Chapter 8: The Great Daisy

With the Rhyhorn herd all rounded up, Ash, Sonic, and co. accepted Grace's hospitality. Unseen by any of them, Hoopa slipped out of Sonic's shadow and inspected the Rhyhorn. "I wonder what made them go crazy," he wondered. "Was it the energy that turns Sonic into a monster?" He paused a moment. "How does that even work, anyway?

He shrugged as he continued inspecting the Rhyhorn as they ate the grass. Eventually, he found the herd leader, still pawing the ground restlessly. Hoopa tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "What's making it so restless?" He looked closer and shivered when he saw a possible answer.

"So let me get this straight," Serena said after Sonic finished telling everyone what happened. "You were pursuing Eggman in space, you had him cornered in a super form, and then he ripped the Chaos Emeralds out of you and turned you into this hideous beast before hurling you down to earth?"

"Yep. That's what happened," Sonic nodded. "In fact, I willing to bet that the reason the herd of Rhyhorn had a hissy fit is because one of the Chaos Emeralds landed around here."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Ash agreed, munching on some chips Grace brought out for lunch. "I've only known Chaos energy for a few years, but I know it's like a highly unstable variant of aura. Heck, it's almost like a dark variant."

"How do you know this?" Clemont asked, a gleam of interest in his eye.

"Ever since we took down Cyrus, Shadow's been teaching me how to tap into aura and Chaos," Ash explained. "I only tap into it when absolutely necessary, though."

"Do you get to have a force field?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, that is something I could make," he said, "but like I said, only when I have to."

"If he does tap into it, you can tell," Sonic chuckled. "He glows blue."

Ash looked at him, confused. "I do?"

"Yup. What, you didn't know?" he said when Ash still looked confused. "It's like you have this field of energy all around you."

"Like Greninja!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Hm," Ash nodded. "I see." His smile turned neutral at the thought. "I wonder what he's up to now."

"Hey guys!"

Everyone started on hearing the sudden voice. "Hoopa?!" Sonic exclaimed as the mischievous Pokemon emerged from under the table. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was checking out the Rhyhorn," he said.

"Checking out the Rhyhorn?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "What, are they attractive or –"

"Not that kind of checking out!" Serena snapped in irritation.

"Oh," Bonnie blinked.

"Did you find anything?" Sonic asked eagerly.

"Yeah! Look!" He held up a small diamond-shaped stone. It gleamed in the sunlight, shimmering as the rays of the sun hit it at different angles.

"Whoa," Bonnie breathed. "It's so...pretty."

"And obnoxiously bright," Serena noted.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Sonic mumbled. "I was hoping we'd find a Chaos Emerald, not some ordinary jewelry."

"I don't think this is ordinary jewelry," Hoopa replied. Everyone perked in interest. "I psychically pulled it out of the leader of the Rhyhorn pack. After that, it completely calmed down."

"Really?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. There's something funny about it."

"Hm," Sonic mused. "I guess we'll hold onto it then."

"Yeah, right," Ash nodded, then his eyes lit up. "Hey, Serena! Maybe you should wear it!"

"Huh?" Serena blinked.

"You like jewelry, right?"

"Yeah, but –"

"So let's put this in a necklace, and then you can wear it!"

"But Ash...I'm already wearing a necklace."

Ash blinked. "So?" Bonnie facepalmed.

"It'd be kinda awkward to be wearing two necklaces at once. They'd get tangled up."

"Oh," was all he said. "Okay. I guess I'll just hold onto it then."

"You one for wearing necklaces?" Clemont asked.

"Not really," Ash shrugged. "But hey, you do what you have to."

An hour passed. After everyone ate lunch, they began packing up, getting ready to set out for Lumiose City once again. Ash was already packed up, so he spent the time getting some rest. As he laid back, he sighed deeply.

"Pika?"

He looked at his best friend with a conflicted gaze. "What am I going to do about her, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu shrugged.

"She's been this way ever since I told her about May," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "I knew she liked me, but I didn't realize she liked me that much. I just want her to be her normal, cheerful self again."

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, and he laid down with him, staring at the ceiling with him in silence.

"Blondie doesn't seem very well lately."

Ash turned to see Sonic enter the room. "You think?" he muttered sarcastically. "She's actually been like this for a long time."

"Really?" Sonic said, raising an eyebrow (or whatever he had).

"Yeah," he replied. "Ever since she heard about May and me, she's been like this."

"Weird," Sonic said, scratching his head. "It's like it has something to do with the fact that you and Bandanas are dating."

"That's because it does have something to do with it!" Ash told him, annoyed by his cluelessness.

"Oh," Sonic nodded. "So what, she's jealous?"

"Jealous," Ash agreed, "and depressed."

"Depressed?" Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Why depressed?"

"I think the whole reason she traveled with me in Kalos was because she liked me. She wanted me to reciprocate her feelings." He sighed sadly and shook his head. "But I couldn't."

"No shock there."

"When I told her about May, everything I loved about Serena – her personality, her bright eyes, her love of jewelry, all of that – it's like they just...disappeared. She wouldn't even accept this jewel from me to wear as a necklace."

"Is there anything else you could do to make her smile?"

"I don't know," Ash said. "The thing is, Serena's ideal of happiness is impossible for me to fulfill. Even if I did end up becoming her boyfriend, it still wouldn't be enough. She's living in a fantasy. I can't help her. As much as I want to make her happy, I can't."

"That's too bad," Sonic sighed. "Well, maybe an adventure will lighten her up. Hey, we might be going on a worldwide tour!"

"That sounds awesome," Ash agreed, smiling and sitting up in a change of mood. "I haven't seen some of my friends in a long time. Isn't that right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!"

"Well, I hope we're about ready to go," Sonic said, tapping his foot impatiently. "I'm getting antsy waiting around."

"It won't be much longer, I'm sure," Ash grinned.