NamelessShipping

"Red doesn't say much, but he's an amazing guy. Full of love for his Pokémon. Don't tell anyone I said this, but I respect him. There's so much I learned after I lost to him."

- Blue, Pokémon Masters

NamelessShipping is the slash ship between Red and Blue Oak from the Pokémon fandom.

Canon
They are rivals and have opposite personalities. While Red is quiet, humble, and lacks ambition when it comes to popularity, Blue is loud, self-centered, and loves being the center of attention. Despite their differences, they have been friends since childhood and remain so, even after their fights and rivalry during their Pokémon journeys.

Games
Red and Green are the protagonist and main rival of the two original Pokémon games released in Japan respectively. Outside of Japan, Green is known as Blue Oak. They are not to be confused with Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak, their anime counterparts.

They are childhood friends who grew up together in Pallet Town. While initially Blue was a nice friend to Red, he became meaner as they grew up, Blue declaring Red his rival since they're the same age and height. After they turned 11 years old, they received their starter Pokémon at the same time. Whichever Pokémon that Red chooses, Blue will choose the one which has a type advantage against it (Red receives a Pikachu whereas Blue receives an Eevee in Pokémon Yellow).

Throughout Red's journey across Kanto, he encounters Blue numerous times, and they battle, only for Red to win. Despite these losses, Blue is determined to become the best trainer. Eventually, his hard work comes to fruition when he beats the Elite Four and becomes the Champion of Kanto. But his victory is short-lived, and Red defeats him to become the Champion.

In Pokémon Gold & Silver, it is revealed that after Red became Champion, he left to train on Mt. Silver, and Blue became the Gym Leader of Viridian City. Red becomes distant from others, including Blue. Blue mentions that he had not seen him in a long while as of Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver.

After Gold & Silver and HeartGold & SoulSilver, Red appears in public more often. In Pokémon Black 2 & Pokémon White 2, he attends the Pokémon World Tournament alongside Blue and other Kanto Gym Leaders.

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Red and Blue are the leaders of the Battle Tree. They are apparently taking a vacation together in Alola, it should be noted that Blue and Red are now adults in the game and that Red is now taller than Blue and stoic as ever. When you battle the duo, Red is silent the entire battle but Blue seems to be able to interpret whatever he's saying just fine, showing they have a deep understanding of one another.

Pokémon Origins
Blue and Red run into each while they're about to enter Professor Oak's laboratory. They race into the lab, shoving and pushing each other like children. Blue lets Red choose his first Pokémon first, when Red chooses Charmander, Blue chooses Squirtle for the type advantage.

In Lavender Town, Blue gets scared of some ghosts in the Pokémon cemetery and runs down the stairs, running into Red who was about to go up said stairs, Red is concerned upon seeing how terrified his friend is. They end up exploring the rest of the tower and teaming up to defeat Team Rocket together. Red defeats Blue at the Pokémon League, crowning Red the new champion of Kanto. Blue is saddened and starts questioning himself after the loss. Red stands in front of him and whisper's Blue's name, which snaps Blue out of his thoughts and he congratulates Red on becoming the new Pokémon League champion.

The discovery of a new Pokémon "Mewtwo" prompts Blue to go and try to catch it. But he fails and ends up injured after Blastoise landed on him in the battle. Upon hearing this, Red rushes to Blue's room, bursting in and asks if the latter is alright. He calms down after seeing that his best friend is alright and asks Blue what happened. Blue explains that he encountered an extremely strong psychic type in Cerulean Cave and his Blastoise landed on him from an attack. Red is hesitant and tries to help him identify the Pokémon but they don't find it, Professor Oak comes to the conclusion that the Pokémon Blue encountered was a new species and asks Red to go to the cave and try to capture it. However, Blue disagreed and told (likely for Red's safety) Red to not go, as the Pokémon was too powerful and Red would just end up injured or worse if he tried.

They are seen at the end of the episode eating lunch with Professor Oak and Red's mother.

Pokémon Adventures
The Pokémon Adventures manga takes place in a separate canon from the main series video games. Unlike in the video games, Red is much more talkative and expressive, while Blue is more calm and serious. While initially they did not get along well, they eventually warm up to each other and are able to rely on one another.

Quotes
"You kinda remind me of [Red]! You're like a crimson flame quietly burning. But even though you're on the quiet side, you're hiding some awesome power, too, right?"

- Blue, Pokémon Masters

"I'm Blue. Man, this guy called Red brought me down in a heartbeat. I haven't seen him in a long time...I wonder where he is and what he's up to… Come to think of it, you look a little bit like Red. Yeah, you do. Just...Just a little bit. Whatever..."

- Blue calling the player, Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver

Fanon
Many fanworks/fiction are about their vacation in Alola and/or Blue making up to Red for his past treatment of him when they were children. Some popular traits/AU's include Mute!Red, Tsundere!Blue, and Modern AU's. Blue's Eevee and Red's Pikachu are also often if not always featured in fanworks, and are often seen as good friends and fond of their trainers' relationship.

With the release of Pokémon Sun and Moon the ship has gained more shippers because many viewed their teamwork and vacation at Alola as a honeymoon away from Kanto.

On AO3, it is the most written ship for both characters. It is also the most written in the Pokémon tag.

Theories
Following the release of Pokémon Gold & Silver, fans started to theorize why Red is atop of Mt. Silver and most of them were about Red and Blue's relationship. A popular theory was that Red felt guilty for upsetting Blue after defeating him because he had essentially taken what Blue had always wanted, which was the champion title and his grandfather's attention. Causing him to hide and train alone atop a mountain, hoping that his silence would get people to notice Blue's efforts as well.

Meanwhile, at Viridian City, Blue feels guilty that he was the reason Red disappeared for two years, he climbs Mt. Silver to talk to him and perhaps convince him to come down. He catches up with Red and rekindle their friendship, the possibility of a new romance is up to the fan; but most seems to enjoy having them having a romantic and/or emotional confession atop a snowy mountain in a cave and then having a honeymoon in Alola.

Another theory is that Red had killed Blue's Raticate and he found out after defeating Blue at the Indigo League Championships, the guilt of killing his rival's Pokémon could've driven him to hide up at Mt Silver.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Red/Green on FanFiction.Net

FAN ART

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * The ship name "OriginalShipping" is a significantly newer term for this ship, the newer name came from the "original" rivals of Pokémon, it primarily refers to the ship between the Blue and Red from Pokémon Adventures and Pokémon Origins (manga and anime). NamelessShipping mostly refers to the in-game characters, but most fans consider both names to be the same and use them interchangeably.
 * They make an appearance at the end of Pokémon Sun & Moon as the leaders of the Battle Tree, taking a vacation together in the Alola region.
 * Red never speaks once in Pokémon Sun & Moon, despite this Blue is unfazed by it and seems to understand what Red's thinking.
 * Their final battle in the game is shown in episode 3 of Pokémon Generations, The Challenger.
 * In the Pokémon Masters, Blue's description describes Red as "his lifelong rival and best friend." Which some have correlated to the Childhood Romance trope.
 * Blue still remembers the first time he battled Red. He also tells the player that he hopes they will also find a "rival like that, too. One that will help you grow and vice versa." He also describes Red as an amazing guy and respects his love for his Pokémon.
 * Blue has two instances where he tells the player they remind him of Red, both after Red's disappearance.
 * The first instance is in Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver, where he calls the player and talks about Red. He seems to miss him, as he says "I haven't seen him in a long time..." and uses multiple eclipses throughout his dialogue in HGSS.
 * The second instance was in Pokémon Masters, where he describes Red and the player as "a crimson flame quietly burning".

Variations

 * PalletShipping refers to the ship between Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum, their anime counterparts.