Gary was still staring at me like I’d grown a second head. "Mia, are you serious right now?"

I tilted my head. "What? I’m fine, aren’t I?"

Gary ran a hand down his face. "No, you’re not! Do you even know what Modafinil does?"

Lorelei knelt beside me, her voice soft but firm. "Mia, Modafinil is a medication meant for very specific conditions. It’s not something you can just take because you’re stressed or tired."

"But I wasn’t tired," I protested, gesturing at my obviously wide-awake self. "It worked! See?"

Lance groaned, holding the bottle up like it was cursed. "Mia, this stuff is dangerous if you don’t need it. You’ve been playing with fire, and now you’re pulling out a pharmacy from your bag like it’s candy!"

"Wait, what else have you been taking?" Bruno asked, crossing his arms and frowning deeply.

I sighed dramatically and reached into my bag again, pulling out several more bottles. "These helped me stay awake. These were for stress. These were just in case my stomach hurt. Oh! And these tasted like candy—"

"THOSE ARE NOT CANDY!" Gary exploded, snatching the bottle from my hand. He stormed into the next room, yelling something incoherent, and I blinked after him in confusion.

"What’s his problem?" I muttered.

Greta was pacing back and forth now, muttering under her breath. Bruno had his hands on his hips, shaking his head. Lorelei exchanged a look with Lance, and they both crouched next to me like I was a ticking time bomb.

Professor Oak fanned himself with his hat. "Mia, my dear girl, this is serious. You’ve been mixing medications without consulting anyone. You’re incredibly lucky you haven’t had worse side effects."

I frowned. "Side effects? Like what? I’m fine! My head’s only spinning a little—"

"WHAT?!" Lorelei shrieked, grabbing my shoulders. "Mia, why didn’t you say that earlier?"

"It’s not a big deal!" I protested. "It’s just because I haven’t slept in two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" Bruno exclaimed. "Kid, how are you even standing right now?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Determination, I guess?"

Gary stormed back into the room, looking frazzled. "You guess? Mia, you’re lucky you’re not in a hospital right now! What were you even thinking?"

I crossed my arms, feeling defensive. "I was thinking I needed to beat the Elite Four, duh! I couldn’t sleep because I was too busy strategizing!"

"Mia," Lance said, his voice unusually soft. "We care about you. This isn’t about beating us. This is about your health. If something happened to you because of all these medications, we’d never forgive ourselves."

I blinked, suddenly feeling small. "Wait... you care? Like, you’re not mad? You actually care about me?"

Lorelei sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Of course we care. You’re a brilliant, determined Trainer, but you’re still human, Mia. We don’t want to see you hurt yourself."

Even Bruno, the usually stoic one, nodded. "They’re right. You’ve got a lot of potential, kid, but you need to take care of yourself first."

I looked down at my bag, suddenly feeling guilty. "I didn’t mean to worry you all. I just… I wanted to be strong enough to win."

Gary knelt beside me, his expression softer now. "Mia, you’re already strong. But strength isn’t just about battling. It’s about knowing when to ask for help, too."

I swallowed hard, suddenly overwhelmed by the concern in the room. "I’m sorry," I mumbled.

Lance placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Apology accepted. But no more self-medicating, okay? From now on, you talk to one of us if you’re struggling."

I nodded, feeling tears prick at my eyes. "Okay. I promise."

Gary sighed, ruffling my hair. "Good. Now let’s get you some real rest before you collapse."

And for the first time in weeks, I felt like everything was going to be okay.