Anime

First off, general stuff. All right, we all know that the rivalry between Shigeru and Satoshi is nothing but a cover-up. I mean, come on. They are only 10 years old or so. You think they're going to be able to handle actual romantic emotions? No. So, they came up with the rivalry to avoid being friends and thus having to deal with said emotions on a regular basis. The theory is that when they're older and more able to understand their feelings, they'll come around and realize that they were meant to be all along. There are a few things that loosely support this theory, which I'll pick apart until they seem like concrete proof. Fun, huh?

Isn't that a cute picture? It's not from any episodes, but I like it. Ash looks like he's pouting. Heh. Well, here's the point, and it's pretty general. This is the pattern throughout the series: Gary insults Ash, who then responds by either falling all to pieces or going ballistic. Gary's opinion obviously matters to Ash, or he wouldn't get so worked up. I mean, come on. Misty insults Ash frequently, and he just grumbles. Then Gary comes along with an interesting little pet-name like 'Ashy-boy', and the kid completely loses it. I also find it interesting that Gary takes the time and effort to think up these insults just for Ash. There's obviously something else there besides just rivalry.

All right, here we have a scene from the famous 'Battle of the Badge' episode. This is the episode for palletshipping. It has just about everything. Gary comes along in time to insult Ash, who naturally reacts with 'I'll show you!' Then he tries to impress him by strolling into the gym and winning a badge. Well, it doesn't really work like that, and when Ash sees Gary lying on the floor, he instantly goes running right to his side. Rivalry just gets pushed off to the side here: Gary is in trouble. Did he have to take him in his arms? No. And did we see Gary object to this? No. They seem a little too comfortable with that position, don't you think? It's like, they're supposed to hate each other, but the minute one of them gets a little shaken up, the other comes running to his side -- and they both just sort of take it for granted. Then, later in the episode, we see Gary watching Ash battle Team Rocket with such a worried expression on his face...

See? Now, actually, Gary starts to earn a little more respect for Ash in this episode, because while watching him, he comments, "Maybe... he can." And, of course, he manages to save Ash from being blown up, by tackling Meowth before he can go through with that. And, after all is said and done, he watches Ash celebrate and remarks that, "That kid is a pretty good trainer." (below)

All in all, this episode was just a good one for Shishi fans.

Another good episode in the grand scheme of Ash and Gary's hidden relationship (hey, in my mind, it's there) is "Showdown at the Poke-Corral", which is where the shot above came from. Gary is actually in the whole episode -- or most of it -- which doesn't happen very often. At first, we see the same old arguments happening between the two -- Gary attacks and Ash responds. They compare pokemon for a while, trying to figure out who is the better trainer, and then seem to concede that they both have good methods -- just like that. Strange, how they just give up the whole thing. It seemed so important when they were using it as an excuse to fight, but suddenly, it means nothing. Amazing. We have a bunch of useless chatter from Prof. Oak, and then Ash makes a comment on how he's going to catch as many pokemon as he can, to which Gary responds with 'me too!' Then they stare at each other for a while...

Gary stares at Ash. Ash stares at Gary. I loved this scene. And then as they gaze adoringly into each other's eyes (well, no, I made that up -- they look more determined than adoring), Brock comments, "They really love pokemon." Misty replies with, "So maybe they can like each other." (you know she meant to say 'love each other') Ash and Gary don't even comment on this. They're too busy staring at each other. Then Gary invites Ash to battle with him because 'they could both use the practice'. However, before they can do just that, Team Rocket appears on the grounds, and the two of them decide to work together in order to drive the trouble away. (below)

Isn't that sweet? They work so well together, don't they? Just goes to show, the rivalry isn't real, it's just to cover the fact that they have feelings for each other they don't really want to admitt. That whole 'rivals' business seems to get tossed aside whenever there's trouble. Anyway, that afternoon must have been too emotionally exhausting for Gary, because he comments that 'It's been a long day' and they can have their battle at the pokemon league. They do a little more bickering -- which seems more like teasing than anything -- and then Gary leaves.

Aw, Ash looks disappointed. But they'll meet again. They can't seem to get on with their lives without seeing each other every so often.

I don't have any pics from 'A Tent Situation' and 'The Rivalry Revival', but I know these episodes have some good Shishi hints in them. First off, we have the return of Brock, who for some reason curls up and turns bluish at the mention of Prof. Ivy's name. Misty reasons that it is because he liked her, and she dumped him. Ash, being Ash, says, "I liked her too", indicating that he has once again completely missed the point. Misty gives a long-suffering sigh and tells him that sometimes he's 'as immature as Gary'. At the name, Ash immediately pulls a Brock by curling up and turning blue. Following Misty's reasoning, this should mean that Ash likes Gary, shouldn't it? Well, I'd like to think so.

Next off, Gary appears, saving them all from Team Rocket and earning himself praise from all sides. Hearing everyone talking about how great his rival is, Ash gets jealous -- or maybe he doesn't like the way Misty, Brock, and Tracey are noticing his Gary. He goes up to the taller boy and brags that he's won the Orange League. Gary congratulates him, but reminds him that the trophey didn't help against Team Rocket. Ash starts to get irritated again, and they end up agreeing to a pokemon battle.

I may be just off in a dream world, but it seems to me that Gary came back expecting to battle Ash. He had his Eevee trained exactly right to beat Ash's Pikachu. I think he'd been anticipating this for a while, and wanted to look good in front of his rival. Of course, he'd be telling himself that it was because he wanted to beat Ash, but we all know the truth. Why would he put that much effort into this, if Ash meant nothing to him? After he wins the battle, he even congratulates his opponent, and then just leaves. Hey, that was what he came for. No need to stick around. He'll see Ash again later, right? Of course...

The next time we see Gary, it's in a Johto episode, 'Illusion Confusion', and he's pulling off another rescue stunt, saving Ash and co. from some pretty frightening illusions. He basically shows up just to tell Ash how to get out of the forest, then leaves. All he wanted to do was make sure his rival got out OK. Once he's done that, he can be on his way. At least, that's the way I see it.

Pikachu Series

First of all, we have the very beginning of the first comic (well, the first scene where Gary comes in, anyway). Ash and Gary in the manga already knew each other before everything started, and it's probably safe to assume that they were friends before they became rivals. The common theory here is that they broke off their friendship because they were developing feelings for each other that were too much to handle. (very similar to the theory in the anime) Gary does, however, take the time to flaunt his trainer's license in Ash's face before he leaves on his journey. The thing is, Ash wasn't thinking about becoming a pokemon trainer until Gary became one, and then all of a sudden, it's like he has to.

In the comic, Ash has a crush on Gary's older sister, May. I like to think that this is just because he can't consciously admitt that it's really Gary he likes. Ash is sort of like a mini Brock in this comic, falling for a lot of pretty girls. However, just like in the anime, he drops everything whenever Gary shows up. Clearly, the kid is in denial.

During the Pokemon League matches, we see Gary coming over to congratulate Ash on a victory. They link arms, which isn't something you'd do with someone you hated. Obviously, then, the rivalry isn't coming from actual dislike. And then Gary wishes Ash good luck, and just look how happy that makes him. (below)

Isn't that sweet? I think it is.

How can we forget the end of the last comic in the series? After a typical little 'fight' between Ash and Gary, we're told in a letter to Ash's mother that the two are now travelling together. Really, in the last piece of arguing between them, it seems more like they're teasing each other than actually fighting. The manga Ash and Gary appear to have realized that they're not really enemies so it's ridiculous to be rivals (especially since deep down inside they know they really love each other). Naturally, they still argue somewhat, but it looks to me like they're pretty happy with each other.

Pokemon Adventures

OK, these two didn't meet on the best of terms. But, that's just a small obstacle. The mood alternates when they meet up along the way. Sometimes Red is absolutely infuriorated with Blue (usually after he's been openly insulted), commenting on 'what a jerk' he is or how he's acting 'friendly as ever'. The thing is, though, Red seems a bit fascinated with Blue. He's constantly trying to talk to him, or befriend him, and I think he gets puzzled when Blue responds with something like, "I'll be seeing you around. Unfortunately." Red's the kind of person who's used to having people like him (except those who are evil, of course) so the fact that Blue doesn't seem to tends to confuse him. Like Ash, Red isn't always very smart, and he gets stubborn at times. He continues to call Blue his rival, but the term doesn't seem to hold much meaning for him.

As in the anime, when Blue is in trouble, Red goes running off to save him. Later on, when a whole pile of poison-pokemon venom is about to fall on Red, Blue doesn't hesitate to come back and pull him out of danger. So despite everything, they take care of each other.

It's been commented more than once that Blue is seen as good-looking in this particular comic (heck, he's good-looking in both comics and the anime), but he doesn't seem to care. Actually, this is one of the few things he doesn't brag about. Blue isn't shy by any stretch of the imagination -- he's aloof. But he obviously isn't interested in girls. It's my theory that he's in denial over his attraction to Red -- and insulting him is the way he chooses to deal with those feelings. He probably tells himself ten times a day that he doesn't like Red, but that can't make it true. He believes he doesn't, of course, but still.