"…My future son-in-law really knows what he's doing. Serena, as your mother, I hereby order you to marry Ash."
The moment Grace received her gift, her attitude toward Ash underwent a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal.
No more "that brat" or "that little punk who stole my daughter away."
Now it was "my future son-in-law" and "my wonderful son-in-law."
She even openly declared that she wanted to marry her daughter off to him.
Watching her mother's dramatic transformation, Serena rolled her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into the back of her head.
(¬_¬)
However, her attention quickly returned to Cleffa.
No matter how valuable the necklace was, it still couldn't compare to a Pokémon.
After all, Cleffa was the child of Daisy Oak's ace Pokémon, Clefable.
Inherited from its outstanding mother were exceptional genes and remarkable natural talent for Coordinating and stage performances.
For Serena, whose dream was to become a Coordinator and Performer, Cleffa was the most precious gift imaginable.
Forget a necklace worth one million.
Even ten million wouldn't make her trade this little Pokémon away.
Besides, while Serena came from a small-town family, the Pokémon world was very different from Earth.
Many of the world's most influential people preferred living in beautiful rural towns.
Though her late father had never been a particularly famous Trainer, he had owned a prosperous Rhyhorn ranch.
Meanwhile, her mother Grace was one of Kalos's most celebrated Rhyhorn racers, possessing both master-level prestige and celebrity status within the industry.
Their family had never lacked money.
When Grace estimated Ash's necklace at one million Pokédollars, Serena was certainly shocked—but not because of the price itself.
Rather, it was because no one had ever given her such an expensive gift before.
Even so, compared to Cleffa, Serena still felt the little Pokémon was far more valuable.
Its worth simply couldn't be measured with money.
Meanwhile, back in Cerulean City...
After finishing their gift shopping at the Sailboat Market, Ash and the others shipped everything through a courier company.
Then he spoke with Daisy Oak and Serena over the phone.
During the call, Ash also arranged a video chat between Serena, Clarissa, and Misty.
Neither Serena, Clarissa, nor Misty minded the fact that Ash had other girlfriends.
In their eyes, someone as outstanding as Ash naturally attracted a lot of admiration.
If no girls liked him, that would be strange.
It would make people wonder whether he wasn't actually as amazing as he appeared, or whether there was some hidden flaw in his character.
Because of that mindset, the three girls chatted happily over video call.
Within a short time, they had become surprisingly close and even began referring to one another as sisters.
There was another interesting detail.
Although Serena had met Ash first and confessed first, she wasn't actually the oldest among the three.
Misty was the eldest.
Clarissa came second.
And Serena was the youngest.
As a result, despite being the last to meet Ash and the last to officially begin dating him, Misty—who had already been the youngest sister in her own family—unexpectedly became the eldest among Ash's girlfriends.
Clarissa became the second sister.
And Serena, despite being the first to know Ash and the first to become his girlfriend, became the youngest sister.
Fortunately, Serena didn't mind at all.
As long as she could be Ash's girlfriend and everyone got along happily, that was all that mattered.
Though they had established a sisterly hierarchy based on age, everyone's status within the group remained equal.
In fact, because Serena had known Ash the longest and entered a relationship with him first, she still occupied a slightly special place in Ash's heart.
And both Clarissa and Misty treated their youngest sister with great affection and respect.
As the sun slowly sank into the sea beyond the harbor, painting the horizon in shades of crimson and gold, the group finally decided it was time for dinner.
Their trip to Cerulean City had already lasted four or five days.
Ash's Move Mastery Room online store had been running without him.
His online clinic had also been closed for several days.
Taking too much time off would inevitably have consequences.
Furthermore, his Pokémon hadn't undergone any serious high-intensity training lately.
No matches at the city battle arena.
No lessons with Giovanni at the Viridian Gym.
And now that Milotic and Gyarados had completed their evolutions, both were entering periods of rapid growth that demanded focused training.
There was also the upcoming release of the Feebas Beauty Guidebook.
The book would officially launch tomorrow, and Ash needed to assist with promotional activities.
Beyond that, there was the expansion of his Skill Disc business.
The opening of his dedicated breeding ranch.
The promotion and licensing of his five patents involving remote-command Pokémon capture techniques.
His Aura training was progressing rapidly now that he had finally discovered the correct method for utilizing Listening to All Things.
Soon, he would be ready to begin the next phase of Aura development.
And then there was Clarissa.
Among his three girlfriends, he had already given Misty a Huge Power Marill.
He had passed Daisy's Cleffa to Serena.
Naturally, he couldn't play favorites.
Clarissa's Happiny had already evolved into Chansey.
It was time for her to catch a second Pokémon.
The two had already discussed the matter extensively.
Given Viridian City's environment, they had decided her next partner would likely be either a Paras or an Oddish.
Once they returned to Viridian City, Ash planned to accompany her into Viridian Forest to find the perfect partner.
There were simply too many things waiting for him.
Now that the Cerulean Water Pokémon Beauty Contest had ended...
The city's attractions had all been explored.
The local delicacies had all been tasted.
The beaches, markets, and landmarks had all been enjoyed.
It was time to leave.
Because everyone would be departing tomorrow, they chose not to eat at a restaurant that evening.
Instead, they called Green, who was still hard at work back at the hotel.
Then the entire group gathered at the Cerulean Gym.
Misty and her three sisters personally prepared a lavish farewell feast.
The menu included luxurious delicacies such as king crab, sea cucumber, abalone, and giant lobster.
Alongside those were comforting home-style dishes like chilled wakame salad, pork rib and kelp stew, and stir-fried dried fish.
The sisters' cooking skills were outstanding.
Their dishes rivaled those of professional restaurant chefs.
Everyone ate to their hearts' content.
More importantly, the care and sincerity behind the meal touched Ash deeply.
As darkness gradually spread across the sky, pearl-like stars began appearing one after another.
Against the deep blue-black canvas of night, they resembled the bright eyes of a young maiden—pure, flawless, and filled with unspoken affection.
Nothing noteworthy happened during the night.
And so, beneath the quiet glow of the stars, everyone enjoyed their final evening in Cerulean City.
The next morning arrived soon enough.