Thread: Should Ash have an actual love interest?

I mean sure there was Misty, May, Dawn, and now Iris, but they weren't(aren't) established love interests. They're more of just very close friends to Ash - there's nothing that actually sets those characters as being potential love interests.

So should Ash ever have a love interest in the anime? Or is that just not permissible since the anime is mainly about Ash and his experiences with Pokemon as well as his experiences as a Pokemon trainer?

I don't think so, Pokemon isn't about romance or two people getting together, it's about Ash becoming a Pokemon Master. I'd rather have Ash have his dream fulfilled than have the shipping I root for become canon, so leave the shippings to fanfiction and have Ash focus more on becoming a Pokemon Master than trying to get together with any of the girls or guys for all you yaoi fans.

I don't think so, no. Given the show's target audience, Ash's maturity, and that it's about Ash's journey, not his ~love quest~. Plus, I think that if they introduced a female character with the intended purpose of eventually getting together with Ash, the romance would be too forced for it to be enjoyable.

I am all for everyone shipping Ash with characters and looking for hints, but it just wouldn't be as much fun if it we all knew that she was the one he was going to get together with anyway.

If it were something like FMA, sure.

Well, hes had girls fallen for him, does that count? Angei/Anabel/Macey/BayLeef/Meloetta now. I'm hopping for an actual human to fall for him Best Wishes series ^
I'm all for just supporting Ash pairings, they give cute little moments fun.

Well , Since Writer like the type of rivalry where a rival remain superior then the protagonist while the protagonist straggle against him and finally beat him in a final showdown!
I think , It would've better if Ash had a ''Love Interest'' who's more interested in Ash's rival rather then Ash !
Because The type of Main rivalry plot writer prefer , work well when the protagonist has a Love interest !
Take ''Naruto'' for example!
Naruto was in love with Sakura while Sakura was in love his rival Susake!
And it made the show more interesting!
So , If writer planning on another same-aged rival who gonna be superior then Ash until the League in next series then writer should give Ash a ''Love interest'' as well in the next series who seem to more interested in that rival!
May be , A childhood friend who lives in another region !
May be , Ash didn't knew his feeling until he met her again but now she dating/Engage to Ash's rival!

His one and only love should be Gary and Gary only

Even though Ash is stupid through and through, I like it that way. I prefer it if he doesn't have a love interest. Angie having a crush on Ash was pretty cute, but I don't want Ash to have an interest for anybody.

I think there should be an element of one, yeah. Lots of kids would appreciate that, especially female viewers. Obviously it's always going to be about Pokemon and Ash's goal to be a Pokemon Master someday, but that doesn't mean that he can't have a love-interest. Growing up I didn't even consider the possibility that Misty wasn't that to him. Everyone thought they were gonna become a couple someday and that was the main reason a lot of my female friends watched the show. I can see why people don't think it's necessary, but I think it would add to the shows appeal, definitely. The amount of shipping and fan fiction that is produced, proves that for a fact. However, I know realistically, it wont happen.

I think instead of ash being smittened by someone, he should have a rival who is smittened by him.

No, it'll ruin his character and I like him dense.:3

Either, Misty, May or Dawn.

It's a common trait in anime that the main protagonist is suppose to have a love interest, whether it's a kids anime or an anime geared towards an older audience, but Pokemon is trying to avoid this trait between the human characters and only on the Pokemon themselves plus a few human/animal relationships that would've been shunned by everyone since beastiality is taboo. Because of this, Ash may not get an actual love interest.

I don't think so. It just wouldn't make a lot of sense due to Ash's maturity, being oblivious about love and the fact that the show is suppose to be about his journey to become a Pokemon Master, rather than his journey to get a girlfriend. It's probably more fun for shippers to choose who they like with Ash the most and look for hints than it would if there was an established female love interest in the show at this point.

He should have love interest but I don't think any of the girls would fit him. If he was growing then maybe.

However, if he was replaced by the other game male protagonist then they could have given him a love interest and be done with it. But I like it just the way things are. Keep it mysterious.

depends on the writer