Shipping:NegaiShipping

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NegaiShipping (Japanese: サトアイ SatoAi) is the belief that Ash Ketchum and belong in a romantic relationship. Currently, it is the main pairing of the, along with.

Iris's hints

 * Enter Iris and Axew!
 * Iris blushes slightly upon meeting Ash, and throughout most of the episode. Later on, after and  are stolen by Team Rocket, Ash jumps off a tree and falls down to the ground. Iris immediately jumps down from the tree, asking if Ash is all right, rather than trying to save the Pokémon. Iris also later thanks Ash for saving Axew, even though it was  who saved him. Iris then tells Ash that because of his actions she has started to change her view of him and she starts traveling with him.


 * A Sandile Gusher of Change!
 * Iris and Ash spend the majority of the episode arguing. During a rescue of some Pokémon, however, Ash loses his grip on a bridge made of, but Iris is there to grab his wrist, keeping hold of him as the Sandile righten themselves to safety. Afterward, the two look to each other and smile, having silently reconciled their differences. It is to be noted, however, they shared this look a moment later with the main Sandile; ultimately, it means, "A job well done."


 * The Battle Club and Tepig's Choice!
 * Iris shows concern for Ash when he tries to get close to an abandoned and tells him to be careful. After Ash succeeds in calming the Pokémon down, Iris watches Ash as he unties the rope around Tepig's snout and feeds it. She seems surprised by Ash's treatment of the Pokémon and smiles warmly.


 * Triple Leaders, Team Threats!
 * During Ash's Gym battle with, Chili, and Cress, fans of the brothers stayed on one side of the arena to cheer on the Gym Leaders, while Iris stays on the opposing side and quite blatantly gazes at Ash with a look that could easily be interpreted as attraction or cool admiration (among others, both positive and negative, given she's been calling him a "kid" up until now, and not kindly).


 * Dreams by the Yard Full!
 * After Ash beats Cilan, Iris is impressed with Ash's performance and whispers his name while watching him celebrate. After Ash receives his Badge from Cilan, he shows off to Iris who quickly criticizes him. After this, Cilan asks Ash if he and Iris are traveling together. Iris yells that they aren't and runs off. Later, once Cilan has formally joined Ash's travel party, Ash and Cilan are on their way to leave Striaton City. As Ash wonders where Iris is, she appears from a tree, surprising him. After being asked by Ash to join him and Cilan on their journey, she is overjoyed and excitedly accepts his invitation.


 * Saving Darmintain from the bell
 * When Ash and Iris were eating, Cilan states they're quite alike, which makes Iris angry and said to Cilan "You think I act like him?".


 * The Bloom Is on Axew!
 * During the battle between Iris and Cilan, Iris seems to pay just as much attention to Ash as the battle at hand. Most of the time she and Ash argue over battle strategies and why she doesn't want to battle him. During this time, Iris is too busy arguing to tell Axew how to counterattack, and it ended up taking a at close range. Throughout the episode Iris is surprised that Ash wants to battle her so much.


 * A Rival Battle for Club Champ!
 * When Trip was leaving after he "canceled" the request to battle, she took up for Ash and helped convince Trip to change his mind. Iris blatantly gazes at Ash with a look that could easily be interpreted as attraction or cool admiration for the second time, during his battle with Trip.


 * The Battle According to Lenora!
 * Iris grabs Ash's shoulder in an affectionate way when asking Lenora what type of Trainer he is. She is also very concerned about Ash's depressed attitude after he loses the Gym battle.


 * Dancing With the Ducklett Trio!
 * When Ash and Pikachu fall into a hole and get separated from the group, Iris is willing to use her to try and find them. Even though Excadrill doesn't listen to her, Iris doesn't hesitate to ask it for help, unlike in The Bloom is on Axew! when Ash is the one to finally convince her to use it to rescue Axew. Later, Iris again shows a look of concern when Ash battles Sandile, knowing that Pikachu was at a disadvantage.


 * A Venipede Stampede!
 * When Ash tries to help an injured, Iris constantly worries for him, because of the Venipede's . She is concerned for him when he becomes ed due to contact with the Pokémon. Later, when Ash jumps in the path of 's to protect the boss Venipede and is hit, she rushes to his side and holds onto his arm.


 * Emolga the Irresistible!
 * When Iris, Axew and are cornered by a group of wild, Ash and the others come to their aid. Iris looks relieved and only acknowledges Ash and Pikachu, despite Cilan and  being there as well.


 * ''Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open!
 * When Ash and Oshawott are ambushed underwater by a school of wild, Iris seemingly senses the danger and looks toward the lake while wondering if they are all right.


 * Gotta Catch A Roggenrola!
 * On several different occasions when Ash was in mortal danger, Iris screamed his name with obvious strain in her voice. Meanwhile, Cilan and Mr. Garrison didn't say a thing.


 * Reunion Battles In Nimbasa!
 * During the Club Battle tournament Ash faces off against Burgundy in the first round, and right before his battle Iris shows concern for Ash and wonders who he'll use to fight with. Ash says he's using this chance to test someone. After this, Ash moves on to the battlefield while Iris stands up and follows him to the edge of the area designated for spectators.


 * Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky?
 * Ash and the others end up in a sand trap when they try to help out a . Ash uses his, but despite her best efforts she is unable to pull the group out. When Ash's head is almost covered in the sand, Iris calls out to him in concern before immediately asking Excadrill for help.


 * Enter Elesa, Electrifying Gym Leader!
 * When Bianca decides to keep her promise to her father and end her journey, the group is saddened to see her leave. However before Bianca's father can take her away, Iris insists that Ash say something to him and change his mind about letting Bianca travel. This is notable since it shows how much faith Iris has in Ash. Also she didn't ask Cilan, who is a better speaker, despite him being able to do the same thing.


 * Scraggy and the Demanding Gothita!
 * When Iris says that Scraggy and Axew are as competitive as rivals when they battle and that when the battles over they're best friends, she smiles at Ash. Later when Katharine tries to get Ash to trade Scraggy, she is worried that Ash will lose Scraggy. Cilan shows no concern over the battle.


 * Baffling the Bouffalant!
 * During a scene where she's up in a tree searching for the others, she asks "Ash, where are you?". She doesn't mention in that particular moment.


 * Rocking The Virbank Gym Part 2!
 * Iris was adamant in cheering for Ash during his final Gym battle, despite Roxie having considerably more fans. To that end she and Axew cheered as loud as they could, beat on drums, came up with a cheer, and eventually she even dressed up and painted her face (and Cilan's) to give Ash an extra boost of confidence. After the battle was settled she cheered loudly when he won.


 * Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige!
 * In the final battle against Moira and her group, Iris asks Ash to borrow his Snivy, to which he agrees. Iris and Snivy form a great team and defeat Moira's easily. This is notable, as Snivy is a high level Pokemon and it possibly reflects how well Ash and Iris work together and how much they trust each other, as well.


 * A Village Homecoming!
 * The group makes a stop in the Village of Dragons, where Iris introduces her friends to the village Elder. She goes into more detail about Ash and explains how he has collected his Badges and intends to challenge the Vertress Conference, and that she'll continue to travel with him to support him. The Elder then expresses how she is grateful Iris has such great friends before asking Ash if she's a handful. Ash's response causes Iris to snap at him in embarrassment.


 * Drayden Versus Iris: Past, Present, and Future!
 * Iris feeling unsure of herself, is not looking forward to her battle with Drayden. However, Ash continually supports her and gives her words of encouragement to set her mind at ease. Once the battle is over, Iris happily returns the favor and encourages Ash to do his best in the Vertress Conference.


 * Curtain Up, Unova League!
 * Ash is too nervous to sleep the night before the Unova League begins. Iris wakes up seeing Ash staring out the window and he apologizes for waking her up, before she tells him it'd be best if he got his rest for the next day.


 * A Unova League Evolution!
 * Iris enthusiastically cheers Ash on in his battle in the Vertress Conference against 🇺🇳, stating he'll definitely win, even when the others think it's a long shot. Ash loses the battle, but Iris moves down and sits with him in the stands as they all watch Cameron's battle against Virgil.


 * Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!
 * When the group arrives at a Kanto Fair, both Ash and Iris (despite her attempts to remain calm) are excited by all the festivities. Iris wants to learn much more about the region and its Pokémon, even expressing an interest in visiting there sometime.
 * As proof of the statement above, when Iris saw Ash running around due to his excitement she stated "And there he goes, running around just like a little kid." in a giddy voice rather than her usual irritated voice.
 * Also, after Iris says this, she runs around with Ash giggling with joy which makes Cilan state that she's acting like a kid herself.


 * Ash and N: A Clash of Ideals!
 * Reaching the, the group meets up with Professor Juniper's father. They find the Light Stone, only to have it stolen by . When Ash chases after him, he and N both fall down into an underground cavern. Iris immediately falls to her knees with a worried look on her face, before she tries to follow them down into the cavern, only to be dissuaded to do so by the Professor. She looks extremely distraught that she can do nothing to help and loudly screams out Ash's name in concern.


 * Team Plasma and the Awakening Ceremony!
 * When Ash is attacked by Team Plasma, as this point a taken over Pikachu, Iris shows great concern for Ash, shouting, "Stop, you're going to hurt yourself Ash!" The second time Ash is shocked and is left unconscious, Iris screams out "Ash, no!" with obvious strain in her voice.


 * Farewell, Unova! Setting Sail for New Adventures!
 * After Team Plasma's final defeat, the group returns back to Professor Juniper's lab. The Professor asks what they are going to do now, to which Ash replies he'll probably make his way home. Iris appears to be saddened by this, but then boldly declares that she wants to keep traveling with Ash and visit Kanto to learn about the dragons there.


 * The Path that Leads to Goodbye!
 * During Cilan going over the events that happened throughout the course of episode, Iris kept getting angry at Ash or he kept getting angry at her for certain things and after Ash gave Iris a bitter apple she attempted to throw it back at him (although Cilan caught the apple before it hit Ash), and Iris angrily declared she and Ash weren't friends anymore and then she stormed off.
 * When Iris noticed that Team Rocket had stolen and  she freed them both and then she and Ash worked together to send Team Rocket "blasting off again".
 * At the end of the episode Iris and Ash made up and both gave each other gifts (she gave Ash an apple and he gave her flowers).

Ash's hints

 * Enter Iris and Axew!
 * The morning after meeting Iris, Ash seems a little disappointed when she has suddenly gone missing.


 * Dreams by the Yard Full!
 * After his battle with Cilan, Ash happily shows his Badge to Iris and asks her opinion. Iris criticizes Ash for his choices in battle and this upsets him, not expecting that answer from her. Also, Ash seems to be upset when Iris declares that he and she are not traveling together and takes off on her own.


 * The Bloom Is on Axew!
 * Ash is annoyed that Iris would not battle him and that she battled instead. He continuously asks her for a battle throughout the episode.


 * Sewaddle and Burgh in Pinwheel Forest!
 * When the group is lost in the Pinwheel Forest, Iris claims to know the way out by "listening to the forest". Cilan says that this was merely non-scientific explanations, but Ash agrees that going with your hunches is the best way to go.


 * The Dragon Master's Path!
 * When Team Rocket steals Axew and, Iris uses her senses to try and find the two Pokémon. When Iris finds out where they are, Cilan and Emmy begin to doubt Iris and think that she is going the wrong way. However, Ash assures them that because of Iris's senses they would find Axew and Druddigon. Ash then tells them that he will believe in Iris, and follows after her. This shows that Ash has confidence in Iris's abilities and her bond with Axew.


 * The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk!
 * During Iris's battle against Stephan in the second round of the Club Battle tournament, Ash expresses concern for her when she is losing the battle. When she finally manages to turn things around and defeat him, Ash states that Iris is awesome.


 * Club Battle Finale: A Heroes Outcome!
 * In the semifinal match of the tournament Iris's Axew goes against Luke's . Iris tells Axew to use but it is ineffective due to Golett being part . Georgia insults Iris for not knowing that, and Ash defends her by saying the battle has only begun. He also expresses concern for Iris when she and Axew are cornered during the battle.


 * Lost at the Stamp Rally!
 * Cilan enters the Nimbasa City stamp rally where the winner gets the chance to battle the es. Despite being excited about an opportunity to battle against the Subway Bosses, Ash declines Cilan's invitation to help him collect all of the stamps because he promised Iris that he would go sightseeing through Nimbasa City with her.


 * The Lonely Deino!
 * The group is working at a daycare where a shy 's Trainer has yet to return. Iris, knowing how much Ash was looking forward to his Gym battle, tells him and Cilan to go on ahead to Driftveil City without her while she waits with Deino. Ash and Cilan both decide to wait as well, and Ash reassures Iris that if that Deino is her friend then it's also a friend of theirs. Iris looks relieved to hear Ash say that.


 * Iris and the Rogue Dragonite!
 * A rogue is causing trouble and has hidden itself away in the town's power plant. The group decides to help, and Iris believes that she can get through to Dragonite if she talked with it. Officer Jenny quickly protests the idea, but relents seeing no other way. She gives Ash a Poké Ball to use to catch Dragonite, should there be no other option. However, Ash quickly declines, stating that he believes that Iris will be able to handle it.


 * Ash, Iris and Trip: Then There Were Three!
 * In the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup Semi Finals, Ash and Iris are pitted against each other. During their battle Ash's Krokorok evolves into Krookodile and attacks Iris's Dragonite. Dragonite (which until then had been obeying Iris's commands) goes out of control, and starts blindly attacking the arena. Iris pleads with it to calm down, and Ash seeing Iris's desperation decides to end the battle before things get worse.


 * A Village Homecoming!
 * The group makes it to the Village of Dragons, Iris's hometown. Ash seemed especially interested in the village and it's uniqueness. The village Elder is pleased to find out that Iris has made such great friends and says she hopes Iris isn't too much of a handful, much to the embarrassment of both Ash and Iris.


 * Drayden Versus Iris: Past, Present, and Future!
 * Iris is constantly feeling anxious about her rematch with Opelucid City Gym leader Drayden. Ash continually gives her words of encouragement, helping to set her mind at ease, and enthusiastically cheers her on in the ensuing battle.

Other hints

 * Unlike, , and , Iris starts following Ash without his permission for unknown reasons. She claims that she is doing him a favor since he is new to the Unova region and unfamiliar with the territory. Some fans believe that Iris is using this as an excuse to hide her true intentions. While Ash felt some obligation to Misty and May for Pikachu destroying their bikes, Dawn asks to join him and Brock on their journey, while Ash invites Serena to travel with him,  and.
 * Iris criticizes Ash on occasion by referring to him as a little kid. Iris tends to do this when Ash does something rash, impulsive, or more recently just to tease him since she knows it bothers him.
 * Ash has been seen to take on some of Iris's characteristics, like frequently climbing trees, swinging from vines, as well as her confidence.
 * Snivy Plays Hard to Catch! and Ash and Trip's Third Battle! are notable examples of these, but Ash often did this beforehand, swinging from a vine to save May in Grass Hysteria, climbing up the rock in Lucario and The Mystery of Mew and he generally had lots of confidence.
 * Cilan has noted on several different occasions that Ash and Iris give off an interesting flavor when they are together and has also pointed out their similarities. This usually causes them to lash out at him aggressively in disagreement.
 * Ash's Oshawott has a crush on Iris's Emolga. This could be a sign that Ash may have a crush on Iris, since and  have said in the past that Pokémon represent the feelings of their masters and when two Pokémon fall in love, there is a good chance the Trainers will too. This is similar to how fans relate AdvanceShipping and VineShipping, or PearlShipping and LagomorphShipping to each other. It is to be pointed out that Oshawott developed this crush before Iris caught Emolga, and has been shown developing other crushes since, such as when it was attracted to Meloetta. The claim has also been refuted at various points during the series, so the feelings of the Pokémon are not always definitive to the feelings of the Trainers.
 * In Luke's movies, Ash and Iris are always cast as the protagonist and deuteragonist, playing opposite of Cilan's antagonist role. Also, on at least one occasion the characters they played (knight and princess) could be implied to have been love interests.

Similarities

 * They both have one female rival, and Georgia, respectively.
 * They have both seen (Ash in Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker and Iris in Searching for a Wish!).
 * As shown in Saving Darmanitan From The Bell!, both Ash and Iris tend to eat a lot, being explicitly said by.
 * Both own Pokémon that do not reside within a Poké Ball (Ash's Pikachu and Iris's Axew (if Axew even has one)).
 * Both have brown eyes.
 * Both have at times shown an impulsive nature, especially when protecting their Pokémon.
 * Both have owned Pokémon that have refused to obey them at one point (Ash's, , and , and Iris's and ).
 * Ash and Iris are the only main characters in the series to own a Pokémon (Ash's Gible and Iris's Axew) (neither of them have evolved yet).
 * As part of their story, both Gible and Axew have trouble executing a certain Dragon-type move at first: and  respectively.
 * Also, Gible and Axew are both part of a three-stage evolutionary line that retain the same type throughout their evolution.
 * As of SS028 both Ash and Iris own a, although Iris' has only appeared in the Japanese version so far.
 * Ash's and Iris'  both have a habit of biting on someone's head. Ash's Gible does it to him and Iris' Gible does it to 
 * Both own Pokémon that have revealed that their primary goal is to reach their final evolutionary stage (Ash's Butterfree and Iris's Axew).
 * Both Pokémon were raised from, and expressed this goal in, their first evolutionary stage.
 * Both own an rodent Pokémon (Ash's Pikachu and Iris's Emolga).
 * Both Pokémon store electricity in the sacs of their cheeks.
 * Also, both Pikachu and Emolga have a fondness for a certain food, ketchup and apples, respectively.
 * Both Pikachu and Emolga know Pokémon that have crushes on them, and, respectively.
 * Pikachu feels uncomfortable around Buneary and Emolga feels uncomfortable around Oshawott.
 * Both Pikachu and Emolga have the Ability.
 * Both Pikachu and Emolga temporarily joined Team Rocket, but went back to their trainers. In A Scare to Remember Pikachu joined Team Rocket after tricked him into believing he was a part of the team when Pikachu had amnesia. Pikachu regained his memory by the end of the episode and went back to Ash. Emolga joined up with Team Rocket in Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit! because she got mad at Iris for blaming her for hurting Axew when he really got hurt by a . Emolga went back to Iris by the end of the episode after Iris apologized to her.
 * Both Pikachu and Emolga were disobedient at first, but eventually listened to their trainers.
 * Pikachu disobeyed Ash due to lack of respect because Ash being a beginning trainer. He began to obey Ash after he saved him from a flock of wild.
 * Emolga disobeyed Iris because she didn't like battling.
 * She began to obey Iris in The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Verses Sawk.
 * Both Snivy and Emolga are female and Scraggy and Excadrill are male.
 * Both are the only main characters to have battled a.
 * Ash and Iris' game counterparts are Pokémon Champions and.
 * has shocked them both with . He shocked Iris in Enter Iris and Axew because she was hugging him too tightly and hurting him. He shocked Ash in Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym! because he was angry at him for not choosing to use him in his Gym battle against Elesa.
 * Both own a Dragon type that have mastered a Move they had trouble with.
 * Iris has who struggled with  and Ash has  who struggled with
 * Both Axew and Gible were part of running gags due to their trouble to master Dragon Rage and Draco Meteor, respectively.
 * Axew always made a sound as if he were sneezing, hence the name "Dragon Sneeze" by Cilan and Ash.
 * Gible's faulty Draco Meteor always managed to somehow hit  in the head, thereby knocking him out.

Name origin

 * Negai is from the Japanese characters 願い (negai) to mean 'wish' (in terms of 'desire,' 'prayer,' or 'request'). It is used as an alternate name over, after the title of the Japanese series "Best Wishes."

Alternate names

 * AaIL - stands for Ash and Iris Love
 * サトアイ SatoAi - meaning Satoshi and Iris (ai being the phonetic pronunciation of the long i sound)
 * PalmtreeShipping - This was one of the first names, but was unofficial.