Didn't Ash legit tear up when Misty left? He outright ran to hug Brock in his SM return (not realising his attentions were elsewhere). With Lillie he felt REALLY guilty about regressing her phobia and went out of his way more often for her.
I think it's emotional display, the feeling the character is REALLY out of their comfort zone with this character but still goes out of their way to stick by them. Misty and Ash argued non stop but he still wanted her to tag along, as well as that really awkward attempt by Ash to cheer up Lillie. You could tell he's not used to getting that up close and personal with his companions in a long while, but he still has that absolutely gratified smile when she starts laughing.
XY Ash was never really out his comfort zone with Serena, everything was usually content, which was nice, but meant he never really got to show serious devotion to her, a sense he would well and truly go out of his way for her. They had one argument, but then Serena ran away and Ash was solely invested in finding himself again instead of making sure Serena wasn't upset. The kiss was the nearest to getting an alien reaction from Ash, but that was still underplayed and obviously the last interaction they got thus far.
Didn't Ash legit tear up when Misty left? He outright ran to hug Brock in his SM return (not realising his attentions were elsewhere). With Lillie he felt REALLY guilty about regressing her phobia and went out of his way more often for her.
I think it's emotional display, the feeling the character is REALLY out of their comfort zone with this character but still goes out of their way to stick by them. Misty and Ash argued non stop but he still wanted her to tag along, as well as that really awkward attempt by Ash to cheer up Lillie. You could tell he's not used to getting that up close and personal with his companions in a long while, but he still has that absolutely gratified smile when she starts laughing.
XY Ash was never really out his comfort zone with Serena, everything was usually content, which was nice, but meant he never really got to show serious devotion to her, a sense he would well and truly go out of his way for her. They had one argument, but then Serena ran away and Ash was solely invested in finding himself again instead of making sure Serena wasn't upset. The kiss was the nearest to getting a unique alien reaction from Ash, but that was still underplayed and obviously the last interaction they got thus far.
XY006: Ash gets his first badge thanks to Serena.
XY007: Ash invites Serena to travel with him, saying that they can help each other. The only time he did it.
XY040: Ash and Serena gets trapped under the cliff, and talk about dreams.
XY044: Ash gets his third badge thanks to Serena.
XY053: Ash is the only one that notice Serena's sadness
XY059: Serena inspires Ash about the gifts for his pokemon. He gives the ribbon.
XY&Z045: Ash notices Serena was not very well, and tries to cheer her up.
Serena was not useless to Ash's journey, nor he didn't care about her like the other girls. Like I said, high-fives and arguments are not the only valid forms of interaction.
You don't can use SM Ash to compare with Pre-SM Ash, they are completely different characters. Pre-SM Ash never would react like that.
