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This applies not just to Pokemon, but just about every anime out there with a decent shipping fanbase. With Pokemon you have Palletshipping, Contestshipping, and perhaps a few more that I don't know of because I havn't watched the anime in ages, and with the Pokemon Adventures manga you still have palletshipping, but you also have Preciousmetalshipping, and Franticshipping (this one actualy turned out to be canon)

However, in Naruto we have SasuNaru, Digimon we have Taito, Dragonball Z we have Goku and Vegeta shipped together, the list goes on!

So I was wondering, what exactly is the allure of pairing two rivals together? Why is it that they usualy become some of the most popular ships of that fandom?

I understand why people do it, there is a saying that goes 'theres a fine line between love and hate'. Sometimes if somebody can get under your skin, it means they've made a place for themselves in your life. A lot of those times it can turn into something more than hate/rivalry. It's also said that people who fight the attraction end up arguing loads!

This of course isn't always the case, and so some believe that they should be 'togetha 4eva' or they think that it's sick and everyone who thinks otherwise should get a life. The thing is not only is it about rivalry and the like, but should two men interact in an anime in anyway other than simple friendship then they are condemned to be known as Gay. *Shrugs*

I don't ship any Yaoi except for in DBZ, and that is only because there are so much fun pairings and few girls. Still I'll read hetro too, if it's good. I mostly like femslash pairings, I have my reasons.

Contestshipping is pretty much canon though, so yeah. Back to the love and hate, even the writers go by that rule with straight couples. Also it's hard to find it anywhere else unless you buy pure Japanese with subs of anime not shown on TV, because heaven forbid people actually watch two people of the same sex fall in love, in a cartoooooon!!!!!! gonk

Rival!Shipping has been around since Shipping itself. I guess there's lots of reasons. Love/Hate is always appealing for one thing.

And Rivals do have a tendency to actually end up saving each others lives and begrudgingly respecting each other eventually, which is rather cute.

Constant fighting leads to the funnest dysfunctional couples sometimes too.

Nevermetshippings. XDDD

I love Anime Crossover Shippings~ They mostly have to do with Satoshi though. XD -shot- Whatever I come with, I can actually see them get together. ^^

Well, I never said that Franticshipping and Contestshipping wasn't canon. In fact, I have mentioned in other posts that Franticshipping is canon because they confess their love for eachother and Contestshipping comes pretty damn close even though they never verbaly confess their love.

I didn't really read the hoenn arc for PokeSpecial so I didn't know that much about either characters except Ruby was a bit feminine, a pokemon coordiantor, he loves sappire, and has issues with his father, wile sapphire is a tomboy, hates contests and thinks they are a waste of time and loves ruby and that Ruby saved Sapphire when they were small children from a wild pokemon when they were still small children. (That's the Reader's Digest version)

And yes, Silver and Gold are SO in love with eachother, I mean just because Gold is as girl crazy as Brock even before his hormones kick in and Silver has a crush on Blue means nothing! They have physical contact! They have conversations! Hell, Silver almost cried when he thought Gold died! NOBODY would have any verbal or physical contact with their good friend or cry if they thought that they had died! They must be in love! (incase you didn't catch on, the paragraph above is blatant sarcasm)

xD;
No problem~

Also...
Is it so wong that I really like the blood-spattered chibi-ruby? Or even character pain in general?