Pokemon Shipping Meme

I'm not usually one to do these types of things, but I realize I have a lot of feelings about a lot of Pokemon ships. Why not do some introspection and make these thoughts more tangible?

I only included ships from the anime! Some brief explanations are provided below, if you're interested:

OTP: THEY'VE BEEN MY OTP SINCE I WAS LIKE 10 YEARS OLD. Rivals to friends to lovers? Secret pining? Blatantly romantic expressions towards each other (blushing, roses)? A role reversal in which senpai wants to be noticed??? Plus they both really helped each other grow! Drew inspired May to be a better coordinator, and May helped Drew be more open and honest. They just bring out the best in each other... Little me shipped them before I knew what shipping was.

Most Liked Pairing: My second favorite Pokeani ship is Amourshipping! They get along really well, and I love how they constantly inspire each other! I look at these two and I know they always have each other's back. I also thought it was really interesting that Serena had a canonical crush on Ash, and tbh that's what brought me back into the Pokemon anime after several years! Serena's character arc was PHENOMENAL and I'm so proud of her. I think the way their friendship and overall relationship developed was really sweet and natural. XY Ash wasn't the most ~exciting~ Ash but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of this ship one bit.

Most Neutral Pairing: I never watched BW, so I don't have any feelings about Wishfulshipping. I've seen people who love it and people who hate it. I can't really form an opinion.

Most Disliked Pairing: Maybe Geekchicshipping could have had potential, but the XY writers didn't give these two much meaningful interaction. For that reason, I can't understand how people claim this to be their OTP. In my opinion, it just seems like a "pair the spares" ship for anti-amourshippers to get rid of Serena. If you don't ship amour, that's fine. To each their own. Why ship Serena with Clemont, though, when she has so much chemistry with Shauna? With Aria? Serena is a bisexual icon and slapping her in such a heteronormative ship with hardly any basis is incredibly frustrating to me... Stop bi erasure 2k17

NOTP: I feel like "NOTP" is too strong of a term, which is part of the reason why I chose this picture with May shrugging bahaha. I never saw anything romantic in their interactions? To me, they seemed to have more of a teacher/student relationship when May was first starting her journey, and if anything, that subsequently developed into a brother/sister relationship. They just seem far too much like siblings to me, and I can't ship that. I really value their relationship and how important they are to each other, but romantically it just doesn't sit right with me. It never has, and I can't quell that discomfort. It bothers me. (Plus, I've had some bad incidences with Advanceshippers who mischaracterize and slander Drew, which irritates me... I don't want to be the type of person who is heavily influenced by fandom, but let's just say some shippers have left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't care if you dislike Contest, but the absolute distortion and misunderstanding of a character really grinds my gears. Disliking Drew is a petty reason to dislike Contest???)

Cute and Innocent Pairing: LET'S NOT SLEEP ON JELLOWSHIPPING! Mallow protects Lillie from bugs, Lillie's butler addresses Mallow like she's part of the family, Mallow frequently stops by Lillie's house because she worries about her... Mallow is so in love with Lillie and I am HERE FOR IT! Lillie clearly adores and trusts Mallow, too, and loves her company! They're so pure.

Guilty Pleasure Pairing: The Kanto episodes haven't been dubbed yet, but trust me when I say there is no heterosexual explanation for how Lana reacts to Misty. I don't want to spoil anything, but Lana is head over heels for this mermaid. Waterwarriorshipping is GOOD! I labeled it as a "guilty pleasure" pairing because it's small and based on very limited interactions, but those interactions were QUALITY.

Just Friends: Okay, maaaaybe I ship Pearlshipping romantically a little bit, but for the most part, I ship it platonically. They build each other up but also aren't afraid to tease and knock each other down a peg when necessary! Plus, their high touch is iconic. They have really cute chemistry but I see it more like best buds. Dawn will definitely help Ash coordinate his wedding.

BROTP: Best friends till the end. The companion that stayed with Ash the longest, to date. I will always appreciate the friendship between these goofs.

Most Overrated Pairing: I'm a self-aware Amourshipper, lol. I know that fans have built up a lot of unnecessary hype, and the writers did too, honestly. I'm glad the ship got a satisfactory conclusion though (for now... I believe in "to be continued"). I don't think they're "canon" because of the kiss, and I wish fans would calm down a little about that. Part of the problem may lie in the fact that many Amourshippers are younger/new to shipping, since Serena was Ash's most recent companion and the first to have an explicit crush.

Most Underrated Pairing: I said it before and I'll say it again: STOP BI ERASURE 2K17. Dawn was the original bisexual icon. As a kid, I didn't really notice the romantic subtext and hints in their interactions, but now I'm older and wiser and see just how gay they are??? I feel like this may have been intended to be the main Dawn ship, but it got overlooked because it's a same-sex ship. They're rivals but also friends! They're always genuinely happy to see each other! Dawn admired Zoey's strength and Zoey admired Dawn's spirit and potential. One minute they're helping each other backstage, and the next they're competing, but there's no bad blood! Let's not forget when Zoey SHOWED UP THE MORNING AFTER DAWN LOST IN THE APPEAL ROUND TO GIVE HER A PEP TALK. That's A+ girlfriend material right there. They sincerely care about each other and they have helped the other reach her full potential.

I don't own Pokemon!

Blank meme: beewinter55.deviantart.com/art…