Shipping:CafeMochaShipping

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CafeMochaShipping (Japanese: デンサト DenSato or サトデン SatoDen) is the belief that and  belong in a romantic relationship. The name was coined from Cilan's work in a cafe and the fact that Ash's skin tone is darker than Cilan's, ultimately as a pun off. It can be considered a rival of.

Ash's hints

 * A Home for Dwebble!
 * At the beginning of the episode, Ash remarks that Cilan's sandwiches are the best he's ever had. Later during dinner, Ash asks Dwebble if Cilan's food is the best, implying that he think it is good. Also, when Pansage falls ill, he thanks Iris and for helping Cilan's Pansage even though Pansage is not his Pokémon.


 * A Night in the Nacrene City Museum!
 * Ash is visibly concerned and upset that Cilan is not acting like himself after being possessed by 's mask. When the mask comes off and Cilan returns to normal, he says, "Cilan! Thank goodness. You okay?" with a concerned voice.


 * A Connoisseur's Revenge!
 * Ash stares intently at Cilan as he explains to Burgundy that he has wonderful relationship with each of his Pokémon. Hearing his kind words, Ash can't help but give him a smile.


 * Later, just before Burgundy and Cilan's battle, Burgundy begins to say that if Cilan loses the battle, he would have to let her replace all of Ash's Pokémon. Ash protests this and whines to Cilan to say something in a way that sounded like he wanted to be protected from Burgundy. Fans find this somewhat significant as Ash usually defends himself in these kind of situations and felt intimidated enough by Burgundy to look to Cilan for assistance.


 * Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open!
 * When Cilan poses after taking out his fishing rod, Ash smiles at him and says that he is cool. He is also thoroughly impressed by Cilan's fishing skills and watches with admiration as he reels in.


 * The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk!
 * Burgundy states that the food Cilan made for Ash's Snivy must taste awful because he cannot evaluate correctly. After Snivy shoos her away, Ash says that it's impossible for Cilan's food to be bad.


 * Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky?
 * Ash is the only one who seems to genuinely care about why Cilan is so afraid of while everyone else brushes it off, being more interested in Purrloin. He also tries to get Cilan to tell him what happened and becomes bothered when he won't.

Cilan's hints

 * While Iris often doubts Ash's battle strategies, Cilan encourages them and believes that Ash will figure some way to make it work.


 * Dreams by the Yard Full!
 * After their battle, Cilan comments on the nice "flavor" that Ash and Iris have together. Iris moves to leave and Cilan asks if they were not traveling together. Indignantly, Iris states "We're not together!" and leaves. While Ash watches her go, Cilan looks down at Ash and smiles rather fondly.


 * Cilan followed Ash to the local Pokémon Center shortly after giving him the for defeating him in a Gym match. He explained that he was "intoxicated" by the bond that Ash had with  in battle and was interested to know more about him. He then proceeds to ask Ash questions about how to bring out his Pokémon's innermost talents while climbing over the table that separated them to get closer to him.


 * Later in the episode, Cilan decides to leave his Gym Leader duties in order to travel to become a great Pokémon Connoisseur which was inspired by his battle with Ash. Instead of going off on his own, he stated that he wanted to follow Ash wherever he went.


 * A Rival Battle for Club Champ!
 * When Trip refuses to battle Ash, Cilan eventually convinces him to do so.


 * A Connoisseur's Revenge!
 * Ash is told by a Connoisseur by the name of Burgundy that he had to replace all of his Pokémon because of bad compatibility. Cilan strongly disagreed with her and said that Ash had a close relationship to each of them and that her diagnosis was way off.


 * Before Cilan and Burgundy start their battle, she says that if she wins that he would have to accept that her diagnosis of Ash's Pokémon was correct. He tells her that there was no way that he would lose showing that he was intent on protecting Ash's honor. When Ash becomes worried about what might happen, Cilan reassures him that as an A-class Connoisseur, he cannot make a wrong diagnosis.


 * Dancing With the Ducklett Trio!
 * When a wild ran off with Cilan's  on its head, Iris was the one who ran after it while Cilan chose to be the one to save Ash who had fallen into a pit. Fans find this somewhat significant because, as seen in Minccino-Neat and Tidy!, Cilan is very protective of his dinner ware but chose to look for Ash instead of his cloche.


 * A Venipede Stampede!
 * After head butts Ash in the chest, he collapsed from the effects of its poison. Cilan quickly created a remedy and then spoon feeds it to him while Burgh and Iris chose to help Venipede instead.


 * Movie Time! Zorua in "The Legend of the Pokémon Knight"!
 * Ash becomes very nervous saying his lines for Luke's movie. Cilan then places his hand on his shoulder and gives him some words of encouragement to help him overcome his stage fright. He is also winking at him while he's talking.


 * Lost at the Stamp Rally!
 * Cilan is very excited at the prospect of collecting all 60 stamps to battle with es and, and explains this to his friends. When Ash expresses interest in the idea, he puts his hand on Ash's shoulder and says that they should pursue the goal together. He seems disappointed when Ash and Iris go off to explore Nimbasa City instead, but still keeps his promise and partners with Ash when he does win the stamp rally and the subsequent battle.


 * A Maractus Musical!
 * While he's gushing about the delights of the Pokémon Musical, Cilan puts an arm around Ash.


 * The Four Seasons of Sawsbuck!
 * When the trio first meets, Cilan happily explains Ash's background and that he came all the way from Kanto to challenge the Unova Gyms. This suggests that Cilan is proud of Ash's actions in life.

Similarities

 * Both have worked at a at some point. Cilan worked at the Striaton Gym which is also a butler café, and Ash temporarily worked at a maid café in Tanks for the Memories!.
 * Both have been possessed by spirits. Ash was possessed by the King of Pokélantis in Battling the Enemy Within!, and Cilan was possessed by 's mask in A Night in the Nacrene City Museum!.
 * Both of their Pokémon had their  revealed in A Connoisseur's Revenge!: Ash's Sewaddle and Cilan's Dwebble.
 * Both caught a Pokémon in the same episode: and . Also, both are dual-type Ground Pokémon.
 * Both own a from Unova with the Ability  that are voiced by Tom Wayland in the English dub:  and.
 * Their evolutions had no episodes between them, with Roggenrola evolving in Battling the King of the Mines! and Dwebble evolving one episode later in Crisis at Chargestone Cave!.
 * Both caught and released a Water Pokémon in a fishing contest. Ash caught a and Cilan caught a blue-striped.
 * They both have one female rival, and Burgundy, respectively.