Chapter 87: Because You’re So Beautiful?
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: "Because You’re So Beautiful"? What kind of dance is that?!
[Gary]: I don’t know what it involves, but the name alone tells me it’s the ultimate public-humiliation punishment.
[Diantha]: Is this some new style of dance? Even I’ve never heard of it...
[Wallace]: Neither have I.
[Dawn]: There’s actually a dance that Master Wallace and Ms. Diantha don’t know?
[Iris]: Whatever it is, it’s still only dancing. That’s much lighter than my punishment where I had to imitate Mega Starmie.
[Wallace]: Mm. Compared with the punishments Iris and Steven received, this one is indeed quite mild.
[Steven]: Wallace, you didn’t have to mention mine...
[Wallace]: Weren’t you the one who claimed not to care? Have you suddenly remembered that you possess dignity?
[Asher]: [High-Definition Video of Steven Imitating Onix’s Wriggling Pose]
[Steven]: ...
[Lorelei]: Is this the first time Steven has suffered a defeat in the livestream?
[Bruno]: As expected, the only way to defeat magic is with magic. When dealing with someone shameless, you must become even more shameless than he is.
[Punishment begins! Paul will now be transported to Reggie’s Pokémon Day Care!]
Paul soon appeared on the light screen.
Immediately afterward, his figure vanished.
He was transported directly to his older brother Reggie’s Pokémon Day Care.
Reggie looked at his younger brother with concern.
"Paul, are you all right?"
Paul remained expressionless.
"I’m fine. It’s only a dance. There’s nothing significant about it."
The next second, Paul felt his body move beyond his control.
He walked to the center of the living room, bowed once toward Reggie and once toward the light screen, then began speaking.
"Hello, viewers around the world. I’m Paul, a trainee with two and a half years of experience!"
"I enjoy singing, dancing, rapping, and basketball!"
"Music!"
As Paul’s body began moving, the light screen started playing a strangely melodious song.
A basketball materialized from thin air.
Although Paul had never played basketball before, the instant his hand touched it, he began dribbling with practiced skill.
Strange music.
Strange movements.
Paul finally realized that this wasn’t a respectable dance at all and attempted to force his body to stop.
However, the livestream had taken complete control of him. He couldn’t even manage his own facial expressions.
Therefore, from Reggie’s perspective—and that of everyone watching the livestream—Paul appeared to be happily and enthusiastically performing the dance.
When he saw the utterly bewildered expression on his brother’s face, Paul finally began to feel ashamed.
But he couldn’t stop.
All he could do was continue performing the "Just Because You’re So Beautiful" dance against his will.
At last, the song reached its climax.
As the music cried, "Just because you’re so beautiful!" Paul threw the basketball aside and performed several exaggerated shoulder-check moves.
He continued rapping under his breath throughout the entire sequence.
When the dance finally ended, Paul remained frozen in the final shoulder-check pose.
The basketball bounced twice against the floor before rolling to Reggie’s feet.
Reggie looked down at the ball, then raised his head toward his younger brother, whose face remained expressionless even though his eyes were completely dead inside.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Finally, he raised his hands and applauded three times with extraordinary slowness.
"...That was a good performance."
The corner of Paul’s mouth twitched.
"I didn’t choose to perform it."
"I know," Reggie replied gently. "But everyone in the world just saw it, so you should probably become accustomed to that fact as quickly as possible."
Paul remained silent for a moment before turning around and walking away.
"Paul? Where are you going?"
Paul didn’t answer.
At that moment, he only wanted to find somewhere completely devoid of other people.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Hahahaha! What kind of dance was that? I’m dying!!!"
"Can Paul still show his face anywhere in Sinnoh after this?"
"Forget Sinnoh—the entire world saw it!"
"Someone has already made a slow-motion GIF of Paul’s shoulder-check move! My friend sent it to me, and now my stomach hurts from laughing!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: Paul... That was miserable.
[Gary]: I used to find him rather annoying, but even I admit that was a little cruel.
[Iris]: Hahahahaha! That shoulder-check move was hilarious! Hahahahaha!
[Dawn]: Was the thing Paul was saying during the dance called "rap"? It seemed rather interesting.
[Steven]: I suddenly feel as though my Onix burrowing performance wasn’t particularly embarrassing.
[James]: Hahaha! Compared with dancing like that in front of everyone, my previous punishment of being transformed into a woman doesn’t seem so bad!
[Diantha]: Honestly, although the dance was strange, the choreography was fairly creative. The transition from dribbling the ball into the shoulder-check move had a strong sense of design.
[Valerie]: Ms. Diantha is right. The transitions between the movements were very smooth~
[Elesa]: The costume could use some improvement, though. Paul’s training clothes were far too plain, so the performance lacked sufficient visual impact.
[Viola]: I’ve already finished recording the video. I plan to temporarily remain at home and study this dance full-time.
[Skyla]: Send me a copy too!
[System Notification: Correct answer—B. Asher]
[VIP Chat Group]
[Wallace]: The correct answer was Asher. That isn’t surprising.
[Brock]: Paul really suffered this time. For someone as proud as him, a punishment like this must have dealt an enormous blow.
[Gary]: It couldn’t be helped. He was too arrogant. Everyone had already discussed the likely answer, but he insisted on choosing his own.
[System Notification]
[The first stage of Master of Time and Space has concluded.]
[Intermission duration: Twenty-four hours]
[A new random question round will begin after the intermission.]
[All viewers, please prepare yourselves.]
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: Another break! At least we got to watch one of Tiana’s battles this time. That was satisfying!
[May]: It’s over already? Then I should continue preparing for my next Pokémon Contest!
[Iris]: We’ve been watching for quite a while without realizing it. It’s time to get some proper rest.
[Dawn]: Good night, everyone!
[Valerie]: Good night!
[Brock]: Good night!
...
TL: Smh, I really wanted to see Paul shake those hips instead of this bullshit. Would’ve been peak femboy Paul potential upscale.