AmourShipping

This article is about shipping. As hints and evidence for ships are mostly speculation, this page may contain personal points of view.

AmourShipping (Japanese: サトセレ SatoSere) is the belief that Ash and Serena belong in a romantic relationship. The name AmourShipping comes from the word amour which is French for "love". The name was chosen because the XY series, like the XY games, are set in the Kalos region which is based off France. The pairing is becoming popular because Serena and Ash met prior to the beginning of the series as young children, and Serena apparently has a crush on him. This makes some people in the fandom believe that AmourShipping will become canon.

Anime evidence

Serena's hints

• Lumiose City Pursuit

When Serena sees Ash on TV jump off the Prism Tower, she gasps in worry and fear for him. However, she could just have been worried for a person in danger for the TV camera never showed Ash's face until he was safely on the ground. After rescuing his Pikachu in the Lumiose Tower from a rampaging Garchomp, Serena notices that this could be the same boy that she saw when she was a child. She is shown looking at the TV while saying "that boy, no it couldn't be". At the end of the episode, she tells the family pet, Rhyhorn, that something exciting is going to happen that could involve Ash. The scene is then followed with her having a flashback of Ash as a young boy.

• XY003

Serena decides to begin her journey after seeing Ash on TV. Upon arriving at Professor Sycamore's laboratory, and before choosing her starter Pokémon, Serena tells the professor that she is looking for the boy who was on the news. Her eyes light up when Sycamore identifies him as 'Ash', the little boy from her memories.

• XY005

When Serena is walking down the steps in the city, she thinks about how she can't wait to see the look on Ash's face when he sees her. This is then followed by her having a flashback of a young Ash extending his arm as if he was offering her his hand. This flashback causes her to blush a little. Later in the episode, she sneaks into the Santalune Gym after she heard from Professor Sycamore that Ash was there. When she sees Ash battling Viola, she is so happy to finally see him that she is about to go talk to him without realizing she is going to interrupt the battle. Alexa stops her and then invites her to come watch from the side lines, which she happily agrees to. While Ash is battling, she seems really impressed while watching him. Afterward, Serena is sad when Ash loses the battle and attempts to speak to him only to have him run past her without noticing her since he is concentrating on his injured Pokemon. After Serena returns Ash's backpack, she starts to ask him something while blushing a little, but is interrupted by the chime of the Pokemon Center bell. When Ash is on the ground from the intense training, Serena walks up to him and hands him a handkerchief to clean himself up with. The episode then ends with her asking him if he remembers her.

• XY006

In this episode, after she asks Ash if he remembers her, she mentions that they met in Professor Oak's Summer Camp in Pallet Town. Despite the fact that he does not remember, she does not become upset or angry with him. When the group is having dinner after the training session, Serena is shown glancing at Ash while he is eating. Also, throughout the entire Gym battle, she is cheering for Ash to win in a more enthusiastic way than Clemont and Bonnie were. She keeps reassuring Clemont, Bonnie, and Alexa that everything is going to be okay and that Ash would win. This shows how much she believes in him. Ash then says something that he had said when he was younger which triggers a memory for Serena. She yet again has another flashback of a young Ash saying the same statement that Ash said in the battle. And later when Ash is in a pinch in the battle, Serena cries out encouragement which snaps Ash out of his panic and thus helps him win the battle and earn his first gym badge.

Ash's hints

• XY005

When Ash meets Serena, he happily thanks her for returning his backpack to him and apologizes for not seeing her while he was battling. Ash thanks Serena when she gives him a handkerchief after the previous training session with Alexa.

• XY006

When Serena asks Ash if he remembers her, he has a puzzled look on his face and apologies for not remembering her at the Summer Camp. Serena then quotes something Ash had said when he was younger about never giving up which makes him laugh out loud enough for Alexa to take notice and smile in their direction. Before the start of the battle between Ash and Viola, Alexa tells Serena "I knew Ash needed a trigger (i.e. something to cheer him up and motivate him), but I didn't expect it to be you." This means that Ash was pumped up for the battle because of Serena. At the end of the episode, Ash asks Serena what she is going to do now which shows that he is interested in what Serena's goal is.

Other hints

• On the series poster for the XY anime, it depicts Serena blushing while looking at Ash.
• Ash and Serena met when they were young children prior to the start of the series.