"Mr. Ash, welcome to Olivine City. We've prepared all the equipment you requested."
By evening, a large amount of medical equipment had already been set up at the Olivine Lighthouse. Nurse Joy approached Ash with a professional smile as she greeted him.
Due to his cooperation with pharmaceutical and capsule research, Ash had become a distinguished guest of both the Joy and Jenny families. Wherever he went, Pokémon Centers provided him with the highest level of care.
"Thank you. There's absolutely no room for error this time. You've already heard the situation from Jasmine. If anything unexpected happens during the process, I'll be relying on you."
Ash nodded seriously.
"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can."
Nurse Joy's tone was confident. After all, treatment and emergency care were what they had been trained for since childhood.
"Master, the cameras are all set up."
On the other side, Shirō had already positioned the cameras toward Ampharos. He even had a notebook ready, prepared to record every detail of the process.
"Good. Then let's begin."
Once everything was in place, Ash took a deep breath. This attempt would require him to push his abilities to their limits. To strengthen Ampharos' cells, he would need to activate the Curse Mark.
Ash possessed immense vitality within his own cells, which allowed him to recover rapidly from injuries. However, transferring that vitality to another being required an enormous amount of energy.
"Be ready. The process will be extremely painful. If you can't endure it, everything will fail."
Ash sat cross-legged in front of Ampharos, his hands forming a seal.
"Ampha…"
Ampharos nodded firmly. It had already prepared itself. After enduring so much, there was no way it would give up now.
"Then we begin. Curse Mark, Stage One."
A green energy began to gather around Ash's palms, while the three-tomoe pattern at the back of his neck glowed with a deep red light, spreading rapidly across his body.
In moments, his entire body was covered in curse mark patterns, even his face marked with dark, jagged lines. As the red glow faded, the markings turned pitch black, stabilizing across his skin.
"This… what is that?"
Aside from Sabrina, everyone present was stunned.
Although footage of Ash fighting Ho-Oh and Lugia had been broadcast before, the details had been unclear. Few had ever seen this ability up close.
"It's a Curse Mark," Sabrina explained calmly. "It greatly amplifies Ash's power. When he activates it, he can wield multiple elemental laws, including lightning, water, and fire. That's why he can stand against Legendary Pokémon."
"What? Humans can wield the same laws as Legendary Pokémon?" Shirō exclaimed in shock.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Sabrina shook her head. "This ability is innate. Just like my psychic powers, it isn't something others can learn. And according to Ash, it can still evolve further."
Shirō fell silent, though the shock remained evident on his face.
"Ampharos, I'm starting. Hold on."
With the Curse Mark activated, Ash placed his hands gently on Ampharos' neck. The green vitality in his palms surged forward, flowing directly into Ampharos' body.
"Amphaa!!!"
The moment the energy entered, Ampharos let out a piercing cry.
Inside its body, the golden cells reacted immediately, as if sensing danger. Their rate of devouring the red cells suddenly increased.
"Hm… it's reacting like it has its own will. It's even adjusting its behavior based on external interference."
Sensing the sudden change, Ash frowned slightly and increased the flow of vitality, forcing more energy into Ampharos' red cells to strengthen them against the golden cells.
This was a severe test of Ash's control.
Cells were microscopic. Under normal circumstances, even observing them clearly required specialized equipment. Yet Ash was directly sensing and manipulating them through perception alone, something only possible due to his unique abilities, similar to the insight granted by the Sharingan.
The moment his vitality flowed into Ampharos' red cells, a change occurred.
The golden cells stopped devouring them.
Instead, they began to merge.
A flicker of relief appeared in Ash's eyes. This confirmed that his hypothesis was correct.
"The cells have started fusing," Ash said steadily while maintaining the energy output. "Keep monitoring Ampharos' condition at all times. Inform me immediately if anything goes wrong."
"Understood," Nurse Joy responded as she carefully observed the medical instruments. "Ampharos is stable for now. Its heartbeat is gradually returning to normal."
For a brief moment, everything seemed to be progressing smoothly.
"Amphaa!!! Amphaa!!!"
Suddenly, Ampharos let out a sharp cry.
Its body trembled violently as if struck by an invisible force. Although it seemed restrained by something, it continued struggling intensely.
"Mr. Ash, Ampharos' heart rate is spiking!" Nurse Joy called out urgently. "If this continues, it could become life-threatening!"
The calm atmosphere shattered instantly.
(End of Chapter)
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