I know very little about the history of this place. As I can remember, this building up above belonged to some billionaire genius that tried to fight evil and in the end became evil himself. Strange story, I should say. Maybe something like that was in some movie. Rumors say that he was arrested because of some horrible experiments with pokemon, and the building itself has a hidden laboratory. Actually, nobody for nearly 40 years have found this laboratory, but I guess there is more than a hidden passage to the basement. As for the basement, it was a huge parking lot, but now this is a place where different inveterate criminals come to talk to each other about their latest achievements, loots, to drink some alcohol and find some job, usually connected to poaching pokemon.

There is a huge room for the Market itself where people trade or sell pokemon, and, of course, a room for trading and selling guns. As I can remember, there was even a pharmacy store with, of course, different illegal stuff, but I can`t see it anywhere now. Nah, don`t care – I have never been there and not going to.

Actually, I don`t like this place. I don`t like it and don`t approve at all. Selling pokemon is a horrible thing, and someday I will close this trash heap, but for today local criminals are going to help me find some other criminals. I`m sure Team Rocket have connections to this place, but they don`t work straight – they work through agents. All I need to do is to find any their agent and get him in a tight corner.

Of course, there is no gangster hangout without a proper bar. And barman is the guy I need now. This bar was made of some old bus that somehow appeared here. The metal wall between windows from one side is completely cut out, and this place became the bar itself. Five remade iron barrels replace tables here, but the locals don`t seem to complain. And, of course, the man behind that iron wall, rubbing a glass with some strange-looking rag, looking around suspiciously and watching over the whole Market with his one eye is the same Watcher Joe as five years before. The alleged leader of local bandits.

He looked at the opposite side of Market while I was on distance, but as I came closer to the bar, he momentarily turned his head to me and made a fake smile.

"Look who`s here! None other than the Scar himself!" His cry made the guys near the tables look at me. Those who remembered me turned back away immediately, some other – those who don`t know me at all – turned back to their tables a bit later, not showing any interest in my persona.

"Five years passed. I have changed my name fourteen times. Call me Vengeance now." I looked at him very angrily for attracting attention. Despite his vile character he understood that I can`t do anything to him now – bandits will definitely kill on place the one who dares to touch their booze supplier.

"Wow, that`s even better. I thought you`re dead for sure now… What brings you here?"

"I think we should talk inside." I entered the frame of bus and closed the door. Joe understood the seriousness of talk and nodded to me, lowering the metal plate and closing the windows gap.

Inside the bus there is a door from the other side, leading to some sort of storage room. This is the place where we can talk without any other ears.

"You are still alive. I`m impressed… So… What are you here for?" Joe asked me while taking a comfortable seat on one of boxes.

"You know what I`m here for. For what I always come here for. The information." I continued to look around the room, trying to find anything that looks like a hidden camera or a bug.

I gave him another look. I wonder why nobody calls him One-eyed Joe? Because this nickname would fit him perfectly, just because of his right eye being covered with usual pirate bandage. Someone could count this as a show-off, but I know that he actually has just one eye now. But that`s another dark story of my past that I hope never to reveal.

"You know what I`m here for. For what I always come here for. Don`t play dumb, pirate!"

"Says the guy with the one ugly scar..."

"This scar is the reminder. I got it in battle. You… you were just an idiot."

"Heh, I was too self-confident too when I was like you. But the scar is always followed by knife… Maybe this awaits you too. I`m your next evolution stage."

"No, thank you. I better die than evolve into you… Let`s just talk about business. The thing I came here for. The information." I continued to look around the room, trying to find anything that looks like a hidden camera or a bug.

"Of course. You have come to the right man… But you should know the price."

"The price?" That statement made me a bit angry. "The price? Don`t tell me about the price. You still owe me, you know. Quite a lot. If not for me, your damn bar would be in burning ruins and you would be in prison. Not sure about being alive at all."

"Whoa, whoa, chill, man." He shook his head. That worried him not as much as I expected. "I remember that. I remember everything. But… not any information is so easy to get."

I made a deep breath and exhaled to calm myself. His impudence is the thing I remember the best about him. I came closer and once more made a quick look around and then whispered.

"I need you to find Team Rocket for me."

That didn`t startled him, but surprised a lot. He gave me a suspicious look.

"Why the heck do you need them? These guy you sure don`t want to meet."

"I have already met them." I sat on the nearest box across from him. "That wasn`t very nice experience. They stole my car. I want it back very badly."

Suddenly his face became very disappointed. Not a very expected reaction.

"A car? Do you really want to risk your life so much just because of a damn car?"

"Yes, I do! Everyone around tells me so much about them being so serious and dangerous, but I have already fought them. And… found one of their guys some minutes before his death."

"Interesting… If anyone can confront Team Rocket – it`s definitely you. They don`t pay me, so I have no intention to hide any information about them from you, but, unfortunately, my knowledge ends. I don`t know anything at all about their location or something. Some rumors – maybe, but, you know, never believe the rumors. The truth hides only behind the worst of them.

"Hah, rumors… For a moment I have nothing to follow at all. So rumors are better than nothing."

"But… some of my clients have connections to Team Rocket. I can`t sell all these gentleman to you, but… a couple – maybe. For the whole debt sum."

"You…" I looked at his eyes. Impudent and greedy, as expected. He will definitely try to get maximum profit from my situation. I was even a little surprised he didn`t asked for additional payment. Maybe, I would do the same thing. "You win this time."

He smiled with satisfaction and got up from his box and followed the wall. There were louvers on the exact place on the wall, that I didn`t notice earlier. Joe raised the louvers up showing me the window to the main basement room. Strange that I didn`t notice any windows from that side too… Otherwise… This is one-sided window!

Joe called me to him, so I had to leave my box and come closer to the window.

"See these guys?" Joe pointed at a group of three bandits at the distant barrel table. For the first look they looked like usual bikers, with all their black metal coats, chains and stuff. "They hunt pokemon for Team Rocket."

"For fun or food?"

"I… don`t know. I don`t care. Maybe, both. I heard they caught a golden Magikarp recently. Too bad they sold that somewhere.. not here. I would like to see that."

"A golden Magikarp? Aren`t they… just red?"

"Yeah, sounds like a nonsenses. But three years ago a guy tried to sell his yellow Weedle. It was so strange and… sparkling. So I can believe into anything now."

"We`re far from the topic."

"Yes, of course. I heard they were looking for someone to some job. Some problems with their latest order. So… Go and talk to them. Work for them, join them, torture them… Do what you want. But… do that as far as you can from my damn bar, okay? "

As some shouts about "more beer!" from outside reached us, Joe hurried to close louvers and follow the exit.

"Is that all?" I asked him. "The info looked very scarce for me.

"Yeah, what else do you want? I have just sold you three my customers and don`t expect them to appear here again. So many damage to my business. Get out now."

I followed the exit in front of him. Joe returned to his duty – to service different drunk criminals, and I had to return to mine.

"So… Any tip on how I should talk to them?" I asked Joe.

"Don`t know. Improvise! But no blood here!" The. Best. Tip. Ever. Joe could just stay silent – that would be less rude from him.

"Okay… I know how to impress an idiot." I corrected my cap and clicked my fingers. "Give me a bottle of Sun Drio."

"Hey! My debt is already paid, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, I`ll pay for that myself, don`t worry."

Joe snorted and handed me a nice big bottle of disgusting red stuff. I have tried this before, and always wonder how do people drink this shit? And even find this tasty. I hope this will help me in my diplomatic mission. With that in mind I headed to the hunters trio.

They were very busy drinking and talking about some strange stuff. Their language in drunk state was completely impossible to understand, but I have some experience with foreigners. Drunk foreigners. The fourth seat near them was free, so I offhandedly landed there and put the bottle right in the center of table. That worked well in attracting their attention.

"What do you want?" One of them asked me. I have found his short mustache of very interesting style. Maybe, I should grow some too.

"I`ve heard you need some man to do some job, yeah?"

"So what? Do YOU want to do this job?" The guy from the left side, with a horrible blooded eye asked me, simultaneously talking the bottle to empty it. The guy with mustache looked at him jealously and anger.

"I`m perfectly matched for that. I`m perfectly matched for anything."

"Do you have any pokemon?" The blood-eyes guy asked.

"Of course." I undid my greatcoat and revealed shoulder belt with pokeballs.

"Are you kidding? Only two?"

"What are they?" The third guy asked. He didn`t seem to me notable by anything. Just the third guy.

"Charmeleon and Beedrill."

Hunters looked at each other with approval. But the third one didn`t look impressed.

"Why do you think that you can handle this? The thing that us – the professionals couldn`t handle?"

I really waited for this question to be asked. With great pleasure I put my hand in shirt and took out a small fang in pendant.

"Do you know the legend of a Korrok region?" They looked at the fang, trying to see something strange in it. "Two years ago, some… events happened there. Maybe, you know from the news. A legendary dragon was set free. And the guy in front of you got his fang in battle. Single-handedly, without a pokemon."

Their faces changed quite a lot. They tried to look away from the pendant, but that was very hard thing to do. Only after I took the fang away, they exhaled, breaking free from the dark charm of artifact.

"Okay then, maybe you can handle this deal." The mustache guy took out an envelope from his pocket and looked inside. "Three thousand for that. If you succeed."

"Don`t care. Tell me what to do."

The hunters nodded to each other and turned to me.

"So, there`s the deal. On the other side of river, North from Cerulean, there is a small forest. Nothing special in that, common pokemon types like Caterpies, Weedles, Pidgeys and other trash. What we need you to do is to catch a Bellsprout."

Well, sounds not very hard for me, I guess. I just need to learn how Bellsprouts look like and the job`s done.

"That is not a usual Bellsprout, is he?"

"Not usual. This scoundrel is pretty tough guy, and he gave us a lot of problems. You can easily determine him by a scar over the eye. By the way, in this it looks like you."

A Bellsprout with scar? I wonder what happened to him before. This quest becomes pretty interesting.

"So tough that three of you couldn't handle him?"

"That`s one cunning Bellsprout too." The hunter said. Tough and cunning Bellsprout? What an interesting pokemon for me to have! Maybe I can leave him for me after all this.

"No problem. Consider it done. Where can I find you guys after?"

They looked at each other suspiciously. And then looked at me, even more suspiciously.

"For some reason you look reliable. Come to our base on Route 5. Follow the side road and then look for the highest tree in the woods."

Nah, they are not that stupid to reveal me their lair at once. But I will come.

"Then that`s a deal." I left these guys alone with a big bottle to drink. They said nothing more, and I didn`t want them to. I got all the information I need, and I`m sure I will find them anyway by this directions. Why would they hide from me anyway? All criminals must trust each other. Well, except for me, of course. I wouldn`t trust anyone like myself. And I do not.

I came to the bar counter and threw some coins on it. Joe was still busy servicing his bothersome customers, and had no time to count the money. Anyway, I promised to pay for that but I didn`t promise to pay exactly it cost. After that I left the Black Market.

Another meeting with these horribly creaking stairs. The third worst thing ever created by human beings. Hate that. On the top I pressed the switch to open a secret door out. Old rusty mechanism creaked again and started to move. When it`s finished, I turned back to press another switch to close it back, but suddenly a female voice from the side startled me.

"So, that`s what are you doing here! Black Market?"

I momentarily turned to the source of voice. In front of me was very, very angry Misty.