"Wake up, Onii-chan!"
Hearing that familiar voice — and seeing the ceiling right in front of his face — Orin felt a powerful sense of déjà vu wash over him.
"Am I… dreaming?" he muttered, blinking sluggishly.
"Riolu!"
He turned his head to the side and saw Riolu clutching the bedsheet tightly, her eyes wide with confusion.
"Wake up, Onii-chan!"
This time, Orin was certain.
He had just heard his little sister's voice.
"Brina… is that you?" he asked aloud, unable to even sit up in the cramped space.
"Ugh… can you put the bed back down?"
The very next second, the bed slowly descended to the floor, allowing him to sit up properly.
"Riolu—Riolu!"
Riolu immediately sprang into a combat stance, staring straight ahead.
Orin's groggy eyes widened as his vision finally sharpened, focusing on the figure standing right in front of the bed.
A young girl with long purple hair and striking red eyes was staring down at him with a deep pout. She wore a bright yellow dress, her expression filled with unmistakable annoyance.
"Onii-chan! You took sooo long to wake up!" she complained.
"I even had to use Brina's special shaking move!"
"Brina…?" Orin muttered, glancing around the room to make sure he hadn't somehow woken up back in his old home in Saffron City.
But the soft yellow glow of the Holo-Wall was enough to confirm it.
This was still his Nexus dorm.
"Anyway, Brina will be a big girl and forgive you," she declared proudly as she walked up to the side of the bed.
Then she suddenly lunged forward and hugged him tightly.
"Happy Birthday — for real this time, Onii-chan!"
"Birthday…?"
His gaze drifted back toward the Holo-Wall.
12:01 AM
2nd April, 2025.
Seeing the date made it unmistakably clear.
It was already his birthday.
And he had slept for less than an hour.
"Rio!"
Riolu's anxious cry snapped him out of his stupor. She was staring back and forth between the two of them in utter confusion.
"Brina…? Wait — how are you even here?" he asked cautiously, rubbing her back just to make sure he wasn't still dreaming.
"When did you even arrive in the Unity Region from Kanto? Did you run away from home? Do Big Sis, Kaddi, and Mimi know? And how did you even find my room on campus?"
He ended the hug and held her by the shoulders, searching her face for answers.
"Silly Onii-chan, Brina came here with you! We took the plane this morning, remember?" she said with a light giggle.
"You… came here with me?" he muttered, completely bewildered.
"Wait — were you actually on the plane too?"
For a brief moment, he even began doubting his own memory.
"No… no. I was seated alone the whole flight. I'm sure you weren't there," he said, frowning.
"Were you sitting somewhere else or something?"
"Hehe, Brina doesn't need seats. Brina can just stay with Onii-chan," she replied, tilting her head innocently.
"What does that even mean?" Orin sighed, his confusion only deepening.
"Brina… just tell me straight. How did you get here?"
"Ha! I guess I'll just have to show my silly Onii-chan," she declared with a mischievous smirk.
She placed her small hand flat against his chest.
The next instant, her red eyes flashed — and she vanished.
"R-Riolu!!"
Riolu yelped in fright, scrambling backward across the bed.
"Did she… teleport?" Orin muttered, stunned. Then he froze.
"No… this warmth… it's coming from—"
His fingers instinctively moved under his shirt, touching the necklace resting against his skin — the one he had completely forgotten to remove before sleeping.
"Brina…?" he whispered.
A faint violet glow seeped through the fabric.
The next second, light flickered — and she stood in front of him again.
"Riooo!!"
Riolu jumped even farther away, retreating to the opposite end of the bed and dropping into a tense combat stance.
"B-Brina… y-you…" Orin stammered, utterly shaken.
"Hehe~ Onii-chan is making such a silly face right now," she giggled, clearly amused.
"No, Brina… explain what's going on," he said quickly, pulling the necklace off and staring at it in disbelief.
"D-did you just… go inside this necklace?"
"No, of course not, silly Nii-chan!" she replied cheerfully.
"Right… what was I even thinking…" he muttered, rubbing his forehead with a strained, wry smile.
"I went inside the Psychic Gem," she added innocently.
"…What?!"
His gaze snapped between her and the necklace clutched in his hand.
At its center sat a finger-sized violet crystal, faintly shimmering.
"That's… impossible," he breathed.
"Hm? What's wrong, Onii-chan?" she asked, tilting her head.
"How can anyone just… enter an object?" he said aloud, still trying to process it.
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"Rio?"
Riolu glanced at him uncertainly.
"I mean— Pokémon and Poké Balls are one thing," Orin continued, lifting the necklace closer to his eyes.
"But how can a normal human just… stay inside something like this?"
"Eh? Onii-chan, you can't even do that?" she replied with an exaggerated sigh.
"I always knew you were terrible at using your powers. Tsk tsk… you should really learn from Brina and train your psychic abilities more," she added smugly, hands planted on her hips.
"Hey, I train enough, alright? In fact, I've never seen you train even a single minute in your life, you lazy bum!" he shot back, flicking her lightly on the head.
"Ah! Bad Nii-chan! Don't hit Brina's head!" she protested, clutching her forehead as she took a step back.
"Hmph… I'll forgive you since it's your birthday today," she added, looking away while rubbing the spot.
"No, don't try to change the topic," Orin said, shaking his head.
"I-is it really possible for psychics to go inside an object? That sounds absurd. I've never even heard of anything like that before…"
He frowned, trying to recall if the scientists from the Psychic Labs back in Saffron had ever mentioned something similar.
"You can't just enter any random object," Brina replied in a lecturing tone.
"It has to be something special — like this Psychic Gem."
"Psychic Gem…" Orin muttered.
"I remember Stacy from the labs mentioning Gems before… but weren't they just extremely expensive battle items? Pokémon could use them to power up a single move, and then the Gem would get consumed. Did Psychic Gems really have some ridiculous function like storing a human inside them?" he wondered aloud, still skeptical.
"Onii-chan, Brina can teach you how to do it too," she said cheerfully, patting his shoulder.
"But you're not as talented as me, so it might take you a loooong time. And it won't be free! You'll have to pay Brina's teaching fees with lots of sweet, yummy food every single day." She smiled innocently.
"…Right," Orin replied flatly, giving her a deadpan stare.
"Hehe — then it's settled!" she declared with a triumphant, smug grin.
"So when you gifted me this necklace… you had already decided you were coming with me to Nexus?" Orin asked, lifting the pendant thoughtfully.
"Of course. How could I leave my silly Nii-chan all alone?" she replied with a bright smile.
"Without me, you'd just lie in bed all day sleeping and end up missing all your classes," she added, hands planted on her hips.
"Sometimes you're just too adorable," he said, stepping forward and pulling her into a tight hug.
"Hehe, Brina is adorable all the time!" she giggled against his chest.
"I missed you, Brina," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her hair.
"I missed you more, Onii-chan," she replied quietly, patting his back.
Orin smiled, feeling an unexpected weight lift from his chest. Without even realizing it, Brina had become an essential part of his everyday life.
It had only been a single day apart… yet he had still missed her more than he expected.
"Riolu?"
Riolu padded forward and tugged lightly at Orin's T-shirt.
"Right, Brina — let me introduce you to—"
But before he could finish, Brina suddenly sprang ahead with sparkling eyes.
"Oh my gosh, it's so cute!"
She pounced straight at Riolu.
Startled, Riolu tried to dart away — only to freeze mid-step as her body lifted off the ground, gently pulled back by an unseen force and straight into Brina's embrace.
"Ahhh~ it's so soft too!!" Brina squealed, hugging her tightly and rubbing her cheek against the back of Riolu's head.
"Rio~! Rio!!"
Riolu whimpered, flailing her little arms in protest as she struggled to escape.
Orin couldn't help but laugh at the absurdly cute scene.
He quickly grabbed his phone from the bedside table and snapped a picture.
"Alright, now let the poor girl go, Brina. You're scaring her," he said with a chuckle as Riolu kept shooting him pleading looks.
"Aww, but she's so fluffy! Can I keep her, Nii-chan, pleeeasseee?" Brina begged, tilting her head up at him with exaggerated puppy-dog eyes.
"No," Orin said firmly. "Riolu is my first partner Pokémon, so you can't have her. But if you want to hug her, you should ask her properly."
He gently pried Brina's arms open.
"Rio!"
Riolu immediately dashed behind him, clutching the back of his shirt as she hid from Brina.
"Mou… Nii-chan never gives me what I want," Brina muttered with a dramatic pout.
"Stop being a drama queen and apologise to Riolu for frightening her," he said, shaking his head.
"Brina is not a drama queen!" she protested, turning away with her hands on her hips.
"Brina is the most adorable and well-behaved girl in the whole world!"
Ignoring her declaration, Orin turned and scooped Riolu into a reassuring hug.
"Riolu, this girl is my little sister. She's family," he said softly, patting her head.
"I'm sorry she scared you."
"Rio~ Rio!"
Riolu looked up at him with bright eyes and shook her head, flexing her tiny arm proudly as if to show she wasn't afraid at all.
"See? She just said she wasn't scared," Brina announced smugly, pointing at Riolu.
"…You can actually understand her?" Orin asked, stunned.
"Nii-chan can't?" Brina replied, giving him a doubtful look.
"She's your partner Pokémon, isn't she? Maybe you should just give her to me instead."
"I can understand her," Orin said quickly, meeting Riolu's gaze.
"Not every word… but I can understand her intentions."
"Riolu."
She smiled and nodded happily in agreement.
"Anyway… is this your room, Nii-chan? It's almost the same size as yours back home," Brina said, looking around in open curiosity.
"Yeah, but this one has a bathtub, a bunch of electronic appliances, and even a Holo-Wall," he replied with a grin.
"Nexus is ridiculously generous to give students rooms like this for free. Come on — I'll give you a quick tour."
He stood up and showed her around.
Brina was especially fascinated by the Holo-Wall, poking at its glowing surface with sparkling eyes. Meanwhile, Riolu remained perched at the far edge of the bed, alert and ready to bolt the moment Brina got too close.
"Ah! I almost forgot to ask," Brina said suddenly, twirling once in place.
"How do you like my new yellow dress, Nii-chan?"
"It's really cute," Orin replied with a fond smile.
"And it suits you perfectly."
"Hehe — of course. Anything I wear becomes cute," she declared proudly, flashing a wide grin.
"By the way… when exactly did you get inside that gem?" Orin asked curiously as they sat back down on the bed. Riolu immediately dashed to the opposite side again, keeping a cautious distance from Brina.
"Hmm… right after you left home," Brina answered casually, her eyes still flicking toward Riolu.
"Wait — so you were with me the whole day? Even during the plane incident?" he asked, startled.
"Then why did you only come out now?"
Before Brina could respond, his phone suddenly began to ring.
"Who's calling me at this hour…?" he muttered, picking it up — only to realize it was a joint video call.
The moment he accepted it, a loud voice blasted through the speaker.
"TOOT-TOOOT! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ORIN!!"
He winced, instinctively pulling the phone slightly away from his face.
"Duplica… you're going to make my eardrums burst."
On the split screen, Duplica beamed brightly from what looked like her bedroom. She was dressed in red pajamas covered with yellow stars, bouncing excitedly while sitting on her bed.
"Duplica, are you mad? You'll wake your parents with that shouting," another voice scolded from the other half of the screen.
Orin's gaze shifted to the second caller — Terri — who sat more calmly, dressed in soft pink nightwear showing just a hint of her cleavage. Her hair was also neatly styled despite the early hour, and she gave him a warm, composed smile.
"Happy birthday, Orin."
"Thanks… both of you," he replied with a tired chuckle.
"But it must be around six in the morning there. I told you, you didn't need to call. The surprise party you threw was already more than enough."
"It's fine," Terri said, casually adjusting her hair.
"I wake up around this time anyway. Actually, we planned to call exactly at midnight your time… but someone here wouldn't wake up."
Duplica puffed her cheeks.
"Hey! I was awake! I just had to go to the washroom!"
She then leaned closer to her camera with a smug grin.
"Still — I was technically the first to wish him. So I win."
"Stupid copycat! I was the first!"
Orin blinked in confusion — then realized Brina had suddenly snatched the phone from his hands.
"Ugh… is that Brina's voice?" Duplica asked, squinting at the screen.
"Yes! It's the most adorable little sister in the whole world," Brina declared proudly, shoving her face so close to the front camera that only one bright red eye filled the frame.
"And I was the first to wish him, so you both lose!"
She stuck her tongue out playfully.
"Orin… why is Brina there with you?" Terri asked, clearly shocked.
"Yeah — how is she there?" Duplica added, pulling a face back at Brina, who immediately scrunched up in irritation.
"It's… a long story," Orin said quickly, gently taking the phone back before Brina could do anything reckless with it.
"I'll explain everything later."
Terri gave a small, understanding nod.
"Well, it is already past midnight for you. You'll need proper rest if you have an early start tomorrow."
"Oh! Orin!" Duplica suddenly leaned forward again, eyes sparkling.
"Did you open our presents yet?"
"Presents? No… not yet," he admitted, shaking his head.
"Then what are you waiting for? Open them right now!" she demanded urgently.
Orin couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm — and felt a small spark of curiosity himself.
"Alright, alright," he said, reaching toward his luggage.
"Let's see what you two got me…"
***
[Sav112 has redeemed an Extra Chapter this week]
***
The commissioned art work of Brina hugging a flustered Riolu is available for the members of Pokémon Master Tier!