PikaShipping

PikaShipping is the friendship between Ash and his Pikachu from the Pokémon fandom.

Canon
Pikachu is Ash’s starter Pokémon and one of Ash’s only Pokémon that stays with him when Ash travels to other regions. He is often seen on Ash’s head or shoulder due to the Mouse Pokémon’s dislike of being in a Poké Ball.

The Beginning
Ash wakes up late the day that he was supposed to get a Pokémon. Ash is left with Pikachu as his starter Pokémon since he is unable to choose Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander. Upon first seeing Pikachu, Ash picks him up and hugs him which causes Pikachu to electrify him.

After his mom points out that Pikachu is not in his Poké Ball, Ash attempts to get Pikachu in his Poké Ball. Pikachu refuses to get in the Poké Ball several times. Ash picks up Pikachu and is shocked again. Ash wears rubber gloves and ties a rope around Pikachu to drag him everywhere, much to Pikachu’s discomfort. After Pikachu admits to not liking Ash, Ash states that he likes Pikachu a lot. After the two talk, Ash takes off the gloves and unties the rope though it is still not good enough for Pikachu.

Ash spots a Pidgey and tells Pikachu to fight the Pidgey, but Pikachu refuses and climbs a tree. Ash fails at catching the Pidgey multiple times, and matters are made worse when a Rattata steals food from Ash. Pikachu laughs at Ash, who is called stupid by his Pokédex. Ash fails again and gets a Spearow to attack him and Pikachu. Eventually, an entire flock of Spearow arrive to attack Ash and Pikachu. The two run away, and Ash declares that he will save Pikachu no matter what.

Pikachu runs ahead and is attacked by the Spearow. Ash picks up Pikachu and jumps off of a cliff into some water. Ash grabs Misty’s fishing lure and is pulled out of the water. Misty tells Ash to bring Pikachu to a Pokémon Center, and Ash cycles away using Misty’s bike when the flock of Spearow catch up to them. Ash crashes the bike, but is still concerned about Pikachu. He tries to get Pikachu to get in a Poké Ball in an attempt to save Pikachu. Ash stands up to the flock of Spearow and tells them to attack him.

Pikachu sees this display of courage and climbs on Ash’s shoulder. Pikachu jumps out to attack the Spearow, and he scares them away. Afterward, the duo walks to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City.

Later on, Ash catches Caterpie, who Misty is afraid of. Misty suggests that she can be friends with Pikachu while Ash can be friends with Caterpie. Ash tells Misty about how Pikachu only likes him and will zap anyone besides him. Ash is cut off by Misty patting Pikachu on the head as the two laugh together, which annoys Ash. After Ash tells Caterpie how they will leave without Misty, Pikachu joins the two and leaves Misty.

Black & White
Ash used Pikachu against Cameron’s Riolu → Lucario and was defeated in the semi-finals.

Journeys
Pikachu briefly separated from his trainer when the latter focused too hard on his Riolu. Both reconcile at their home.

Fanon
PikaShipping is a popular friendship within its fandom due to the amount of screentime and moments it has. It is unpopular as a slash ship since fans find it weird to ship humans with Pokémon. The slash ship is also overshadowed by many ships, mainly on Ash’s side. Romantic PikaShipping rivals AdvanceShipping, AmourShipping, JourneyShipping, LagomorphShipping, PearlShipping, PokéShipping, and many other ships. Pikachu is often shown in fan art alongside Ash. The friendship also currently has more than 300 works on Archive of Our Own.

Some fans like to pair this ship with ships between one of Ash's companions and their main Pokémon, like TwinApplesShipping (Iris x Axew) and other similar ships.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

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WIKIS
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