Hello, everyone, and welcome to something completly different. On Wednesday, December 8th, 2021, I had a realization about the shipping wars, and how it can be solved with all sides winning. I already posted it to my other social platforms, and wanted to post the original version here as well, but as this website has a rule against nonstories (not that the rules are enforced), I decided to write a fictionalized version on how I had the revelation. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the Revelation of Northstar.
One Wednesday night, a man of twenty years from the state of Minnesota was sitting in his bed. He was having some issues sleeping because so much was on his mind. There was the fact that his hometown Vikings were hosting the Steelers on Thursday Night Football tomorrow night, and they needed to win in order to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. He was also thinking about last week's Pokemon. Something bad happened in that episode, and from the looks of the trailer, things would only get worse next time before they get better. And of course, there was the most important issue of them all. You see, this man was a massive Pokemon fan for most of his life, and for just as long, he has supported Pokeshipping, or the idea that Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower should be in a romantic relationship. It was all fine and dandy until 2014, when a new ship entered the ring, Amourshipping. This man has seen many of the bad things that Amourshippers have said and done to not only people who support Pokeshipping, but the other ships involving Ash as well. He has had a few encounters with Amourshippers this week, and they have not been something he wanted to remember. "How can we make peace with each other and have all of the shippers happy?" the man thought to himself. He looked out of a window, "Arceus, if you can hear me, please tell me that Pokeshipping will be canon." He sighed, knowing he would be sounding crazy. This man never believed in the same God that other people believe in, even saying "under Arceus" when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at school.
"Are you talking to me, Northstar?" the man, now revealed to be named Northstar, heard. Northstar looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice. It was hard to do because it was totally dark inside of his room. So he got out of bed and turned on the light, and when the light flooded the room, Northstar gasped when he saw who was talking to him.
"A… A… ARCEUS?!" Northstar asked as he looked at the llama god who he could have sworn was only fictional. But here Arceus was, in his room in a Minnesota suburb, in all of his ten and a half feet glory. "Is that really you?!" Northstar pinched himself to make sure he was not dreaming. After all, it was not every day that a legendary or mythical Pokemon suddenly shows up into your room to have a conversion with you
"It is me," Arceus said, "And I have came here to say that, yes, Pokeshipping will become canon one day, but so will the other Ash Ketchum ships."
Northstar was completely baffled, as there was only one Ash Ketchum to be with, and pologamy was frowned upon in many places. "How can Ash be with that many people?!" he asked in complete shock.
"Take my hand," Arceus said, "Er, front leg, and I will show you what I mean."
Northstar hesitated for a little bit, but he eventually reached his hand out to the Alpha Pokemon, and a bright flash surrounded them both.
Northstar opened his eyes and looked around. He noticed the world looked a lot more animated than it had before. He also noticed that it was day time with strange pink and blue marks across the sky. "I have a feeling we are not in Minnesota anymore…"
"We are not in Minnesota," Arceus told the man, "We are in the Sinnoh Region."
Norhtstar gasped. He was actually in the Pokemon world, which seemed awesome! But with the exception of Arceus, Northstar did not see any Pokemon around at all. "Where are all of the Pokemon?" he asked himself as he saw a portal open and a familiar trainer come out. It was a boy with black hair and brown eyes, a red cap, and a Pikachu on his shoulder. A girl with purplish red hair and green eyes with an Eevee in her arms followed right behind him. Northstar noticed them right away, "Ash! Pikachu! Chloe! Eevee!" He tried to run up to them, but Arceus stopped him.
"Northstar," Arceus said, "They cannot see or hear us."
Northstar sighed and watched the scene play out. Ash and Pikachu ran into a boy who looked identical to Ash, only he was wearing a blue outfit while Ash was wearing a red one. Both boys saw one another in shock, and Northstar knew what was going on, "Is this Pokemon Journeys Episode 89, Arceus?"
"Indeed it is," Arceus said, "And this is an important part in leading you to understand how everyone can be Ash's loved one."
Northstar thought about what Arceus said, and understood, "Okay, I will keep alternative universes in mind. Now can we get out of here. This episode gave me a fear of growing younger."
"Given the fate of all of the trainer's Pokemon here, and what will happen to the Pokemon of the main Ash, Dawn, Goh, and Chloe next time, I can see why," Arceus said as he vanished yet again, nobody noticing that they were even there to begin with.
Northstar opened his eyes again and saw that he was in a world that looked animated, but looked even worse compared to the Pokemon world. He and Arceus were now in a room with two old-fashioned looking men in front of a map of a body of water.
"Where are we?" Northstar asked Arceus, unsure where Arceus took him.
"We are in the United States, in the 1850's," Arceus said.
Northstar looked at the room and the two men discussing the map. "Really?" Northstar asked, "Because there is a poster of John Lennon right there, and he was not born until 1940, a map of the Vietnam war right there, and the war won't start until 1955, let alone be independent from France until 1945, a modern TV set when the first TV was not invented until 1927, and a Nintendo Controller when the company won't be started until 1889, let alone release their first North American console until 1985!"
"And you will not be born until 2001, and I won't make my debut until 2006," Arceus pointed out.
"Fair point," Northstar said before he realized something. Didn't one of his favorite YouTubers make a video on a barely averted war that was almost caused when an American farmer shot a British farmer's pig? He thought back, and Northstar realized that he was in this video! He watched the British man offer an idea to the American man on what to do with some islands off the coast of their territories.
"We could draw the border through the middle channel and split the islands between us…"
"Well, that would be a completely fair compromise that protects the interests of both parties," the American man said, "AND THERE IS NO WAY THAT I AM EVER GOING TO AGREE TO IT!" He then pulled out a gun which didn't seem like it belonged in the 1850's, but Northstar was not sure where in time it was from, and started to shoot. Fortunately, before he could get any shots out, the world around Arceus and Northstar stopped.
"Now, Northstar," Arceus said, "Do you realize why I am taking you on this journey."
Northstar thought for a while. What did Pokemon Journeys Episode 89 and Oversimplified's video on the Pig War have to do with one another. Other than both of them being released in December of 2021, Northstar was drawing blanks. But then, he realized something. "The Brit just brought up a point on how to solve the shipping wars!" Northstar said to Arceus with a smile on his face.
"He did, indeed." Arceus said, "There are infinite amounts of Ash Ketchums, and thus infinite amounts of girls to be with him… or guys. That way, all shippers can be happy that their ship is canon."
"How about you show me some of them?" Northstar asked the llama god.
"Okay then," Arceus said as he glowed once again.
The animation style of the world returned to the cleaness of the Pokemon world, mainly because they were back in the Pokemon World, mainly Vaniville Town, Kalos!
"Where are we?" Northstar asked as he looked around.
"Ash's home in the future," Arceus said, "And before you ask, Ash is not ten forever."
"I know that," Northstar said with a chuckle. How could anyone believe that his hero traveled eight regions and not aged a single day? He then watched as the door opened and Ash, now as an adult, walked out of his house with his wife walking out with him. Northstar crossed his fingers, but was disappointed when he saw that Ash's wife in the main universe was not Misty, but Serena. But still, if Ash was happy, than so was Northstar.
"This is the main universe," Arceus said to Northstar, and as many have confirmed, Serena Ketchum is the wife of Ash Ketchum."
"I can understand that," Northstar said as he watched the happy couple leave the town, presumably to Lumiose City. "But in what universe will Ash end up with Misty?"
"I will take you there," Arceus said as he flashed white yet again, and the two vanished from sight.
Arceus and Northstar then ended up in Pallet Town, but Northstar could tell that something was off with this version of the town. He looked up at a sign and saw that "Pallet Town" was written in a completely backwards script.
"Is this the mirror universe that Ash and company visited in the Kalos region?" Northstar asked the god.
"It is," Arceus said, "And Mirror Pallet Town is the home of our next couple." He lead them to a house where an adult Ash Ketchum and Misty were taking care of their child. The child found Ash's old hat, which looked identical to the one he wore in Kanto, Johto, and the Orange Islands, only with the symbol facing the opposite direction it would have in canon.
"Why is Misty Ash's wife here and not in the main universe?" Northstar asked. Again, he was happy for Ash, but he was confused as to why this Ash was the right one for Misty.
"Think about it, Northstar," Arceus said, "Is the relationship between Ash and Serena as healthy here as it is in the main universe?"
"No, it isn't," Northstar said, "I remember that Serena was rather mean to Ash and…" He realised something. If Misty was kind of an a-hole to Ash in the main universe, then maybe she was as caring as Serena in this mirror universe. "I get it now!"
Arceus's invisible mouth smiled. "Very well, young one," he said, "Now it is time to leave this Ash for another one," They vanished in a ball of light once more.
Northstar and Arceus were now standing by a river, one Northstar recognized as the river where Ash was fished out in the main universe. But it was not the main Ash that he saw by the river, as he had a different design on his hat. "Movie 20?"
"Correct," Arceus said as a brown-haired lady with an Emploeon walking alongside her sat next to Ash, who had a Rainbow Wing necklace around his neck.
"Looks like even the non canonical girls can have a little bit of fun with Ash," Northstar said with a smile. While he still had a hard time forgiving the makers of Pokemon for replacing his favorite Pokegirl, he was still happy that Ash found love in this universe as well.
"Yep," Arceus said, "Considering it is hard to pick which one of his canonical friends he should end up with in this universe when he didn't meet ANY of them, I decided that Verity is the best pick in here, as she is the best of all worlds."
"Very true," Northstar said before asking who Ash ended up with in the world he started the journey of discovery in.
"I am so glad you asked," Arceus said before he transported himself and Northstar in a blinding light.
Northstar and Arceus were now in Twinleaf Town, and Northstar went up to the window of a nearby house and peaked in. Dawn and Ash, wearing alternative colors, were watching their kids play with their Pokemon.
"So the egg-spenential crisis has been averted," Northstar thought to himself as he watched a black-haired girl hug Dawn's Piplup and a blue-haired boy hug Ash's Pikachu. Neither could have been more than five years of age.
"Yeah," Arceus said, "Ash helped me bring everything back to the status quo."
"This Ash or the canon one?" Northstar asked as he looked at the shelf in their house. On it were two golden trophies, with plaques besides them. They read "Sinnoh Champion: D. Ketchum (nee Berlitz)" and "Sinnoh Top Coordinator: A. Ketchum"
"The canon one," Arceus said as they watched the Ketchum kids of this universe play with their parent's Pokemon.
"Daddy," the young girl said, "Tell us about the time when you and mommy met alternative versions of yourselves!"
"I'm not sure," Ash said, "It is a pretty scary story."
"But it is still one of our favorite ones to hear," the young boy said with a smile.
"Come on, Ash," Dawn said, "There is no need to worry about the kids getting nightmares about what happened to our Pokemon happening again."
"I guess you are right," Ash said as he sighed. The two kids, Pikachu, and Piplup all sat around Ash and Dawn as they told the story…
"Well, I suppose we should get back to your home," Arceus said.
"But I want to figure out what happened," Northstar said.
"You will find out the conclusion soon enough," Arceus said.
"I guess so," Northstar said with a sigh. He took one last look at the happy family this Ash made for himself as he was engulfed in light for the last time.
Northstar and Arceus were back in Northstar's room, Northstar blown away at how Ash could be with so many people. "What about the other girls?" Northstar asked Arceus. "In which universe will Ash end up with May? Or Iris? Or Lillie? Or Lana? Or Mallow? Or…"
Arceus interrupted him, "I am sure there is a universe for every girl and boy to be with Ash Ketchum."
"Okay," Northstar said, "I want to tell everyone about the realization that I have had about the shipping wars." Northstar then told his plan to Arceus.
"That is a wise plan," Arceus said, "But you should not start now. You need some rest."
"I guess you are right, Arceus," Northstar yawned, closing his eyes in the process. But when he reopened them, the llama god was nowhere to be found. Northstar stood there for a few moments before deciding to leave out the bits about taking a trip and seeing how the shipping war can end in a win-win situation for all parties. "Goodnight," Northstar said to nobody in particular before shutting off the lights and falling asleep in his nice, warm bed.
And that is how I realized that Pokeshipping, Advanceshipping, Pearlshipping, Negaishipping, Amourshipping, Aureliashipping, BlueAngelshipping, Alohashipping and the others can all be canon and make the other shipping fandoms happy. Of course, Arceus was not inovlved, but the Dialga/Palkia arc of Pokemon Journeys and a video describing a border despute between the USA and Canada were. Alternative Universes are the way to go. And be sure to stay tuned for another one of the 151 Pokeshipping Stories set in the universe I think they have the best shot at being together. I will see you all next time, and dare to Pokeship! And Advanceship! And Pearlship! And Negaiship! And Amourship! And Aureliaship! And BlueAngelship! And Alohaship! And BloomBoltship! And Abilityship! And Alfship! And Altoship! And Baseballship! And BootlegPearlship! And Bouldership! And Brawlership! And Breezeship! And Chickoship! And Childship! And Comaship! And Confidenceship! And Dedenneship! And Diodeship! And Dojoship! And Doppelgangership! And DragonFangship! And Dreamship! And Electricship! And FairyTeachership! And FireRedship! And Fireship! And FirstFriendship! And Freneship! And Fulaship! And Heatship! And Imaginationship! And Imiteship! And Kissship! And Mareship! And Milkship! And Mirageship! And OneDayWithYouship! And Palletship! And PechaBerryship! And Pikaship! And Pikatheftship! And PokeSilvership! And PokeTalkship! And Protectship! And Rayship! And Redship! And RelicSongship! And RustburoShip! And Santaluneship! And Snowballship! And Spellship! And Superheroship! And Timeship! And TomPouceship! And TwoThousandship! And WindFestOfUsship! And Wondersightship! And ZuruZuruship! And Zweillousship! And what ever ship you ship! I will see you next time!