The soft, thick, red carpet was welcomed by the young traveller.
The Lapras Express, a floating resort by all accounts began relaying a message over an intercom.
"Welcome aboard!" announced a cheerful captain. His voice crackling slightly over the speaker.
"Make yourself comfortable, try our onboard snacks... but most of all, enjoy your time aboard the Express!"
As Louis walked the corridors of the pristine vessel, he happened upon a painting of a wise, elderly man in a captain's hat.
"This must be him!" he said to himself.
Kind, intelligent, painted eyes stared back at Louis as he made a note to meet this man if he got the chance.
For a while, he wandered the quiet ship, with only his stomach offering conversation.
Soon, a smell, maybe a few turns away, met the boy's nose.
Potato.
Hot.
Crispy.
His feet quickened, now chasing the source of the delicious scent.
'Please tell me that's what I think it is,' he thought.
And then, he saw it.
A large buffet displaying different kinds of various foods from around the world appeared before the boy.
"Holy moly!" exclaimed the boy. "This is incredible!"
There was one particular aroma that drew Louis' attention. Something very familiar. Each step brought him closer to the source.
It was none other than his favourite food.
Curry.
"Jackpot!" cheered Louis.
Next to the food was a sign that read;
'Finest Curry across the Isles.'
This was enough to satisfy Louis' curiosity.
The boy grabbed a nearby plate and scooped up a large amount of curry, with rice alongside it.
He took a spoon, lifted a small portion of the food and placed it into his mouth. Seconds later, his mouth started burning up. It was the hottest thing he'd ever eaten.
Louis began coughing, profusely. He managed to get himself a cup of cold water to douse the burn.
He tilted the cup of water and poured it into his mouth. Although the burn was still there, Louis had managed to douse half of it.
"Ugh...spiciest curry across the isles is more like it," he groaned.
Footsteps behind him drew Louis' attention.
Two men, dressed in the ship's uniform of white, entered the galley, looking as hungry as Louis felt.
One joked, something about trying to 'handle the spice, this time.' The other elbowed him.
The two sailors were about to grab some food, when suddenly, a tremendous impact rocked the boat, sending all in the Galley to the floor.
"Whoa! What was that?!" shrieked Louis.
Immediately, the two sailors sprung up, and sprinted out of the room, with Louis in pursuit.
They rounded three corners, opened a hatchway, and scrambled through the portal to the open deck below.
Before them, the captain stood barking orders at the other scrambling crew.
Louis ran over to a nearby crew member.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"A Wailord just bumped into the ship," replied the crewmember.
– "A what?"
Louis peered over the edge.
Beneath the surface was an object beyond Louis' expectations.
The Wailord was incredibly large, bigger than the ship. Its smooth, ancient skin, tiny, beady black eyes and its enormous fins drew Louis' attention. The boy couldn't believe his eyes.
The captain began to shout again, this time at the unexpected beast.
"Can't you see we're trying to sail here?!" he barked.
The beast spoke back, but only Louis understood.
"I'm sorry! I'm kinda lost!" the behemoth said, apologetically.
The captain, unaware, spoke again.
"It's angry! It might attack again!" he said.
Louis turned.
"Wait!" the boy called.
"What is it, boy?" responded the captain.
"It's not angry! It's lost!" explained Louis.
Everyone looked at the boy, bewildered.
"What are you talking about?" a crew member said.
Louis leaned back over the ship's rail.
"Where are you trying to go?" he called.
"I'm trying to find the Hoenn region," it replied.
Louis spun back around to the captain.
"Hey, Captain," he said. "Which way is the Hoenn region?"
The captain looked at a nearby map and his compass and determined the correct direction.
"It's that way," he pointed.
Louis nodded and turned back to the Wailord.
"The Hoenn region is that way," he called, pointing in the particular direction.
"Got it!" the Pokémon replied. "Thanks!"
As it was leaving, the behemoth spoke again.
"Sorry. I hope I didn't break anything!"
Louis turned around to see everyone, including the captain looking at the boy, staring at him in shock.
"What?" said Louis.
"You...you can speak to Pokémon?" the captain inquired.
"Uh...yeah I can," responded Louis.
Audible chatter began amongst the other crew members.
"How?" one of them asked.
Out of respect for the Ho-Ken tribe's privacy, Louis hid the knowledge of said tribe from the sailors.
"It took me a lot of years to study the language of Pokémon," he fibbed.
"We could use you aboard...you ever thought of having a life on the seas, boy?"
"Not really," the boy replied.
Soon, the ship's routine returned to normal.
Hungry crewmen filled the Galley, ravenous after the unexpected encounter.
Louis followed, ate a newly selected meal without curry, and chewed in relative happiness.
As the night crept onward, the day began to weigh on the boy, and after he'd finished his meal, Louis crept to his allocated cabin and collapsed on its soft, red duvet.
Well, that was an interesting event.
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