"Miss Daisy Henson, as you know this evening's meeting was intended to be a Parent-Teacher session, correct?"
The Instructor’s glare was firm and matched her overall appearance. Pressed pantsuit, black-rimmed glasses firmly set against her nose, and a purple ascot all highlighted an immaculate professional. The red-headed girl before her in contrast was a mussy thing with 2 curled ponyta-tails that seemed to defy the traditional need for hairbands.
“I appreciate and applaud your relationship with your family’s Pokemon, but they are not an appropriate substitute for this meeting!”
Daisy’s eyes widened as she began to stammer out a response but was cut off by a voice that seemed to reverberate in the air.
“You are fundamentally misunderstanding my standing in the household, Instructor Turo. I am Daisy’s mother.”
Instructor Turo sat back, aghast with a hand beginning to drift up to her temple…but it simply fell back on the desk. “I…but…ah…um…how-“
“Arceus works in many ways that we do not have answers for. But I am not here to answer your questions. I am here representing my daughter as requested, and Daisy’s father will be joining us any moment now. Forgive his tardiness…a lab cannot run itself as you can imagine.”
Turo adjusted her composure and once again appeared straight and firm. As she steadied herself, she reached out and gripped her favorite pen and adjusted the papers before her on the desk. Her mind was aflutter with questions and a small fear began to sprout in the back of her consciousness. Arceus above…she had just inadvertently insulted a NINETALES. A Ninetales that apparently was the mother of the Henson girl. Memories of long-past BattleNet videos surfaced. Oh. Sweet Cherrims. THAT Ninetales. Fear was replaced by a throb that Turo knew would be a most dreadful migraine.
“My apologies Ms. Nine-“
“Henson. Mrs. Henson if you please”
“My apologies, Mrs. Henson. Do you know how long before Professor Henson arrives? If he will also be in attendance, I am willing to wait before we begin discussing the actual matter at hand.”
“I believe he is at the door now. I’ll let him in.”
A pink sheen enveloped the door and was mirrored in the Ninetales’ eyes as it swung open to reveal a man dressed in a black form-fitting shirt, dark-green cargo pants, and the lab coat worn by all of his profession. Three pale scars lined the left side of his face and highlighted the dark bags under his eyes. There was still a twinkle there, however, as his gaze rested upon the Pokemon and the girl sitting next to her.
“My apologies my beloveds. Have I missed anything?”
“No dear, we were just getting introductions out of the way as we waited for you.”
A brief frown appeared on the Professor’s face, but left it quickly as he shut the door and joined the group at the desk. Tousling Daisy’s hair as he sat, Professor Lee relaxed into the chair and directed his attention to Instructor Turo.
“Again, my apologies for being late. We received a batch of Tera-shards from Paldea today and were in the middle of categorizing them.”
“No apology necessary Professor Henson”, Turo sighed, “But now that we are all here, I do wish to get started.”
“Agreed” came the response in unison. Turo blinked but continued on, wanting nothing more than for this evening to end.
“As you are aware, Daisy’s grades have been nothing but stellar during her time here at the Academy. She seems to excel particularly well in the classes for Biology, Pokemon Physiology and Typing, and Natural Sciences. However, her interactions with others have been…worrying. She gets along with very few of her fellow students and has shown some…resistances…to following directions.”
Daisy seemed to shrink in her chair and began to squirm at this. Her brown eyes drawn into a furrow as she stared into the floor. Turo continued.
“There have been a few instances of mild bullying as well. If I am understanding it correctly, much of it stemming from Daisy’s status as the Regional Professor’s daughter and her claims to be able to converse readily with non-Psychic type Pokemon. I would bring up Daisy’s predilection towards setting things on fire…but I believe that some of my questions on the matter may have already been answered.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Professor Henson meanwhile, had began to frown in earnest and tilted his head towards the Ninetales on Daisy’s other side. His weathered and scarred hand rested gently upon his daughter’s shoulder.
“Bullying? Why is this only coming up now? Daisy? I thought everything was going well at school.”
“They kept calling me Professor’s Kid…that my grades were unfair because of you”, came the small voice, “I told them it was because I could understand what the Pokemon needed, but it just made things worse.”
Golden tails flicked back and forth.
“Dear. We can talk more about this at home.”
The man’s frown only deepened but he nodded as he pulled his daughter onto his lap into a tight embrace as he shifted chairs to sit next to the fox.
“What is being done about this, then?”
Instructor Turo sighed, “We have tried to remind the children that being a Professor’s child doesn’t mean that any favoritism is given at school, and that they should make an effort to understand each other rather than segregate themselves. It has achieved mixed results, as your daughter continues to insinuate that she can talk to non-Psychic Pokemon, which we all know is…” Turo’s eyes widened in realization.
“Oh dear. She really can, can’t she?”
Smugness dripped from both mother and daughter.
“Oh yes. Daisy is quite talented, and my little gift seems to have been blessed by both worlds.”
Turo’s headache was now in full swing, and she grimaced while she turned the papers before her to face the trio.
“As your daughter has shown remarkable gifts as it were, we here at the Pokemon Academy are suggesting a less traditional method of instruction. Her grades and knowledge far outstrip her peers, and we would be doing her a disservice if we did not tailor our methods to better suit her needs.”
The papers drifted up in a tell-tale pink glow as both parents surveyed its contents.
“This is an application for the Academy’s ACE program. Daisy would be partnered with a Veteran trainer in an apprenticeship of sorts and be allowed to pursue a more advanced track in the area of her choosing.”
Papers shuffled in mid-air while Daisy looked at them in wide-eyed wonder.
“Based on Daisy’s latest aptitude examination, I believe that she would best fit the Battle track. In order to assuage some of the potential hesitations that may arise from this rather unique situation, we preemptively ran a search among potential Veterans and found one that may be best suited for Daisy. I believe he is an acquaintance of yours, Professor Henson.”
“Oh?” Professor Henson’s eyes flicked up from the pages.
“Yes. Former Gym Leader Kabu of Galar. As you know, he was originally from here in Hoenn and is familiar with both areas. He is looking to return to his homeland now that he is retired.”
“I see, well, it would be nice to see him again.”
“It has been almost a decade, hasn’t it, beloved?”
Daisy’s eyes were lit up as she looked up at her father’s face. “You know him, daddy?”
Lee chuckled, and his smile seemed to drop years from his face. “Yes, Daisy. Your mother and I went to visit him back before I took over for Gruncle Birch.”
Turo couldn’t help but smile herself at the scene before her, as it was a stark reminder of the accomplishments that Professor Lee Henson had achieved after his stint as a Pokemon Trainer. Professor Henson’s published research in Type Energy had shaken the academic world at its core, and he had traveled to many regions in the aftermath to meet with Gym Leaders, Professors, League Elites, and Admins. Professor Lee Henson was nothing short of an international legend.
Still, Turo’s headache wasn’t going anywhere.
“Thank you for your consideration of our Daughter, and for looking into all of this for us.”
Oh that voice. It just shook Turo’s skull.
“Is there anything else that you have? Daisy has had a long day, and we have much to discuss with her.”
“No, Mrs. Henson, that is the bulk of what I wanted to discuss with you and Professor Henson. Anything else at this point would be inconsequential and perhaps even a bit too bold now that I have a better grasp of Daisy’s upbringing.” Turo could not suppress a wince as the smile on Professor Henson’s face turned frosty. “I would, however, like to apologize on behalf of the Little Root Town Pokemon Academy on failing your daughter in what mattered and do wish the best for her. Although it does not truly address the attitude of the students towards your daughter, we believe that this alternative may be in her best interest.”
“Thank you for your time, Instructor Turo”, the Professor’s voice came out hot and its cadence throbbed in time with Turo’s headache, “We will review this application and discuss about what is best for our daughter ourselves tonight.”
“I’ll be in touch with our decision before classes begin next week.”
As the Henson family stood and prepared to leave the room, Instructor Turo’s curiosity got the better of her practiced professionality. “Daisy, if you wish to join the ACE program, you will need to start thinking about who your starter could be. Do you have any ideas of what Pokemon you would choose?”
Daisy’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before becoming resolute and firey.
“Starter? I’d just take my older brother with me.”
“Your brother?”
“Uh-huh! He has all six of his tails in!”
Instrutor Turo leaned back in her chair, all pretenses gone as her jack slackened. “Oh…is that right? Well, glad to hear you’re covered then.”
Turo could hardly breathe as the youngest Henson slipped down from her father’s arms and gripped his hand as she led the family out the door. Two golden tails wrapped around the little girl’s waist as the others flipped back and forth in time to their gait. Before Turo could relax, a familiar pink sheen covered the near-forgotten stack of papers on the desk and floated them out with the door shutting behind them.
Turo’s headache was here to stay it seemed.