"That's right, today I'm taking you out to have fun."
Theo carried Jirachi in his arms as he walked outside.
"Your big brothers Max and Ash stayed up all night yesterday planning a full entertainment schedule for you. They're definitely going to make sure you have the time of your life."
The moment they stepped out of the tent, Max came running over as though he had sensed Jirachi waking up. He held Treecko in one arm while clutching a crooked and poorly drawn schedule sheet in his other hand.
"Jirachi, you're awake! Look, this is the itinerary I made for you! This morning we'll ride the roller coaster first, then the carousel, then at noon we'll eat lots of delicious food, and in the afternoon we'll go to the water park…"
As he spoke excitedly with animated gestures, Jirachi naturally had no idea what things like "roller coaster" or "carousel" actually were. But seeing Max so enthusiastic made it happy too. It clapped its little hands excitedly while repeatedly mumbling:
"Play… play… eat… eat!"
"That's great!"
Max handed the itinerary sheet over to Theo before freeing his hands to pick Jirachi up. With considerable effort, he lifted both Treecko and Jirachi high into the air together.
"Max, be careful! Don't drop them!"
May turned her head and hurriedly shouted the warning the moment she saw what he was doing.
Very soon, Brock finished preparing breakfast. He released all of his Pokémon, and soon the entire campsite was filled with little Pokémon gathered together, each happily enjoying their own food.
Brock walked over carrying a freshly cooked bowl of rice porridge. He had even carefully sprinkled crushed berries on top. Clearly, he also wanted to personally feed Jirachi.
"Jirachi, eat breakfast first. Otherwise you'll get hungry halfway through playing later."
The moment Jirachi smelled the sweet fragrance, its tiny nose twitched slightly, and its gaze instantly locked firmly onto the bowl of porridge.
Brock crouched down, scooped up a small spoonful, carefully blew on it to cool it down, and brought it to Jirachi's mouth.
"Ahhh~"
Brock gently made a gesture signaling it to open its mouth.
Jirachi obediently opened its mouth and swallowed the porridge. Its little eyes instantly widened into circles, clearly finding the taste delicious.
Then it snatched the spoon from Brock's hand and awkwardly began feeding itself. In the process, it smeared porridge all over the corners of its mouth, making it look like a tiny messy kitten.
Everyone watching could not help laughing at how adorable it looked.
After breakfast, Brock began packing up their things while Ash impatiently urged everyone onward.
"Hurry up, hurry up! Let's get to the amusement park early! I still haven't had enough of yesterday's roller coaster!"
May and Max were already prepared as well. May had even specifically brought along a camera, insisting that she wanted to take countless photos of Jirachi.
Theo held Jirachi in his arms while checking his Poké Balls and backpack. Finally, he glanced toward Metagross, who had stood guard through the entire night.
"Metagross, thanks for your hard work. You should go back into your Poké Ball and rest for now. Later we'll have Volcarona accompany us instead."
Metagross lightly nodded.
Volcarona fluttered its wings and flew to Theo's side, as though proudly saying:
"Leave it to me."
Before returning to its Poké Ball, Milotic used Life Dew. Sparkling droplets of water scattered across Metagross's body, clearly hoping to help soothe its fatigue.
The green life infused droplets landed upon Metagross's metallic body, producing soft sizzling sounds across its steel shell.
The moment Jirachi touched the droplets, its eyes instantly lit up brightly. The other Pokémon also gathered beneath the falling drops one after another, happily enjoying the healing sensation.
Once everything was prepared, the group officially set off toward the amusement park.
Jirachi lay atop Theo's shoulder, curiously observing the flowers, grass, and trees lining the roadside. Every now and then, it stretched out a little hand trying to grab passing butterflies while letting out bursts of clear cheerful laughter.
Max ran ahead at full speed while shouting loudly:
"Jirachi, hurry up! Roller coasters are super fun!"
May and Ash followed behind while discussing what kinds of food they wanted to eat for lunch.
Meanwhile, Brock walked at the very back while holding the "All-Region Charming Women Handbook" he had personally compiled. From time to time, his eyes drifted toward the direction of the amusement park, obviously still looking forward to meeting Miss Diane again.
The outline of the amusement park gradually became clearer in the distance.
The Ferris wheel slowly rotated through the sky, while the roller coaster tracks resembled a giant silver dragon gleaming beneath the sunlight.
...
Five days passed like sand slipping through fingers, quietly disappearing amidst endless laughter and joy.
During these five days, Theo's group had practically experienced every attraction in the amusement park.
On the roller coaster, Jirachi had initially been so frightened that it tightly wrapped itself around Theo's neck, burying its little head in his chest and refusing to look.
But when the train suddenly plunged downward and the roaring wind screamed past its ears, it could not resist peeking its head out, letting out excited and terrified shrieks at the same time.
When riding the giant pendulum at its highest point, Jirachi stretched both tiny arms outward as though trying to embrace the entire sky. Its yellow ribbon-like streamers fluttered wildly in the wind like two little flags of happiness.
There were also the swaying pirate ship rides, the spinning aerial chairs high in the sky, the romance of the slowly rising Ferris wheel, the bursts of laughter from bumper car collisions, the peaceful mini train weaving through greenery, and the refreshing splashes throughout the water park…
Every attraction anyone could name had left behind traces of Jirachi's joyful presence.
Among all the rides, however, Jirachi's absolute favorites were Whac A Mole and the haunted house.
No matter how many times it played them, it remained endlessly enthusiastic and never once grew tired.
When playing Whac A Mole, its tiny hands gripped the wooden hammer with unbelievable speed. The hammer danced through the air with fierce momentum.
The instant a mole poked its head out, it would immediately be struck down with perfect precision.
Its accuracy was practically one hundred percent.
Once it got truly excited, Jirachi would even secretly use its psychic powers to control several hammers simultaneously. In an instant, hammer shadows flew everywhere. The moles were smashed back underground the moment they appeared, causing nearby children to erupt into waves of excited cheering.
As for the haunted house, Jirachi completely unleashed its true mischievous nature there.
It clearly remembered the racing heartbeat it had experienced the first time it got scared inside the haunted house, and afterward it decided to return that same "fear" directly back onto the visitors.
Jirachi would secretly grab a white sheet and drape it over its body before slowly floating upward with psychic powers, transforming itself into an unbelievably sly and naughty little ghost.
It would silently drift behind unsuspecting visitors and deliberately let out drawn out "wooooo" sounds, blending perfectly into the creepy haunted house background music before suddenly startling people half to death.
Several times, visitors screamed in terror after being frightened by it and desperately ran out of the haunted house in panic.
Meanwhile, Jirachi hid in dark corners giggling uncontrollably, its playful and mischievous appearance leaving Theo both amused and helpless.
Later on, after Theo showed the platinum card and discussed things with the amusement park management, the staff simply decided to go along with the idea and officially hired Jirachi as a "special guest NPC" for the haunted house, specifically tasked with scaring visitors.
This delighted Jirachi beyond belief.
From then onward, every single day it eagerly changed into its specially prepared little ghost costume and enthusiastically reported to the haunted house "for work" on time.
Inside the dimly lit scenery, it sometimes floated out from corners and other times swooped down from the ceiling, terrifying wave after wave of visitors until they nearly lost their souls from fright.
Meanwhile, Jirachi itself enjoyed every second of it and never once became bored.
The claw machines and lucky roulette wheels also became places where Jirachi frequently appeared during these days.
However, the one truly obsessed with those games was not Jirachi at all.
It was actually Larvitar.
Unfortunately, Larvitar's luck was simply unbelievably terrible.
(End of Chapter)