Chapter 50 - 50 - Angelina, the Swimmer Leader.

The next morning, as the sun rises over the sea, Rico and his group woke up, changed to their clothing, and went downstairs to the resort's buffet section for breakfast. There they lined up and picked their breakfast of their choice, and in the same time, picked up some Pokémon food for their Pokémon. After picking their meal and drinks, they went to a table for four, settle down, and eat up with appetite. The atmosphere and mood around them is good and calm.

"So, how's the hotel, you two," Maneki's father asked the kids brightly while eating, "The view is okay?" Slurping his glass of milk, Rico replied with happiness, "It's really good and lovely. Thanks for inviting me into this."

"Yeah, thanks, dad," Maneki added positively. Their Pokémon are eating their special food beside them.

"You're welcome, you two," Maneki's father positively replied back as he sliced a toasted bread with cheese with a spoon. "I'm lucky to get a room in this place at a discounted price." This amazes the two boys a lot as the waves of the sea hit against the shores in swift speeds.

After breakfast, they all went back to their hotel room, changed their clothes to their traveling ones, prepared for the day, and left the room with their Pokémon, closing and locking the door with the hotel key. They then went down to the lobby to check out. The lobby was lovely, with decorative stones, lanterns, and mini and long fountains and canals running from one side of the lobby to the other; also, the furniture, from the benches to the counters of the receptionists, are made of two of the peninsula's popular trees and was handcrafted by the peninsula's greatest and skilled craftsmen as well; for the finishing touches, pots of plants of various kinds and signs on wooden frames and the letters, numbers, and signs carved and polished into iron steel decorated the place. All of this makes the lobby a beautiful place to explore. Once check out, the group exited the resort and into the city.

"Wow, this place was so beautiful and cool!" Rico exclaimed in happiness as he, Maneki, Maneki's father, and their Pokémon are walking down the street overlooking a high view of the city and the coastal areas and waters, and that street is a highway one, winding down the mountainous slopes of the city and its outskirts, providing road access in the peninsula.

"Yeah, and after a visit to Angelina," Maneki's father responded positively with another announcement, "we'll go and see Maneki's aunt at her flower shop down the street in the city." Ever since Maneki was young, his mother passed away, leaving Maneki and his father with no other choice but to move back to Philas from Kalos and get a fresh start in life. But, Maneki's mother had an older sister living as a florist and botanist in Galen City, leaving Maneki and his father with four remaining relatives in his mother's side. How lucky Maneki was!

After some extensive walking, the group had arrived at Angelina's Water-type Pokémon Gym, which, by appearance, it's like a public swimming pool with roofing, but it's a gym and a swimming school in one building. And upon entering the gym, Angelina, a bright, young, and beautiful woman, was in the middle of her swimming lessons for her students. The surroundings are neat, but got wetted by the pool's waters; luckily, there are lifeguards to keep an eye on violators and cleaners to keep the huge pool clean and free of dirt. The sunlight was shining across the building through transparent, lightly-colored, and flat glass roofs, giving it more beauty and light during the day.

"Hi, there, Angelina," Maneki's father greeted her brightly. Excusing herself to her students, Angelina greeted them, "Hi, there, Mr. Fukui. Oh, you brought your son, and... another kid?"

"Oh! This is Rico Cruz, son of Lucas Cruz," Maneki's father, Mr. Fukui, brightly introduced Rico to Angelina. Then to Rico, "Rico, this is Angelina, she's the gym leader here and a swimming coach of this city." In response, Rico and Angelina exchanged handshakes to each other. After discharging from handshaking, Angelina commented Rico's looks, "Wow, you looked nice in your dark brown and loosed hair and bright green eyes."

"Thanks," Rico happily responded back.

"And your clothes, it looked a lot vibrant and filled with unique patterns," Angelina continued on commenting, "I mean, your jacket looks good and nice."

"Yeah, thanks," replied Rico back in positivity, "you see, my father bought this on my 11th birthday."

"Oh, I see," Angelina get it now,

"And, this is actually my second clothing upon becoming a Pokémon Trainer," Rico continued on, "my first one is another long sleeve one, but different colors and type as well."

"Oh, oh, I remember now," Angelina got a hint of memory, "you wore that on Maneki's 10th birthday and I came to your hometown for his birthday."

"Right, I remember now," Maneki responded in remembrance, "Rico was the one who always try to win the game of not dropping the ping pong ball from the spoon, but in the end, he lost." The conversations was so long that they decided to do it at the gym's little cafe There they continued their conversations along with their Pokémon, often with actings and laughter. Memories start to hover around their heads as they remember.

"And, when Rico was climbing up a tree," Maneki responded with memory, "do you know who tried to catch him? It was me, but the injuries was really mild." They then laughed at that memory as Maneki felt embarrassed by it.

"Yeah, I remember that," Rico happily replied back, "And, I remember when my mom served Yellow Curry to you guys for the first time, I remember Angelina reacted by its spiciness and she ran into the kitchen of our house and grabbed a gallon of milk." They then laughed again at that memory.

"Yeah, because back then, I wasn't a fan of spicy," commented Angelina in embarrassment.

"It's alright," Mr. Fukui positively responded to her, "it's in the past now, and you had slowly come to like spicy food."

"Yeah, you're right, thanks," Angelina thanked him for that. This follows with a short silence. After a few minutes of silence, Angelina asked Rico if he had any Pokémon and how many.

"Oh, yes, I do," Rico positively answered back, "four of them."

"Wow, that was good," commented Angelina in liking it. "What's your first Pokémon then?"

"A Riolu," Rico replied back in positive style. This amazes Angelina a lot.

"Wow, a Riolu?" she commented. "That was a rare Pokémon. How did you got it?"

"I rescued it from Pokémon thieves," Rico told her, "and I had my first Pokémon battle at the Soratas Meadows."

"Nice, what a great hero," responded Angelina back, "and do you have a Pokédex?"

"Of course, yes, I do, given by Professor Campillo," Rico answered back brightly.

"Yes, he did," Mr. Fukui agreed with him. Hearing their response, Angelina looked at Riolu and the rest of Rico's team for half a minute. She really likes them a lot, especially Litleo's cuteness. She then turned back towards Rico and commented, "Well, they look cute and strong. Say, do you want a battle with me? A two-on-two battle. What do you say?" Thinking about this, Rico stand up, clenched his left fist, and answered back, "Sure! Let's battle then!"