Serena Yvonne

> *"Ta-da!"*
>
>

- *Serena*

Serena is a protagonist and a member of The New Action Squad.

## **BIOGRAPHY**

Serena is an enthusiastic Pokémon Trainer, a Performer from the Kalos region and one of Ash Ketchum's traveling companions during his journey in the Kalos region, whose main goal is to be named Kalos Queen, the highest prestige achievable for Pokémon Performers.

She and Ash met before the series of events when Ash aided her in her time of need. She developed a strong crush on him from that day on and it became one of her most notable characteristics, evident through her blushing whenever she looks at, talks to or is amazed by him when battling.

Outside of Vaniville Town, she is also a member of The New Action Squad. During the progression of the series, she has become more determined and keeps social with other members of the group with the same interests as her. She has also grown to have a liking of the Disney Princesses because of their style and personalities.

## **APPEARANCE**

Serena is a beautiful fair-skinned girl with waist-length honey blonde hair that is tied in a loose ponytail at the end with bangs hanging on the left side and light blue eyes. Later on in the series, after losing her first Showcase, she cuts her hair to chin length.

Her first outfit consisted of a dark gray tank top with a white collar, dark gray stockings, red double waist side buttons pleated skirt, black hi-tops with a pink semi-Poké Ball printing on the sides - similar in design to Hilda's - and a dark pink hat paired with a black hatband and ribbon bow. Serena marks a return to basing Ash's female companion off of that generation's female player character in the video games. However, Serena is also the first to have undergone minor cosmetic changes for the transition to the anime, whereas May and Dawn remained the same. Among the cosmetic changes are:

* She appears a little younger or shorter than in her game counterpart.
* Her fingernails are short and trimmed like most other characters on the show, rather than long like her game counterpart in Pokémon X and Y.
* Her fingernails are kept natural without any nail polish on while her game counterpart wears a faint pink nail polish.
* Her shirt collar is white instead of black.
* The sunglasses on the hat are replaced by her tiny bow.
* She doesn't have a Mega Ring.
* Her eyes are blue despite the fact that her game counterpart is a gray color (even her game counterpart's contacts can be changed to blue).
* Her hat appears larger and more curved that it looks similar to a straw hat.
* She wears high-top shoes unlike her game counterpart, who wears sneakers; however, they are in the same design.
* The line going down from the top of her shoes, down to the soles, is one straight line, while on her game counterpart's sneakers, they are two separate lines.
* She also does not have the purse that her game counterpart does, instead of having a backpack.

Starting from "A Showcase Debut!", Serena now has shoulder-length hair (or a short-layered bob) and she wears a new reddish-pink fedora, a bright pink dress with a white collar, her gray top underneath, and a red waistcoat with a blue ribbon on her chest, the same stockings, and brown boots. Her boots are mid-knee length, and have a strap of darker brown at the front. The rims of her soles are brown, while the soles of her boots are grey. There is no heel on her boots, and she wears this outfit wherever she goes, with the exception during pokemon showcases. When she was younger, she wore a pink dress, with Mary Jane shoes, and a straw hat tied by a light pink hatband, and ribbon. For pajamas, she wears a lavender hoodie with pink heart insignias on the hips with dark-pink shorts, along with a red or pink bow. As of "A Frolicking Find in the Flowers!", she wears pink sandals whenever she's in her pajamas while outside.

## **PERSONALITY**

Serena is a very kind and polite girl, although she was rebellious and disobeyed her mother at the start of her journey. In addition to her kindness, she is very helpful and is always concerned about what her friends are doing, always trying her best to keep their spirits up. She also has a passion for fashion and clothes, always searching for the prettiest and most stylish outfits to wear. As a result, she hates getting dirty and being soaked in mud. Much like May, Serena also adores trying out the various popular food spots in cities and towns, especially desserts. However, unlike May, Serena is very modest and demure- at one point in the anime, she almost got injured when she chose to hold her skirt down while falling rather than making a safe landing. She also gets incredibly flustered and embarrassed very easily, especially when someone teases her about her not-so-secret crush on Ash.

Originally, Serena was uncertain about what paths or careers to pursue in life, and she also expressed little ambition towards becoming a full-time Pokémon Trainer in the early stages of her journey. However, she eventually began to think that not having an established goal was a problem for her future as a Trainer. During her time at Pokémon Summer Camp, she began to seriously consider what she wanted to do with herself and her Pokémon after seeing how passionate the Trainers around her were. Eventually, she decided that her goal was to be a Pokémon Performer, and ever since she has been deligently training both herself and her Pokémon. After losing her first Pokémon Showcase, Serena strengthened her resolve to do even better, signifying this by cutting her hair short.

Through her journey, Serena went through a great change in her personality. She became a very strong and determined girl, as shown when she reminded herself of Ash's motto, "Don't give up till it's over", and when she would take hits for her Pokémon. However, Serena sometimes blamed herself for problems that occurred or whenever she fought with her friends, despite everyone around her telling her that it was all right or assuring her that it wasn't her fault.

## **TRIVIA**

* Serena is Ash Ketchum's first companion to have known him personally before the very start of the series.
	+ She is also the first companion to have a canonical, confirmed crush on Ash. This crush has been noticed by Miette, Bonnie, Shauna and Nini in "A Battle by Any Other Name!", "Performing with Fiery Charm!", "Tag Team Battle Inspiration!" and "Master Class is in Session!", respectively.
		- Serena is also the second of Ash's female traveling companions to choose a Fire-type Starter Pokémon (Fennekin).
			* The first was May when she chose Torchic.
				+ Coincidentally both of them specialize in performance-oriented fields.
* Serena took the longest time to officially join the main cast since the start of the series, which is seven episodes.
* Serena is the second main character whose Japanese name remained the same in English.
	+ The first being Iris.
* Serena was the first companion whom Ash asked directly to join the group.
* Serena is the first female traveling partner to not get herself or her bike shocked by Pikachu at the start of the series.
	+ Misty, May and Dawn all had their bikes electrocuted
	+ Iris and Bonnie were directly shocked by Pikachu
* So far, Serena is the only female companion who hasn't either argued, fought with or insulted Ash on a regular basis, or is easily irritated by his actions.