What's the appeal of Serena beyond the crush on Ash?

The thing about Serena is that she's just there.  She doesn't offend me  in any way like Misty or Iris, but she does nothing to stand on her own two feet as a character.  She's innocuous, but I should be able to say more than that about a main character she kind of fades into the background.  Other than the crush she has nothing that makes her unique.

Misty was there to be a foil to Ash, May saw him as a mentor for the first time, Dawn is like May, but n more equal grounds.  Since Unova was meant to be a soft reboot, Iris is a call-back to Misty.  Serena is just a generic nice girl.  Then there's the issue of her dream.  When we first meet her, the whole reason she even left home was to find Ash.  That was fine at first, but then she joined Ash and I was asking "Now what?".

It seems to me the writer's didn't know either, as Serena didn't have a goal until episode 47!  We knew more about what she didn't want to do: She didn't like Rhyhorn racing, fine, but she just kind of wandered aimlessly following Ash around like a lost puppy.  She has an episode where she makes a Youtube video, whoopie.

My biggest issue with Serena can be summed up in two words though: Pokémon Showcases.  Serena picked the one Pokémon profession in the world that has the least to do with Pokémon.  In many ways Serena wasn't a Pokémon Trainer really.  Neither were Max or Bonnie, but they were kids, so they get a pass.  I can just imagine the conversation in the writer's room when Showcases were dreamed up:

"We need something for Serena to do."

"Why don't we bring back Contests?"

"We've already shoehorned them into Kanto and Johto, if we put them in Kalos which isn't even based off of Japan they'll think we're out of ideas."

"I see your point, so let's call them Showcases and remove all the battling, that'll get people excited."

"You're a genius give this man a raise!"

I kid mostly but seriously Serena almost had no need to train her Pokémon.  Showcases were more about things like her baking skills and a glorified appeal round.  The Hoenn Contest circuit is going to eat that poor girl alive  Like I said though I don't hate Serena, I just wish there was more to her.

Serena got a decent character development and goal progression but they are flawed. Her goal progression was badly executed since she did nothing during +40 episodes and it took her that amount of episodes to pick a goal. Once she started participating on showcases she easily won them all without any struggle at all. Her contests arc were terribly rushed and it happened just in one arc.

Personality wise she also had some decent character development too but her crush on Ash overshadowed her character most time. Also, her interactions with Clemont were bad. I think May and Dawn are still better balanced than her when it comes to character growth and goal progression.

May be Serena is satire on girls who are usually crushing on TV and film stars, especially on those who played heroes, and obsessed with them. We all know that Satoshi appeared on TV when Serena saw him, and, indeed, he acted as a hero on the screen. Even if you remind me of the blue ribbon he gave her, its sense was really like of an autograph.

The other thing is the implication that being shy around Satoshi leads a girl to nowhere. He is not the type that understands love quirks like jealousy and he is straightforward in his actions and feelings. Basically, this is why Serena needs to outgrow shyness and try to be persistent, else she will not get Satoshi. And this is why being straightforward and having a similar mindset made Hikari and Satoshi the best lovers for each other even to the extent of infusing each other's habits and making them their own.