Like No One Ever Was

“Oh, how could this have happened? To our darling daughters!” Father wailed, hugging both of us tightly.

“But look how they handled the dangerous situation with such aplomb! Such ingenious!” Mother responded, looking at us in awe. We just squirmed awkwardly in Billy’s grasp until he let us go. It was a short-lived reprieve, followed by O’Nare hugging us just as tightly. It really wasn’t that clever. I just beat on Wugtrio until she was defeated.

Our parents had raced back after they heard about the incident. It didn’t look like they were going to be too upset towards us, which I was quite grateful for as Anise and the other staff had already chewed me out.

I hadn’t tried to ‘escape’ their watchful eyes in a while - not since my birthday party almost half a year ago now. Technically, I hadn’t been trying to on the day we fought the Wugtrio either. I just got so excited about showing off Dunsparce to Cyan that I hadn’t thought to inform the staff before we left and no one managed to notice us before we were gone.

Hopefully none of them get fired over it. Hamber was quite upset about it all, but I think he’s reserving judgment until seeing how my parents react. Hamber was the majordomo of the house. He had gray hair with a weird L-shape that covered his left eye, which was either somehow the natural pattern of his hair, or a very carefully maintained style.

I didn’t interact with him much but he mostly seemed to co-ordinate the staff with Billy and O’Nare’s wishes, in the time he had been with us. He had come to my parents highly recommended from… someone, couldn’t recall who, and been given the position of majordomo straight away, not long after we moved here.

Billy let us go, taking another good look at us. I had a few bandages still from a few cuts and scrapes from the incident a few days ago, but nothing serious, and Cyan was fine. “I suppose it should be expected of our Glitterati daughters to deal with dangerous situations so handily, even if it still brings me worry.”

“We’re fine,” I insisted, trying my best to look serious, though I was sure it seemed more like a pout on my childish face. “The Wugtrio was just scared, and Dunsparce managed to protect me. She’s been moved somewhere safe, so there’s no worries.” It’s a shame I was getting looked at/basically grounded when the Ranger they called came in. I’d have loved to ask them about their job. One of the staff used a Pokeball to keep Wugtrio safe and sound in stasis till they arrived, but then it must have been handed off to the Ranger, having the automatic connection broken from the system that records the captures. Then I guess they move the Pokemon to a new location and break the Auric signature connection that a Pokeball has with the Pokemon? Argh, so many questions.

My thoughts were interrupted by O’Nare saying something worrying. “Hmm, maybe we should put a fence around the property, to stop any more wild Pokemon from getting too close.”

“No!” I shouted instantly. Both my parents turned to me looking curiously at me for an explanation. “Uhh…” I stalled. I can’t just say that it’s because I want to be closer to the wonderful nature of this world. That’d be selfish, given that we did have a dangerous incident. But still…

“It would ruin the lovely view of our estate,” I tried, sheepishly. Mother’s eyes widened in surprise before smiling at her for that.

“Such brilliance, as to be expected from our daughter.”

“Cyan made sure to get help right away,” I pointed out. A small fib, but Billy and O’Nare already pay enough attention to me.

“That’s right, we have such amazing daughters!” Cyan’s beaming smile in response to the praise was almost blinding. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long, her smile dropping with mother’s next sentence. “I will have to tell everyone in the realty group about you!”

“You’re leaving already?” She asked, crestfallen as O’Nare nodded. She soon mustered back up and asked “Have you decided where we’re going on vacation?”

“Oh, I’m afraid we won’t be able to go on a family vacation this summer. The Paldean Realty Group is simply swamped with requests. In fact, I really must be getting back right now.”

“Ah, you’re so punctual!” Billy said, raising a hand up as if to shield his eyes from his wife’s ‘brilliance’. “It reminds me that I’m needed back at my company too. We’re working on a new ‘Terastralized’ Phone Case.”

That clicked together a lot of pieces for me. Right, Turo name dropped them during his press conference. With all the buzz surrounding this new item, everyone must be sucking up to them, making new deals… they’ll be busier than ever.

My parents had one more surprise as before leaving, father handed me a shiny black orb, about Pokeball sized. “Wait, this is-”

“That’s right, it’s a Tera Orb! The Professor was so grateful to our little donation that he offered you one.” I raised an eyebrow at the idea of their donation being ‘little’ - I’d seen the zeros on that cheque, before getting caught up with the issue at hand. How did he send it so fast- oh right, I live in a world where beings that can fly faster than the speed of sound or just outright teleport can work delivery jobs. Then I caught on to the second half of that sentence.

“Me specifically?” I didn’t realize I’d made that big an impact on him, or that he’d remember me that much. Or if he did, it wouldn’t be anything good.

“He said he wished he could pay us back for our donation more, but yes, he was quite interested in you too. He said you were very intelligent and he’d expect great things from you.” Why do I feel like Peter Parker after Norman Osborn takes an interest in him? “Go on and try it out,” Billy encouraged, giving me the instructions on how to do so. I could see Hamber in the background sighing and quickly gesturing to some of the other staff to clear space in the living room for us to do this.

“Ah, ok.” I released Dunsparce, who looked around a bit confused at my parents being here before yawning. Stifling a yawn myself - Am I just tired, or is he getting close to learning that Move? It’d be a huge add-on to his arsenal - I told him what we were doing. “We’re going to try the Terastalization thing, ok Dun? Let me know how it feels.” I didn’t expect there would be any problems even ‘early on’ in the Tera Orbs usage but felt I should mention it anyway.

Dunsparce remained ever undaunted, eager to try out this new technique - it had been what everyone had been talking about online, and we’d been stuck inside since the Wugtrio attack, it had been what we’d been looking into a lot.

The ‘button’ around the orb was what you used to start the Terastalization, though it didn’t really need to be pressed, just lightly brushing it with my thumb was enough to start the process. The sphere was shaking around violently in my grip, enough that I had to grasp it with my other hand to keep a hold on it as the energy built up. After two seconds I was losing control of it, so I lifted it up and clumsily tossed it up above Dunsparce, where it cracked open and released a blinding amount of light. In an instant, Dunsparce was covered in a bunch of crystal blocks before they broke open and revealed the shiny, jewel hat-wearing Dunsparce beneath.

“Duuuuuun!” He roared out, wiggling in glee, my parents, sister, and myself watching in awe. It was honestly breathtaking to see in real life and not on a Switch or TV screen. Even the much-maligned ‘jewel hat’ thing looks less derpy in real life. Though, that might just be due to Dun’s proportions compared to other Pokemon.

My starter was busy reveling in the transformation. It didn’t look like the hat slowed down his movements or unbalanced him at all, which was nice. I didn’t order any attacks inside (and so soon after the Wugtrio incident wasn’t going to suggest going outside), but I knew he’d be stronger like this. Body Slam was already his strongest Move, but now it could be an incredible damage dealer against any non-Ghost, Steel, or Rock types.

Cyan cooed over how ‘adorable’ Dunsparce looked, which had him a little upset (not that she picked up on it) until I praised his strength, which had him back to preening at the attention. He flexed and posed, and our Rotom Phones took some photos and videos of Dunsparce being Teratalized for the next few minutes before it finally wore off.

When it did, the crystal sheen seemed to disintegrate off of him, coalescing back into the Tera Orb. Huh, I kinda forgot about where that went in the excitement. Did it become a part of Dunsparce or just like, disappear to a pocket dimension? I really need to learn more about the science of this world. Picking it up, I could see the shine that had been inside it had diminished, leaving the black ball very dull.

I wondered how I was going to be able to re-use it now, but Billy answered before I could even ask. "Ah, Professor Turo mentioned that you won't be able to use it again until it's recharged. Don’t worry dear, some of our engineering department has been hired to help install charging stations at Pokemon centers throughout the region." My eyes widened. He says it so easily, but this sounds like a massive undertaking that probably involves more than just the Rotom Phone Company. I guess that's another part of why they're so busy.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Mother snapped her fingers, turning to face Hamber. “We’ll need to do a bit of remodeling to install one of those recharger things here, so Nemona can use hers more. It shouldn’t take too much room in the living space, just a pedestal to place it on. Maybe by the entrance?” I tuned them out a bit as they discussed some of the architectural details, the remodeling needing to be done for the new wiring and the like to accommodate it.

That cannot be cheap, this is cutting-edge technology! Government contracts are being done to upgrade the Pokemon Centers… though, considering who we are and the additional crazy amounts of money my parents must be making right now, they can probably afford it. My mind still boggled sometimes at the sheer amount of money I had been born into in this life.

They quickly left after that, heading back out to manage their busy companies that made them said money. Dunsparce got recalled to my Pokeball, in good cheer and generally healthy, but looking a little puffed, like he would at the end of a good workout session.

I noticed Cyan was glued to her phone, looking over the video she had made of Dunsparce’s first Terastalization.

“How’s he look?” I asked.

“Good,” she said happily, but I saw a small frown on her face. Not upset, really, but, like something was bothering her, even if she didn’t truly understand it. “The video is getting a ton of views already, we’re over 10,000 and count-”

“You could get a Pokemon too, you know.” I trailed off awkwardly after suddenly interrupting her. “I think Mom and Dad could get you a Tera Orb as well, if you wanted.”

Cyan looked consideringly at me, then back at the video she’d taken and already posted for the world. “I mean, I guess? It does sound fun… but I’d need to get my Junior License, and I haven’t studied that stuff like you.”

“Hmm, well, you’re almost eleven. You could actually apply early for a full trainer license. The requirements for that aren’t much more than the Junior License.” It was a bit of an archaic rule, and there wasn’t the ‘tradition’ that you had to go on a journey in Paldea as soon as you got your license, but it was an option. “I could help you study for it! Uh, if you wanted.”

She scrunched her face up cutely, deep in thought before finally nodding. “If we’re not going on vacation this year, then at least I can get a Pokemon! I want someone cute! And friendly. And-”

“Lets focus on making sure you pass first, ok? But yeah, we can discuss who you’re looking for in a partner and find someone to suit you.” To be fair, Pokemon as different species do have certain traits they tend towards, so looking for someone who will be compatible with you isn’t a bad idea. I just hope she takes into account their feelings as an individual too.

I realized that Cyan had already marched off to her bedroom to begin studying and ran after her.

“Bzzt, are you sure this is a good idea?” Rotom asked, floating by me. I stopped to answer them.

“Aha, well it will be a good deal of work,” I admitted. “But yeah, I think it’s worth it, it’s nice to see her happy, and working towards a goal for herself rather than being upset that our parents are busy.” Rotom looked at me oddly, so I tried explaining it further. “When there’s something that’s bugging you but there’s nothing you can do to fix it at the time, it helps to focus on something else until you can address the problem.”

“Bzzt, what if there’s nothing you can do in the long term either?” There’s that hitch in their voice… something is up.

“Then you have to change your approach, find a new angle to deal with the problem. Nothing is insurmountable if you put your mind to it.” Not in this world, at least. “Is there some issue you have? I could help-”

“We should go and help the Young Master with her studies, bzzt.” They cut me off. I gave them a skeptical glance before nodding slowly.

“Sure, sounds good.” Definitely something going on here, but I’ll let them handle it on their own… for now. If they’re still acting odd after we’re done helping Cyan, I’ll confront them more directly. “Thanks for all the help Rotom, I really appreciate it.” I added, before running off after my sister.