Benugi

**Benugi** (Japanese:) is the belief that Ben and Mugi belong in a romantic relationship.

## Evidence

### Ben's Hints

* In Showdown in Pewter City, Ben falls in love with the lovely Tsumugi Kotobuki.
* In The Water Flowers of Cerulean City, Ben realized how considerate Mugi was after she offered to referee for him.
* In The Path to the Pokémon League, Ben realized how amazing a battler Mugi was.
* In Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village!, Ben said that Mugi was extremely pretty.
* In Charmander the Stray Pokémon!, Ben said that Mugi looked super adorable with her hair tied up before realizing that they'd be sleeping next to each other, just as Mugi realized the same thing. Later that night, a nervous Ben couldn't sleep because the love of his life was laying next to him before she puts her hand on his in her sleep.
* In Here Comes the Squirtle Squad!, he makes a promise to rescue Mugi from the Squirtle Squad.
* In Electric Shock Showdown!, Ben starts thinking that Mugi looked cute when worried.
* In Battle Aboard the St. Anne, Ben fantasized how cute and beautiful Mugi would look in a swimsuit, going as far as to think she'd look hot. At the end of the episode, with Ash and the others trapped and unconscious in the sinking St. Anne, Ben is lying next to Mugi, both of them holding each other's hands.
* In Island of the Giant Pokémon, Ben became worried about Mugi after the gang got separated.
* In The Ghost of Maiden's Peak, Ben saw Mugi wearing a beautiful kimono for the festival near the end of the episode and was blown away by how gorgeous she looked. She then took his hand to lead him off to dance, causing him to wonder if he was in heaven.
* In Pokémon Scent-sation!, Ben was relieved that Mugi was okay after going back in the burning gym, admitting that she looked like a heroic angel.
* In Hypno's Naptime, Ben found how adorable it was when Mugi gave her Pokemon cute names to match with their cute looking trainer.
* In Pokémon Fashion Flash, upon seeing how kind Mugi was to newborns, he suggested to himself that he should marry her one day.
* In Dig Those Diglett!, Ben admitted he'd like to spend more time with Mugi at the Gaiva hot spring resort, admitting that she was "steaming" cute before Azusa ponders and asks him if he liked Mugi.
* In Showdown at Dark City, Ben thought he's in heaven when Ui's newly hatched Zorua, Shifty, transforms into Mugi.
* In The Problem with Paras, Ben admitted that Mugi's Flabebe is as beautiful as she is.
* In The Song of Jigglypuff, Ben blushes bright red when Mugi falls asleep in his lap, due to the effects of Jigglypuff's song, and he admits that she looked cute when she's asleep.
* In A Chansey Operation, Ben admitted that Mugi looked super cute in her nurse uniform.
* In Princess vs. Princess, Ben admitted that he was fine with all the hectic Princess Day shopping if it meant Mugi got swimsuits that made her hotter than the beach.
* In The Case of the K-9 Caper!, Ben admits that Mugi's high pitched voice made her sound cuter than before.
* In Pokémon Paparazzi, Ben reminds himself that he'd have to ask Todd to take a picture of Mugi so he can keep and look at it.
* In The Ultimate Test, Ben asked Todd Snap for a wallet sized picture of Mugi before paraphrasing from Romeo and Juliet, causing Sawako to point out that he was so in love with Mugi that he was nearly at the point of drooling at her feet.
* In Beach Blank-Out Blastoise, Ben thinks that Turtle Island isn't just a breeding ground for Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise, but also a piece of heaven because of the fact that Mugi was wearing her cute nurse uniform again. And when she falls asleep from Jigglypuff's song, he catches her before saying that if she was his girlfriend, he'd either kiss her or ask her for one.
* In The Battle Of The Badge, he let Mugi look after his Pokémon Egg, so that he can go inside the Viridian Gym to watch Liam's battle with Giovanni.
* In The Fourth Round Rumble, Ben learned that Mugi suggested that the girls wear cheerleader uniforms to cheer on Liam in his fourth round matchup, causing Ben to think that Mugi was, not only thoughtful, but also cute in her uniform.
* In Pallet Party Panic, when assigned to travel to Valencia Island by Professor Oak, Ben begins to fantasize Mugi in a swimsuit
* In The Crystal Onix, Ben imagines and wishes Mateo made a beautiful crystal statue of Mugi.
* In the episode In the Pink, Ben wonders if Mugi would love him more than yuri manga.
* In The Joy of Pokemon, Ben tells himself that wherever Mugi goes, his heart will follow.
* In The Mystery Menace, Ben shows genuine worry and concern as Mugi got pulled into the sewer water by the vines of the giant Bulbasaur.
* In Misty Meets Her Match, Ben wishes that he and Mugi were more than friends.
* In Pokémon Double Trouble, during their stay at the Kumquat Island gym/hotel resort, Ben comments on how gorgeous Mugi looked with her wet hair. Later, he starts to remember how she helped him with his Aestophobia on Cinnabar Island. But upon realizing they were in a hot tub and under completely different circumstances, he worries that her towel might slip and gets a nosebleed because of that very thought.
* In The Wacky Watcher, Ben wonders if the fact that he's sharing a tent with the girl he loves more than anything is a mystery.
* In The Little Big Horn, Ben calls Mugi an angel as she sleeps.
* In A Shadow of a Drought, Ben thinks that Mugi looked insanely cute in her Slowpoke costume.
* In Forest Grumps, Ben thinks that the day is perfect because he gets to look at his dream girl.
* In Talkin' 'Bout an Evolution!

### Mugi's Hints

* In The Water Flowers of Cerulean City, Mugi asked Ben if she could referee for him.
* In Mystery at the Lighthouse, Mugi held Ben's hand in fear after hearing the doorbell of Bill's lighthouse, only for Ben to tell her she was hurting his hand.
* In The Tower of Terror, Mugi admitted to herself that she actually had feelings for him while looking at his, supposedly, dead body.
* In The Punchy Pokémon, Mugi showed concern for Ben's Hitmonchan, Rocky.
* In The Battle Of The Badge, Mugi found Ben lying on the Viridian City gym floor, nearly dead. She began weeping, believing that she had lost him. Later, during Ash's gym match, she is seen nursing Ben's injuries.
* In Showdown at the Po-ké Corral, during a flashback, Mugi comforted Ben after he had a nightmare about the mystery Pokemon (Mewtwo) that nearly killed him at the Viridian City gym.
* In Flower Power, Mugi sees a circus poster with a 17 year old Ben on it and thinks that he looked both really handsome and really cute.

### Hints from both sides

* In Beauty and the Beach, Ben blushed when Mugi says he looks like a performer in a whale show at SeaWorld before returning the favor and telling Mugi she looked cute in her swimsuit, causing her to blush before she thanked him.
* In The Breeding Center Secret, Ben told Mugi his history with Butch and Cassidy while she helped him get over his drive for revenge against them.
* In Riddle Me This, Ben tells Mugi his easy embarrassment when it comes to hot springs, due to the strict etiquette an onsen requiring complete disrobement before entering. However, in the following episode, Volcanic Panic, Mugi helps him get over that fear. During that event, Mugi put her hand over his as he fell asleep, completely relaxed by the warm water of a private hot spring she led him to. After thanking her, he proceeded to hug her before she did so, as well.
* In Clefairy Tales, after Ben and Mugi land in the underground launch site of the extraterrestrial Clefair, Ben found that she was laying on his chest, causing him to think that his heartbeat jumped to 250 beats per minute before Mugi realized what happened, blushed and got up and off of him.
* In Pokéball Peril, both Ben and Mugi blushed when Team Rocket hinted that they were lovebirds.
* In Pikachu Re-Volts, Mugi showed genuine concern for Ben after he was attacked by his mind-controlled teammates. Later, Ben was seen thawing her out after Van-Lily froze her in place, commenting that he'd rather see her in a hot swimsuit on a tropical island rather than see her frozen solid in a modern city.
* In Bye Bye Psyduck, both Ben and Mugi wish they had the guts, nerve and courage to tell each other how they feel for one another.
* In A Way Off Day Off, Ben decided to take the opportunity provided by the day off the group was having to stare at his dream girl. Later, while he was surfing, Mugi started to think Ben looked hot.
* In Wherefore Art Thou, Pokemon?, Mugi was so enchanted by Tony and Maria kissing and evolving that she hoped that would be her and Ben someday.
* In Liam's Adventures of Pokémon the Movie 2000, when the group gets captured, along with Zapdos, by a greedy Pokémon collector named Lawrence III, Ben is seen holding Mugi tight in his arms.
* In Pokemon Food Fight, Ben was woken up by Mugi and Miki after being found unconscious. Once he was awake, Mugi hugged him, causing him to think that he felt like he was in heaven, even though he was alive.
* In Hassle in the Castle!, Ben runs away after hearing the screaming of one of the patients in the castle, prompting Mugi to go after him and find him shuddering. After she gave him a hug to calm him, Ben explained that he had a nightmare about that same castle several nights in a row. Then, he was confronted by a Crobat, just like in his dream, prompting him to run away before he was cornered and hypnotized by the Crobat's Confuse Ray, which turned him into a vampire. While some of the gang look for him, Mugi ends up being the one to find him playing the organ before he sends the Crobat that transformed him after her. He ultimately finds the others and chases after them all. While everyone else escapes, they realize that Mugi wasn't with them, so they went back to save her. They do so by attacking Crobat enough for the Confuse Ray to be broken and for Ben to return to normal. He then realized what happened and proceeded to battle the Crobat, but that was temporarily interrupted when the wild Pokemon backed up into a suit of armor and caused to fall towards Mugi. But Ben jumped in and saved her, causing her to blush before he proceeded to capture the wild Crobat and named it Alucard.
* In A Hot Water Battle!, Ben finally confessed his feelings for his dream girl, before she did the same after thinking about all the times they spent together. Ultimately, they officially started their relationship and sealed it with their first kiss until they both fell in the water and shared a laugh after surfacing.

## Moments/dates

* In A Hot Water Battle!, after confessing their love for each other, the two went off to a private part of the lagoon and shared a quiet, romantic date together.
* In Hook, Line, and Stinker!, Ben and Mugi both reveal their relationship to the rest of the group that was unaware. In the same episode, Mugi steps in to battle Team Rocket after Ben was injured by Victreebel.
* In Beauty and the Breeder!, they both share a hot fudge sundae together.
* In Wobbu-Palooza, they share an ice cream soda, only for Ben to get a brain freeze.
* In Ariados Amigos!, after Mugi is injured by Victreebel's Razor Leaf, Ben's anger is triggered and he taps into a forbidden jitsu known as Nine-Tailed Fox Warrior Form.
* In Delibird's Dilemma, Ben and Mugi gave each other Pokemon eggs as Christmas presents before they shared a kiss under a mistletoe. The eggs eventually hatched into a Vanilite and an Applin, respectively, in The Apple Corp.
* In Trouble's Brewing!, Ben and Mugi go on a historical tour of Ecruteak, complete with Mugi getting a geisha makeover, a rickshaw ride, Ben giving her flowers, and sharing a private hot spring for two.
* In UnBEARable!, Mugi calls her family and they give her and Ben their blessing to be together.
* In Spring Fever!, Todd takes a picture of Ben feeding Mugi some of his ramen.
* In The Stolen Stones, Mugi checks on Ben after he and Bambi take a tumble while pursuing Team Rocket.
* In The Wayward Wobbuffet!, Mugi gives Ben a good luck kiss before he goes to rescue Wobbuffet from Goneff.
* In The Heartbreak of Brock!, Ben and Mugi ponder the possibility of getting married.
* In The Screen Actor's Guilt, Ben and Mugi are seen with their arms linked and, unknown to them, this starts a rumor among fans of After School Teatime about their relationship.
* In The Joy of Water Pokemon!, Ben is called away on a case, leaving Mugi in charge of training Ash and Liam. Before he leaves, after kissing and hugging his beloved, he tosses down a striking red camellia, her favorite flower.
* In Around the Whirlpool!, Ben and Mugi have a date by the pool at the Pokemon Center and, once again, ponder the possibility of getting married.
* In Fly Me to the Moon!, Ben and Mugi spend some time under the stars and see a shooting star.
* In A Corsola Caper, Mugi gives Ben a good luck kiss before setting about rescuing a young girl on a floating house.
* In Dueling Heroes!, Ben comforts Mugi when she reveals she's nervous about her match in the Whirl Cup. Later, during said match, Ben shouts words of encouragement to her, resulting in Sammy evolving into Dewott during her battle against a Seadra after she imitated what Ben said to Sammy during its time as Oshawott when she was in a pinch. He later celebrated Mugi's victory over Ronald.
* In Throwing in the Noctowl!, Ben is forced to hold on to Mugi while she sat in his lap for the duration of the flight.
* In Espeon, Not Included!, Ben and Mugi have a date at the Ecruteak Hot Spring house. The hot spring they got was the largest in the whole place, called the Roman Bath.
* In Some Like It Hot!, Mugi goes completely red when she sees Ben take his jacket and shirt off, which he leaves off for the entire episode due to the heat. Later, they sit together while Ben was working on his tan.
* In Hocus Pokémon!, Ben takes Mugi on a magic carpet ride around the world.
* In Just Add Water!, Ben and Mugi have a date on the beach.
* In Liam's Adventures of Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, Ben and Mugi meet the Italian branch of his family and have a romantic spaghetti dinner together.
* In Lapras of Luxury!, Mugi makes Ben a seashell necklace.
* In Entei at Your Own Risk!, Ben and Mugi share a private hot spring together.
* In Hoenn Alone, Ben and Mugi have a pool date on the boat to Hoenn.
* In A Tail with a Twist!, Ben refers to Mugi as his "piano princess", and also reveals his hatred for Seviper, and protects her from Jessie's newly-caught Seviper
* In Liam's Adventures of Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker
* In Candid Camerupt!
* In I Feel Skitty!, Ben conforted Mugi when she had to leave Floaroma under Eliza's care to produce more fragrances.
* In Under the Pledging Tree!
* In Till We Compete Again
* in Special Episode: The Honeymoon of Ben and Mugi!
* In Epilogue: Pokemon XYZ

## Similarities

* Both Mugi and Ben have blue eyes.
* They both own a Rapidash.
* They both share a hatred for Seviper, and were nearly eaten by one, resulting in getting a fear of the species.
* They both share a tent when spending the night in a certain area.
* They also become parents when Tsumugi gives birth to twins- a baby boy and a baby girl.

## Name Origin

* The name **RichShipping** comes from Mugi being a wealthy rich girl.

## Trivia

* Benugi shares a similarity reference to an anime series, "Fly Me to the Moon", from a certain married couple, Tsukasa and Nasa. They got married, their house burned down, and their bond deepened regardless of the setback from the fire.
	+ Their house was soon rebuilt with the help of all of their friends.
* Benugi is said to be highly popular among followers of LAoPtS when it comes to swimsuits, having won three swimsuit contests in a row in the following regions: Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto.