For many fans of shipping, or pairing up fictional characters, the Pokémon anime was their first introduction to the concept, due to the complicated feelings Misty and Ash had for each other. While Ash and Misty remain a popular pairing, especially among older fans who started with the original series, the truth is that their relationship had a lot less romantic hints in Japanese.

That's not to say that Ash and Misty's potential romance was entirely a creation of the dub, of course. Misty does often get jealous when Ash receives attention from other girls, as in Pokémon the Movie 2000, when Melody asks Ash to dance. She also does blush when thinking about him, often lying about what she's thinking when pressed. Still, the idea of Ash and Misty together is pushed much harder by the dub than the original Japanese, although the reasons why are less clear.

Misty...