A/N: Alright, third story update in three days. Whew I'm exhausted. Suns vs Lunars was Saturday, Summer Days was Sunday, and now City Days. This chapter is kinda short, but its the third story update in three days and its CRUCIAL for the story especially when you read the ending. Enjoy. :)

Pool Party I: Lassiter's Brother

Lassiter stood on top of the diving board with Nuzleaf on his shoulders. He was dressed in black and red swimming trunks that had a picture of a Scizor on them. "Alright Nuzleaf," Lassiter began as he stared down into the water. "Triple front flip in the water."

"Nuzleeeaaaaaaf!"

"Lassiter! Lassiter! Lassiter!"

The chants were coming from most of the Royals and Intermediates around the area. Leaping off the diving board, Lassiter and Nuzleaf turned three front flips before splashing into the water. There were a few complaints from two of the girls about water splashing on them, but everyone for the most part cheered on as Lassiter stepped out of the water. "Dude that was pretty awesome," Evan remarked as Lassiter and Nuzleaf stepped out of the pool. "I'm Evan Strave."

"Lassiter," he replied simply. "Hey you look familiar? I think I've seen you around before. Are you friends with Preston?"

"You could...say that..." Evan stated. "I came for a visit during the summer for a few days so I'm thinking I might've met you when you first started hanging out with Preston. I'm Eclipse's cousin."

Before the two could continue conversing, Randy walked over and put his arms around Evan and Lassiter. "Strave," he began in an obvious fake nice tone. "We have some major catching up to do. Come on you two, we need some more ice. Lets go to the store..."

----

"So how do you like the car Strave?" Randy asked as he kept his eyes on the road. "As a matter of fact, how many cars do you have anyway?"

"Four," Evan replied from the back seat.

"Six," Randy stated smugly.

Lassiter shook his head at his friend. Everything was a competition to Randy. He had been driving around the city for at least half an hour asking Evan random questions about the things that he owned and every time, Randy would reply with something bigger, fancier, or more expensive than what Evan owned. "I could've sworn we were going to get ice, Preston?" Evan stated. "Not playing twenty-one thousand questions."

"Hold your Tauros," Randy shot back as he pulled into the Swalot Stop 'n' Shop. Lassiter's eyes widened when he realized that Randy hadn't been paying attention to where he was driving. The Swalot Stop 'n' Shop was near the Intermediate-Striker border. He had heard that local gangs hung out there at night, but since it was still daylight, he knew it wouldn't be too bad. Nuzleaf didn't want to leave the pool party, so he left him with Sanity hoping it wouldn't be too much trouble for her. The three boys walked into the grocery store and began looking for ice and other things that they might need.

"Preston, I got this covered," Evan told him.

"No, I'll pay for it," Randy replied quickly. "My party, my expenses, my credit card. So I...wait a minute, look who it is? Are you buying some food Leti? That's good, a growing whore needs her nutrition."

Leti shot her middle finger at Randy as she stepped forward with a shopping cart in her hands. Sandshrew growled at Randy from the toddler's seat of the cart. "You are way too far away from Royal territory, Randy," Leti told him. "You might wanna watch how you talk to me."

"You might wanna watch how you talk to me," Randy mocked. "I know where I'm at. This is my city after all. Why are you here anyway, Leti?"

"If you must know, my sister is making me buy all of this crap that she doesn't need," Leti explained. "But I know she really only wanted me out of the house so she and her boyfriend can do it."

"Hey Leti," Lassiter asked. "You know where the soda is at?"

"Sorry, Lassiter, I don't come here a lot," she answered. "The manager is always trying to hit on me."

"Isn't the manager a Swalot?" Lassiter asked curiously.

"Yeah, but you already know even Pokemon are attracted to these chichis," she replied as she cupped her breasts. "Its like a curse." The three boys stared at her, each having their own opinion and thoughts.

"Arceus, she's a whore, but I'll admit, that was kinda hot. I know how it is to be cursed with good looks so I guess I share some pain with this Striker slut."

"That's Saletia Laran for you. She definitely doesn't try and sugarcoat anything she says or does. Oh man, I still remember that time when she was on that trampoline in my backyard..."

"So this is the type of person that Preston constantly makes fun of? I know about the Strikers, but looking at this Leti girl, I'm starting to think that Preston's behavior is somewhat justified..."

Their thoughts were interrupted by Leti's phone going off. "Gross," Randy stated as she pulled the phone out of her purse. "That phone is like ancient." Leti shot Randy the middle finger once more as she answered it.

"What is it, Roni?"

"Are you on your way home?"

"Why? Do you and Derek want some more alone time."

"Leti, I sent you to the store because we actually need that stuff if you want to eat tonight. You were supposed to be back an hour ago."

"Alright, chill I'm on my way."

Leti hung up the phone and rolled her eyes. "Hey look, I gotta-

"AAAH! SOMEONE HELP!!!"

"That came from the front of the store!" Evan told them. "Lets check it out."

"Granbullshit!" Randy yelled. "You can't tell that the store's being robbed. I'm staying in the back. Strave, you can go and play hero and get killed."

"Calm down Preston," Lassiter told him as he took a peek over the shelves. "They don't have guns, but the guy has an Alakazam, and that lady has a Medicham. Leti, do you know who they are? Are they Strikers?"

Leti shook her head. "They're definitely not Strikers. We don't use Psychic types that much and I know every Striker anyway."

"Hey Zane!" the female robber yelled from the front. "You hear that?! See whose in the back and bring them up here! I'll keep this stupid cashier and this Swalot under watch."

"I'll just get Alakazam to do it, Syn," the male robber replied. "Use Psychic and bring whoever's back there up here."

"Alakazaaam..."

A blue aura surrounded Lassiter, Randy, Leti, and Evan causing them to slowly be lifted into the air. They were dropped on the floor in front of the robbers. For the first time, Lassiter was able to get a good look at them. The male known as Zane, was a huge guy with bulking muscles. He had short, brown hair with green eyes. He was unshaven with his black beard covering his rugged face. He was dressed in a brown shirt with the sleeves cut off and a pair of dirty blue jeans. The female known as Syn, looked nearly as terrifying. She had short red hair with menacing dark green eyes and had a deep tan. She was dressed in a red crop top with blue jean cutoffs and a red cowboy hat with brown boots.

"Hello kiddies," Syn hissed. "So good of you to join us."

"Look," Randy started. "My dad is the mayor and my best friend's dad is the Police Commissioner. Let us go and I can tell them not to arrest you guys. Plus if you do let us go, we'll let you have the whore."

"Chinga usted!" she yelled back at him.

"What the hell does that mean?" Randy asked. "Speak English whore."

"Fuck. You." Leti told him simply. "That's what it means you jerk."

"Hold on," Zane interrupted. "Syn, come here for a sec."

Syn nodded her head and walked over to him. "I know what you're thinking," she whispered. "But we're not going to screw up the plan. Look at that other kid with the dark brown hair. He looks just like him."

"He did tell me that he had a younger brother the day before you showed up," Zane whispered back. "Maybe that brown-haired kid is him. Speaking of that, the plan is about to underway..."

As if on cue, a group of swift, sharp leaves crashed into Alakazam and Medicham sending them flying into the shelves. "Alright Shiftry!" a voice called out. "Let's finish this!"

"That voice," Lassiter thought. "No way..."

A young man with dark brown eyes and jet black hair entered the store. He was lightly tanned and was slightly muscular though nowhere near as buffed up as Zane. "Hey Lassiter," Randy whispered. "Isn't that..."

"Kole..."

----

"What's taking Randy so long?" Eclipse complained to Natalia. "Kevin's Nuzleaf is getting a little out of hand."

At that moment, Nuzleaf did yet another triple front flip into the pool causing a large splash which was surprising seeing as Nuzleaf didn't weigh much. "I know what you mean," Natalia replied as she wiped the water out of her eyes.

"I'll call Randy." Eclipse grabbed her phone and quickly dialed his number. After a few rings, it went straight to voice mail.

"You've reached Randy Preston V. If I didn't answer, there's three possible reasons. One: You're either ugly or someone I hate. Two: I'm busy doing tasks such as relaxing in my pool or making the maid clean my room. Three: I'm probably arguing with Eclipse and her extremely loud and annoying midget voice is covering up the ringtone so just leave a message."

"Well we can scratch out one and three," Natalia told her as Eclipse sat her phone down. "You can try to call Evan."

"I'll call him in the minute if they're still gone. Come on, let's go see whose here. Look, Amber's over there. Let's go talk to her."

Amber was wearing a dark orange bikini and had a look of nervousness on her face. Her Teddiursa however was kicking its feet in the pool. Amber had been talking with two of the Intermediates, Reika Mishima and Jimmy Gray both of whom were now in the pool. Jimmy was a handsome young man with unusually light blue eyes and black hair, with one silver bang that he bleached. Reika had shoulder length chocolate brown hair and gray eyes and was wearing a dark blue bikini. She was listening to Jimmy go on and on about himself.

"So," Jimmy began. "You're that hot weird girl who talks in poems sometimes. Well, I got one for you."

Rotom are red.

Vaporeon are blue.

Tonight its gonna be me and you.

"You and Randy are very similar," Reika replied. "You both have been and are currently going through life off of your appearances, but..."

"You think I'm hot," Jimmy replied flirtatiously. Reika's face reddened as she turned around and swam towards the shallow end of the pool. Jimmy grinned and wiped some of the water out of his eyes. "She so wants me..."

----

"Alright," Kole started as he tied Syn and Zane up in the back of the store. "Shiftry and I will take care of these two."

"Wait Kole," Lassiter told his brother. "Why are you back here?"

"I joined the city council," he explained. "I actually have a meeting with the mayor and the rest of the council on Monday. I'm as Mayor Preston would say, 'Walking the path less traveled'."

Randy groaned to himself. His father was always telling him that, but it would just go in one ear and out the other. Just two weeks ago, the two were strolling around Illas City with Mayor Preston constantly going on and on about the important duties that came with being the mayor...

(Flashback)

"Dad," Randy began as he grabbed Flareon out of the backseat of the car. "Why is any of this important?"

"Randall, do you know what street this is?" the mayor asked calmly.

"Who doesn't?" Randy replied. "Its Main Street. Its were all the parades take place."

"Its way more than just that my son. This street is where the Royals, Intermediates, and Strikers come together as one with their Pokemon. As a future potential mayor, you must first realize that your position as mayor is not guaranteed just because you were born into this family. This is not a monarchy and the position is not your birthright. You must also realize that it is not just all about doing whatever you want."

"Okay, but what does any of this has to do with Main Street?"

"Tradition. Whenever the child of the mayor turns one year old, the city throws a huge parade. Your mother sat you in her lap as a toddler and we rode on a float of a Milotic. We always allowed any of the other young children to ride up there with us and their parents and Pokemon. It didn't matter if the child was a Royal, an Intermediate, or a Striker. Your friends; Eclipse and Natalia were on there with their parents as well along with your friend Kevin and his mother and several Royal, Intermediate, and Striker children that you know. One day, your child will be in the parade along with your wife and your closest friends."

"So when I'm mayor I put my wife and my son, some other kids, their parents, and their Pokemon on a float."

"You always have everything planned out Randall, but that's not always a good thing. You never know what might happen. Remember there's no guarantee that you will be mayor and don't think that just because there have been only males born into this family for over five generations that you'll automatically end up with a son. You might end up with a daughter."

"Yeah right! Me having a girl! Dad, I hang out with two girls all the time and despite the fact that girls are hot, they're also super annoying. Besides, there's a reason that there's only been guys born into this family. Arceus knows that girls aren't capable of running a city because they're too emotional."

"Walk the path less traveled my son. Some day, you'll understand..."

(Present)

Randy still didn't understand that slogan and he felt like he never would. "Of course I know you two," Kole said to Randy and Leti as the five of them walked to the front of the store. "Who are you?"

"Evan Strave," Evan greeted as he shook Kole's hand. "That battle against those two crooks was awesome. You've obviously trained your Shiftry well."

"Shiftrrrry..."

"Nice to meet you Evan," Kole replied. "You guys go ahead and go back to Randy's party. I'll stay here until the police show up. Kevin I'll be by the house later on."

Leti's phone went off and she angrily answered it. "I'M ON MY WAY HOME, RONI!!!" she yelled into it before hanging it up. "I'll catch you guys later. Come on Sandshrew."

"Saaandshreew..."

Leti hurried off down the street as Lassiter, Randy, and Evan sped off in Randy's car. As soon as they had turned the corner, Kole walked to the back of the store where Syn and Zane were tied up. "Shiftry, Razor Leaf," he commanded.

"Shiffftryyyy..."

The ropes broke and the two robbers stood up. "Wow," Syn started. "You're a pretty good actor Kole. I thought you were going to break character for a second."

"Come on Syn," Zane told her. "You know Kole never screws up on huge plans like these."

"You're right Zane," Kole stated his voice now more cold and chilling than it had been when he was talking to his brother and the other teenagers. "Gaining the mayor's trust is going to be pretty easy now that I'm on the city council. I nearly forgot that my brother was friends with his son. That makes taking over this city a whole lot easier. You two lay low and don't leave the hideout for a while until I buy some decent disguises for you. With any luck, this city will be ours in no time..."