The room fell into stunned silence as I clung to Red, pouring out all my pent-up emotions in a flurry of questions and affection.

Bruno blinked. "Wait, what?"

Greta’s jaw dropped. "Red’s her brother?!"

Lance was frozen mid-smirk, his expression shifting to one of pure disbelief. "Hold on... what?"

Lorelei, who had been taking a sip of tea she’d brought with her, promptly spit it out, coughing. "Excuse me?! Since when?!"

Meanwhile, Red’s Pikachu was jumping up and down, squeaking in alarm, clearly unsure of what was happening.

I tightened my hug, oblivious to the chaos around me. "Do you know how worried I was about you?! You just vanished! Do you even realize how much I've missed you?! I thought you’d fallen off Mount Silver or something!"

Red, still unable to breathe properly, looked around helplessly at the others, his face turning red—but probably not from embarrassment.

Bruno burst out laughing. "This is the most human I’ve ever seen Red look!"

Lance, snapping out of his shock, stepped forward. "Mia, let go of him! You’re going to suffocate the poor guy!"

I finally loosened my grip but kept my hands on Red’s shoulders, shaking him slightly. "I demand answers! Right now!"

Red coughed, finally able to draw a breath, and raised his hands to sign, but Pikachu interrupted by leaping onto my shoulder.

"Pika-pi!" it scolded, nudging me as if telling me to calm down.

Lorelei crossed her arms, her expression caught between amusement and exasperation. "Okay, someone explain this. How is Red her brother? And why didn’t anyone think to mention this sooner?"

I looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because it wasn’t relevant until now! Duh!"

Greta buried her face in her hands. "This explains so much about you."

Red finally managed to sign something. I didn’t expect this reaction...

I huffed, crossing my arms. "What reaction were you expecting? A handshake? A polite nod? Come on, Red, you’re my brother! This is what siblings do when they reunite!"

Lance groaned, rubbing his temples. "This battle just got a lot more complicated..."

I turned back to Red, suddenly remembering. "Wait! Does this mean I don’t have to battle you?!"

Red smirked faintly, pulling out a Pokéball in response.

Lorelei chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh, Mia, you’re definitely battling him. Sibling or not, he’s here to test your strength."

I gasped, pointing at Red dramatically. "Traitor!"

Red’s smirk widened slightly as Pikachu hopped back to his shoulder. Bruno and Greta were laughing too hard to be of any help, and Lance looked like he was enjoying every second of my torment.

With a deep breath, I stepped back, my competitive spirit kicking in. "Alright, fine! Brother or not, I’ll take you down!"

Red’s silent confidence was infuriating, but it only fueled my determination.

Bruno clapped again, clearly ready for the chaos. "Now this is going to be a battle worth watching!"

The room buzzed with anticipation as we prepared for the ultimate sibling showdown.

The tension in the room was palpable as Red calmly took his position, his Pikachu hopping onto the ground with an eager squeak. I, on the other hand, was still in the process of trying to calm down, having just learned that my brother—whom I hadn’t seen in forever—was now my opponent. But hey, no big deal, right?

"Alright, Red," I declared, adjusting my bandana like it was some kind of championship belt. "Let’s do this!"

Red raised an eyebrow at me, silent but exuding confidence, which just made me even more determined.

"Go, Charizard!" Red shouted silently, his hands calmly releasing the fiery beast from its Pokéball.

I pulled out my own Pokéball, tossing it up. "I choose you—Snorlax!"

Everyone gasped as my Snorlax lazily emerged from its ball and promptly fell asleep on the spot.

"Uh, that’s not gonna help, Mia," Bruno said, trying to stifle a laugh.

I shrugged. "Yeah, he’ll be fine. He just needs a little... motivational boost."

Greta raised an eyebrow. "Mia, I don’t think Snorlax is the one who needs motivation here."

Snorlax snored louder, making a little pool of drool beside him.

Lance sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I can't believe we're starting this battle with a sleeping Snorlax."

Red, however, was unfazed. He simply raised his hand, signaling for Charizard to launch a Flamethrower. The fiery blast shot across the battlefield.

"Snorlax! Wake up!" I screamed, waving my arms. "The fire's coming right at you!"

But no response. No Snorlax stirring.

In a panic, I grabbed anything I could find to try and wake him up. First, I grabbed Bruno.

"WHAT?!" Bruno yelped, but I was too far gone to care. I shoved him under Snorlax’s massive head, hoping the weight of Bruno would knock some sense into my lazy Pokémon.

Bruno’s eyes widened. "Mia, what are you—"

"WAKE HIM UP!" I yelled, shaking him like a ragdoll. "HIT HIM WITH YOUR ABS OF STEEL!"

Bruno had no time to protest. He was unceremoniously squashed under Snorlax, who still didn’t wake up.

Meanwhile, Red just watched. Silent. Stoic. His Charizard calmly awaited orders.

"Alright, fine!" I grabbed a nearby trash can lid and chucked it straight at Snorlax’s head. "Wake up! This is not the time to nap!"

Snorlax finally stirred, slowly rising up, and looked around with a bewildered expression. Then, it yawned loudly, knocking the trash can lid out of my hands.

"Okay, okay!" I cried, scrambling to regain my footing. "Snorlax, use Body Slam!"

Snorlax slowly waddled forward with the grace of a brick wall, but by the time he was halfway to Charizard, he tripped over his own foot and crashed face-first into the ground.

"Not like that!" I yelled, throwing my arms up. "GET UP, YOU BIG FLUFFY BALL!"

Lance was laughing so hard, he had to hold onto his Dragonite for balance. "I don't think Charizard is even worried about Snorlax anymore."

Red’s silent smirk grew just a little bit wider as Charizard soared through the air, effortlessly dodging Snorlax's attempts at getting up.

I looked at Snorlax and then at Red. "Alright, you want a challenge? Fine. I’ll show you what happens when you mess with me!"

With no other options, I pulled out the biggest, heaviest object I could find—Bruno’s dumbbell.

"TAKE THIS, CHARIZARD!" I yelled, and yeeted the dumbbell across the battlefield.

Everyone froze as the massive weight sailed toward Charizard, but at the last second, Charizard effortlessly dodged it. The dumbbell landed straight on Bruno’s foot instead.

"AHHH!" Bruno screamed, clutching his foot in pain. "MIA! WHAT THE HECK?!"

"Oh, no..." I muttered, realizing I had just caused more chaos. But before I could apologize, Charizard launched another Flamethrower at Snorlax, who was still in the process of getting up.

The blast missed, but only by a few inches, and instead, it hit the trash can. The resulting explosion sent me and Bruno flying backward, Bruno once again landing in the huge puddle of drool Snorlax had created.

"Why is this happening?" Bruno groaned, completely soaked.

"Red... I swear you’re enjoying this," I grumbled, adjusting my bandana again, dusting myself off.

Red gave me a small nod and smirked again, his Pikachu bouncing on his shoulder.

Greta laughed so hard, she nearly fell over. "I can’t believe we’re witnessing this. This is not how a battle was supposed to go!"

I sighed and turned to Snorlax, who was still trying to get his bearings. "Okay, okay, I’ll admit. You win this round, Red."

But then Red raised an eyebrow and nodded to his Charizard.

"OH NO," I shouted. "I AM NOT GOING DOWN THAT EASY!"

With a wild look in my eyes, I reached into my bag and pulled out yet another unexpected item.

A pillow.

Everyone stared at me in disbelief as I yeeted the pillow at Charizard.

"TAKE THIS, YOU DRAGON!"

Red blinked, Charizard blinked, Pikachu blinked, and even Lorelei facepalmed.

But it was too late. The pillow hit Charizard right in the face, and for a split second, Charizard was utterly confused.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Red commanded, still utterly unfazed.

But for just a moment...

The chaos paused.