Jirachi stubbornly refused to give up and tried several more times.
Each time, its tiny body floated gently down onto the grass, at most kicking up a few blades before bouncing lightly back up. No matter how hard it tried, it still could not make even the smallest crater.
Larvitar watched from nearby and became increasingly anxious on Jirachi's behalf. In the end, it simply ran over to Jirachi's side, slapped the ground with its little claws, then pointed proudly at itself, looking extremely serious as if saying, "Watch carefully, I'll demonstrate it for you."
Jirachi only half understood.
It waddled forward on its short little legs and copied Larvitar's earlier actions, grabbing onto Ash's pant leg and slowly climbing upward bit by bit before finally settling onto his shoulder.
Then it immediately jumped downward again.
This completely delighted Ash.
He puffed out his chest proudly and shouted toward Theo, Max, and May:
"Look at that! Jirachi likes me! Hahaha!"
Theo watched Ash's childish and smug expression and could only smile helplessly while shaking his head.
After Jirachi finally grew tired of repeatedly trying to smash itself into the ground, Theo began introducing the rest of his Pokémon that were still awake one by one.
"These are Little Fire Vulpix and Little Ice Vulpix."
Theo pointed toward the two little foxes curled up near his feet.
Fire Vulpix curiously trotted closer and lightly brushed Jirachi's ribbon wing with its tail. Jirachi immediately stretched out its tiny arm and gently touched the fluffy tail in return.
Ice Vulpix was much more shy. It only watched cautiously from a distance.
Seeing this, Jirachi floated over on its own initiative and blinked at it playfully. Only then did Ice Vulpix slowly relax its guard and softly rub its head against Jirachi's arm.
"And these are Tyrantrum and Zweilous."
Tyrantrum sat heavily on the ground. Its enormous body blocked out a large portion of the moonlight, yet despite its intimidating appearance, it behaved unusually gently. It merely lowered its head and looked at Jirachi while letting out a low rumbling growl that sounded more like a greeting than a roar.
Jirachi was not afraid in the slightest.
Instead, it floated directly in front of Tyrantrum's nose and reached out to touch the hard scales covering its face. Tyrantrum narrowed its eyes comfortably from the contact.
As for Zweilous, both heads, Black Char and Blue Char, leaned forward from opposite sides and carefully sniffed the scent coming from Jirachi's body while slowly inching closer.
Their flexible necks twisted constantly, and their eyes were filled with curiosity, as though they were trying to study this mysterious little creature that had emerged from inside a crystal.
Jirachi stared at the two identical heads in front of it. At first, it vigorously shook its own head, almost seeming to suspect its eyes were playing tricks on it.
But after reopening its eyes, the two heads were still very much attached to the same body.
Jirachi immediately became interested.
Its tiny body floated skillfully between the two heads as it reached out with both hands, touching one side and then the other.
One moment it poked Black Char's nose.
The next moment it pinched Blue Char's chin.
It seemed determined to discover some kind of difference between them.
Meanwhile, Zweilous was also carefully examining Jirachi.
More specifically, both heads were staring fixedly at the two ribbon-like wings floating behind it.
The shape of Jirachi's wings looked astonishingly similar to their own wings. The only difference was that Jirachi's ribbons looked soft and smooth like silk, while their wings were much tougher and more rigid, with a rough keratin-like texture.
"Awoo~"
Black Char could not resist any longer.
It stretched out its long tongue and gently licked one of Jirachi's ribbon wings.
"Ah!"
Jirachi immediately shrank back from the ticklish sensation, but oddly enough, the ribbon wing unconsciously drifted back closer to Black Char's mouth again.
Seeing this, Blue Char also stuck out its tongue and licked the ribbon on the opposite side.
The two soft ribbons became wrapped lightly by their tongues. The strange ticklish sensation made Jirachi burst into giggles as its tiny body twisted and squirmed happily in midair like a child being teased.
Black Char and Blue Char also seemed to find it amusing. They kept nudging and flicking the ribbons with their tongues, playing with them enthusiastically.
"Alright, alright, stop bullying Jirachi."
Theo laughed as he stepped forward and lightly patted Zweilous's necks.
"There are still more new friends to meet."
Then he called Metagross and Milotic over.
The moment the two Pokémon appeared, Jirachi's attention was instantly captured.
Milotic gracefully swayed its elegant body. Its golden tail fin shimmered softly beneath the moonlight, while its blue fin-like crests floated like delicate silk.
Jirachi was immediately mesmerized by that golden tail.
It floated around Milotic excitedly in circles, gently stroking the soft fin crests with its tiny hands before occasionally pouncing onto the golden tail fin and rubbing against it affectionately, as though completely enchanted by its beauty.
Jirachi lowered its head and looked at its own yellow body before raising its eyes again toward Milotic's glittering golden tail.
Its tiny mouth puffed out slightly.
It seemed a little envious.
Milotic appeared to understand exactly what Jirachi was thinking. It blinked gently before a faint glow slowly spread from its body.
It was using Flash.
Tiny particles of light surrounded Jirachi like countless fireflies, illuminating its small body until it sparkled brilliantly.
"Jira~!"
Jirachi cried out in delight.
It looked down at the dancing lights covering its body and spun happily through the air several times in excitement. Its ribbon wings fluttered behind it like glowing silk streamers.
Meanwhile, Metagross quietly floated nearby in silence.
The way it looked at Jirachi carried an unusual sense of closeness.
As fellow Pokémon possessing both Psychic and Steel typing, there seemed to be an inexplicable attraction between them.
After finishing its game with the sparkling lights, Jirachi turned its attention toward Metagross.
It placed one tiny finger lightly against its mouth while tilting its head, innocently studying the enormous metallic Pokémon before it.
Then Jirachi slowly floated closer and gently bumped its tiny head against Metagross's steel head.
Dong dong.
A crisp metallic knocking sound echoed through the air.
Jirachi's eyes instantly lit up.
It bumped its head against Metagross again.
And again.
Every time it made contact, it burst into cheerful laughter as though it had discovered some fascinating new toy.
Metagross did not become annoyed in the slightest.
Instead, it cooperatively lowered its head a little further so Jirachi could continue "playing" more comfortably. A trace of rare gentleness flashed within its red eyes.
Just like that, Jirachi quickly became close with all of Theo's Pokémon.
One moment it chased after Fire Vulpix's tails.
The next moment it sprawled across Milotic's back while acting spoiled.
Then it flew over to continue its "head-bumping game" with Metagross.
Its silver-bell-like laughter constantly echoed across the grassy campsite.
Not long afterward, Brock finally finished preparing the late-night meal.
He carried over a large soup pot filled with sweet soup made from various sugary berries and Pokéblocks. Pink-colored broth swirled inside the pot, with chopped berries floating throughout it, releasing a rich fruity aroma and sweet fragrance.
"Food's ready!"
The moment Brock called out, Ash, May, and everyone else, including all the Pokémon, immediately gathered around eagerly, waiting to receive their portions.
Brock began pulling out bowls one after another, carefully serving soup for every Pokémon.
Tyrantrum's bowl was the largest by far, piled completely full and heavy enough to nearly overflow.
Larvitar stared at it with overwhelming envy. Its little head nearly shoved itself directly into the pot while both claws clung tightly to Brock's pant leg as it whined and begged for Brock to hurry up and serve its portion too.
Soon, Pikachu and Treecko also received their own small bowls. Each of them hugged their bowls tightly and took careful little sips, both wearing deeply satisfied expressions.
"Jirachi, come eat something too."
Brock gently placed a delicate little bowl on a flat stone nearby.
Inside was half a bowl of sweet soup, and he had even thoughtfully added an entire Cheri Berry into it.
At that moment, Jirachi had been seriously playing a game of "counting tails" together with Ice Vulpix and Fire Vulpix.
The instant it heard Brock calling and smelled the sweet aroma drifting through the air, it immediately floated over following the scent.
(End of Chapter)