As Red was preparing to head out, he ran into Delia, who had just returned home to prepare a meal.
Seeing this, Red immediately stepped forward to help carry the grocery bags in her hands.
"Red, you're finally back! Mom missed you so much~"
As she spoke, the excited Delia stepped forward and hugged her child.
Although she supported the adventurous journey of Red and Ash, as a mother, Delia still hoped the two brothers could take some time to stay by her side.
"Yeah, Mom. I'm back."
After a moment, once he had calmed Delia down, Red gently left her embrace.
"Pika pika!"
At that moment, the Pikachu on Red's shoulder waved at Delia in greeting, trying to get closer to the "mother figure" before it.
"Isn't that Pikachu!" Delia said in surprise, looking at it a few times before realizing that the Pikachu on Red's shoulder wasn't Ash's Pikachu.
However, attentive as she was, Delia noticed the similarities between the two Pikachu. She looked at Red with a questioning gaze, and after receiving his confirming nod, she revealed a shocked expression.
She hadn't expected that the Pikachu the two brothers had each caught would also be brothers.
As for whether they were twins, Delia couldn't tell for the moment.
After finishing up things at home, Red accompanied Delia to the circus where Ash was. Along the way, he explained why Ash hadn't returned home yet.
"That's good too. After all, Ash is helping others," Delia praised.
...
Pallet Town — Circus
"Welcome, everyone, to the Pokémon Circus! Now then, the Pokémon Circus officially begins!"
As the troupe leader, Stella was dressed as a clown, standing at the center of the stage, enthusiastically introducing the show to the audience.
Amid thunderous applause and cheers, the lights above illuminated the stage, revealing the performers and Pokémon appearing one after another. The most eye-catching were Stella and Ash, who was dressed as Mr. Mime.
However, after watching the opening performance, Red left rather hastily, because his purpose here was Ash's Pikachu, not the circus show itself.
"Pika!"
Upon seeing Red arrive, Pikachu excitedly greeted him. Misty and Brock, standing nearby, were also surprised by Red's appearance—they had thought he had gone off to train.
"Misty, Brock, if it's convenient, let Pikachu stay with me for a while."
After saying that, Red patted his shoulder, signaling Pikachu to jump on.
Seeing Red's gesture, Pikachu didn't hesitate at all and immediately leapt onto his shoulder.
Aside from Ash, whom it trusted the most, Pikachu also trusted Red deeply as its older brother figure, so it naturally didn't doubt his request.
Red touched the Poké Ball at his waist and turned to leave the circus, heading toward an open area not far away.
"Come out, Pikachu!"
"Pika?"
The Pikachu on Red's shoulder was momentarily confused—wasn't it already on Red's shoulder?
Red threw the Poké Ball he had prepared. A flash of white light faded, and another slightly larger Pikachu appeared.
"Pika!"
The Pikachu that emerged from the Poké Ball turned excitedly toward Red, about to leap onto his shoulder, only to notice that another Pikachu was already there.
Thinking it had fallen out of favor, it nearly broke down, but upon sensing the familiar scent coming from Ash's Pikachu, it froze in place, so stunned that it even stumbled to the ground without reacting.
(From here on, abbreviations will be used: Red's Pikachu as Red-Pika, Ash's Pikachu as Ash-Pika.)
The nervous Red-Pika lay on the ground in silence, not daring to meet Ash-Pika's confused gaze.
Although Red-Pika had long heard from Red that he would find his twin younger brother, at first he had thought it was just comfort and didn't take it seriously.
But now, he realized Red's promise had been true—his twin brother had really appeared before him, even resting affectionately on Red's shoulder.
After spending so long with companions, Red-Pika had gradually stepped out of his guilt-ridden mindset. But even now, he still didn't have the courage to forgive his past self.
After all, abandoning his twin brother and choosing to live alone was something utterly disgraceful among their kind—even if there had been unavoidable reasons.
"Pikachu, say hello to your brother," Red said softly, giving his shoulder a slight shake to prompt Ash-Pika to approach.
"Pika?"
Ash-Pika tilted its ears in confusion, not understanding Red's words, but still followed his instruction and walked toward Red-Pika.
Even though his younger brother had evolved from Pichu into Pikachu, how could Red-Pika, as the older brother, fail to recognize him?
As Ash-Pika slowly approached, Red-Pika could no longer suppress his emotions. With tears streaming down his face, he pulled his younger brother into an embrace, resting his head on his shoulder, silently crying.
"Pika pika!"
Ash-Pika panicked, not understanding why this fellow Pikachu was so emotional upon seeing him.
Seeing that his younger brother didn't recognize him, Red-Pika lowered his head in sorrow, unable to say a single word.
Seeing this, Red quietly released his Power of Viridian, soothing Red-Pika's agitated emotions.
As Ash-Pika felt the power, memories of his true homeland gradually resurfaced. Compared to his life with the Kangaskhan mother and child, he had deeper memories tied to Viridian.
(That's right… my real home should be Viridian Forest, not Pallet Town!)
Ash-Pika's eyes lit up as he began to recall his past—a memory he had selectively forgotten due to overwhelming sorrow, a time when he and his brother played together happily in Viridian Forest.
"Is it really you?"
Ash-Pika spoke softly, unsure if the Pikachu before him was truly his brother, but the familiar scent strengthened his conviction.
"I've always been here, even in the future…"
Red-Pika replied, and those words completely stirred Ash-Pika's past memories.
Whenever they had once feared enemy attacks, Red-Pika would always say those words to comfort him.
"Why did you leave without a word back then?!"
Ash-Pika forcefully pushed his brother away and angrily slapped Red-Pika across the face. Yet upon seeing him hurt, he still showed a pained, apologetic look.
"It's all my fault! I was too weak back then!"
Red-Pika said apologetically, offering no excuses for his past, willingly accepting Ash-Pika's outburst.
But the truth behind their separation was far more complicated than it seemed.
Red-Pika had simply been too consumed by guilt, choosing to ignore many factors that were actually in his favor.
After leaving briefly, Red-Pika immediately regretted his decision and tried to return to his brother's side, only to be stopped by a sudden appearance of a Pinsir, forcing him into battle.
Red-Pika recognized the Pinsir—it was the opponent he had barely defeated before. At the time, Ash-Pika had been starving, so Red-Pika had no choice but to enter Pinsir's territory and challenge it to obtain the berries there.
Starving, Red-Pika had nearly lost to Pinsir. Fortunately, at the critical moment, he broke through his limits and unleashed high-voltage electricity, mastering Thunderbolt.