"What is that threshold?" Jasmine asked immediately after hearing Ash's explanation. Information about advancing to a Legendary Pokémon was incredibly scarce in every region.
Even the Pokémon League and powerful families only knew that one must comprehend a natural law—but no one truly understood what came after. Very few had ever witnessed a successful Evolution.
Ash spoke slowly.
"After comprehending a law, there is one final hurdle."
"Your body must endure the law… and be completely reconstructed by it."
His gaze turned serious.
"If it fails to withstand that transformation, the Pokémon will be devoured by the very power it awakened… and return to nothing."
A heavy silence fell.
"I think… if your father's Ampharos fails…"
Ash paused briefly.
"It will disperse into pure lightning and vanish completely."
Jasmine and her father froze in shock. They hadn't expected that understanding a law was only the beginning—that the true danger came afterward.
Just imagining it was terrifying.
Reconstructing one's entire body…
It was like replacing every cell within a living being. The pain alone was unimaginable.
At that moment, Emiya Shirō, who had been listening quietly, raised his hand slightly.
"Master… does that mean the body's structure changes entirely? Like replacing bones and organs?"
Ash shook his head.
"No. It's not about replacing organs or bones—it's about replacing cells."
He continued calmly,
"For beings that haven't grasped a law, almost all cells in the body are 'ordinary'—what you might call red cells. They can withstand a certain level of power."
"But once a Pokémon begins using the power of a law…"
His voice deepened.
"That power far exceeds normal limits. The original cells simply cannot handle it."
"So they must be replaced."
Ash looked at Ampharos again.
"That's what those golden cells are doing right now."
"They're transforming the body so it can withstand the power of lightning at a fundamental level."
Jasmine clenched her fists nervously.
"But… what's going wrong?"
Ash answered without hesitation.
"Your Ampharos succeeded in comprehending the law…"
"But its original cells are being devoured too quickly."
"It's not merging—it's being overwhelmed."
His words were blunt.
"At this rate… it won't last more than a month."
Jasmine's face turned pale.
Ash's insight came from his own experience. With his ocular ability, he could observe cellular changes directly. Whenever he used techniques like Mokuton or other high-level powers, even his own cells would temporarily shift to adapt.
He understood better than anyone what it meant to wield a force beyond natural limits.
Jasmine's voice trembled.
"Is… is there no other way?"
Tears welled up in her eyes as memories of growing up with Ampharos flooded back.
Ash closed his eyes briefly before answering.
"There are two methods."
"First… abandon the comprehension of the law."
Jasmine immediately shook her head.
Ash continued,
"But I don't think Ampharos would agree."
He looked at it firmly.
"For any Pokémon, reaching this step is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If it gives up now… it may never comprehend a law again."
"Second…"
Ash's tone grew heavier.
"Make the original cells and the law-born cells merge together… instead of one devouring the other."
"That way, the transformation becomes stable—and it can successfully advance."
Hope flickered in Jasmine's eyes.
"Then we can—"
Ash interrupted her.
"…But that's not something current technology can achieve."
The hope shattered instantly.
"If it can't be done… then maybe it's better to give up…" Jasmine's father said reluctantly, though even he knew how impossible that choice was.
Ampharos stood quietly nearby, its eyes calm—but resolute.
It had already made its decision.
"How could this…" Jasmine whispered, unable to accept it.
Seeing her break down, even Sabrina was affected. Though usually cold and composed, she couldn't ignore such pure emotion.
"Ash… you can see the state of its cells, right?"
"Please… help her, if you can."
Jasmine and her father immediately looked at Ash with hope.
After all, if he could see the problem… maybe he could fix it.
Ash shook his head.
"It's useless."
"I can observe the cells… and even interfere with them to a certain extent."
"But controlling them completely?"
He let out a quiet breath.
"That's impossible."
"If I could do something like that…"
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"I'd be nearly invincible."
Ash shook his head.
He truly couldn't do it.
Controlling another being's cells was simply impossible. If it were his own body, then yes—he could manage it. But interfering at that level with another Pokémon… that was beyond him.
"Is there really… no way?" Jasmine asked softly, holding Ampharos's face as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Pharos…"
Ampharos gently licked away her tears, its eyes calm—yet unwavering.
Ash fell into thought.
"This is actually the first time I've personally encountered a Pokémon advancing to the level of a Legendary Pokémon," he said slowly.
"I had heard about it from Dragonite before… but I didn't expect it to be this difficult."
His gaze darkened slightly.
"If my Charizard reaches this stage without a solution in place…"
"…that would be a real problem."
Ash turned his attention back to Ampharos, his eyes sharpening as he analyzed its condition once more.
"The golden cells inside its body…"
"They're not ordinary biological cells."
"They're pure energy—condensed from the Electric-type law itself."
A dangerous power.
Even now, that power was consuming everything.
"I could use my Aura-enhanced chakra to invade its body and destroy those golden cells…"
Ash paused.
"But even if I wiped them out completely, it wouldn't solve anything."
"It would only force Ampharos to fail its Evolution."
"That would be no different from abandoning the law entirely."
In other words, there was no shortcut.
No external force could replace what Ampharos itself had to endure.
Ash clenched his fist slightly.
For the first time, even he felt a sense of urgency.
If he didn't find a solution soon…
Then when his own Pokémon stepped into this realm, they might face the same fate.
(End of Chapter)
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