AdvanceShipping

AdvanceShipping is the het ship between Ash Ketchum and May from the Pokémon fandom.

Hoenn
After Ash accidentally destroyed May's bicycle (like he had done with Misty's), she is initially angry, but when she sees Ash sleeping next to Pikachu after taking care of him all night she forgives him, and begins to like him. Later, May asks Ash to let her travel with him, and when he accepts, she is visibly satisfied.

When the duo arrives in May's hometown, she goes to great lengths to ensure that Ash doesn't discover that her father is the Gym Leader, perhaps for fear that he will start treating her differently. When May offers him to go to lunch, Ash immediately accepts, stopping to look for information on the gym. During the meal, Ash and May chat amiably, and Ash becomes May's mentor, explaining how to capture and fight with Pokémon. When Ash decides to spy on Team Magma's actions, May refuses to be left alone and accompanies him, despite the danger.

When Ash decides to spy on Team Magma's actions, May refuses to be left alone and accompanies him, despite the danger. When Ash discovered the truth about May's father, he didn't get angry with her.

When Team Rocket steals May's Torchic, the girl falls prey to despair; Ash crouches next to her and tells her not to worry, promising her to recover Torchic, which he does. When May's little brother Max expresses his desire to travel with Ash and May, neither of them seems happy, a sign that perhaps they wanted to travel together alone.

When she gets hungry, May asks Ash where their food was; when the boy replies that he has not thought about it, and declares that to deal with these things, first was his friend Brock, May gets offended a lot and apologizes in a sarcastic tone for not being a useful travel companion like Brock. When the three later met Brock, he noted a great similarity between Ash and May. When a Taillow is about to attack Ash and his friends, Ash confronts May to protect her.

Fanon
AdvanceShipping is one of the most popular ships in the Pokémon fandom. Already in the first episode, May wants Ash to accompany her to the next city and the two will continue to travel together for two regions. Between the two there is a mentor-student relationship, and the two quickly bind thanks to the fact that they have similar personalities. They show in many occasions to keep one another. Because of the Mega form Blaziken, a few fans presumed that May would have returned in the XYZ anime series to Mega evolve hers, but she didn't. The theory could of been connected to fans who are hoping that Ash and May would one day cross paths with each other, again.

It rivals with PokéShipping (Ash x Misty), PearlShipping (Ash x Dawn), NegaiShipping (Ash x Iris), AmourShipping (Ash x Serena), AlohaShipping (Ash x Mallow), AureliaShipping (Ash x Lillie), and BlueAngelShipping (Ash x Lana).

Fandom
FAN FICTION

DEVIANTART

TUMBLR