NegaiShipping
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This article is about shipping. As hints and evidence for ships are mostly speculation, this page may contain personal points of view. |
NegaiShipping (Japanese: サトアイ SatoAi) is the belief that Ash Ketchum and Iris belong in a romantic relationship. Currently, it is the main pairing of the Best Wishes series, along with Template:S.
Evidence
Iris's hints
- Iris blushes slightly upon meeting Ash, and throughout most of the episode. Later on, after Pikachu and Axew are stolen by Team Rocket, Ash jumps off a tree and falls down to the ground. Iris immediately jumps down from the tree, asking if Ash is all right, rather than trying to save the Pokémon. Iris also later thanks Ash for saving Axew, even though it was Oshawott who saved him. Iris then tells Ash that because of his actions she has started to change her view of him and she starts traveling with him.
File:NegaiShipping.png
Iris saving Ash
- Iris and Ash spend the majority of the episode arguing. During a rescue of some Pokémon, however, Ash loses his grip on a bridge made of Sandile, but Iris is there to grab his wrist, keeping hold of him as the Sandile righten themselves to safety. Afterward, the two look to each other and smile, having silently reconciled their differences. It is to be noted, however, they shared this look a moment later with the main Sandile; ultimately, it means, "A job well done."
- Iris shows concern for Ash when he tries to get close to an abandoned Tepig and tells him to be careful. After Ash succeeds in calming the Pokémon down, Iris watches Ash as he unties the rope around Tepig's snout and feeds it. She seems surprised by Ash's treatment of the Pokémon and smiles warmly.
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Iris watching Ash's Gym battle
- During Ash's Gym battle with Cilan, Chili, and Cress, fans of the brothers stayed on one side of the arena to cheer on the Gym Leaders, while Iris stays on the opposing side and quite blatantly gazes at Ash with a look that could easily be interpreted as attraction or cool admiration (among others, both positive and negative, given she's been calling him a "kid" up until now, and not kindly).
- After Ash beats Cilan, Iris is impressed with Ash's performance and whispers his name while watching him celebrate. After Ash receives his Badge from Cilan, he shows off to Iris who quickly criticizes him. After this, Cilan asks Ash if he and Iris are traveling together. Iris yells that they aren't and runs off. Later, once Cilan has formally joined Ash's travel party, Ash and Cilan are on their way to leave Striaton City. As Ash wonders where Iris is, she appears from a tree, surprising him. After being asked by Ash to join him and Cilan on their journey, she is overjoyed and excitedly accepts his invitation.
- During the battle between Iris and Cilan, Iris seems to pay just as much attention to Ash as the battle at hand. Most of the time she and Ash argue over battle strategies and why she doesn't want to battle him. During this time, Iris is too busy arguing to tell Axew how to counterattack, and it ended up taking a SolarBeam at close range. Throughout the episode Iris is surprised that Ash wants to battle her so much.
- When Trip was leaving after he "canceled" the request to battle, she took up for Ash and helped convince Trip to change his mind. Iris blatantly gazes at Ash with a look that could easily be interpreted as attraction or cool admiration for the second time, during his battle with Trip.
- Iris grabs Ash's shoulder in an affectionate way when asking Lenora what type of Trainer he is. She is also very concerned about Ash's depressed attitude after he loses the Gym battle.
- When Ash and Pikachu fall into a hole and get separated from the group, Iris is willing to use her Excadrill to try and find them. Even though Excadrill doesn't listen to her, Iris doesn't hesitate to ask it for help, unlike in The Bloom is on Axew! when Ash is the one to finally convince her to use it to rescue Axew. Later, Iris again shows a look of concern when Ash battles Sandile, knowing that Pikachu was at a disadvantage.
- When Ash tries to help an injured Venipede, Iris constantly worries for him, because of the Venipede's Poison Point. She is concerned for him when he becomes poisoned due to contact with the Pokémon. Later, when Ash jumps in the path of Lampent's Shadow Ball to protect the boss Venipede and is hit, she rushes to his side and holds onto his arm.
- When Iris, Axew and Emolga are cornered by a group of wild Swoobat, Ash and the others come to their aid. Iris looks relieved and only acknowledges Ash and Pikachu, despite Cilan and Bianca being there as well.
- When Ash and Oshawott are ambushed underwater by a school of wild Tympole, Iris seemingly senses the danger and looks toward the lake while wondering if they are all right.
- On several different occasions when Ash was in mortal danger, Iris screamed his name with obvious strain in her voice. Meanwhile, Cilan and Mr. Garrison didn't say a thing.
- During the Club Battle tournament Ash faces off against Burgundy in the first round, and right before his battle Iris shows concern for Ash and wonders who he'll use to fight with. Ash says he's using this chance to test someone. After this, Ash moves on to the battlefield while Iris stands up and follows him to the edge of the area designated for spectators.
- Ash and the others end up in a sand trap when they try to help out a Purrloin. Ash uses his Snivy, but despite her best efforts she is unable to pull the group out. When Ash's head is almost covered in the sand, Iris calls out to him in concern before immediately asking Excadrill for help.
- When Bianca decides to keep her promise to her father and end her journey, the group is saddened to see her leave. However before Bianca's father can take her away, Iris insists that Ash say something to him and change his mind about letting Bianca travel. This is notable since it shows how much faith Iris has in Ash. Also she didn't ask Cilan, who is a better speaker, despite him being able to do the same thing.
- When Iris says that Scraggy and Axew are as competitive as rivals when they battle and that when the battles over they're best friends, she smiles at Ash. Later when Katharine tries to get Ash to trade Scraggy, she is worried that Ash will lose Scraggy. Cilan shows no concern over the battle.
- During a scene where she's up in a tree searching for the others, she asks "Ash, where are you?". She doesn't mention Cilan in that particular moment.
- Iris was adamant in cheering for Ash during his final Gym battle, despite Roxie having considerably more fans. To that end she and Axew cheered as loud as they could, beat on drums, came up with a cheer, and eventually she even dressed up and painted her face (and Cilan's) to give Ash an extra boost of confidence. After the battle was settled she cheered loudly when he won.
- In the final battle against Moira and her group, Iris asks Ash to borrow his Snivy, to which he agrees. Iris and Snivy form a great team and defeat Moira's Cinccino easily. This is notable, as Snivy is a high level Pokemon and it possibly reflects how well Ash and Iris work together and how much they trust each other, as well.
- The group makes a stop in the Village of Dragons, where Iris introduces her friends to the village Elder. She goes into more detail about Ash and explains how he has collected his Badges and intends to challenge the Vertress Conference, and that she'll continue to travel with him to support him. The Elder then expresses how she is grateful Iris has such great friends before asking Ash if she's a handful. Ash's response causes Iris to snap at him in embarrassment.
- Iris feeling unsure of herself, is not looking forward to her battle with Drayden. However, Ash continually supports her and gives her words of encouragement to set her mind at ease. Once the battle is over, Iris happily returns the favor and encourages Ash to do his best in the Vertress Conference.
- Ash is too nervous to sleep the night before the Unova League begins. Iris wakes up seeing Ash staring out the window and he apologizes for waking her up, before she tells him it'd be best if he got his rest for the next day.
- Iris enthusiastically cheers Ash on in his battle in the Leauge against Cameron, stating he'll definitely win, even when the others think it's a long shot. Ash loses the battle, but Iris moves down and sits with him in the stands as they all watch Cameron's battle against Virgil.
- When the group arrives at a Kanto Fair, both Ash and Iris (despite her attempts to remain calm) are excited by all the festivities. Iris wants to learn much more about the region and it's Pokémon, even expressing an interest in visiting there sometime.
- Reaching the White Ruins, the group meets up with Professor Juniper's father. They find the Light Stone, only to have it stolen by N. When Ash chases after him, he and N both fall down into an underground cavern. Iris immediately falls to her knees with a worried look on her face, before she tries to follow them down into the cavern, only to be disuaded to do so by the Professor. She looks extremely distraught that she can do nothing to help and loudly screams out Ash's name in concern.
- When Ash is attacked by, as this point a taken over Pikachu, Iris shows grate concern for Ash, shouting "Stop your going to hurt yourself Ash!" The second time Ash is shocked and is left unconscious, Iris screams out "Ash no!" with obvious strain in her voice.
- After Team Plasma's defeat, the group returns back to Professor Juniper's lab. The Professor asks what they are going to do now, to which Ash replies he'll probably make his way home. Iris appears to be saddened by this, but then boldly declares that she wants to keep traveling with Ash and visit Kanto to learn about the dragons there.
Ash's hints
- The morning after meeting Iris, Ash seems a little disappointed when she has suddenly gone missing.
- After his battle with Cilan, Ash happily shows his Badge to Iris and asks her opinion. Iris criticizes Ash for his choices in battle and this upsets him, not expecting that answer from her. Also, Ash seems to be upset when Iris declares that he and she are not traveling together and takes off on her own.
- Ash is annoyed that Iris would not battle him and that she battled Cilan instead. He continuously asks her for a battle throughout the episode.
- When the group is lost in the Pinwheel Forest, Iris claims to know the way out by "listening to the forest". Cilan says that this was merely non-scientific explanations, but Ash agrees that going with your hunches is the best way to go.
- When Team Rocket steals Axew and Druddigon, Iris uses her senses to try and find the two Pokémon. When Iris finds out where they are, Cilan and Emmy begin to doubt Iris and think that she is going the wrong way. However, Ash assures them that because of Iris's senses they would find Axew and Druddigon. Ash then tells them that he will believe in Iris, and follows after her. This shows that Ash has confidence in Iris's abilities and her bond with Axew.
- During Iris's battle against Stephan in the second round of the Club Battle tournament, Ash expresses concern for her when she is losing the battle. When she finally manages to turn things around and defeat him, Ash states that Iris is awesome.
- In the semifinal match of the tournament Iris's Axew goes against Luke's Golett. Iris tells Axew to use Scratch but it is ineffective due to Golett being part Ghost-type. Georgia insults Iris for not knowing that, and Ash defends her by saying the battle has only begun. He also expresses concern for Iris when she and Axew are cornered during the battle.
- Cilan enters the Nimbasa City stamp rally where the winner gets the chance to battle the Subway Bosses. Despite being excited about an opportunity to battle against the Subway Bosses, Ash declines Cilan's invitation to help him collect all of the stamps because he promised Iris that he would go sightseeing through Nimbasa City with her.
- The group is working at a daycare where a shy Deino's Trainer has yet to return. Iris, knowing how much Ash was looking forward to his Gym battle, tells him and Cilan to go on ahead to Driftveil City without her while she waits with Deino. Ash and Cilan both decide to wait as well, and Ash reassures Iris that if that Deino is her friend then it's also a friend of theirs. Iris looks relieved to hear Ash say that.
- A rogue Dragonite is causing trouble and has hidden itself away in the town's power plant. The group decides to help, and Iris believes that she can get through to Dragonite if she talked with it. Officer Jenny quickly protests the idea, but relents seeing no other way. She gives Ash a Poké Ball to use to catch Dragonite, should there be no other option. However, Ash quickly declines, stating that he believes that Iris will be able to handle it.
- In the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup Semi Finals, Ash and Iris are pitted against each other. During their battle Ash's Krokorok evolves into Krookodile and attacks Iris's Dragonite. Dragonite (which until then had been obeying Iris's commands) goes out of control, and starts blindly attacking the arena. Iris pleads with it to calm down, and Ash seeing Iris's desperation decides to end the battle before things get worse.
- The group makes it to the Village of Dragons, Iris's hometown. Ash seemed especially interested in the village and it's uniqueness. The village Elder is pleased to find out that Iris has made such great friends and says she hopes Iris isn't too much of a handful, much to the embarrassment of both Ash and Iris.
- Iris is constantly feeling anxious about her rematch with Opelucid City Gym leader Drayden. Ash continually gives her words of encouragement, helping to set her mind at ease, and enthusiastically cheers her on in the ensuing battle.
Other hints
- Unlike Misty, May, and Dawn, Iris starts following Ash without his permission for unknown reasons. She claims that she is doing him a favor since he is new to the Unova region and unfamiliar with the territory. Some fans believe that Iris is using this as an excuse to hide her true intentions. While Ash felt some obligation to Misty and May for Pikachu destroying their bikes, Dawn asks to join him and Brock on their journey.
- Iris criticizes Ash on occasion by referring to him as a little kid. Iris tends to do this when Ash does something rash, impulsive, or more recently just to tease him since she knows it bothers him.
- Ash has been seen to take on some of Iris's characteristics, like frequently climbing trees, swinging from vines, as well as her confidence.
- Cilan has noted on several different occasions that Ash and Iris give off an interesting flavor when they are together and has also pointed out their similarities. This usually causes them to lash out at him aggressively in disagreement.
- Ash's Oshawott has a crush on Iris's Emolga. This could be a sign that Ash may have a crush on Iris, since Professor Oak and Brock have said in the past that Pokémon represent the feelings of their masters and when two Pokémon fall in love, there is a good chance the Trainers will too. This is similar to how fans relate AdvanceShipping and VineShipping, or PearlShipping and LagomorphShipping to each other. It is to be pointed out that Oshawott developed this crush before Iris caught Emolga. The claim has also been refuted at various points during the series, so the feelings of the Pokémon are not always definitive to the feelings of the Trainers.
- In Luke's movies, Ash and Iris are always cast as the protagonist and dueteragonist, playing opposite of Cilan's antagonist role. Also, on at least one occasion the characters they played (knight and princess) could be implied to have been love interests.
Similarities
File:Ash and Iris eating.png
Ash and Iris eating
- As shown in Saving Darmanitan From The Bell!, both Ash and Iris tend to eat a lot, being explicitly said by Cilan.
- Both own Pokémon that do not reside within a Poké Ball (Ash's Pikachu and Iris's Axew).
- Both have at times shown an impulsive nature, especially when protecting their Pokémon.
- Both have owned Pokémon that have refused to obey them at one point (Ash's Pikachu, Charizard, and Primeape, and Iris's Excadrill and Dragonite).
- Ash and Iris are the only main characters in the series to own a Dragon-type Pokémon (Ash's Gible and Iris's Axew).
- As part of their story, both Gible and Axew have trouble executing a certain Dragon-type move at first: Draco Meteor and Dragon Rage respectively.
- Also, Gible and Axew are both part of a three-stage evolutionary line that retain the same type throughout their evolution.
- Both own Pokémon that have revealed that their primary goal is to reach their final evolutionary stage (Ash's Butterfree and Iris's Axew).
- Both Pokémon were raised from, and expressed this goal in, their first evolutionary stage.
- Both own an Electric-type rodent Pokémon (Ash's Pikachu and Iris's Emolga).
- Both Pokémon store electricity in the sacs of their cheeks.
- Also, both Pikachu and Emolga have a fondness for a certain item, ketchup and apples, respectively.
- Both Pikachu and Emolga know Pokémon that have crushes on them, Dawn's Buneary and Ash's Oshawott, respectively.
- Both Pikachu and Emolga have the Static Ability.
- Ash and Iris are the only main characters in the series to own several Pokémon that know the same moves. Attract for Ash's Snivy and Iris's Emolga, Focus Blast for Ash's Scraggy and Iris's Excadrill, and Dig for Ash's Krookodile and Iris's Excadrill as well.
- Both Snivy and Emolga are female and Scraggy and Excadrill are male.
- Ash and Iris have each owned a Pokémon voiced by Mika Kanai in the Japanese as well as the English dub. (Ash's Bayleef and Iris's Emolga)
- Both are the only main characters to have battled a Champion.
- Ash and Iris' game counterparts are Pokémon Champions Red and Iris.
- As of SS028, both own a Gible.
Name origin
- Negai is from the Japanese characters 願い (negai) to mean 'wish' (in terms of 'desire,' 'prayer,' or 'request'). It is used as an alternate name over Template:S, after the title of the Japanese series "Best Wishes."
Alternate names
- AaIL - stands for Ash and Iris Love
- サトアイ SatoAi - meaning Satoshi and Iris (ai being the phonetic pronunciation of the long i sound)
- PalmtreeShipping - This was one of the first names, but was unoffcial.
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This article is part of Project Shipping, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each couple in Pokémon. |
