What struck me in the Whitney episode is Ash proactively and endearlingly holding a Pokémon that is not his. That felt very out-of-character to me. Surely Ash holding the lost Clefairy in a Pikachu-esque manner served the purpose of referencing the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga series as well as initial plan of making Clefairy the mascot of Pokémon instead of Pikachu amirite? Or am I looking too deeply into it?

This is a weekly advertisement show. Acting of character for merch and other shit is the norm. Stop looking so deeply into it.

>>57947696 (OP)
>Ash proactively and endearlingly holding a Pokémon that is not his. That felt very out-of-character to me.
Yeah, when does Ash ever care for Pokemon that aren't his?

>>57947742
Mate have you ever heard of emergencies? That Charmanders was about to fucking die while Clefairy just bumped Pikachu with very little force.

>>57947696 (OP)
Nigga thinks OS Ash was a rude asshole and his later "bland" behavior came later.

>>57947982
I see Ash's reservedness of holding Pokémon that aren't his more as him respecting their privacy rather than him rude.

>>57947702
Why are you here?

Ash if realistic and cute

>>57947696 (OP)
That's not OOC at all, Ash has always had an unyielding love and care for Pokemon as a whole, it's one of his few strong defining traits that's remained consistent since the very beginning. If the mon wants the attention, it'll gladly receive it, much like a pet who thrives under human affection.
It's why he gives a shit to stop Team Rocket's episodic kidnapping plots even when Pikachu isn't scooped up by their latest net or mecha, because he cares about the Pokemon being affected by the plot, whether a wild mon or the character of the day's mon.

>>57948580
I'm not denying Ash's unconditional love of Pokémon. It's just that I can't think of any other instance where Ash proactively and endearlingly holds a Pokémon that's not his over something rather trivial. At most he'd approach and bend over them in such case to ask if they're alright. And the Pokémon he's holding happens to be a Clefairy of all mons, which has led me to look deeply into things.

>>57948763
>which has led me to look deeply into things.
Wanna know the truth? Clefairy was supposed to be his real starter but Pikachu won some popularity poll at last minute and from then its popularity went up to being the face of the franchise, it was probably some inside joke.
Look it up

>>57947696 (OP)
On the contrary, it makes perfect sense in retroconnectivity. One of Ash's heroes when he was a toddler was Isamu, a cartoon character in his world, and he had a Clefairy. His doll must have been like the Tickle Me Elmo of this world, and kid Ash never had one because he was poor.

Joking aside, this is very common for Ash, selflessly helping Pokémon. I'm still mad that he didn't keep that Venipede in Unova.