Beautiful

"I just don't understand how they could be so cruel," Dawn said as she shook her head and squatted down to get eye level with the pokémon she had been staring at for the past few minutes.

"Uhm, what are you doing?" a tall boy asked as he walked up behind her, his head cocked to the side and his expression showing more irritation than curiosity.

Dawn quickly turned her head and gave her best attempt at a smile. "Oh, hi, Paul."

"Again, what are you doing?" he repeated while the girl stood and brushed herself off.

A dramatic sigh escaped her lips and she heaved her shoulders. "I was just trying to figure out as to why the discoverer of this pokémon would name it such a mean name."

Paul rolled his eyes. "It makes sense; the pokémon is fat and gross, hence its name. Purugly are just that—ugly."

"Paul Shinji!" Dawn almost shouted as she gave him an incredulous glare. "How dare you put a pokémon down like that!"

His look grew more annoyed as he watched her kneel back down and pat the pokémon's head soothingly. "Seriously, it's a pokémon. It doesn't have feelings."

Dawn shook her head as she continued to pet the—now purring—pokémon. "Don't you listen to him, pretty baby. You are beautiful, and don't you let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Paul groaned as his head began to hurt from the cooing noises she was making. "It doesn't even understand what you're saying, so you're just wasting your breath and my time."

Dawn whipped her head around to shoot him a glare. "Your pokémon understand you when you shout out commands—so, yes, they obviously understand what we say!"

"That's different," Paul said, rolling his eyes for a second time. "That's instinct, they're programmed to understand the moves they are capable of. But they aren't conservationists by any means."

"Well," Dawn said as she looked away from the boy, "even if you were right—which you aren't!—she at least understands my tone of voice and knows that I am telling her positive things." Her attention returned to the pokémon as she said, "Isn't that right, beautiful?"

"Do you always just praise pokémon for no reason?" Paul asked in a tone that would make even a two-year-old feel stupid.

"No, I only praise my pokémon when they do what I want them to."

"But it's just standing there and you're complimenting it like it just dropped from heaven."

"You know, maybe I want her to just stand there," she said as she looked up as him. "Ever think of that?"

Paul let out a breath as he rooted around in his pocket, he then held up a pokéball up and let the red beam make a b-line for the pokémon. He was met with a shocked look from the girl in front of him, "She's yours?"

"Yeah, he's mine," Paul said coldly, shoving the pokéball back into his pocket. He turned to leave but lingered for a few seconds before turning back to face her.

Dawn stood up and brushed off her knees, not noticing that Paul was staring at her. "Hey, wanna do soemthing for me?"

"Yeah, sure," she said with a smile as if their argument had never happened. "What is it?"

"Don't talk to my pokémon, I don't need them getting all pampered with compliments and attention," he said before turning his back to her and walking off, not bothering to wait for her response.

Paul rubbed his temples as he stared down his feline pokémon. "Purugly, I am seriously not in the mood for your shit," he snapped. "When I say 'tackle,' you better friggin' move."

Purugly simply turned his head away from the trainer, infuriating him further. "Pur."

He let out a breath before giving it one last shot: "Purugly, body slam—now!"

"Pur, pur," the pokémon said, staring straight at his trainer.

Paul let out a breath to try and calm himself down. "What the hell is the issue? He always listens," he grumbled, trying to figure out a way to get his pokémon to at least move. Suddenly something clicked.

"You're beautiful, and don't you dare let anyone tell you otherwise."

Damn that troublesome girl, he thought to himself as he shot a glare towards the pokémon that was now licking itself. He looked around to make sure no one was around before saying through gritted teeth, "Beautiful, fury swipes."

Purugly quickly sprung into action and attacked the nearest tree with his razor shape claws.

"I'm not doing this every time I need you to attack," Paul said after he watched the defenseless tree fall over with a thud.

"Pur," the pokémon replied, not bothering to look away from the fallen tree.

Dawn sat in the Pokémon Center and hummed her favourite song as she waited for Ash to finish using the telephone, she swung her legs back and forth with the beat of her song.

"Here," she heard a voice say coldly and nearly jumped out of her skin when she opened her eyes and saw a pokéball a few centimeters from her face.

"Wh—What's this?" Dawn asked, reaching out to touch the ball.

"It's that ugly ass pokémon you kept ooh-ing and ahh-ing at yesterday," he said coldly as she shoved it into her hand.

Dawn took hold of the pokémon with both hands and rested it in her lap. "But.. why?" she asked, looking up at him with enlarged blue eyes.

"Since you decided to praise the hell out of it, it has now decided that it will only respond to Beautiful," he explained, his eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"Oh," Dawn said in a saddened voice, "I'm sorry, Paul, I didn't know. But... why don't you just call it that instead of Purugly?"

Paul gave her a look before turning on his heel and walking the other way.

"Wait!" Dawn called out, shoving the ball into her bag and jumping up to chase after him. She clasped his hand with her own and pulled at it.

He turned to face her, trying to ignore the faint blush he can feel spread across his cheeks.

"Thank you," she said quietly before lifting herself up on her tip toes and giving him a kiss on the cheek, "for giving it to me instead of just releasing it like it meant nothing to you," she whispered as she lowered herself back onto her heels.

Paul gently pulled his hand away from her's and gave a "hn," before turning back the way he had tried to go earlier, hoping his face was heating up because of the poorly air conditioned pokémon center rather than Dawn's affection.

"I'll take great care of her," Dawn shouted after him, waving enthusiastically. "I'll even call you and tell you how she's doing!" A smile crossed her face as she let her hand fall, and if she didn't know better, she would have said she heard him chuckle.

Srsly, some of the names they come up with are just cruel...