The situation was a little awkward.
Especially after Ash and Dawn exchanged a high five in perfect sync.
Smack!
Ash excitedly launched into a reunion with his old friends, oblivious to everyone else.
Clemont and the others looked baffled. Serena stared at Dawn, who was beaming as she held Pikachu. Her fists clenched and she bit her lip without realizing it.
"What's wrong?"
Hoopa scratched his head, sensing the shift in the mood.
Someone's jealous, of course.
Baimu chuckled to himself. Honestly, he hadn't expected their reunion to be quite this strange.
But Ash and Dawn really were easy to misunderstand, especially with that wordless understanding that had them high-fiving the moment they met.
As far as they were concerned, they shared a friendship built on memories as precious as pearls and as unbreakable as diamonds.
To everyone else, though—especially Serena—the two seemed to have created an aura that shut everyone else out. Pikachu's unusually warm reaction only added to the confused, sour feeling in her heart.
There was no doubt about it.
She was jealous of Dawn.
With Dedenne perched on her head, Bonnie couldn't contain her curiosity. She greeted Hoopa with a smile, then went over to Baimu and asked quietly:
"Baimu, who are they?"
Everyone else turned to look at him too.
Besides Clemont and the others traveling with Ash, there were Tierno, the stocky boy who had set out around the same time as Serena; Shauna, a brown-skinned girl with pigtails; and a boy who loved photography.
Shota, who had lost in the semifinals, was nowhere to be seen. He was probably nursing his disappointment somewhere in the stadium. Coming within one step of victory and falling short was a crushing blow.
Baimu smiled at Bonnie. "Why ask me when you can ask them? Hey, Ash!