I remember the first time I saw a beauty contestant...
Back then, I was still a baby rattata with pieces of my egg still scattered around the den, but to this day I still remember how beautiful and impressive that Raichu was.
He walked past me with his trainer by his side, standing tall and proud, and walking in a pretentious but gracious fashion...
But soon enough mommy had pulled me back into the den to protect me from the outside world.
The image of this handsome raichu crawled through my memory for days and weeks. I didn't know what it meant, but I wanted to discover it. When I grew older and was allowed to venture out on my own, I started to explore the city that was near my home. Soon enough, I found the big stadium in which hundreds of georgous pokemon gathered everyday at sunset. I went there often, finding my way to the competition room from which I admired each and every movement of these graceful creatures and enjoyed every second of the show in total awe, hiding under an empty crate. In my eyes, they were perfection itself, and I'd imagine myself in their place, parading and just being awesome. I'd spend hours just staring at my reflection in the water, visualising myself wearing all kind of fashion items, trying to find something that would fit me perfectly...
Years passed and I eventually got children of my own to care and worry about, but still, I held onto my secret hobby. Years had made my body stronger and my expression more mature, yet my heart was still the same. I looked into the water again, looking at the changes time had made me go through. I smiled, loving what I was seeing. I had become quite the Mr. Handsome myself!
One day it happened: a young trainer caught me. Maybe I should've been worring about my kids, but I did not, for they were all of age to take care of their own self.
Mommy used to talk to us about trainers. She said that most of them were beneficial to us, for they'd take care of us, protect us like no one could, and help us become stronger and wiser. However, she also warned us about some bad trainers who abused their little friends, for it had happened to a friend of hers. At first, I was cautious. After all, the young lady was a total stranger to me, and I didn't know if I could trust her... but she proved to be kind and caring.
One day the impossible happened. She came and sat next to me, and began to talk.
"Hello sweetheart, I have something important to ask you."
I came closer and listened carefully.
"You know, you're a very cute pokemon and I was wondering about something."
I nodded to show her that she had all my attention.
"Well, I was wondering if you would like to participate in a beauty contest. I'm sure you'd do great!"
I couldn't help myself and let out a squeak of happiness. I nodded frantically and cuddled up to her. She seemed happy.
"I guess I'll have to take that as a yes!"
She then walked me to a very strange building... It looked a lot like a Pokemon Center, however it was much, much bigger. I am not sure of what happened afterward, but I remember waking up on a bed, dizzy and in pain. I looked around. Through my blurred vision I could make up the outlines of medical equipment and the nurse talking to my trainer.
A torrent of thoughts started to race through my mind. What happened? What was I doing on an hospital bed? Was I badly injured? Did someone attack us? Did something bad happen to my trainer?
I tried to move but pain overcame my entire body and I cried. My trainer rushed to my side and tried to comfort me.
"Shhhhh it's all right, sweetie, it's allright! Everything's over now, you'll be fine!"
Three days later, I had recovered enough to be allowed to walk around the hospital room. The nurse said it'd be good for me to move a little. I got out of the bed and tried to keep my balance on the cold hard floor. Most of the pain had subsided but my legs and paws would still hurt whenever I made a step. I looked at them... they were all swollen, all 4 of them! A chill ran up my spine; what on earth had happened? What could have happened that caused such injuries?! I just did not understand. Wanting to know how bad the rest of my body was hurt, I ran to a nearby vanity-like desk and looked at myself...
What I saw shattered my heart into pieces...
My unique pointy ears were reshaped into perfectly round and symmetrical ears, my tail had lost at least an inch of its original lenght, my head was covered into a thick white bandage, my cheeks were swollen into a very unnatural shape, my snout was covered in bits of swollen flesh and healing cuts, my eyes were surrounded by stitches, my back seemed abnormally leaner and hairier, and my buttocks rounder and bigger.
This was a nightmare... my old pretty self was gone... all that remained was a reflection I couldn't even reconise...
Then I saw my trainer come behind me with her usual happy smile, wrapping her arms around me lovingly.
"The surgeries went well: you should recover within a week, and then, you'll be even prettier than you've ever been before!"