Chapter 53 - 53 - What the...? A Stalker?

Later that night, the night was peaceful, away from Galen's busy night markets and traffics, and Rico and his team are taking a nice swim at the resort hotel's swimming pool, but that one is for kids only. This part also offers a nice view of the city and the sea, more like their hotel room. Lanterns and lights brighten the area sufficiently, giving the guests lighting at night. The pool water is clean and cool. But in this time, no one was there, except for Rico and his team.

"Tonight was cool," Rico, in his swimming outfit, commented in embracing the environment around, "the pool was peaceful, so as the night." Riolu and Piplup then responded with happy comment. Piplup was swimming around in circles blissfully. Rico was sitting at the edge of the pool while Litleo and Starly are relaxing on a plastic beach chair under the roof of the floor above.

"Well, tonight's great," Rico said in positivity, "I think it's getting late now. Let's go back to our room. Shall we?" Piplup was done swimming, and Litleo and Starly are done relaxing; they and Riolu then responded to their Trainer with agreement.

After that, Rico get up from the pool, grabbed his thick, white, bath towel and wiped the water off his head, body, and hair. He then wrapped it around his waist and went back inside the hotel with his Pokémon. In the hallways, Rico and his team are walking towards a concrete staircase to the fourth floor, which was just located at the end of the stairs. There as they are about to reach their room, suddenly, a tall, masked man interrupted their path.

"What the...?" Rico responded with frightened shock. Riolu and Litleo then responded with surprised shock.

"Hello there, kid," the masked man greeted them with a deep voice.

"W-What are you doing here?" Rico asked with terror. "Are you some kind of stalker?"

"No, I'm here to tell you that..." the masked man responded with a message, but interrupted in the middle of his sentence. Rico and his team got pressured by his unpredictable words, like a prophet.

"... your future destiny will be fulfilled in the future," the masked man finally said his final part of his sentence. "And you shall know and learn our skills and techniques."

"What? Your skills and techniques?" Rico raised a question in confusion and puzzling. "What are you talking about?" But, it got interrupted by Mr. Fukui hearing their conversation and now coming to open the door. And upon Rico turning back, the masked man was nowhere to be seen, as if he banished into thin air.

"What the...?" he commented in shock and confusion. "He's gone?" Upon opening the door, Mr. Fukui, in his normal clothes, sees them and asked, "Rico, who's your talking to? Come back inside before you catch a cold."

"Oh! Sorry, Mr. Fukui," Rico apologized upon seeing him. He and his Pokémon then come into their room, and Mr. Fukui shut the door normally. Inside, Rico head straight for the bathroom to take a short shower while Maneki was playing with his Pokémon. Their hotel room, however, was a bit more fancy than decent. There are three single beds for the three of them, an area for Pokémon to sleep, complete with a comfortable carpet and a detail-interlaced rug, cabinets, wardrobes, and drawers for them to use, a mini fridge for food and drinks, a little set of counters made of smooth marble, some equipment and small appliances for cooking and grilling, a door to the bathroom complete with hot/cold shower, a small flat screen TV on a small table, and a balcony offering a nice view of the city from above. Lights consisted of light bulbs and electronic lanterns that can be turned off and on by switches; the room was cooled by a power-efficient air conditioner unit, and the desk opposite the third bed was provided with storage compartments, a lampshade, and a wooden chair. Then, finally, the beds are provided with comfy mattresses, soft pillows, and warm blankets. All of this makes this kind of hotel room a little bit luxurious than normal and decent.

11 minutes later, and Rico was done from showering, and had put on his sleeping clothes for the night. He then exited the bathroom, hang his wet bath towel on a rack, and walked across the room, and into his own bed with his Pokémon in his sides.

"Rico, who's your talking to?" Mr. Fukui asked Rico in questioning.

"I don't know," answered Rico back while shrugging in not knowing who was talking to him. "He was masked, and he's here just to inform me about my so-called future destiny."

"What's your future destiny then?" Mr. Fukui responded back in puzzling.

"I don't know either," Rico answered back.

"Maybe some kind of mysterious world with different skills," Maneki suggested.

"I am not sure, but that can be possible," Rico half-agreed with his friend while thinking.

Later, by 10:06 p.m., when the room was dark, except brighten by Rico's smartphone, and Maneki, his father, and their Pokémon are sleeping in their beds, Rico contacted his father through his phone, telling him about yesterday, today, and that masked man.

"What?" Lucas commented about his son's claims. "So that masked man told you about your so-called future destiny?"

"Yes," replied his son back as he sat on his bed. "I have no idea what it is and what it will be."

"Rico, just ignore it," Lucas suggested him, "I think it was a scam to trick you. But, we cannot predict the future, so we had no choice but to wait in order to see if it is true or not."

"You're right, dad, thank you," replied Rico back gratefully. "Good night."

"Good night too, and be safe," Lucas said his final response. He and Rico then ended their conversation. Putting his phone on the nightstand, Rico lie down on his bed and slept peacefully, thinking, "I think I'm just seeing and hearing things. Oh, well, let's just see." His Pokémon then gathered around their Trainer and slept as well. But, will that future destiny will ever be happened, or not?