What do you consider a Shipping Hint?

[Azran Flame]

Hey, this section needs a little more diversity =/

There must be a different set of standards for every shipper out there, with which they decide which scenes or interations can be considered shipping hints (blushing, teasing, showing concern for each other, etc.). So, exactly which kind of things do you consider shipping hints yourself (if any at all), and why?

As for myself, I look most importantly at the chemistry between the two character. For example, if they don't really get along, eg Dawn and Paul in DP, their shipping doesn't really appeal to me. I like ships where the two charactrers really care about each other and make a great combination, and so on. Yeah, I'm not very big on Opposites Attract ships... *shields self from rotten tomatoes thrown by fangirls*

[00poke_maniac]

Well I think determining what a hint is relies heavily on how the characters behave and such. Like if Pokemon was intended to be a romance, it'd be much easier to diagnose hints and whatnot. Though to answer the question~

-Blushing
-Admiration
-Support
-Comfort

Yup (and I'm thinking about when I'm reading/watching something with actual canon couples) xD

[Skiyomi]

I don't know if I'd really consider chemistry a "hint." Don't get me wrong, I think chemistry is very, very important, but I think of a hint as being a concrete event and chemistry is a bit looser concept. I think chemistry provides more of the context for a hint than anything.

I'm afraid there's no Hint-Master sitting up on the lofty throne of Shipping with a list of criteria who shouts down "HINT!" or "NOT A HINT!" from on high. Though that would certainly make things easier for all of us, I suppose (though not as fun in my opinion). You can't take a concept like "blushing" all by itself and say if it's always a hint or always not a hint. It depends on the situation and the show's general atmosphere. Guy looks up at girl, girl looks down and starts blushing implying she was staring at him? Might be a hint. Girl is simply embarassed, feverish, or the animators just like drawing cute girls blushing? Might not be a hint. And just like anything that depends on context, people are going to disagree.

I honestly find the entire notions of "hints" problematic in a show like Pokemon. There are series that have things that I would legitimately call "hints" but usually Pokemon isn't one of them. See, "hint" implies that the writer is giving you a little preview of coming attractions. "Hinting" who is really going to end up with who in the end. In a series like, say, Harry Potter which has a conclusion, you can go back to earlier books, point at an instance and say, look! There's an early hint that so-and-so was going to end up with so-and-so. Not only that, but Harry Potter was written by one writer with one shipping agenda. Pokemon is different. From a marketing standpoint it seems that the show will run until it stops being profitable, making a conclusion distant and undesirable from the perspective of the writers. Now, the show has moved, over the years, into an area that's more into arcs than episodic vignettes than it was early on, but some kind of statis and patterns are still achieved. Then there's the one-writer problem. Pokemon has a lot of writers. That wouldn't be too much of a problem if there was a sort of Shipping-Canon-Bible that they all were following but... I just don't think that's the case. If a conclusion is not the goal and supporting characters get switched out on a regular basis, it seems unlikely that they'd take the time to partition canon or officially-sanctioned couplings. It is more likely that different writers have different opinions and biases toward the relationship (friendship or romantic, it's hard to say because shipping is so light in Pokemon) of certain characters and other writers do not. This kind of thing happens even in shows that have a much clearer shipping canon than Pokemon (Slayers, for one.)

With all that said, in Pokemon in particular, I prefer to look at moments. They're like hints, in that they're concrete events, but unlike hints they don't need any actual conclusion to confirm their value. They are simply about potentiality. In a series like Pokemon, I'll settle for potential. Call me a cynic, but I don't think I'll get very far waiting for anything else.

[Innocentmercy]

What they say from above. Comfort, blushing, teasing is all part of the hints of a shipping hint.

Examples like that are Pokeshipping between Ash and Misty. Misty greatly hint some romantic views to Ash in their journey
before she left. Another one is Contestshipping between May and Drew because they once have a powerful moment with each other
when they are alone right after a contest.. or some other place.

Heyyy! I do love ikarishipping :P Well, in my opinion that is. Haha! Opposites attract shipping is kind of my liking! Heehee *throws rotten tomato away*

[majormanafemale]

No hints yet in main couples or 1's I support while 1 hut will explain what moments let me support it. Let's start with original pokeshipping they show obvious sexual tennsion with their pointlee fights and I think the two biggest moments is where they blush because if team rockets teasing being established they already had a connection. 2nd for them is when Tracey made oft handed a coment about the fact they are like 2 other kids and simotansouly almost kicked his face in. I admit contestshipping is bit 1 more sided Drew is in love with May and for whatever reason he enjoys when she gets angry but she did jump off cliff to rescue him so at very least she cares for Drew its a great moment. Handymanshipping( waits for tamatoes everyone else mettioned) Daisy(yeah I'm a fan) has been giving 3 demisonal personality but for fact she is at gym some what often gives chance just the wau thet look at each other you can tell they are thinking a lot yes on some levels it is hormones for Tracey however he turns down the play and I honestly think if Daisy had said she'd be playing princess he'd do it at the end of one before when he fixed pipes he was sneakily checking her out and Daisy is out of character by inviting Tracey over and fact she states she can't go near pool grime then is more then happy to keep Tracey company while he fix's pipes(I know only small moments but they aren't main characters in main series). Irikishipping reason of moments I support it is Paul seems more open with Dawn and Dawn has even accidentally been stalkerish to Paul the fact sye was watching him when he went to look something up and didn't want him to know that episode shows moments not hints Paul and Dawn are young( I don't subscribe to theory Ash dosent age and am pretending unova dosent exist). These are just moments that prove feelings not realtionship though I wish the realtionships to happen no gaurntees mostly kids with feelings that may change these are kind of moments that make me see something more.

[DarkTitan837]

I feel chemistry is more of a backup behind a shipping.
I consider these factors as hints (in order of importance to me):
1. Obvious caring for the other.
2. Teasing
3. Blushing

[lokoduro]

Well I think determining what a hint is relies heavily on how the characters behave and such. Like if Pokemon was intended to be a romance, it'd be much easier to diagnose hints and whatnot. Though to answer the question~

-Blushing
-Admiration
-Support
-Comfort

Yup (and I'm thinking about when I'm reading/watching something with actual canon couples) xD

Yes,I think that's it

And,I think Skyiomi is right....there is not hint-master,so that's just my opinion about what is a hint.Pokémon is kinda difficult anime to classify hints cause most hints are debateable aka not-canon.

[Gothitelle K]

Hints don't necessarily have to be two sided. Take mindlessshipping for example if anyone has played the games. The female grunt goes on about how she thinks Proton is sooo cool and awesome etc etc which I see it as a hint of admiration. Then after you beat her she says that he's all she needs (and Team Rocket as well lol) so I saw it as a hint that she had a crush on him.

Of course I do the ship differently now but my two cents on hints. One-sided hints are also fun as well.

[DiamondClass]

If you are talking about shipping a hint can be ANYTHING.

Even if characters rarely interact it can be rationalized as them being too shy to express their most inner feelings. That is because shippings are based on the person's opinions or perspective. And opinions are completely subjective.

A shipping can be based on something as small as "they look cute together". Now if you want to talk about QUALITY of shipping hints then that is a less subjective area, although shippers will be there to defend it tooth and nail with their own opinions.

My view is that the best hints are those that have the most consequence to the story. If a hint has no real consequence then I would just consider it to be mostly there for fanservice.

Good chemistry is more in the realm of friendship than in romantic shippings. People can view it as a big thing, as in Pikashipping, but for the most part the writers intention is just to portray a good friendship.

So to sum things up, a shipping hint can be almost anything but vary in quality.

[I am Lu]

In Pokemon, if two characters so much as talk to each other in a friendly manner, it could be considered a hint.

Low standards, I know, but Pokemon doesn't do much in the romance department. There are very few ships throughout the series that have legitimate evidence to back up that the writers did indeed intend (intend is the key word here) for there to be romantic feelings between two characters, or just one character to the other. In my opinion, Misty -> Ash is a definite, Kenny -> Dawn is a definite, and Drew -> May is a definite (though some will argue that it's mutual and actually Drew <-> May, but there are still fair arguments for May -> Ash, so...)

[tomboyTrainer305]

Anything that's not spamming high-fives of course!xD Yeah Skiyomi does make a good point, Pokemon's pretty hard w/ the hints, some see it hinty while others do not. For example the episode "The Bicker, The Better!", some see it as shipping (AS, RS) while to others as a tension between the friendships, I'll believe into the latter despite I became an AdvancesShipper from watching the episode (I'm so slow!)

[AquaRegisteel]

Well, to be honest, almost anything can be a hint, in certain contexts.

Let's take Fanfics for an example. They can have many intricate things thrown in their. Hints could actually be one person faking interest in another person, when it would normally be a hint.

Generally, I'd say that anything like teasing (especially in ContestShipping) or general annoyance to the other person could be a hint.

[fireball20]

I like this topic. Yes, general consensus about shipping hints has been stated. However, in terms of pokemon, those interactions aren't very common and almost non-existent in my opinion. So to appease pokemon shippers, we have to go a little further than the common hints of shipping.

As one said, anyone can ship any two characters together. Finding hints between them is another issue. I agree with Flame Mistress that the chemistry between characters (again, in Pokemon) is quite important in determining the viability of a hint. It also adds to the fun of the ship.

However, there are those who will take it too far, in my opinion. As someone earlier said, someone talks to someone, and that's a hint! Or when someone calls their name when they see him/her, that's also a hint. Or when Ash saves (insert name)...well, what's Ash supposed to do? Not do anything? :P

It's all about context. I sometimes feel people are looking for something...anything that they'll make anything a hint for themselves (sometimes to convince others) to satisfy their ship.

[Kutie Pie]

Ha ha, good question. AquaRegisteel mentioned it in the Shipping Authors' Café, so I'll pretty much repeat what I said there without referring to fan fics.

I tend to see it when it comes to clashing emotions, depending whether they're alone or in a group. If the group knows this, they'll tease one or both (sometimes unintentionally) in the hopes to get a reaction out of them. Most of the time they do, though depending on the character they may or may not retort back while keeping their emotions at bay. If they're by themselves, though, their body language tells me the most. If possible, the thoughts of one character or both will be revealed to us.

Things like hand-holding and/or blushing is rather overrated to me. I'd like to see some interaction between the two characters that does not involve such display (unless something embarrassing is brought up). Most of the time, though, I pay attention to the atmosphere, such as what the time of day it is, the colors, angles, symbolism, things like that. Whether they both like each other or not, depending on who is the main focus, what they see in such a person is generally what I'm looking for. That is where I tend to see the most hints. Of course, sadly, Pokémon doesn't exactly do this, so I'm mostly talking about other shows that do such things.

Though of course, things like high school girl fantasies don't count in my opinion. It's too childish for me to really take seriously. That's why I tend to like seeing what the male character sees in the girl next to him, whether they're talking or not. They tend to not over-do it as much like it is with the girls. That's one of the reasons why I like CLANNAD so much, it lives up to my expectations and beyond.

[satoharupika]

I would say caring for each other, blushing, teasing, comfort, and people saying that they look like a cute couple/similarities between each other/etc. Romance between their Pokemon also can contribute to the shpping's hiints. :3

[PopPrincess_Lyra]

Uhh... arguing Also hugging, blushing and such XD nya~

[HoennDreamer]

I think a shipping hint could come of admiration or how much you care for somebody, for example in the 9th pokemon movie when ash locked may up in the chamber to save her life, that shows what ash would do to keep may safe, and she realised that to and when ash didn't return, she realised what ash did for the temple and he did to keep her safe, another example would be the final episode of diamond and pearl, when dawn left ash you could see she was saying goodbye to someone who has really changed her life, and you can see by the way she reacted that she truely cares for ash.

[Airi-Chan]

Admiration, blushing, and similarities

[Meowth City]

Honestly, I don't think shipping hints exist in Pokemon. I, for one, don't go around saying this and that means he and she must love each other. If anything, I'm realistic. Pokemon is not a show about finding love. It's a show that captures the many aspects of friendship and I'm okay with that. I ship mostly characters for fun. Say if he and she look good together and they have interesting personalities. Besides, there are many other shows I prefer with greater hints when it comes to shipping. For that reason, I could never really have an OTP for this show as I do with other shows. I just can't.

[BlueDragonfangirl]

Blushing for sure, like when Anabel blushed after shaking Ash's hand in AG, that clearly tells us she was falling for him, even if just one sided crush.
Drew and May had little small hints back and fourth I'd say, thats me I know some Advancedshippers would argue against some of them. Jealousy I think is another factor, like May got jealous a couple of times when that fan girl of his came into the picture if I remember right. Than of course the little girl actually just out right asked May what she thought of Drew, than the pairing even had supporters such as Brocko/Little Max/May's mom. Out of all the Pokemon pairings I'd say Contestshipping is nearly the most canon ship out of the bunch.
I don't take any of Ash's pairings seriously, as they always leave each generation, however I do look for just cute little moments even not really hints.