PokéShipping: Difference between revisions

[[File:PokéShipping EToP.png|thumb|250px|right|Ash and Misty in [[The Electric Tale of Pikachu]] {{pkmn|manga}}.]]

'''PokéShipping''' (Japanese: '''サトカス''' ''SatoKasu'') is one of many names given to the couple of {{Ash}} and {{an|Misty}}, supported by many fans of the [[Pokémon anime]]. In the early years, PokéShipping was one of the most popular Ships in the fandom; it still maintains a strong following to this day, along with {{s|Advance}}, {{s|Contest}}, {{s|Pearl}}, and {{s|Amour}}.

Most other Shippers tend to agree that Misty has a crush on Ash. This evidence became most prevalent during the Orange Season, long before it became occasional to set upon Ash a girl who becomes infatuated with him.

* Misty tends to get irritated if Brock is cheering for a girl he likes instead of Ash. This is shown in ''[[EP077|The Fourth Round Rumble]]'', where Ash is battling [[Jeanette Fisher]] and Brock is cheering for the latter.

: Ash, willing to continue his journey alone, is followed by Misty. Upon noticing her pursuing him in [[Viridian Forest]], Ash puts her on the spot and asks her, "Why are you still following me?" Misty sweat-drops and unconvincingly stutters back, "M...My [[bicycle|bike]]! I'm holding you responsible for my bike!" in an insincere manner.

: Why she is following him is made apparent near the end of the episode where she says, "I've never known anyone like him. He really does love Pokémon." She does so in body language befitting that of an infatuated girl. Also, in her statement, it is pretty much implied that she has some sort of interest in knowing Ash, who, at this point, is someone she barely knows. Furthermore, in this and the next episode, Misty seems very eager to make physical (if not courtly) contact with Ash.

: When Samurai is searching for Ash, Misty runs toward him, shouting, "Ash!" sounding worried or scared.

: Misty tells {{an|Daisy}} that she's back home because of Ash. The remark makes Daisy think Ash and Misty are a couple, which causes Misty to blush an intense shade of red. Also the episodes before this, while trying to get Ash to avoid coming to this city would suggest other locations, often stating because they are "so romantic".

: While Ash and {{an|Brock}} fall into infatuation with [[Giselle]], Misty gets angry. Some say that she was jealous because of Ash, while others say that it was {{s|Gym|because of Brock}}.

: When Ash gets caught in an explosion to protect {{AP|Squirtle}}, she screams Ash's name, while Brock just stares.

: When the ghost skulls attack them, Misty grabs Ash's arm and holds on to him tightly. Ash never seems to have any problem with this, if anything looking like he wanted to be comforted, suggesting that they both look to each other when they are scared and are not embarrassed by this.

: At the beginning of the episode, Ash, Brock and Misty are walking through the mist on their way to Lavender Town and Brock says they should probably hold hands. Ash and Misty eagerly reply, "Okay!" The two of them hold hands and continue walking, but Brock, who came up with the idea, mistook Pikachu's tail for Ash's hand; only Ash and Misty are holding hands. Also, when Brock grabs Pikachu's tail because he can't see through the mist, Pikachu fires an electric attack out of fear and Misty grabs onto Ash.  

:Later, when Misty thought that Ash had died, she is driven to almost tears, but is interrupted by Ash who comes back to life and she wipes her nose and blushes.

: As Ash, Misty, and Brock follow a [[Venonat]] through the Fuchisa Gym, Ash runs into a invisible wall. When the group turns away, Ash runs into another invisible wall and falls. When she sees this, Misty grabs Ash by the waist and helps him up. Her face expresses concern. After Ash has gotten up, Misty continues to hold on to his arm for a few moments. Brock is completely still while this is happening. Later, when Misty and Brock think Ash had died, Misty is almost driven to tears.

: When Misty sees Ash lying unconscious on the ground, she panics and runs to his side, begging Pikachu to "do something."

: When Misty, Brock, and Squirtle are digging through the rocks to save Ash, Misty, in the dub, says to herself "Listen Ash you'd better hold on, don't forget you still owe me a new bike!" In the original Japanese Misty says Ash had better not die on her, suggesting that she needs to reassure herself that Ash is okay.

: One of the clearest examples to fans of Misty's growing feelings towards Ash in the Indigo League, would be the fact that she completely forgot about her bike being destroyed by Ash, supposedly being the only reason for her traveling with him.

: When {{an|Jigglypuff}} {{m|sing}}s its song, Misty is seen sleeping on top of Ash's back.

: When the over sized [[Gengar]] begins to head toward Pallet Town, Ash runs after it in hopes of trying to stop it from destroying his hometown. As soon as he runs off, Misty shouts "Ash, I'm coming with you!". Brock, on the other hand, hesitates before deciding to run after the two.  

: Near the end of the episode, with Brock having left Ash and Misty to travel alone, [[James]] says, "I think we may have captured a pair of romantic creatures in our little cage," after which [[Jessie]] swoons and {{MTR}} blurts out, "They're lovebirds!" Ash and Misty deny it all but blush.

: The idea of Ash and Misty as a couple becomes a sub-theme throughout the subsequent Orange League Season, culminating into events in [[M02|the second movie]].

: When [[Tracey Sketchit|Tracey]] first says that he's coming with Ash and Misty, Misty gets angry and tells him that he can't just invite himself to tag along with them, implying that she would rather travel with just Ash.

: [[Danny]], the [[Navel Island]] [[Gym Leader]], quickly picks up on the nature of Ash and Misty's relationship during one of their arguments and says, "I can see the two of you are pretty close." After Misty asks what he meant by that, he replied, "What's that saying? 'You always hurt the one you love...'"

: After {{oi|Ralph}}'s {{p|Nidoran♂|Tony}} and {{oi|Emily}}'s {{p|Nidoran♀|Maria}} kiss and evolve, {{Tracey}} comments about whether the battle or the kiss made them evolve. The idea of kissing embarrasses Misty and provokes Ash to ask the question, "Do people change when they get kissed?" after which Misty answers to him, "Guess we'll have to find out ourselves..." Earlier in the episode, Tracey compared the interaction between the Nidoran's Trainers to the relationship between Misty and Ash (although both vehemently deny it).

: As the storm comes Misty collapses from exhaustion and Ash is shown in the next scene to be holding her by the waist as he helps her to the safety of the rock.

: Misty yells, "Be careful, Ash!" before he goes to save the {{p|Magnemite}}. Misty has done this on many occasions.

: When Misty sees the monster behind Ash, she screams in fear it might hurt him. When Ash turns around, she yells at him to do something. Tracey is completely silent while all of this is happening.

: After Ash passes out from fear, Misty is shown kneeling by his side, watching him to make sure he's okay. Tracey is standing by the creature.  

: This entire episode alone serves as conclusive evidence that Misty not only likes Ash but possibly has developed a case of young love for him. [[Rudy]], the [[Trovita Island]] Gym Leader, has a case of "love at first sight" with Misty after she saves his sister, [[Mahri]]. After several advances from Rudy, Misty agrees to what is essentially an impromptu date with Rudy, leaving Ash and Tracey to themselves and later declines Rudy's invitation to stay and help him in the Gym. The most popular evidence in this episode is when Rudy asks Misty if she wants to stay forever with him at the Gym, she stops dancing and blushes whilst looking away and saying " I don't know". This leads many PokéShippers to believe that she is thinking of Ash, but it may also mean that she is flattered by the idea of staying with Rudy forever.

: According to accounts of the original Japanese version, during the dance after the date, Rudy not only asked Misty to stay on the island, but to marry him. What is significant here is that Misty was actually considering his proposal, evidenced by the fact that she didn't refuse him outright. Throughout Ash's gym battle with Rudy, Misty is clearly torn between deciding which boy meant more to her, finally rooting for Ash in the end as {{AP|Squirtle}} is hit by a {{m|Thunderbolt}} from Rudy's {{p|Starmie}}. Rudy, in shock mutters, "She wants ''him.''"

: When Charizard was thrashing around wildly, Misty tried to run to Ash's aid, and was only held back by Tracey.

: When Misty finds out that Ash's hands were rubbed raw, she gave up her blanket so Ash's hands wouldn't get any worse.

: Every time that Tracey and Ash need attention Misty comes to Ash first or expresses more concern for Ash.

: Misty finds a star map, and Ash says, "I know where the stars are, Misty." Misty giggles and blushes after that remark.

: When [[Old Man Shuckle]] gives Ash his medicine and the medicine explodes in Ash's stomach, Misty asks Old Man Shuckle what he gave Ash. He reveals that it was Pokémon medicine, and Misty gets really angry. She calms down once Ash wakes up and says, "You know what? My stomach-ache is all gone!"

: When Misty introduces Ash to [[Nurse Joy]], Joy quickly exclaims, "What a little cutie!" referring to {{AP|Pikachu}} on Ash's head. But Misty and Brock mistakenly think she's referring to Ash. Brock is left completely shocked, but Misty not only gets shocked, but quickly develops the same jealous expression she displayed when Melody flirted with Ash.

: After [[Temacu]] expresses her thoughts about marriage to Brock, Misty says to Ash, "You and I will be married someday too." And Ash nods his head without realizing what she had just said, and then shouts "WHOOA?" She could have easily meant that they would be married someday to different people, not necessarily to each other. However, this is a dub edit. In the original, Misty said, "Looks like she fell for {{tt|Takeshi|Brock}} in first sight."

: While giving a pep talk to Brock about pursuing a possible relationship with Temacu, Misty says, "Take it from me, it's a lot easier to like someone who likes you than to like someone who doesn't." Brock then asks her, "How do you know?", after which Misty gasps, blushes, then coyly replies, "Well that's...what I've heard..."  She is arguably not referring to Brock (much to the dismay of {{s|Gym|GymShippers}}), since she is openly encouraging Brock to pursue Temacu.

: When Ash and Misty find out that they have to battle each other, both are extremely shocked, not wanting to battle against each other.

: When [[Macy]] first invites Ash out to lunch, Misty quickly cuts in between the two and comments that Ash is "booked". Later in the same scene, Macy questions Misty's right to interrupt in Ash's personal affairs when she's not his girlfriend. Misty looks quite unimpressed as Macy continues to flirt with Ash.

: The departure of Misty from the group is a very emotional affair. After all is said and done, Misty says to herself, "Well, Ash Ketchum, finally, I know how you feel about me."

:In this episode, Misty gives Ash her handkerchief. In Japanese, as well as many other eastern Asian cultures, giving a handkerchief is done to, "wipe away tears" when someone leaves your life (eg. a death, a breakup, or saying goodbye to a good friend).  <!-- I've left the original text in, just in case I'm wrong, as I haven't watched the Japanese episode, but this is what giving a handkerchief typically means. "Apparently, in Japan that means that a girl cares for a boy." <!-- Needs a reference. -->

: In the original version, Misty initially rejects [[Georgio]] because there is "someone else." Taking into account of Misty's evident feelings in the series prior to this episode, it can be inferred that Misty is making a reference to Ash, although there is no implication that this is the case.

: After Ash is saved from the {{p|Tauros}} by Bayleef, Misty and Tracey come to check on them. Ash comments that his Pokémon are stronger than ever, and Misty tells him that Pokémon start acting like their Trainers, and teases him about knowing a 'certain Trainer' that has been running wild, while winking towards Ash.  

: When Max informs everybody that the nearest [[Battle Frontier]] facility is near Cerulean City, both Misty and Ash are delighted that they can travel together for a while, and she gives him a wink.

: In this show, Misty yearns to tell her feelings for Ash, but is too afraid to tell him.

* ''[[Misty's Song]]'' is a song from the ''[[Pokémon 2.B.A. Master]]'' soundtrack in which Misty sings that she loves Ash. She also says that she wants to confess her love to Ash. This is one of the strongest pieces of evidence for PokéShipping. Part of the song was played in the episode ''[[EP132|For Crying Out Loud]]'', although the canonization of the song is disputed.

* On the ''[[Pokémon Christmas Bash]]'' CD there are two songs that show strong evidence of her feelings towards Ash.  

**Another song on the CD called ''[[Under the Mistletoe]]'' has Misty singing about how she wants Ash to know her feeling for him and about how she wants to meet Ash under the mistletoe. On the other hand, Ash is singing about how he hopes to not to be caught under the mistletoe, although at first he doesn't move away- many fans claim this is Shipping from Ash's side. Near the song's end, after leaving Ash feeling paranoid about the mistletoe, Misty has got Ash under the mistletoe. Ash realizes this, freaks out, and runs off to eat more cookies while leaving Misty wondering what his problem is.

* ''[[He Drives Me Crazy]]'' is a song from ''[[Totally Pokémon]]'' and ''[[Pokémon 3: The Ultimate Soundtrack]]'' that is sung from Misty's perspective, although it was not sung by [[Rachael Lillis]]. This song highlights the feelings that Misty has but does not understand. Many PokéShippers regard this song as having undeniable proof of Misty's feelings for Ash.

* ''[[It Takes Two]]'' is a song used to advertise {{game|Ruby and Sapphire|s}}. It states evidence from both sides on how they work together as a team.

Even PokéShippers will admit that Ash has not shown any proof of liking Misty beyond the already established platonic feelings. Naturally, PokéShippers believe Ash is capable of ''liking'' Misty. Furthermore, the theory also extends to the possible belief that Ash does love Misty, but is not mature enough to realize it. This idea is supported by the fact that Ash acts jealous when another guy shows interest in Misty or vice-versa, and the flirtatious tone of some of their teasing. This theory explains their bickering (to cover up how they really feel about each other), and it can be argued that Ash displays real feelings for Misty when she is vulnerable or scared.

[[File:Ash Misty Hold Hands.png|250px|thumb|Ash and Misty holding hands in ''[[EP020|Ghost of Maiden's Peak]]''.]]

* ''[[EP020|Ghost of Maiden's Peak]]''

:When Ash discovers Misty is in the magic act he says "Misty what are you doing up there? Are you part of the show?" Which causes Misty to blush intensely. Then Ash proceeds to compliment her, saying "That's a real nice outfit Misty."

:Ash, thinking Misty is entering the Princess Festival Contest to take a picture with the movie star host, gets jealous, groaning with his arms crossed, "You must really want that picture with [[Fiorello Cappucino|Fiorello]]...". Surprisingly, Misty reassures him she's only doing it for the doll set. Also, when Misty was dressed in a kimono during the contest, Ash stared at her and said, "Ohhh...", but so did Brock.

:Climbing Navel Island's central mountain, Misty tells Danny the gym leader to be extra careful. Seeing how much concern Misty is giving to Danny, Ash with the same jealous expression yells, "What's she so worried about him for?!". He's distracted so much by Misty's little crush on Danny that he loses his concentration and falls down the mountain a bit. Much like his behavior in "Princess vs. Princess", another male getting Misty's attention seems to bother him. When Danny states, "What do they say, you always hurt the one you love?" Misty and Ash become extremely embarrassed. As Danny walks off, Misty runs up to him and says, "Oh, you've got it all wrong. I'd never get involved with a little kid like him. I prefer the more mature, intellectual type." Ash seems very disappointed after hearing that.  

:As the rain storm approaches and as Misty is unable to walk, Ash grabs Misty by the hand, arm and the rest of her body and leads her towards the cave. He then gently lowers her down, but keeps his arms wrapped around her. Afterwords, he stares at her with care in his eyes.

:[[Rudy]] moves in to court Misty after she helps rescue his younger sister, [[Mahri]]. Ash is clearly put out by Rudy's behavior, and jealous when Misty is flattered by the attention. When Rudy compliments Misty about her beautiful eyes during his attack test, Ash gets distracted and accidentally calls Charizard. Rudy invites Misty to dinner, and Ash is shocked when she accepts and appears unhappy when she leaves.  Later on, during the battle against Ash, Rudy looks at Misty and says "I dedicate this match the girl who saved my sister and stole my heart." Ash doesn't seem very happy and sarcastically replies, "That's real nice, but the victory is gonna be mine!" He gets a little antagonized with Misty when she tells him to beat Rudy, telling her he's not stupid, as if her recent behavior had upset and unsettled him.

* ''[[EP216|Dueling Heroes]]''[[File:Misty special lure DP034.png|thumb|right|Ash displaying [[Misty's special lure]].]]

:Upon showing Ash the invitation to the Togepi Festival, Ash gets excited and walks off happily. But Misty quickly pulls him back by the hood. Later on, when Misty gets abducted by Team Rocket, Ash is the first one to run after her.

:Also, upon meeting Misty for the first time, May says, "We've heard so much about you!" This could imply that either Ash or Brock has mentioned Misty multiple times to May and Max.

: When Mewtwo throws Ash back with its psychic powers, Misty quickly runs up to him and asks if he's okay (Brock only stays put). At the ending, there's a scene of Ash, Misty, and Brock sleeping in their sleeping bags. Ash and Misty are placed conveniently near each other, while Brock's position is relatively away from them. When Ash is petrified by the fighting between Mew and Mewtwo, Misty murmurs "Please no" while Pikachu attempts to revive him.

[[Image:PokeShipping 3.png|thumb|325px|right|Misty is annoyed as Melody flirts with Ash.]]

: When our heroes are running from a Pokémon, Misty trips along the way. Ash (and Brock) run back to help her. They get to safety, at least for a little while, and all of a sudden some Pokémon appear to attack them. Ash runs in front of her and spreads his arms out to protect Misty.  

: When {{mov|Bianca}}/{{p|Latias}} kissed Ash on the dock, Misty was so shocked that not only did she develop the same jealous expression seen in the series, but she also dropped her {{TP|Misty|Togepi}}.

:In the dubbed version of the movie, Ash makes a reference on Misty (not by name): on the last day of the comet's showing, Max is disappointed that he will have to part with Jirachi; Ash sits down with him by the river and reassures him that Jirachi will always will be in his heart, telling him "A good friend left me, and I miss her everyday. But I know we'll be friends forever.", obviously referring to Misty. However, this elements are only in the dubbed versions. In the original, Ash talks about a completely different thing, trying to explain to Max that a thousand years last like a single instant for Jirachi and its comet, and it wouldn't be the same staying with him (he doesn't even mention missing a friend or similar things).

In the {{pkmn|manga}} series [[The Electric Tale of Pikachu]], based on the anime, Ash has a huge crush on {{Gary}}'s older sister, [[Daisy Oak|May]]. However, there are some cases where Ash shows attraction towards Misty.