It is the thing that nobody tells you about, but everyone knows that it is there if they lived in the area long enough.
Deep within the slums of Fuchsia, there is a dingy looking bar whose interior is lit with flickering lightbulbs connected to an outdated electrical generator via exposed and frayed wires. A gruff old man manages the place, serving shoddy drinks to their regular customers. Very often, these people are the lowest of the lowest, thugs and criminals with little to no morals. His job isn't to question it, all he needs to do is to do his job and minding his own business.
And if someone happens to know the secret passcode of the week and pays enough cash under the table, he will discreetly lead them to the door at the back. A door with a faded poster advertising about the Pokemon League Tournament 70 years ago. A door that when opened, shows a flight of stairs leading down to an underground basement.
It is where the biggest underground pokemon tournament in Fuchsia takes place. It is a popular choice for many of the criminals of the underworld because of the amount of cash that flows in and out of the area, all of them coming from questionable sources and exchanged through shady hands. It is a frequent spot for anyone who wants to get involved in underground betting, something that is very much illegal in Kanto and around the world. It's not just the betting that is popular. This place is also home to prostitution, trafficking, and all sorts of shady dealings that rakes in a staggering amount of revenue for the criminal gang that controls this area, Marowak Skull.
In terms of size, Marowak Skull is not as large as other notable gangs or groups that made their homes in Kanto. Certainly not as large as their main rival, Team Rocket. However, when it comes to influence, almost every illegal dealing in the south of Kanto is somehow related to them. They have a finger in almost every pie as long as it is illegal and within their territory. People view them as the underground group that keeps Team Rocket in check, who is steadily growing stronger day by day with their influence reaching even Johto. Even the police turn a blind eye to their deeds sometimes, because checks and balances must be maintained. If one criminal group grew strong enough to usurp the other, it will not be good news for them. Better to have two groups of equal strength to keep each other in check, to let them fight their dirty battles with each other in the shadows. From a broader perspective, it will be easier to maintain the peace in Kanto using this method because the two groups would be too busy tearing each other's throats out to focus on expanding their influence properly.
Unfortunately for the police, Team Rocket is already strong enough to crush Marowak Skull by themselves. It was just waiting for the right opportunity.
There was a similarity between both criminal groups. Both groups had first started to grow in power by expanding from the town which they made their main base in before they start to assimilate other criminal gangs into their fold. Using their own power, they defeated rival gangs for territory and resources, coercing the defeated party to join them. It is how many notable criminal groups in Kanto first grow in strength. For Marowak Skull, their main hideout is in Fuschia. For Team Rocket, their secret base is located in Celedon. As to where exactly they are located, no one had a clue, but everyone knew that it is there. The one thing that everybody knew to stay clear of are the gang fights that results from the process of assimilating one group into another. These fights are often bloody and the police always arrive a little too late. It is dangerous, but such is a way of life for the people living in their cities' slums. All they can do is to get used to it.
The days of glory for Marowak Skull came to an end when a boy in his late teens, looking close to an adult but definitely not one, made his way into the underground betting ring, where spectators are cheering for their favourite competitor. A machamp is fighting it out with a snarling arcanine in a deathmatch. The deathmatch is the highlight which makes underground fights so different from the ones approved of by the Indigo League. In these underground matches, the price of victory is the death of your opponents. It provides a form of exhilaration that you cannot find anywhere else.
When the boy signed up to be a competitor, people only gave him curious looks. The looks didn't last long. In the underworld, your age doesn't matter. No one will question such trivial matters as long as you are able to produce results.
And the boy's results were stellar.
No one expected for a boy not yet a man to be so good at pokemon battling. By the fourth hour he is there, he is on a winning streak with ten wins already under his belt. He is the dark horse, the star of the day. Many gamblers lost their money to the few who were either lucky or smart enough to bet on the boy. The boy's hydreigon destroyed any pokemon that it had faced. It is an unstoppable force.
The scary part was that a hydreigon was all the boy used in his rise to fame.
"And the eleventh match for Jose! Jose versus Striker! Place your bets, everyone! Who will win? Jose's unbeatable hydreigon or our long-time favourite, Striker's Kingdra! This is a one-on-one battle, folks! The grand prize of 1,000,000 pokedollars may very well be yours the moment you place your bets!"
Jose is definitely not the boy's real name. Nobody uses their real names when doing dirty work in the underworld, you have to be very foolish to do so. Striker, a man in his late thirties, is on the other side of the arena sitting down on a stool. His monster of a kingdra floated by his side. Like the announcer said, he is a popular favourite among the regulars here. The odds are against the boy, no matter how stellar his results may be. Striker's strength was also what convinced Marowak Skull to hire him as their own personal hitman, and he proved himself useful to his employer on many occasions. Many police officers had died in the line of duty when Striker was sent out to ensure that Marowak Skull's interests are protected.
The boy's winning streak will most likely be put to a stop here.
It was one of the most brutal battles ever fought in the ring with the crowd chanting for their favourites from the side lines. The two dragons tore off each other's scales and blasted condensed beams of energy at each other that could have put a clean hole through any pokemon less hardy than them. There isn't a hint of sanity seen in Jose's hydreigon. What Jose have on his hands is a bloodthirsty dragon that will do anything to ensure that its foe stay down. Striker's kingdra is no pushover, but the hydreigon is certified insane even by the standards set by Striker himself, not hesitating to inflict damage on itself if it means inflicting the same damage onto his kingdra. The Draco Meteor that the hydreigon had fired proved his point. Hydreigon had bodily grabbed kingdra to ensure its Draco Meteor find its mark, even if it means taking an equal amount of damage for itself. It is a suicidal way of battling.
To those with a sharp eye and an even keener mind for pokemon battles, it comes as no surprise to them that the hydreigon managed to kill Striker's kingdra eventually, even if the hydreigon was barely standing on its legs when the battle had ended.
The crowd roared at the display. Someone had done the impossible and defeated the strongest pokemon of Marowak Skull's strongest hitman. A boy about half of Striker's age had done it. Striker was shoved to the side as important figures in the underworld all went up to congratulate the stoic boy for his win. Everyone wants to know who he is and whether he is interested to work for them. No one paid any attention to the defeated man, which is not a surprise to anyone in the basement. This is the underworld. The moment you outlived your usefulness, it's over for you.
The boy was hired by the highest bidder, Marowak Skull, on the spot, with benefits and monetary rewards far greater than what Striker was promised when the man first joined Marowak Skull. No one saw Striker after that day, but no one paid him any mind. He was most likely silently culled by his previous employer after his loss. There's no need to keep a tool that had outlived its usefulness. The most logical step to take will be to dispose of it to prevent the group's secrets from leaking out.
Little did anyone know, Marowak Skull's seemingly wise decision to hire the boy would be the start of their downfall.
It wasn't obvious at first, but by the time half a year had passed after the boy joined the group, Marowak Skull started to see a decline in revenue. Their clients are starting to stop using their services, turning their heads to their rival gang, Team Rocket, instead. By the time a year had passed, Marowak Skull was starting to panic. Team Rocket seemed to know their every move, their every secret, and the entire list of clients that they have. Team Rocket offer the same, or better services to Marowak Skull's clients. These clients are gradually drawn to the services provided by Team Rocket. Marowak Skull's services are no longer needed.
When Marowak Skull finally connected the dots, that Jose was likely a double agent sent by Team Rocket to steal their secrets, they mobilised their entire force to kill the boy to make a statement.
They ended up helping Team Rocket to make a statement instead when their entire force was decimated by Jose. No one knows how he did it since there weren't any survivors and all video footage caught on security cameras were somehow wiped clean. The only thing that everyone knows is that Team Rocket has a skilled trainer and an even better spy in their ranks. Just one day after the attack on Jose, every known base of Marowak Skull was somehow destroyed with its leader's corpse on display at the front of its hideout. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Team Rocket had finally decided to act.
Marowak Skull became history.
The boy faded back into the shadows after that. No one knew his real name and they are starting to doubt that he will ever come back. Disguises are a common way to hide your appearance in the underworld. All they can look out for is that monster of a hydreigon which he commands, which disappeared with its trainer.
With no proper name to call him by, the underworld took to referring Team Rocket's double agent as "Rocket's Exterminator", referencing to the fact that the boy was instrumental to Team Rocket's plan to exterminate Marowak Skull from the underworld. As far as they knew, the boy was never seen again.
Those with a greater understanding of how the underworld works knew better. The boy who is not yet a man is still out there, acting on Team Rocket's orders. He is merely acting under another identity, under another face, waiting to strike again when the order is given.
Rocket's Exterminator is still out there hunting for his next prey.
AN: Here's officially presenting the oc that will be representing the Kanto region in the upcoming pokemon fics that I will be making, tying into the same world as the rest of my pokemon fics. I personally like the idea of this fic a lot, but that's just me. I will try not to make this story too angsty.
Hope you guys enjoy this story thus far.
Name: ?
Known affiliation: Team Rocket, Marowak Skull (disbanded)
Pokemon Team:
1. Hydreigon
2. ?
