Jirachi curiously stared at the pink sweet soup inside the bowl. Tilting its little head, it studied the contents for quite a while before cautiously sticking out its tongue and giving it a tiny lick.
The sweet flavor instantly spread across its tongue, carrying the fresh fragrance of berries along with the rich taste of energy cubes. Jirachi's eyes widened immediately, round and sparkling, as though it had just discovered an entirely new world.
It could no longer hold back.
Its tiny mouth began moving rapidly as it gulped down the soup bite by bite. Its cheeks puffed up adorably like it was hiding two little cherries inside.
Before long, the entire bowl of sweet soup had been completely finished, leaving not even a drop behind. Jirachi wore an expression of pure satisfaction.
"Mo… more… want more…"
Jirachi looked at the empty bowl, then lifted its head toward Brock and spoke in a childish, milky voice, its little eyes filled with anticipation.
"No problem at all!"
Brock was utterly charmed by its adorable appearance and burst into laughter. He hurriedly went to fill another bowl.
"Eat slowly, no rush. If it's not enough, I'll make more for you."
Holding the freshly filled bowl of sweet soup, Jirachi fluttered its tiny body and lightly floated over to Theo's side. Tilting its head, it raised its round little face and quietly looked at him.
Its tiny hands carefully lifted the bowl toward Theo's lips, bright sparkles flickering within its eyes.
"Is this for me?"
Theo could not help laughing softly. He gently pinched Jirachi's little cheek.
"You don't need to give it to me. Drink it yourself, I'm not hungry."
But Jirachi shook its head stubbornly and pushed the bowl forward again. The pink soup lightly swayed inside.
"What a good child."
Helpless but smiling warmly, Theo accepted the bowl. He scooped up a tiny spoonful and symbolically took a small sip.
"Mhm, it's delicious. The rest is yours now, hurry and drink it."
Only then did Jirachi nod in satisfaction.
Theo smiled gently and pulled Jirachi lightly into his arms. Using his fingertips, he carefully wiped away the sweet soup stains at the corner of its mouth before patiently feeding it spoonful after spoonful.
The little fellow ate especially happily. Every time it swallowed a bite, it would beam at Theo with another bright smile.
The drops of soup sticking to its little face looked like tiny pink pearls, making it so adorable that people could not help wanting to kiss it.
Just then, a deep and rhythmic sound of flapping wings gradually approached from afar, slowly breaking the tranquility of the forest. A streak of orange red light gracefully emerged from the depths of the woods.
It was Volcarona returning after finishing its patrol.
Its three pairs of magnificent wings reflected a warm glow like flowing flames beneath the moonlight. A few tiny blades of grass still clung to the edges of its wings, making it obvious that the earlier patrol had not been an easy one.
"You worked hard, Volcarona."
Earlier, when Jirachi awakened, the purple light had shot high into the sky. Theo had worried that it might attract wild Pokémon and interfere with Jirachi's awakening, so he had specifically sent Volcarona to stand guard around the area. He had not expected it to be gone for so long.
Volcarona slowly landed in front of Theo, its wings gently fluttering and bringing with them a wave of warm air.
First, it nodded toward Theo as though reporting that its mission had been completed. Then its gaze shifted toward the Jirachi nestled within Theo's arms, carefully observing it from top to bottom.
"Volcarona, Brock already finished making supper. I specially prepared a bowl for you and left it nearby to cool down. The temperature should be just right now."
Theo pointed toward a large bowl not far away.
"Go drink some while it's still warm."
Volcarona lightly nodded, yet it did not immediately move toward the supper. Its gaze remained firmly attached to Jirachi, curiosity and gentleness visible within its eyes.
Jirachi also stopped drinking its soup. Its large round eyes stared unblinkingly at the tall Volcarona before it, whose entire body radiated warmth.
The next moment, Jirachi softly floated up from Theo's arms like a tiny feather drifting through the air. Slowly and leisurely, it circled around Volcarona.
From beginning to end, the little fellow's attention remained glued to Volcarona's three enormous and dazzlingly beautiful pairs of wings. Its eyes were filled entirely with curiosity.
"Bi… big… shiny…"
While floating around in circles, Jirachi spread open its tiny hands and clumsily uttered those soft childish telepathic syllables murmuring.
Hearing Jirachi speak, Ash Ketchum quickly walked over as well.
"Jirachi, are you trying to say Volcarona is really big and really beautiful?"
Jirachi immediately nodded its tiny head vigorously and awkwardly tried to imitate the pronunciation.
"Beau… beautiful… beautiful beautiful…"
It repeated the word over and over again while pointing directly at Volcarona's wings with its short little hands, its heart overflowing with sincere admiration.
Hearing such straightforward praise, Volcarona tried hard to maintain a composed expression, wanting to appear calm and dignified. Yet the joy hidden within its eyes and the corners of its mouth nearly overflowed completely. Even the rhythm of its wingbeats became noticeably faster.
It gently fluttered its wings and voluntarily lowered one side closer to Jirachi, allowing the little Pokémon to see more clearly.
Jirachi's eyes instantly lit up.
Unable to wait any longer, it reached out its tiny hands and gently stroked Volcarona's wings. The patterns upon the wings resembled flowing flames, leaving Jirachi utterly captivated.
It even pressed its little face against the wings, feeling the faint warmth coming from them while continuously mumbling:
"Beautiful… beautiful…"
The corners of Volcarona's mouth finally lifted completely upward, unable to suppress the happiness and satisfaction brought by such praise.
Only after a long while did Jirachi reluctantly pull its hands away and float back into Theo's embrace. Even then, its eyes remained fixed on Volcarona's wings while its little mouth softly continued whispering:
"Beautiful…"
"What's that?"
May suddenly pointed toward the edge of the distant forest, her voice carrying a trace of caution. A dark figure was rapidly moving there, quickly approaching the campsite.
Everyone turned to look.
The shadow raced across the grass at incredible speed, kicking up trails of dust behind it.
Brock's eyes widened abruptly, and his voice carried absolute certainty along with surprise as he blurted out:
"It's Miss Diane! Miss Diane is here!"
Theo stared at the blurry shadow in the distance and narrowed his eyes carefully. Only after several moments, with the help of the cold moonlight, did he finally see the figure clearly.
It was Diane and Butler riding together atop a Mightyena as they sped toward the campsite from the direction of the amusement park.
Theo turned his head and glanced at Brock, who still looked utterly certain beside him. Instantly, countless thoughts filled Theo's mind, leaving him both speechless and amused.
Could this guy possibly possess some kind of special Pokémon ability just like Ash?
This eyesight was seriously ridiculous.
From such a far distance, in such dark conditions, he had recognized Diane from nothing more than a blurry shadow.
His talent for identifying beautiful women was simply absurd.
If Brock could devote this same level of concentration toward Pokémon breeding instead, he would probably already have become a Pokémon Master standing shoulder to shoulder with Professor Oak by now.
While Theo silently complained inwardly, Mightyena's four legs moved rapidly as it quickly charged into the campsite. Diane and Butler lightly leapt down from its back.
The instant they landed, their eyes immediately locked onto the Jirachi within Theo's arms. Bright surprise burst forth within their gazes.
Diane could not help covering her mouth as she hurried forward.
"Oh my goodness, it's so cute!
How can it possibly be this adorable? It's just like a little baby! Jirachi, do you still remember me? I'm the one who dug you out from the ground!"
(End of Chapter)