SHOULD SERENA GO OR STAY? POINTS AND HOW THEY'RE DEBUNKED

BONJOUR MES AMIS

After such a long drought in blogging and motivation I decided it was time for this weirdo to get back on their gloves and begin making some blogs. This blog will focus on the topic of Serena and whether or not she should stay with Ash. I'll bring up some popular points many have made for why she should stay and I'll debunk them. Without further adieu...

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Point Number 1: She should go because Misty went to 2 regions herself.

I have to it this is a very good reason for why Serena could be given a chance despite the other girls not ever getting it. I suppose not many people put much thought as to why the others, with Misty as an exception, haven't traveled to another region. Well one point is that each installment had different developers, however there is another reason that points as to why Misty went to Johto.

Counterpoint to Point Number 1: Johto, as well as Gold and Silver, was supposed to be the end of Pokémon.

This isn't exactly a surprise. The unique nature of Pokémon Gold and Silver involving everything coming to a full circle with you battling you from Red and Blue(Green) simply states that this was supposed to be where Ash's journey was gonna end. Even the first episode of Pokémon gave us that indication with the sighting of Ho-Oh, a Pokémon that was later introduced in Johto. This showed that the original developers already had the end planned out along with Ash's companions which is why Misty was in two regions.

With Johto supposing to be the final installment of the Pokémon franchise it is possible to deduce that this was where Ash was supposed to finally achieve his dream. This would make total sense if you apply a little thought into the matter. Kanto and Johto are both connected with the same League. Ash loses his first try at the League due to being a greenhorn. He then travels to Johto to later attempt at that League once more and finally prove that he made growth after his defeat and achieve his dream as a Pokémon Master. That would've surmised and the developers were done, but they never took into that Gold and Silver would sell more than Red and Blue(Green) ever did and decided that the series would continue along with the games. Since the original developers were done with what they had planned it was ultimately rebooted with a new region and companions; thus why Serena exists to this day. Serena is not only the symbol of everyone's love for Pokémon as she is also the reason why Ash will always be the eternal loser and can never achieve his dream.

And to add to counterpoint 1 Misty was originally never meant to leave, but since her Japanese voice actress Mayumi Iizuka quit they couldn't keep Misty. When she was acting as Misty she felt the most like herself so in turn we would not have the same Misty without her. ~ Credit to PikaGal

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Point Number 2: Serena had way more character development than any of the PokéGirls.

I find this downright rude to all of the PokéGirls who've made their appearance. Arguably you can say she had the most "favorable" development due to her unique status of being Ash's childhood friend, but is that enough for her to be considered a spot? Well....

Counterpoint to Point Number 2: All the PokéGirls are planned out for experimentation with personalities; save for Misty.

Due to each having their own developers it is obvious to assume that they're all some product of experimentation aside from Misty.

MISTY

]When Pokémon first started we had the original PokéGirl Misty whom is depicted as a tomboyish girl who was callous yet sweet. She is unique due to being the only PokéGirl to be a Gym Leader at the point of her introduction, but she wished to become the best Water type trainer so that she could go back to her Gym and run it to the best of her abilities. That was how it was supposed to have gone until Ash "borrowed" her bike to flee from a flock of Spearows and was burned by his Pikachu. She was furious and swore to Ash that he would replace her bike and would travel with him on his journey to make sure he does so. This sparked their everlasting friendship over time with the bike being the reason initially.

Over time she grew to respect Ash as a trainer and wanted to travel with Ash more. After the Johto Conference and getting her repaired bike she actually wanted to continue on Ash's journey, but her sisters needed Misty back at her Gym which in turn ended their journey. Misty had tremendous characterization that grew over time; growing from her rough initial stone into a dazzling diamond that learned that she needed to be more open. This is also indicative of her romantic interests in Ash. There could have been plans originally for Ash and Misty to be together after the Johto League when he and herself have achieved their dreams, but due to Gold and Silver's popularity the plan could have been revised in order for Ash to leave her behind.

MAY

With Misty out of the picture, we needed a new companion that was fresh with an entirely different goal than the last. Thus May and Pokémon Contests were born. May is the daughter of the Gym Leader Norman and the older sister of Max. When she initially started she didn't have a clear goal in mind until she discovered Pokémon Contests and decided to become a Coordinator. She even hated Pokémon and only wished to travel to new places until she met Ash and Brock. She was like Misty in regards to getting angry and get into disagreements, but unlike her she was able to overcome her fear of Bug Pokémon and even had a Beautifly.

May showed a level of growth in character as a Coordinator and a Trainer. This was emphasized by the fact that she was able to raise a Beautifly and even get the fan favorite Blaziken. May was a carbon copy of Ash in every regards. She started out as a greenhorn with a goal in mind and later attained one of their best Pokémons ever. You could say that Ash and May were the most similar during their time together and was able to help each other grow in their respective routes. Of course she was also left behind with her traveling Johto on her own.

DAWN

I have to say that Dawn had one of my most favorite characterizations of the PokéGirls due to being relatable and profound (which in turn could've inspired an aspect in Serena). Dawn also started out as a greenhorn like Ash and May, but unlike May she already had her goal as a Coordinator in mind. She was the daughter of one of the most popular Coordinators in Sinnoh and had a legacy to sur. In real life that can be an incredible weight on your shoulders and would have many eyes on you with high expectations. Dawn, however, didn't waver and continued down her path as a Coordinator. Ash was the mentor in Sinnoh with Dawn opposed to being a trainee with his time with Misty and Brock in Kanto; two experienced trainers.

This gave a surprising new element to both Dawn and Ash that showed that Ash has learned from his experiences and was still learning from Dawn while also teaching her himself. This was also shown through the fact they both participated in each others goals with Dawn having been in a battle with the Gym Leader Maylene and member of the Elite Four Lucian. This is indicative of her battling prowess which also helped her in Pokémon Contests with better strategies. She was also the only other main character to have seen a legendary Pokémon at the beginning of her journey, Mesprit. She was shown to be emotional; suffering from depression after losing two Contests in a row, but always had emotional from Ash and Brock. Even though she lost the Grand Festival and didn't achieved her dream, she was famous for her win at the Wallace Cup and was well known. She later went to Hoenn while Ash and Brock went to Kanto.

IRIS

With Dawn being one of my favorite representations Iris became my least favorite of them all due to how they tried to focus very heavily on Misty's callous aspect. She would often belittle Ash on almost everything and was kinda negative throughout her whole journey. Despite these shortcomings she is still a very interesting companion. She was already an experienced trainer who was aiming to be the best Dragon Master. She still showed some signs of immaturity and inexperience when she couldn't quite control her Dragonite. Even though Iris herself was a unique character she felt stagnant throughout the entire journey until we finally got some exposition from Drayden about her past including that she would soon succeed him as the Opelucid Gym Leader. In every regards she is similar to Misty in goals and personality, but it hasn't helped her popularity especially among the older fans.

They soon traveled to Decolore Islands. Iris would be going to Vermilion City and later left Ash and Cilan. She soon traveled to Blackthorn City to challenge Clair. Iris found a wild Gible that was lost in which Clair states it could possibly be lost from the Dragon's Holy Land. After returning him Iris battled Clair's Druddigon with her Dragonite. She was surprised to find that Gable returned to cheer her on and despite sensing Dragonite's thoughts she still lost. She later caught Gible outside of the gym and left Blackthorn City before seeing a wild Rayquaza and decided to follow it.

WHAT EXACTLY IS MY POINT?

Well by dumping in all of that information on each of the past PokéGirls I wanted to show how much they've inspired each other including Serena. Misty being the original was always the go to character for inspiration. All of the PokéGirls have shown elements pertaining to their predecessors and as such got their development thanks to the ones before them. "So what does that mean for Serena?" some would ask. Well let's see with some points:

⊙ Serena gained some romantic interests for Ash that was shown once before by Misty.

⊙ Serena was a greenhorn much like Dawn and May and required Ash's assistance to help push their growth.

⊙ Serena had a somewhat similar goal much like May and Dawn in the form of Pokemon Showcase and becoming Kalos Queen.

⊙ Like Dawn, Serena was one of the more emotional PokéGirls.

As you can tell each character takes some aspects of the previous characters and improve upon them to better benefit the audience. This is a simple business plan many people use. They focus in on a certain demographic, in this case is everyone here, and give us a product to see our reaction. Once they've recorded that information they take what we do like and improve upon it. Serena and Co are the byproduct of our comments in the past. Clemont and Bonnie is the May and Max of XY with some original personalities. Serena is basically the aspects of every other PokéGirl from before that was improved and now that they know that you like the direction they took she will be tossed away for another girl to improve on her character.

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Point Number 3: Serena have an interest for Ash, so she must stay.

Now this point is not exactly the most concrete out of these 3. Serena have her goals that she wants to achieve and following Ash would not achieve it (and no Alola Queen does not count because she specifically wants to be Kalos Queen). While she is unique as the one PokéGirl who is open with her feelings there is still a counterpoint for this.

Counterpoint to Point Number 3: She only loves Ash because of a childhood experience.

This is a psychological aspect that deals with the wounds (physically, mentally, or emotionally) we experience in our childhood and how people can trigger those wounds and help us work through them. In Serena's case her wound was experienced during her time in Kanto at a summer camp. She was lost in a nearby forest and was startled by a Poliwag. She had hurt her knee and soon met Ash who comfort her. He gave her the handkerchief for her knee and tried to escort her. Through this experience she developed a wound that could only be triggered by Ash himself; which causes her to feel some attachment towards him since he can help her through it.

This is unfortunately an unhealthy faulty reality that can limit her. She can however grow this on her own; which may be what will happen soon. She can heal herself by discovering who her true self is and asking why this wound continues to appear. She needs to focus her attention on herself rather than on Ash and her wound and find freedom. She could achieve that by not traveling with the person who triggers the wound and escape her faulty reality. Then she'd be able to discover that she herself is love and is already loved and doesn't need Ash to help her. This wouldn't be a surprise considering everyone thinks of XY as the most mature.

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion there is possibly no way for Serena to make her way to Alola due to the pattern we have taken. Due to her popularity she may return for cameos like Misty, May, and Dawn, but she will not be needed now that they have the information they need. Just they are listening to our comments and they are always making changes to better suit you guys. You actually have us older Pokémon fans to thank for your Serena because if it wasn't for us you would never have gotten her in the first place. With that I'll be coming to a close.

AU REVOIR

:eight_pointed_black_star: UPDATE :eight_pointed_black_star:

With the latest release of the new episode of Pokémon XY&Z we have further confirmation that shows that Serena may not in fact go with Ash to Alola.

This is near the end of the episode where Serena is contemplating about her previous offer and showing some concern about what she wish to do now that their journey is near it's end. This could say that Serena will in fact choose to follow her dream instead of going with Ash. The next episode's name "One Last Battle with Ash! Serena's Choice!" further implies that she will choose her dream. So with that it is safe to say that she may not go with Ash.