"My dear younger brother."
Silver's eyes widened. He looked at Damian with great surprise.
Brother? Me?
Am I his brother? Does this mean this person is my big brother?
Silver was very shocked. Was this person really his family?
Silver did not want to believe it right away. He had been looking for his family for a long time. But he did not expect it to be this easy.
Because of this, Silver stayed silent.
At the same time, Caitlin looked at the red-haired boy with curiosity. He looked cold and unfriendly. Was this really Damian's brother? Was he the one stolen as a child?
"What is wrong? Are you not happy to see your brother? Or do you want me to open my arms? Do you want to feel your brother's warm hug, Silver?"
Damian was still smiling. He was teasing Silver. Silver just stood there in silence.
As he spoke, Damian opened his arms and walked forward. He looked like he really wanted to give Silver a hug.
"Stay back!"
Silver stepped back quickly. He looked at Damian carefully. He was very alert.
Damian stopped walking. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Silver.
"You say you are my brother. What proof do you have?" Silver asked in a serious voice.
He wanted a family. But the place where he grew up taught him not to trust anyone easily.
Silver felt a strange, happy feeling in his heart toward the young man. But Silver stayed careful.
"What? Why do you need proof for family?" Ethan was shocked again. He had to speak.
He never saw a person like this in his life. Family is family. Why do you need to give proof?
Also, this was very strange. Was there really a person who did not know his own family?
Ethan rubbed his head. He thought the red-haired boy was a bit crazy. Otherwise, this made no sense.
"Shut up!" Silver looked at Ethan coldly. What did Ethan know?
Ethan did not speak again.
"You say you are my brother. So, who are our parents?" Silver looked at Damian again and asked in a cold voice.
"I see. Did you forget? It makes sense. It has been ten years," Damian sighed.
In the story, Silver was only three or four years old when he was kidnapped. That's why he had almost no memories of Giovanni. He was too young at the time.
But in this world, Silver was five or six when he was stolen. He should remember at least a little bit.
But it was normal to forget. He was just a child.
"Our father is Giovanni. He is the Gym Leader of Viridian Gym. Our mother died not long after you were born."
"And I am your big brother, Damian. Do these names sound familiar?"
Damian explained everything patiently.
"Giovanni... Damian..."
Silver said those two names quietly. He tried very hard to remember.
Parts of his memory started to return. He saw a man with short hair wearing a suit. He could not see the man's face clearly. To the right of the man was a boy with black hair. On the left was himself.
Silver looked confused. Is it real? It seems like it is true.
"Do you still have Sneasel? A Pokemon remembers things better than a human. If Sneasel is still here, it should remember me," Damian said to Silver.
"Right! Sneasel!"
Silver quickly let out his Sneasel. This was his first Pokemon. It was the partner that grew up with him since he was small.
Even after he was taken to the Johto region, Sneasel always protected him.
Sneasel appeared next to Silver. It looked at Silver with a confused face.
"Sneasel... that person... do you know him?"
Silver asked Sneasel in a quiet voice. He felt a little bit of hope.
He was very guarded and acted cold to the world. But deep down, Silver really wanted to find his family.
Sneasel looked at Damian. When it saw him, its face changed instantly. At first, it was not sure. But when it saw the smile on Damian's face, it became very happy.
"Snea!"
Sneasel moved very fast. It ran to stand in front of Damian.
"It has been a long time, Sneasel." Damian's voice was kind. He rubbed Sneasel's head. Small green lights came from his hand.
"Snea!"
Sneasel made a soft, happy sound. It closed its eyes. It liked this feeling.
Sneasel looked at Silver and made more happy sounds.
Silver understood the result. His face changed. He felt a bit shy and did not want to look at Damian.
After escaping the bad group, his only goals were to get stronger and find his family, just like Blue did.
But now his family was right in front of him. Silver felt lost and awkward.
He did not know how to act with his own brother.
Damian walked slowly to the front of Silver. He had a kind look and a kind voice.
"Silver, it has been a long time."
It was the same sentence as before. But this time, it sounded different to Silver.
"Brother..."
Silver looked up. His cold face was gone. He looked at the brother who was his real family. Silver bit his lip. He felt very warm and happy inside.
"You suffered a lot these past few years, right? After you disappeared, Dad and I looked for you all the time. We looked for a long time, but we could not find you."
Damian put both hands on Silver's shoulders. His kind voice made Silver want to cry.
"But it is okay. You are finally back, Silver."
Silver was still a bit confused. Then he felt a warm hug. This was a hug from his real brother.
Silver felt very peaceful. He had never felt this before. He felt safe because of his family.
He had decided to be strong and hide his feelings. He wanted to be stronger to protect Blue.
But now, his soft feelings were back.
"You can rely on me from now on. I will definitely protect you. I will not let anyone hurt you."
Damian's voice was kind but strong. Silver felt dazed again. Tears came from his eyes.
"Brother..."
"That is really nice."
Ethan saw the happy scene. He smiled.
He thought that maybe Silver would become a better person now that he found his family.
Ethan left the Burned Tower quietly. He did not need to stay.
All of his Pokemon were defeated by Silver. He had to go to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy would help them.
Wait...
Ethan rubbed his head. Damian? The name sounded familiar. But Ethan could not remember where he heard it.
Damian was in a good mood because he found his brother.
He took Silver to the best restaurant in Ecruteak City. He took a private room. He ordered a lot of food for Silver.
"Brother, you do not need this much. We cannot eat all of it."
Silver felt the love from his brother. It made him happy. But he did not want to waste food.
Silver grew up with strict training from the Masked Man. So, he did not like wasting food.
"It is okay. If we cannot finish it, we can take it with us. Today is a special day because we are back together. We should eat well."
Damian replied with a smile.
"I have not introduced you yet. This is Caitlin. She is one of my most important friends."
Damian introduced Caitlin. She was sitting next to him.
"Hello, Silver." Caitlin smiled and nodded to Silver.
"Hello." Silver tried to smile. A moment ago, his face was almost cold again.
"Ten years passed very quickly. I thought I would never see you again."
Damian took an old photo from his pocket. He gave it to Silver.
Silver took it and looked. He was very emotional.
In the photo was a family of three. The man was Giovanni. Young Damian and young Silver were next to him. Sneasel was there too.
Silver touched the photo with his thumb.
"If Dad finds out, he will be very happy too," Damian said.
"...Father is at the Viridian Gym, right?"
Silver felt awkward. But he used the word "Father."
"Yes. He is a Gym Leader, so he is busy. Silver, go see him when you have time."
Damian said with a smile.
"I can go right now! But... Brother, are you coming with me?"
Silver asked quickly. He wanted to see his father immediately.
Also, Blue was in the Kanto region. After visiting Viridian City, he could look for her.
But he realized Damian did not say he was going.
"It is not a good time for me right now. I will go back when I can," Damian said politely.
"..." Silver was silent. He did not understand why Damian did not want to go home. Did he have a fight with their father?
But that did not seem true.
"Let's eat, Silver. You are very thin. Here, eat some meat."
the waiter brought the food. Damian told Silver to start eating. He gave Silver a big piece of meat.
Silver ate quietly. He felt very warm. This is the happiness of having a big brother.
After dinner, Damian took Silver to a mall. He bought Silver new clothes and shoes. Then they went to the Ecruteak Dance Theater. After that, the three of them walked and talked.
For Silver, this was the happiest day of his life.
His brother was so good to him. He was the best brother in the world.
Silver smiled while he was sleeping that night.
The next morning:
"Silver, message me when you get to Viridian City. Be safe on the road."
Damian fixed Silver's clothes and patted his shoulder with a smile.
"Okay," Silver nodded.
"Have a good trip."
Damian hugged Silver and patted his back.
"Yes! Bye, Brother."
Silver smiled and waved to Damian.
"Bye."
Damian smiled as Silver walked away. Then the smile went away.
"I wonder what he will think when he finds out his brother is in Team Rocket?"
Damian knew Silver hated evil groups.
Silver would find out the truth from Giovanni in Viridian City. Damian wondered what Silver's face would look like.
Silver would feel like his world was ruined.
And then what?
Will he hate me and try to stop me? Or will he try to save his brother from the bad group?
Poor Silver. He found his family. But his family is in the evil group he hates the most.
But Damian could not help it. He really liked his brother. They were real family.
"Next time we meet, should I say: 'My foolish little brother'?"
-------------
On Patreon, it's currently available up to Chapter 300. that's 120 chapters ahead..
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Serenabunny
If you're enjoying it, could you leave a review? It really helps a lot. It doesn't have to be long—anything is enough. And the more reviews we get, the more early-access chapters I'll release as a thank-you.