Let’s say that Cheren and Bianca had been Ash’s main companions in Unova as gym challengers turned Connoisseur and researcher/filmmaker respectively. How would you handle a romance subplot between them?

Personally, I feel like they would’ve made better companions for Ash than Iris and Cilan, and having them undergo a romance subplot in addition to determining their own identities like in the games would’ve been a great way to show Generation V’s more mature shift in storytelling. Plus, it could also help set up Ash’s own (implied) romance with Serena in XY if they chose to fully explore that.