how she reacts to certain circumstances.

Because honestly having a goal isn't really going to change anything, other than maybe 1 every 50 episodes might revolve around that goal.

I mean seriously how many REAL Connoisseur episodes existed for Cilan, like....3 episodes. Maybe more if you include the other episodes regarding Burgundy. I mean we didn't get to know how one advances to the next class of Connoisseur, we don't know how Cilan became an A-class connoisseur, and nothing happened regarding Burgundy either.

In fact the only thing that was really fleshed out in regards to Cilan was his many likes of various things. Subways, science, I think photography was one of those, being a detective, so on and so forth.

But very little was anything focused on his goal to become a S class Connoisseur.

So if Serena has a non trinket goal, I really can't see how its going to be any different.

yes that cilan example was perfect. the characters goal isn't the only thing that makes the character, the characters personality and interactions with the other characters make the character

 

[Geo-Oblivion's Wrath]

I was obviously being sarcastic, dman_dustin. But anyway, I was saying that Serena needs to have something worthwhile to ensure that her stay in the show will be all for nothing. I care nothing for so-called "trinkets", but I personally want Serena to find something that'll help positively define her as a character for the rest of XY, and beyond even if she leaves, just like May and Dawn. To me, being shipping bait isn't good enough for a worthwhile reason, and that's coming from a shipper. I say so because I understand the majority of those who view the anime are non-shippers as far as I'm concerned, and it'd definitely be unfair for them. Why appeal to the minority, and just now when it could've been done so long ago?

I am still totally convinced there's something good planned for Serena, since all of the promotional summaries she's been given, plus all of those scenes in XY006-XY008, implied that something special will come up for her. But if she's indeed in XY just for shipping bait, I'm gonna be so pressed and rage-quit entirely, because everything I've been exposed to about Serena so far told me that she'd be anything but.

 

[Navin]

When did this happen? Because I don't recall getting an invitation to May's and Drew's wedding.

Contestshipping is canon. It was the most obvious shipping involving a main character. Plethora of hints/moments and May and Drew both like each other. Anybody rejecting this blatantly evident pairing is just oblivious or in denial. And I'm not even a shipper...

Anyway, May X Drew was a romantic subplot, but both had a primary goal of being top-notch Coordinators.

If you want another example, look at Pokeshipping: Ash X Misty was the definite subplot of the Orange Islands arc. Point being is that the writers are more than capable of having Serena juggle her feelings while giving her a main goal.

But seriously, I agree that all the "let's be patient" excuses are becoming more and more redundant as the weeks go by. I heard the same excuses in BW when it came to certain things, and in the end I was still disappointed because those things never happened despite all the time I spent "being patient." If Serena didn't get a goal during her introduction (not counting her desire to find Ash), then it seems incredibly unlikely to me that she'll have one at all. There's just no point in waiting years for it to happen in my humble opinion.

It is only sounds that bad because there is only one episode a week. Her goal may not be revealed till like XY028 for example, but that's not going to happen until months later. But XY028 would still be early in the series.

I actually want to see more of Serena's personality than a goal personally.

 

[Geo-Oblivion's Wrath]

Contestshipping is canon. It was the most obvious shipping involving a main character. Plethora of hints/moments and May and Drew both like each other. Anybody rejecting this blatantly evident pairing is just oblivious or in denial. And I'm not even a shipper...

Anyway, May X Drew was a romantic subplot, but both had a primary goal of being top-notch Coordinators.

If you want another example, look at Pokeshipping: Ash X Misty was the definite subplot of the Orange Islands arc. Point being is that the writers are more than capable of having Serena juggle her feelings while giving her a main goal.

Wait a minute, I never knew PokeShipping and ContestShipping were canon. I thought those shippings just had a lot of hints than the others. And besides, if I can recall, 4Kids was responsible for most of the PokeShipping hints we know of, not the Japanese companies (I forgot who produces the anime in Japan).