Diodeshipping Week, Day 1 (Prompt: Beginnings)

Episode 9 really was the beginning of it all, so here’s a little something to commemorate it. This drawing also represents the beginning in an additional sense for me, because it’s a colorized version of the very first Diodeshipping sketch I ever made.

Back then, I assumed this ship (and all Ash ships) could only ever be one-sided because Ash only had room in his heart for Pokemon, but after seeing how kind and supportive he was in XY, I really can’t say that I feel that way anymore. Instead, let’s retcon this a bit and say that Ash is really dreaming about his and Clemont’s future battles together. Pikachu, of course, does have only one true love, and that is and always will be a delicious bottle of ketchup.