What do you like about Dawn?

I don't know if I can explain this right but I'll give it a shot. What I really like about Dawn is her innocence. Remember when Lyra asked Ash if Dawn was number one in the bunch? That flew past both of them depicting that they are both romantically dense (Ash more than Dawn; Dawn's dense with her own romantic life). They are 10 after all so it shouldn't be expected for them to think like that. With their denseness comes innocence and purity of heart. Think about it: if you met someone with personalities like Ash or Dawn, would you think they would do anything malicious, dirty, impure? This might be one of the reasons why I like Pearlshipping so much. When they're together, you can't imagine them anything but be themselves as opposed to someone like Serena who's trying to get Ash. She went on a Pokémon journey to find a boy who just merely helped her get up when they were little kids and is constantly trying to get Ash's attention with things. 

Might as well.

Starting off negative to get it out of the way.
Why Dawn isn't a good role model.
Honestly the only real reason--that I can think of easily--is because of that short skirt of hers. Yeah she looks cute in it, but it's nearly so revealing and I don't like that kind of thing. If it was longer or even like Serena's I'd be fine but...it's why I prefer her Platinum/Winter dress, although it's probably the same length in a way, but that's just me. Regardless, you shouldn't judge someone based on appearance like Icy said, as you might miss out a lot if you do. Besides, pretty much EVERY villainous team admin/boss thinks you're weak because you're a child/teen, and we all know how dumb that can be.


Why Dawn is a good role model.
She's confident, for starters, and out of all the PokeGirls we have so far in the anime, Dawn was the only one who wasn't either trying to prove themselves superior to Ash--although Misty gets a somewhat free pass for more or less knowing more than Ash at that point in time--or being unsure of what to do at the start of the journey. She knew what she wanted, and she didn't want to be superior to Ash at her beginning, but at least on par as far as I can tell, foreshadowing her status to keep up with Ash in skill level--when Ash has it anyway, since BW kinda screwed it up--and proving yourself isn't a bad trait.

She's also very kind and optimistic, and only May can really be on that same level. She isn't hesitant to help others, much like Ash, even if she gets no benefit, although a learning experience could be considered one. Even if others are down, she tries her best to cheer them up, human or Pokémon. Remember what she did for Ash after he lost to Paul at Lake Acuity?

Determined, stubborn, somewhat reckless. It's debately a bad trait, but it's mainly/only because she cares. Like Ash, she's willing to risk her life if it means saving something or someone.

Independent, yet still does better with help. Let's face it, teamwork is essential to a lot of things, particularly today. Dawn is independent enough to do things that only benefit her without seeking help unless she absolutely needs it, and is willing to help whenever the chance arises. It's like this. Ash does more or less okay/fine before and after he met Dawn, but when she was around, he obviously did much better with her help, and presumably its the same for her, doing fair enough alone, but a force to be reckoned with when together. Dawn doesn't rely on others approval to do/start something she needs.

Unpredictable at times. She's deliberately similar to Ash, more so than the other girls. Like Ash, she can be unpredictable in her strategies, and often times, it pays off. Even in the brink of defeat, one simple trick/choice could make the difference.

She has good character development, and only May can beat her at this--due to her fo from being afraid of Pokémon to loving them--but even so, the development Dawn has is realistic, and cleverly done. Heck, it should be one of the most obvious ones in the show. Went from barely taking a loss to using it to do so much more, and she had to endure two--three if you count the unofficial contest where Jessie used Ash's Aipom--losses to one win, unlike a certain someone we all know. As far as I can tell, only Dawn had to go into a 'depression' during this period of growth, and I say depression because it ocurred over several episodes unlike many others, who based on my memory of such sadness, lasted an episode or two at best.


There's probably more, but thats all I can think of for now.

Oh well, I'm late as usual, and the others and the article have already pointed out everything important, but here's what I personally consider the most important stuff:

- She knows what she wants, and works hard to achieve it. I admit, her mother being a top-coodrinator made her path easy to pick, but then again, there are a lot of people who know what they want, yet are extremely lazy and do barely anything for it.
- She's kind and compassionate. Not much else to say here. She even did a gym battle just for Ash.
- She's not afraid of trying new things, like said gym battle, a ping pong tournament, or a tag team tournament.
- She's ceative, and her combinations and techniques could even help a much more experienced trainer like Ash. Even when others would've given up, she found ways to turn it into a victory.

One negative point is that she lets her emotions get the better of her. As others have pointed out, the most notable example is her depression after two consecutive losses, but she's learned from her experiences, and now she's a lot better in that regard.

I really like Dawn's sass  xD It's pretty amusing most of the time!

Like in A Maze-ing Race:

“Paul!” – Dawn

“Hm?” – Paul

“Have you seen Ash or Brock anywhere?” – Dawn

“Not you too.” – Paul

“Pardon me for living. Bye. Let’s go.” – Dawn


I couldn't find the gif anywhere but this picture sums it up pretty well xD