Prepare for adorableness and make it double! And make it double! Pokémon’s Team Rocket’s Jessie and Ash’s mom would make a very sweet couple in a different world.
In this alternate universe (AU) created by yamujiburo, the personal account of Kiana Mai, storyboard artist for Big City Greens, on Tumblr, Jessie, one-third of the villainous group Team Rocket, has fallen in love with Ash’s mother, Delia. While Mai has drawn numerous fan art works of #hanamusa, the shipping name that combines Delia’s Japanese name Hanako and Jessie’s Japanese name Musashi, this particular artwork focuses on Jessie having a heart-to-heart with Ash about her relationship with his mother.
Jessie and Ash Have a Heart-to-Heart
For so long, Jessie had always been part of the group stealing Ash’s Pikachu. While Team Rocket has done its fair share of helping out Ash and his friends, it’s understandably challenging for Ash to accept his mother’s new relationship initially. However, Jessie promises she “would never do anything to hurt Delia” and tells Ash, “I care about you too. Especially after all this time.” After seeing how happy his mother and Jessie make each other, Ash teases the former Team Rocket member by calling her “Dad,” and the two have a playful argument as to what Ash should call Jessie now that she’s part of his family.
The AU received an overwhelmingly positive reception from Tumblr users. cyberill wrote, “So cute ? calling her dad is a fun throw back to all her cross dressing too.” Another with the username lazermagpie wrote, “This is so adorable and gives me fuzzy feelings T_T.” Mai has illustrated many little scenes of Delia and Jessie happily in love with each other, in domestic bliss, much to fans’ delight.
The #Hanamusa AU Has Fans
The anime series never divulged where Ash’s father went or if he will ever return. In a separate post, Mai explained how Delia and Jessie came to fall in love with each other. In their AU, Team Rocket wanders into Pallet town and Delia’s restaurant after getting summarily fired. Team Rocket insists on repaying her for her kindness for feeding them. Delia finds James and Meowth jobs at the restaurant and Professor Oak’s laboratory, respectively and asks Jessie to help with Mimey at home. Jessie accidentally stumbles upon some old albums the Ketchums have and realizes just how beautiful Delia is. Although the two tip-toe around their relationship in the beginning, they confess their feelings and start dating.
The Delia and Jessie ship is a fairly popular one in the Pokémon fandom. According to The Gamer’s article, Jade King writes the two make a perfect couple as “Delia Ketchum is caring, soft-spoken, and has a cheeky side she only ever lets surface when appropriate […] coming alive with a partner like Jessie who enables her occasional bouts of mischief.” Mai previously animated a short video of Team Rocket tearfully bidding farewell to Ash and Pikachu after the announcement that the iconic duo would leave the series.
The first 12 episodes of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series are available on Netflix. Fans can enjoy more of Mai’s AU on their Tumblr page.
Source: Tumblr, The Gamer
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