POV - Billy Glitterati

Shrugging off my suit jacket, I tossed it onto the coat rack and rolled my shoulders. Glancing down, I saw that the staff had put out my golden loafers, and I slipped off my shoes and into them. So nice to have people who know what you need.

My darling wife’s purse also hung off the coat rack, letting me know she had arrived earlier than me. “Oh, most wondrous light of my life~!” I dramatically declared arms wide as I entered the living room.

I had practiced a trick where my eyes would look closed and be almost shut, but I was still paying attention and could see. It was handy for telling what business rivals and contemporaries would think of me after a bold statement. For many, it was incredulity that I’d act this way, or simple exhaustion. Some had derision, but it was enlightening to see the ones that smirked and thought they could get one over on me.

Here, it let me see for a brief moment O’Nare Glitterati, slumped over on the couch. Her hair was done up as usual, but a strand or two had flopped out of her usual bun. The shades she wore sat on the coffee table amidst a pile of papers.

That vignette didn’t last long, for as soon as she recognized my presence, she was leaping up, a delighted smile on her face. “Ah, but it reflects off your brilliant shine!” She returned, greeting me with a kiss. “The day has been long without you.”

So a frustrating day at work; nothing more serious we need to get into. What had started as mere attempts to explain the burning passions in our hearts to each other had turned into a sort of secret language shared between us. Though nonetheless true for it. My heart feels as lifted when I see O’Nare now as it did the day I met her.

“The same, my love. Things at the factory are going well.” They were indeed. Not necessarily in terms of increased profits, but the Rotoms had generally been much happier about their new living conditions. Some of them liked more shade and gloom, but shutters on the sides of their ground-level living space gave those plenty of shade to rest and plot in, while the others were free to enjoy the brighter, more open living space. The reviews we’ve gotten about the phones have been slightly better too, with customers noticing an uptick in responsiveness from them.

The sound of a throat being cleared announced Leah’s presence in the room. Turning, I found the young lady standing there, her head respectfully bowed. “Glad to see you return, Master Billy. If it pleases you both, dinner is ready.”

I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss her when I entered the living room, so she must have stepped in silently after my arrival. And to arrange things so everything is ready as we return from work, she’s stepped up her professionalism. I wonder if she’s after Hamber’s old spot or just a result of her duties being freed up, no longer having to keep a Braviary’s eye-view on our most troublesome daughter.

We entered the room, first greeted by the scent of a well-cooked roast. A few butlers finished setting aside the other dishes, stuffing and steamed vegetables, and a few bread rolls. With their task finished, the staff left, save for Leah and one other maid waiting off to the sides of the table (in case we needed anything during the meal).

The table itself was a long, elegant thing, and I made sure to sit near the top side, my dear wife taking her place at the head of it. A busy day of work made for a quiet meal as we both eagerly dug in, something O’Nare commented on about halfway through.

“It’s gotten so quiet in here.”

“Hmm. It’s funny; Hamber was never a very loud man, but his departure so soon after Cyan went back to school does leave the house feeling a tad empty.” Though we both know that isn’t the real reason. Still, we do need a new Majordomo.

“Oh!” Leah said softly, looking mildly embarrassed at her outburst as the two of us turned to see her looking at something on her phone. “I just got forwarded the video of the Young Miss’s latest Gym Battle.” That had both myself and O’Nare jumping to our feet, the scrumptious half-eaten meal forgotten in the blink of an eye as we crowded around Leah.

“She’s taken on another Gym already?” I asked incredulously. We only just finished uploading the final videos from her first battle.

“Ah, she has such an incredible Glitterati spirit! Striving ahead constantly,” my wife added, her eyes watery. I felt the same way, so proud yet so lonely with our children already out and taking on the world.

“Yes, that, definitely. Why don’t you go back to the table and we can watch it as you eat?” She all but begged us, and we readily agreed. Moving our plates so we were sitting side-by-side, our headmaid placed her Rotom Phone in front of us (and herself behind us, almost as eager to see the footage as we were).

The video showed a decent crowd gathered around to watch our baby girl. The Gym Leader she faced, Oberon, was a man we knew well. He and his wife often ran in similar circles to ours, and we had seen him at a few cocktail parties. I always thought of him as much like Clay. I wonder if he’ll give Nemona as much of a challenge as the Unovan Gym Leader did?

We always believed in our little girl, even when she made that bold challenge to Clay, but there were moments towards the end of that fight… Before Dun evolved, I would admit if pressed that I was worried about her winning, no matter how good a show she had put on before.

One difference with this fight was that I was never nervous, even as she still put on a tremendous show. This sentiment was shared by my wife and Leah.

“To go so far with a Riolu, that’s ins- incredible,” the head maid breathed out.

“Oh?” I questioned, not willing to turn my head away from the screen for even a moment.

“It really is,” she reaffirmed. “Unevolved and with a Type disadvantage, yet she’s fighting so well.”

“Ah,” I said distractedly. Nemona’s always had a better head for that stuff than the rest of us, though Cyan proved herself to be a quick study as well. Our most troublesome little girl, however…

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I recalled Oberon boasting about his might at a party once, cowing a Delibird Presents upper manager when the other man had accused the Fairy Type Gym Leader of ‘getting soft.’ I hadn’t seen someone get beat so fast before that, at least not until now. Our little girl has grown up so quickly.

“I miss her too!” O’Nare wailed, clutching onto my side, her head still glued to the screen. Must have said that last part out loud.

Before I could commiserate, Nemona’s initial Pokemon had fainted, and we were all brought back to the fight as our girl made a proud boast and sent out Dun. We watched in silent awe as her First Pokemon proceeded to annihilate the rest of Oberon’s team.

The video ended somewhat jarringly after the victory announcement, but I barely noticed. Leah was the first one to break the silence again, letting out in a tone only a hair higher than a whisper, "I think the Haxorus might have been less dangerous.”

All three of us started laughing at that, at so much of what we had done. Attempting to give a six-year-old a Dragon was, in retrospect, not the greatest idea we’d ever come up with. Nemona had been acting so oddly since we moved. So serious, but always convincing us she was fine, asking for so little, so when we knew what she wanted, my wife and I were determined to give it to her.

Thankfully it didn’t come to pass. O’Nare and I greeted her as we returned home on her birthday to find our littlest one hugging tightly to an innocuous, bulbous, yellow, and blue snake Pokemon. “The two of them have always been close; they’ve both grown so much.” Physically, but mentally as well. Nemona always seemed so far ahead of where I was at her age. O’Nare has said the same, and if she’s smarter than my brilliant wife…

It was hard to believe at times, but the proof was in the pudding. Or record label as it may be. That sparked an idea so bright I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a Rotom above my head. “Music!”

My sudden shout had the two women around me looking confused before they caught onto what I was talking about. “Ah, how sharp you are, like a Glitterati diamond! We need to make the next music videos so we can dazzle the world with our daughter’s work!”

Leah turned to the other maid. “I believe the masters are done with their meal. Let’s clean up the table.” The staff set about handling that while we raced to the computer room, downloading the file and setting about crafting the final product online. We could easily have the staff do this, and I think we’ll get one of the more tech-savvy butlers to come in and double-check this before we upload it, but we enjoy doing this personally.

Listening to her music as we overlaid clips of it on certain sections of her battle was a joy indeed. As was seeing the comments and ‘likes’ when the footage was posted. Not all of it is positive, but the majority of viewers seem to like it, and as Nemona would say, ‘don’t pay attention to the trolls.’ What a funny phrase.

In addition to her brilliance, our daughter also had moments where at times she just didn’t seem to fit in. Most people wouldn’t notice, and it lessened as she grew up, but just little things. Like how she hardly ever uses sayings about Pokemon or uses them in her songs, despite how much she adores them.

At the time we were finishing putting the first ‘short’ together, my wife’s phone rang, the caller ID showing it was our other beloved daughter. “Cyan honey!” She answered cheerfully. “How are you? How is school?”

“Uhh, pretty good. It’s going fine,” she responded in that way only an awkward teenager could. Despite being younger, Nemona was more mature in some ways than even our firstborn, and I doubted she’d be that particular kind of awkward, even as she got older.

“Did you guys see Nim's latest match?” Cyan continued, and we eagerly nodded.

“Yes, we were just about to post some of it for the world to see! Her performance was a shining example of Glitterati might and cunning!” My precious daughter rolled her eyes at that display, either thinking I was too caught up to notice or not caring if I did. “Though it is a shame she didn’t have to use her new Rotom Forms.”

It was perhaps understandable given she hadn’t had to use Miles at all in her Gym Battles yet, but the boys and girls in R&D were itching for her to showcase their inventions to the world.

“She did pretty well. I was worried she’d be shaken up after-” Cyan clamped up immediately, but it was too late.

With a steely gaze and a deceptively sweet voice, O’Nare said, “After what?” It took a few moments of squirming before Cyan replied.

“She had some issues with the wildlife nearby. A disturbance to the environment of a wild Tera Dragonair and her Dratinis. Nims solved the issue, but it was difficult. Still, it impressed the Gym Leader enough that he counted it as her Gym Trial so she went right on to challenge him.”

O’Nare gasped beside me. “How bold! Going out and tackling issues without being asked, she has true Glitterati initiative.”

“And good of Oberon to recognize that.” I’ve seen him a few times at galas and the like, and he seemed like a good sort. Unafraid to let others' opinions color his actions, like so many of our ‘peers’. Nemona is much the same way, it’s part of something that worried us.

When we had first moved to Paldea, Nemona had few friends, and her dazzling brilliance unfortunately drove most others away. We had at first assumed she was just getting used to things here and would bounce back, but she never did. Not exactly, at least.

Slowly but surely, she made more friends, and while she’ll hardly ever be a social Butterfree, the friendships she’s formed with those few are tight. And that’s just her human friends, her Pokemon, well she sometimes feels closer to them than us!

That thought sent a slight pang through my heart as I realized something. “Do you know when her next Gym Match is?” I asked Cyan. We haven’t gone in person to attend any of Nemona’s yet, while we were all there for Cyan’s first. Not that I think it bothers Nemona, but still, I’d like to show our support more and possibly reassure her.

“She can be kinda sporadic with her schedule, just taking her journey at its own pace. I did talk with her about meeting up for the big festival in Artazon at the start of the Treasure Hunt.”

Clicking her tongue, O’Nare shook her head. “What terrible misfortune! I have an overseas conference then.” I could see her debating in her head about canceling it.

On the other end of the screen, our eldest daughter saw it as well and shook her head. “It’ll be fine; we know you guys are busy and stuff.” Despite, or perhaps because of, how easily she said it, the words felt like an arrow through my very being.

“I’ll keep in contact with her and try to arrange a time for all of us to meet up. Maybe when she hits Levincia or Montenevera? But try not to smother or worry about her too much, ok? I know Nims wouldn’t appreciate that.”

I wanted to laugh at how foolish that idea was; she was a Trainer with a full team and had proven herself capable of handling all sorts of situations even I could barely dream of. I was still worried somehow. I worried about my eldest even as I looked at her, sitting there in her neat room at Uva Academy, dressed in a sharp uniform.

Rather than voice those thoughts and weigh down my daughters unnecessarily, I said, “So, how has Uva Academy been treating you so far?”

“Umm, good, I think. Yeah, it has been good. Not friends with any of the girls who tried to pick on me last year, but some of their hanger-ons are at least nice to me now. And I think I even have a fan club? A small one, but it’s crazy. Apparently, they thought I did pretty well in my Gym Challenge last year. That was exhausting though, so not doing it again this year. Not really sure what I’ll be doing for this Treasure Hunt yet, still weighing my options…”

Smiling, I leaned back and listened as Cyan regaled us with the events of her life, and I relaxed just a little, gripping my wife’s hand. Parenthood has been an intense trip, but like taking my chance with O’Nare, I don’t regret it one bit.