Shipping:LeagueShipping

This article is about shipping. As hints and evidence for ships are mostly speculation, this page may contain POV.

LeagueShipping is the belief that there are Romantic feelings between Ash and Ritchie in the Pokémon Anime. It is also known as YaoiShipping, MouseShipping, and SatoHiro (Japanese: サトヒロ) (from Satoshi "サトシ" and Hiroshi "ヒロシ").

Evidence

The following list is a summary of points in the Pokémon Anime that the majority of LeagueShippers and other people believe points to possible romantic feelings between Ash and Ritchie.

• Ash and Ritchie met in A Friend In Deed. When Team Rocket stole their Pokémon, the two followed them to get them back. When Ash decided to run down the mountain, Ritchie, even though he didn't know Ash, throw his own body over him in order to stop him making a huge mistake.

Later when it turns dark, Ash and Ritchie are talking and discovers that they have a lot in common. When they go to bed, Ritchie loans Ash his sleeping bag instead of borrowing his extra.

When they have gotten all the Pokémon back, Ash and Ritchie shakes hands and looks happily in each others eyes. In the end of the episode when they discover that they will face each other in a League Battle, they looked in each others eyes, in a more desperate way.

• Friend and Foe Alike

In the beginning of this episode, Ash and Ritchie promised that their battle would be the best battle they'd ever had. When Ash got kidnapped by Team Rocket, all Ash was thinking about was the promise he and Ritchie gave each other, rather then thinking about himself.

When the referee was going to declare Ritchie as the winner, because that Ash wasn't there, he refused him to, explaining that he was sure that Ash would come.

After their battle, Ash became sad because he lost so easily. Ritchie noticed it and ran over to Ash. When Ash re-confirms that he won, Ritchie seemed more sad then happy about it, probably because he felt sorry for Ash.

• Friends to the End

Before Ritchie's battle against Assunta, Ash and his friends wished him good luck and said that he knew that he would win.

After Ritchie's loss against Assunta, he stood, with Sparky in his arms, near a lake when Ash appears and says that he's sorry for his loss. Ritchie looks at the bright side and says that now they have another thing in common. While they're letting their Pikachus play with each other, Ash and Ritchie are seen sitting near the lake talking about losing. Ritchie later comes up with another promise that they will become Pokémon Masters no matter what.

When they say good bye, Ash reminds Ritchie about the promise, Ritchie responds with a thumb up and walks away. Ash looks smiling after him as he walks off.

Other Hints

• Ash sometimes rubs Pokémon the same way Ritchie rubbed his Pikachu in A Friend In Deed.

• In Less is Morrison, Ash says to Morrison that he will be the greatest Pokémon Master in the Universe, much like he said to Ritchie in A Friend in Deed.

• In May, We Harley Drew'd Ya! when Ash and his friends arrive in Indigo Plateau Ash and Brock said it brings back memories. They could've stated that it was there Ash met Ritchie.
  • Much like in May, We Harley Drew'd Ya!, when May tells her friends that Drew and Harley are going to Johto, Ash says "that takes me back". Ash met Ritchie again in Johto.

This article is part of Project Shipping, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each couple in Pokémon.