February 2014 Newsletter

Hello, thanks for joining us and welcome to the February issue and our first edition of our website newsletter. This month, you’re joining me, IceArceus, for all the analysis and updates.

So, what’s happening now? Here’s our monthly report on the Pearlshipping situation in various public arenas.

Fanfiction net: Good. Pearlshipping stories can be found updated or published every day, although the Ash/Dawn section of the archives is littered with fanfics which are other ships.

Serebiinet.: Very slow. As the exam season kicks in, most regulars of the thread are away studying. Another factor is probably the domination of the Amourshipping thread and the continuous talk of how their ship is “canon”. The site is quite easy to join. You may consider signing up.

Deviantart: Ambiguous. Neither Finesse nor I know our way very well around that site. If you think you know the site quite well, do get in contact with us via Serebii or Fanfiction net. All I can say for Deviantart Pearlshipping is that Endless-summer181, the renowned Pearlshipper on deviantart, is still a Pearlshipper despite the recent happenings, which is good news.

Hint Of The Month With IceArceus

In commemoration of Valentine’s Day, which is in two weeks’ time, we’ll be looking at one of the most prominent set of hints in Pearlshipping history. Guessed what I’m talking about yet? We’re going to be analysing what Pearlshippers have affectionately known as the “Lyra Arc”, that is to say, DP143-DP147. There are many Pearlshipping hints unrelated to Lyra anyway, but this issue will focus on those hints mediated or affected by the character of Lyra.

Who’s Lyra? She’s a female character who joined Ash’s group temporarily during the Johto Festival, which is reflective of the game remakes, Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver. She’s joined by Khoury, who she takes an interest to as a result of her observations on Ash and Dawn’s relationship, but we’ll go into that later.

One of the major Lyra hints is in the episode DP144, “Gone With TheWindworks”. When the group are all trapped in storeroom, Lyra asks Dawn if Ash is her boyfriend, which Dawn, of course, instantly refutes. Now, if this were any other ship teaser episode, there’d be vehement denial and blushing. Lots of it. Not in this case. Lyra goes on to remark that “Ash is a catch”, making Dawn see Ash in a new light. Dawn stares at Ash after this, seemingly thinking about what Lyra has said. The way the scene is shot clearly shows this.

After more attempts to break out, Lyra remarks that “Ash is the best!”, after Dawn comments that “a little pain won’t stop Ash” when he hurts his wrist trying to break out the door. Immediately after Lyra says this, Dawn exclaims “the best?” in a somewhat shocked and ambiguous tone. Either she is amazed at Lyra’s description of Ash, or she might just be jealous of Lyra’s apparent interest in Ash. This point is plausible, but could be disputed due to Dawn’s denseness, but either way, it clearly shows that after this time, Dawn is still thinking about what Lyra said earlier.

The next major hint is in “A Rivalry ToGible On”. After splitting up into two groups to find the rogue Gible, (Ash&Lyra and Dawn&Khoury), they start towards a cave. At this point, Lyra is still portrayed to have some interest in Ash, although this all changes in a matter of seconds. Ash falls into a Trapinch Arena trap, whereupon he is quickly hauled up by Khoury. Afterwards, Dawn reprimands Ash for making her so worried.

Not only do Dawn’s actions highlight the Pearlshipping, what Lyra says next is absolutely confirmation. She says “nothing like two people who really care.”- which are her observations on Ash and Dawn. However, she says next “Hang on…do Khoury and I act like that?” She is inspired by Ash and Dawn to realize that she actually has feelings for Khoury. She is shown to be much more affectionate to Khoury after this point. This shows that Pearlshipping has the power to inspire other pairings within the anime. Perhaps it is also a suggestion that sometime in the future, Pearlshipping will follow down the same route as LyraxKhoury.

After this the two groups enter the cave, but shortly afterwards, each pair is split up by wild Pokémon. The next process shows the rectification of harmony, where each person is reunited with their rightful counterpart. Ash is reunited with Dawn, and Lyra with Khoury.

The third and final (by no means of the episodes) hint we’ll be studying is in the episode DP145, “Dressed For Jess Success”. When Dawn is in the contestant’s room preparing for her contest appeal, the rest of the gang, including Brock this time, visit her. By this time, Lyra has started trying to get Ash and Dawn to notice each other in a different way. She asks Ash if he thinks Dawn is pretty, but Ash misinterprets the question (or chooses to) and mentions that “Of course she’s number one! Because Dawn’s gonna win!” The two then share a high five, which causes Lyra to laugh in exasperation and complain that her hinting didn’t work.

This hint shows Ash and Dawn’s closeness once again, and even Lyra sees the similarities between them. It is noted that the Pearlshipping screenplay is ramped up for the purpose of making Dawn and Ash seem like a sort of “oblivious couple”.

All these hints just show that Pearlshipping is timeless, and no matter what happens in this day and age, Pearlshipping will always prevail.

Fanfiction Of The Month

This month’s featured Fanfiction is “Can’t Live Without You” by popular Pearlshipping author demon alice, previously known as DemonOtaku-Pearlshipper. An excellent Fanfiction, this story does contain an element of canoness to it. It portrays, in the first few chapters, how Ash and Dawn both don’t do very well in their new journeys away from each other. This is actually seen in the anime, reflected by Ash’s poor performance in the Unova League. Dawn’s part on this is questionable, but it is noted that she does not mention any Hoenn ribbons at all, despite having travelled there. Even May was shown to have Johto ribbons when she visited Ash and Dawn in Sinnoh. Anyway, I digress.

Here’s Demon herself to tell you more:

Hi, everyone! I'm demon alice. and I'm so siked that my 'fic will be featured this month on one of the first Pearlshipping sites! I hope you enjoy it and I hope it gives you the Pearlshipping excitement that we all feel when we see a hint of it. If you like it, please consider checking out the other 'fics I've written and I'll be sure to write more!

Here’s a suggestion of Pearlshippy things you can do this month!

-Watch the Lyra Arc

-Listen to High Touch

-Read “Can’t Live Without You”

So, that’s it from me for this month’s newsletter. You’ll be joined by FinesseMalkin for all the news, updates, analysis and more!

Stay Pearlshippy!