Quoted By:
As a lifelong Pokeshipper, this whole thing has just been so surreal to me, I don’t even know how to feel.
Misty was my first cartoon crush when I was a little boy and the OS was airing new episodes in America. Their hints really made me want to see her happy and for them to get together, but it was such an engaging ship precisely because there were so many obstacles between them. Neither of the two would be honest if given the chance and all of their hints were such cockteases with no release. It didn’t help that 2BA Master came out and (in my mind at the time) completely verified my suspicions that Misty really wanted to confess but couldn’t find the courage but that dynamic just led me to ship it harder and harder as I rooted for her.
Eventually they split up and I was heartbroken, and not long after that Pokemon had its first Dexit with Gen 3 and I felt abandoned and left behind by the company. I eventually found my way back to Pokemon through the games (shipping is not all I care about in Pokemon), but I felt burned by the anime and never really kept up (I did eventually find and like Electric Tail/Pokemon Special and liked those though). Every time Misty came back I would check in out of interest, but it was just like seeing an old friend and then I’d leave the anime again.
Now, remarkably, she’s a main character again in the final arc and they’re literally teasing people like me directly after I thought I (and they) got over it. Pokeshipping has been a sad ship to bear for so long, that I’m trying to not even get my hopes up, but its crazy that I’ve even been given the chance to hope. If it does end up happening, it’ll be a twenty year release and my child self will see something he cared so much about back then, I don’t know how I’ll feel about it. If it doesn’t happen, that’s okay, I’m just happy I got the chance to dream just one more time before he hangs up his hat for good.
