"Who told you that our family is finished? I'll definitely make the Stone family a top family again. There's no need for our family to rely on marrying me off for help."
After hearing Ash's words, Joe seemed to have her bottom line touched and immediately snarled at him. However, her words left Ash stunned.
What did she mean by marrying him?
"What are you talking about? Ash wouldn't fall for someone like you," Sabrina said before Ash could even ask what was going on.
"Oh? Looks like you still don't know yet. Fine, I'll tell you in advance, although I personally don't agree with this arrangement at all." After hearing Sabrina's words and seeing the confusion on Ash's face, Joe realized he probably knew nothing about it yet.
"Arrangement?" Joe's words immediately made Ash realize that one of the elders had probably set him up again.
Although the girl in front of him carried the Stone surname, she still had ties to the Draconis family. Professor Oak had already talked to him about the complicated relationships within the family before, so the mastermind behind this could only be someone from the Draconis family.
It wasn't his grandfather, Skye Draconis, nor his grandmother, Yuko Draconis… or at least, that was what Ash originally thought.
What he never expected was that both elders had secretly played a role in this matter, and the girl standing before him now was part of Skye Draconis' arrangements.
As for his grandmother's trap, that was still waiting for him in another region, all because of the Ralts Egg she had once gifted him. If Ash had known what kind of trouble that egg would bring him in the future, he definitely would never have accepted it back then.
"This was my grandfather's doing, wasn't it? I refuse. Sabrina, let's go."
After figuring out who was behind this, Ash turned around without hesitation.
What a joke.
He still hadn't sorted out the situation with Charmaine yet, and now Lorelei was already involved too. On top of that, his engagement with Cynthia hadn't even properly started yet. He really didn't want another woman added to the mess.
To be honest, having four beautiful fiancées was already more than enough.
And every single one of them had completely different personalities.
There was absolutely no need to find trouble for himself.
Besides, judging from Joe's personality, Ash could already tell she was the strong-willed type. Unfortunately, he was the same kind of person. If two stubborn people were forced together, it would only create endless conflict.
"What?! You're rejecting me?"
Joe widened her eyes in disbelief, as though she couldn't understand what she had just heard.
Countless people had tried to pursue her before and never even had a chance, yet Ash rejected her outright without hesitation.
In her eyes, she was supposed to be the one resisting this arranged marriage after finally escaping it with great difficulty.
"I already have four fiancées. Adding another would just be unnecessary," Ash replied mercilessly.
His blunt words instantly made Joe's expression turn ugly. Her face flushed red with anger.
"Four? Aren't there only three?" Sabrina asked in confusion from the side.
The people she knew about were herself, Lorelei, and Cynthia. That only made three.
Where did the fourth one come from?
"If you stop right there, then I'm definitely agreeing to this marriage!"
Unable to hold herself back anymore, Joe trotted forward and blocked Ash's path before loudly declaring her decision.
Despite already being in her mid-twenties, she acted nothing like a mature adult at that moment.
"You're insane. Sabrina, let's go."
"...Okay."
Joe's sudden declaration made Ash frown deeply. He was starting to feel that her personality was a little too impulsive.
Meanwhile, Sabrina followed beside him in confusion, still trying to figure out how three fiancées had somehow become four.
"Miss! Miss!"
At that moment, an old man carrying a bundle hurriedly ran toward them while shouting anxiously.
"Grandpa Cao? What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Joe immediately regained her composure after seeing the old man approach, completely losing the crazed appearance she had shown earlier.
"Huff... Huff... Miss, today is the day to purify the Dragon Fang. Madam specifically reminded me yesterday not to forget it," the old man said while catching his breath.
"Dragon Fang?" Sabrina asked curiously after hearing the unfamiliar term.
As a Psychic-type specialist, she naturally knew very little about items unrelated to Psychic Pokémon.
"Dragon Fang is an item that can enhance the power of Dragon-type Pokémon moves. It's extremely rare on the market. Even families that specialize in Dragon-type Pokémon usually don't possess many of them."
Seeing Sabrina's confusion, Ash explained the effects of the Dragon Fang, causing Kabu to look at him in surprise.
At Ash's age, very few trainers even knew what a Dragon Fang was. Most had only heard the name before and had never actually seen one.
"So it's already today…" Joe muttered with a troubled expression. "But I can't go right now. Dratini is about to shed its skin soon. I can't leave during such a critical moment."
The so-called "shedding" was actually Dratini's unique evolution process.
Unlike most Pokémon, Dratini needed to properly shed its skin before evolving in order to complete a perfect transformation. Otherwise, its evolution would become flawed, resulting in defects in both its body and future strength.
"That may be true, Miss, but the purification ceremony must be completed today. Otherwise, something serious might happen," Kabu said awkwardly after hearing Joe's response.
"Isn't it just some ceremony?" Sabrina replied with slight disbelief. "Most rituals nowadays are just meaningless formalities anyway, aren't they?"
And honestly, that was the truth.
Most modern ceremonies were merely symbolic. They looked important on the surface, but in reality they no longer held any true power or significance.
Even Joe herself thought the same way.
Every time she attended the ritual, she treated it carelessly and simply went through the motions, which constantly gave Kabu headaches.