Who Is Ash Ketchum's Love Interest In Pokémon? (2024)

Throughout the series, the Pokémon anime teased about potential love interests for Ash Ketchum. This led to fans shipping him with several female companions like Iris, Lillie, and everyone’s favorite character, Misty.

Yet, in his tenure in the anime series, Ash Ketchum never had an “official” girlfriend. However, there is one female companion that came close to capturing Ash’s heart and that’s Serena from Pokémon XY and XYZ, the seventeenth season and the sixth generation of Pokémon.

Serena is More Than a Friend to Ash

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Ash and Serena are childhood friends. They met at Professor Oak’s summer camp. One day, Serena gets lost in the forest and while trying to find her way out, she gets spooked by a Poliwag. Serena falls over and inadvertently injures her knee. She starts crying, but her crying gets interrupted when Ash appears from the bushes.

When Ash notices Serena’s injured knee, he wraps her knee with a handkerchief and offers his hand to help Serena up. As she takes his hand to stand, the two accidentally embrace each other and Serena blushes. Ash continues to hold Serena’s hand while escorting her out of the forest. After that day, Serena kept Ash’s handkerchief in hopes of meeting Ash again.

Serena and Ash share an adorable “meet-cute” as children. This “meet-cute” has a sense of innocence and vulnerability. Serena displays a moment of weakness when she physically hurts her knee and Ash shows bravery and gentleness by taking care of Serena’s wound. Ash’s act of kindness causes Serena to have a crush on him. This intimate memory creates a special bond between Ash and Serena, setting them up for a potential romance as childhood sweethearts.

Over the years, Serena kept the handkerchief and memory close to her heart; unfortunately, it wasn’t the same for Ash. At first, Ash has no recollection of who Serena is when they reunite at Santalune City. Still, he eventually remembers her when Serena recalls the memory to him and his friends. On their travels together, Ash and Serena share many memorable interactions. For example, Serena teaches Ash how to ride a Rhyhorn, Serena tends to Ash’s injured foot after they fall from a clif, and they even go on an outing to find presents for their Pokémon. In each moment, audiences can see how much Serena and Ash cherish one another in a platonic sense.

Serena Has Strong Feels For Ash

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However, Serena showcases a plethora of emotions towards Ash. She is Ash’s greatest supporter when it comes to him preparing for his Pokémon battles, and she cares for Ash’s well-being. Serena also easily gets jealous when it comes to Ash. For instance, Serena gets into a friendly love rivalry with Miette for Ash. Miette and Serena compete in a Poke Puff contest, but it feels more like a declaration of war for Ash’s affection than a friendly competition. Serena’s jealousy over Miette and Ash’s friendly interactions definitely shows Serena’s real feelings for Ash. Her feelings for Ash are obvious to everyone around them, except for Ash who remains oblivious.

Although Ash isn’t aware of Serena’s romantic feelings, Ash shows attentiveness and care for Serena. When visiting her mother, Grace, Serena felt sad due to her mom’s pressure to have Serena’s future involve Rhyhorn racing when Serena wanted to pursue a different dream. After seeing Serena’s sad expression, Ash shows sympathy and concern for her by always checking in on her emotional well-being. Ash also shows support for Serena and cheers her on during competitions and even her Rhyhorn race against her mother.

After traveling for quite some time with Ash and the group, Serena decides to part ways as she wishes to explore Hoenn. During her farewell scene, she thanks Ash for everything, and it is implied that the two share a kiss. Out of all of Ash’s female companions, Serena is the only one who shares more romantic rather platonic feelings, and this implied kiss confirms those feelings. As for Ash, he was surprised but appreciative of the gesture.

During their travels, Ash and Serena’s bond grew stronger. Serena’s romantic feelings for Ash grew; yet, it is unknown to viewers whether Ash feels the same way about her. However, this implied kiss opens up a whole new world for Ash and his character development. For Ash, the experience of romance is a learning experience as he grows up to become a mature man. Since the beginning, his main priority is Pokémon, but the bond with Serena provides him an outlet that there is more to life than Pokémon.

Ash Has More Important Priorities

As a children’s show, it’s understandable why the writers prioritized Ash’s Pokémon journey as opposed to any romance among female characters. Aside from diehard Pokémon fans, the series is aimed at children, so it makes sense that Ash Ketchum is a role model to them. Thus, the series focused on thematic messages that teach important character values to young children such as the importance of pursuing one’s dreams through perseverance, the value of maintaining healthy friendships, and the necessity of exploration to self-discovery and growth through life experiences.

Even so, Ash could have benefited if Brock had been there to give him some pointers on romance or possibly be aware of Serena’s feelings earlier on. Although it would have been an interesting storyline, it would have changed the trajectory of Ash’s journey and at the moment, he’s too goal-oriented to have any distractions. Now that Ash’s Pokémon journey has ended, he has time for romance. Audiences can only imagine what would happen with Serena and Ash unless there’s a reboot or a sequel to his story, but that may not happen for a long time.