"This woman's personality is completely different from before…"
Ash watched Joe recall Kingdra with narrowed eyes. The doubts from earlier resurfaced in his mind once more.
When they first met, Joe had acted like a spoiled and unruly young lady, arrogant and mischievous. But now, she seemed calm, deliberate, and calculating, like an entirely different person.
The contrast was so severe that it instinctively made Ash uncomfortable.
Most men disliked overly calculating women. The kind who constantly schemed and manipulated situations behind the scenes, always trying to control others and force everything to move according to their plans.
"Go, Dragonite."
Joe's voice pulled Ash out of his thoughts.
A powerful Dragonite appeared on the battlefield before Mega Rhydon.
The moment Ash saw it, a strange sense of familiarity rose within him.
Then suddenly, his Sharingan contracted sharply.
His expression turned ice cold.
"So that's how it is…" Ash spoke in a low voice that echoed throughout the arena. "Women really are good at scheming."
The Dragonite before him was the child of his own Dragonite.
Back then, the Draconis family had received a Dratini Egg from him. That very egg had hatched into the Dragonite now standing before him.
Combined with everything that had happened earlier, Ash instantly understood Joe's plan.
She wanted him to personally reject the marriage agreement.
That way, she could keep Dragonite for herself while also avoiding any damage to the reputation of the Draconis family.
A perfect two-birds-with-one-stone scheme.
"What?"
Sabrina and Liza looked confused. They had no idea about Dragonite's origins.
But Kabu and Joe immediately turned pale.
Especially Joe.
She never imagined Ash would figure everything out just from seeing Dragonite.
"Wait… listen to my explanation…"
Joe suddenly panicked.
She could already sense things spiraling completely out of control.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
The thing Ash hated most in his life was betrayal and deception.
Simple jokes and harmless tricks were one thing, but deliberate manipulation disgusted him to the core.
"Now you want to explain?" Ash's voice grew colder and colder. "If I hadn't figured it out myself, you probably would've hidden it forever."
"When you want to act like a bitch while still keeping your reputation spotless, how can there be such a good thing in this world?"
Ash gave Joe no chance to defend herself.
His anger was already boiling over.
Without realizing it, his eyes had shifted into the Rinnegan.
Under the terrifying pressure of those eyes, Joe felt as if her soul itself was being exposed. She couldn't even force out a proper explanation.
"Mega Rhydon, return."
Ash took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed his anger, but his expression remained terrifyingly cold.
After recalling Mega Rhydon, he immediately threw out another Poké Ball.
Any favorable impression he once had toward the Draconis family had dropped to rock bottom.
A woman like Joe, constantly scheming and calculating others, simply wasn't qualified to possess that Dragonite.
Perhaps Skye Draconis genuinely had good intentions toward him on the surface by arranging a beautiful fiancée for him…
But with someone like Joe involved, if he truly married into that family in the future, surviving without being manipulated to death would already count as fortunate.
BOOM!
The Poké Ball burst open.
A dazzling white light appeared before condensing into a graceful figure.
Gardevoir.
Dressed in elegant white, noble and beautiful, with a perfect figure and an incomparably gentle temperament, Gardevoir immediately drew everyone's attention the moment she appeared.
"So beautiful…"
Liza stared at Gardevoir with admiration.
That elegant and noble aura was exactly the kind of temperament many women dreamed of possessing.
Even Sabrina couldn't help being captivated.
"After this battle, I'm taking Dragonite back."
Ash spoke coldly.
Joe's expression changed dramatically.
"No! Dragonite is…"
"He was never yours."
Ash interrupted her mercilessly.
"I gave that egg to the Draconis family. Besides, you were the one who broke the agreement first and even resorted to these petty tricks."
"No wonder the Stone family never wanted to deal with your family."
Joe opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but no words came out.
Because Ash was right.
From the very beginning, she had intended to force Ash into personally rejecting the marriage agreement.
That way, Dragonite would remain with her.
After all, this Dragonite carried the bloodline of Ash's Dragonite.
In less than two years, it had already reached the peak of Champion-level strength.
If news of that spread, the entire Pokémon world would be shaken.
"Woo?"
Dragonite looked confused.
He couldn't understand what Ash and his trainer were arguing about, but he could clearly sense the hostility between them.
At the same time, Ash's aura felt incredibly familiar to him.
Especially the scent that resembled his mother.
Because of that, Dragonite instinctively felt close to Ash.
"I'll give you one chance," Ash said coldly. "We'll decide everything with this battle."
"If you win, the engagement is canceled."
"If you lose, Dragonite returns to me."
Under the pressure of Ash's Rinnegan, Joe couldn't even gather the courage to resist.
"…Fine."
In the end, she could only grit her teeth and agree.
The current Ash was far beyond someone she could afford to offend.
Besides, in her eyes, she still had a chance.
Gardevoir was one of Ash's Johto-region Pokémon, not one of his true main powerhouses.
"Gardevoir, Aura Pillar."
The moment Joe agreed, Ash attacked immediately.
Gardevoir floated gracefully into the air. Her hands waved elegantly as a massive pillar of blue Aura energy erupted toward Dragonite.
BOOM!
"ROOOAR!!!"
Gardevoir was a Psychic-type Pokémon personally raised by Ash since childhood. She could clearly sense her master's emotions.
Right now, Ash was furious.
As a result, even Gardevoir herself radiated an icy killing intent, and the power of her attacks surged far beyond normal.
The Aura Pillar slammed directly into Dragonite's body, causing him to cry out in pain.
However, Dragonite's body possessed the terrifying physical durability inherited from ancient dragon Pokémon. Combined with Dragonite's naturally thick scales and monstrous defenses, the attack failed to cause any substantial damage.
Still…
It hurt.