The only time when I thought her character was decent was when she decided to leave Ash and start working on her performance skills. Let me make this clear, I don't hate Serena, but she certainly isn't a favorite of mine.
The only thing that really defines her character is her crush on ash, which sometimes is just straight up creepy, And before I start going into details on why I dislike her I just want to say this, her cutting her hair is not development If there is barely any change in her character.
1.) She had no goals prior to starting her journey in the Kalos region
Serena has no proper goals, she started her whole Pokemon journey just because of Ash, which was kinda weird. But it gets worse, she tracks him down to Lumiose city, and follows him around, then waits for him to ask her to travel with him, then she tries to get him to remember her... which he doesn't because they were FIVE. She also doesn't have a proper goal. I would be more understanding if she didn't have a goal at the start but it is absolutely ridiculous that it took her exactly 40 or more episodes to find something to do. Even Dawn or Misty didn't take that long.
She only started her journey because of Ash, Pokemon performing was a secondary thought, not to mention "performing" Is like a bootleg version of contest. They are offensive to women because it shows that girls have to be able to cook and make things pretty to be noticed and I hate them, at least in contests both genders competed and there were some strong females like Zoey. In all honesty, they should have just made her a coordinator.
2.) She barely received any development (If she even got any from the start)
I just know people in the comments section will use the excuse of her cutting her hair as proper development. Let me just say something, just because you fail or lose doesn't mean you have to cut your hair, that's just an overused cliche. Cutting your hair is a drastic change and should not be taken lightly just because you fail at something for the first time.
She's like a watered down version of May and Dawn in that May and Dawn had long character arcs in which they slowly became better people, whereas Serena had that one moment where she cut her hair and "now she's strong!!" I mean it's pretty obvious that the writers were trying to make her reminiscent of May and Dawn (who were both a million times better), otherwise, they wouldn't have given her that obvious Contest ripoff that didn't even exist in the XY games.
Ignoring the one-sided crush on Ash, I can honestly forgive the fact that she's there to add a "feminine" touch. There's nothing wrong with a female character being interested in typical female pursuits and it's interesting seeing what kind of "feminine" careers and outlets there are in the Pokemon world. What I can't forgive is that she's blatantly there for fanservice, which is very obvious after she got her own special credits animation just for her.
She doesn't really add to the story or Ash's journey, and in the end, it feels like she's only there because they need a female companion to follow Ash around. The only time when I felt like she really developed was during her last few moments in the series when she actually decided to take her mind off of Ash for once and focus on her performing skills by participating in Hoenn's contests. However compared to her manga counterpart, she doesn't stand a chance.
“In the manga, Serena also known as Y is the daughter of Grace, a famous Rhyhorn racer. Since her childhood, Y has been raised by Grace to follow in her footsteps as a Rhyhorn racer as well. Annoyed at her mother's attempts to decide her future without her consent Y rebelled and chose to attend Vaniville Town’s Sky Trainer academy to learn how to become a Sky Trainer instead. This decision, however, spiked many arguments between mother and child.”- Bulbapedia.
This right here would be the perfect reason for starting her journey and not just to meet up with some boy to give him a handkerchief that he gave her five years ago. And even her game’s counterparts is surprisingly better than her. However, there's one thing that anime Serena lacks that both her game and manga counterpart have, and that is...MEGA EVOLUTION!
3.) She gives her Game and manga counterparts a bad reputation
And this brings us to the next topic now, considering that mega evolution is one of the main themes in the Kalos region, it would be obvious that at least either Ash or one of his traveling companions would get one right? Instead, we get some wired bond between Ash and his Greninja that is never fully explained and neither Clemont or Serena receive a mega evolution ruining potential character development they could have received from it.
And her Pokemon team compared to both her game and manga counterparts really doesn't help her character at all. In the game, Serena has a team consisting of Meowstic, One of the three staters, one of the three Eevee evolutions, Altaria and a freaking Mega Absol. In the manga Y’s team consists of Fletchling, Sylveon, Greninja, Rhyhorn, and once again a Mega Absol.
Now compare both of their teams to Serena and not just their teams, compare the impact they had on the main plot and the things they accomplished. By doing that you'll notice that the anime Serena really doesn't stand a chance against them. Still, don't believe me? Then here's some trivia on Y. She is the first Pokédex holder to capture a Legendary Pokémon that is the game's mascot for one of the core series games.
What has Serena done that can compare to that? Also, I would like to point out that both of her game and manga counterparts received a mega Absol, so why couldn't Serena receive one as well?
4.) She's overrated
That's right I said it, she’s overrated. Why does she get praised more than the other pokegirls? Compared to them what has she achieved and what morals have she inspired? With Misty she taught us beauty isn't what’s on the outside but rather what's on the inside, that's a wonderful lesson to teach young kids today. I will admit that maybe there are some lessons that she has taught people but it's mostly overshadowed by her crush on Ash.
With all of Ash’s female traveling companions (Besides Serena) he has a unique bond with each and every single one of them. For an example, with May their relationship resembles that of a student and mentor (who slowly develop feelings for each other). With Dawn it's more like best friends, they even share a high five that shows how close the two are. Even his bond with Iris is somewhat unique in that it somewhat resembles that of a brother and sister, hence why they argue so darn much.
5.) Her interactions with Ash
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Oh boy, this is the one thing I hated the most about her character. And as much as some fans try to deny it, her whole freaking character revolves around her crush on Ash. It's not even a deal where she started off being motivated by romance but then grew to start being motivated by herself and her own goals.
Serena's literal final scene in the show features a line where she talks about becoming stronger so that she could be a more attractive woman for Ash. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a character being in love with another and being inspired by them to grow, but when the character's only motivation from beginning to end is to grow JUST to impress that person then, of course, I'm gonna roll my eyes.
I feel like a lot of people hear things like this and assume we mean that "Ash is the only thing she ever thinks about," except that this isn't from a character standpoint, it's from a writing standpoint. Her main appeal to audiences is the fact that she has a crush on Ash.
That's why they changed her personality so much. That's why they put a lot of her motivations revolve around Ash and that's why the writers stressed it so much.
Anyone can argue all day about how "there's more to her" but the fact is, from a writing standpoint, that's what she was created to be--otherwise there wouldn't be people getting all up in arms to defend how their Precious Ship is Canon.
All in all while I don't hate Serena she definitely isn't a favorite of mine and to me personally, she is the weakest character in the series.
