Dark City lay to the southeast of Fuchsia City.
As one of the least prosperous settlements in the Kanto region, it had long topped the list of the "Ten Poorest Cities in Kanto." To call the place desolate would be an understatement.
Nozomi had already prepared himself mentally for poverty before arriving, but once he saw Dark City with his own eyes, he realized just how limited his imagination truly was.
"Can this really be called a city…?"
Standing at the entrance, Nozomi looked up at the weathered sign that read Dark City, his mouth twitching involuntarily.
From Viridian City, through Pewter and Cerulean, he had never seen a city like this—where even the signs of the shops and buildings were half-detached, swaying dangerously in the wind as though they might collapse at any moment.
Walking down the street, he noticed that unlike the skyscrapers of Celadon or Saffron, there wasn't a single tall building in sight. Instead, both sides of the road were lined with squat wooden structures, most no more than one or two stories tall. The tallest might reach three floors, but even those looked ancient and decrepit.
The road itself was just as miserable—patches of cracked stone pavement here and there, but mostly packed dirt hardened by countless footsteps.
"I didn't think the League had places like this…"
He used to think Gringey City was bad enough, but compared to Dark City, Gringey looked positively luxurious—aside from its air pollution, its infrastructure easily crushed this place in every way.
The people walking by all wore the same numb, lifeless expressions. Nozomi felt as though he'd stepped into another world entirely.
In his opinion, aside from its sheer size, this place didn't even deserve to be called a city. "Village" would have been far more fitting.
After wandering for quite some time without finding a Pokémon Center, Nozomi finally sat down in a small roadside diner.
He ordered a plate of fried rice and asked the owner, "Excuse me, I'm a traveling Trainer passing through. I just arrived in Dark City. Could you tell me a bit about this place?"
"A… Trainer!?"
At once, the owner's expression tensed. His wary eyes locked onto Nozomi. "You're not with Kaz Gym or Yas Gym, are you!?"
"What do you mean by that?" Nozomi asked calmly.
His memory of Dark City's story arc was faint, but he vaguely recalled two unofficial gyms waging a turf war over which one would be recognized as an official League Gym. Their fighting had dragged the entire city into chaos.
So, he decided to hear the situation directly from the local's mouth.
Hearing Nozomi's puzzled tone, the owner exhaled in relief, then advised kindly, "If you're not with Kaz Gym or Yas Gym, then take my advice and get out of here fast! If those people find you, it won't end well!"
The man meant well—but Nozomi wasn't just any Pokémon Trainer. He had come to Dark City precisely to deal with the Kaz and Yas Gyms. There was no way he would leave before resolving the issue.
"You're telling me to leave… but at least give me a reason," he pressed.
Seeing that Nozomi wouldn't drop the topic, the owner sighed helplessly. "Fine. Not like I've got any customers anyway. Since you're so curious, I'll tell you…"
He had barely pulled out a chair to sit when a sudden uproar erupted outside. Cries and shouts filled the street, mixed with the terrified screams of ordinary townsfolk.
"Not again!" The owner's face twisted with anger. "Those bastards—every single day it's the same! How's anyone supposed to make a living like this!?"
"The people outside… they're from those two gyms, aren't they?" Nozomi said thoughtfully.
"That's right! You wanted to know what's been happening in Dark City? Everything that's wrong here started with them!" the owner snapped. "Kaz Gym and Yas Gym have been fighting nonstop over who gets official League recognition. They brawl right in the middle of the city every day!"
"And that's not even the worst of it—they've been recruiting passing Trainers into their factions! What started as small skirmishes has turned into full-scale street battles that leave the roads in ruins after every fight!"
"My restaurant used to make a decent living off travelers, but now? Thanks to them, business is dead—and they even come in here to eat without paying! It's unbearable!"
The owner's face was full of bitterness and fury.
Through the window, Nozomi could clearly see Pokémon battling fiercely in the street outside—Electabuzz, Scyther, Rhydon, and Hitmonchan clashing amid clouds of dust and smoke.
"Things are really that bad…" Nozomi muttered under his breath. "Seems it's time to end this nonsense."
Though his voice was quiet, the owner heard him clearly. "End this nonsense? You mean—who exactly are you?"
Nozomi smiled faintly. "Apologies for keeping it secret earlier. I'm a League Investigator, here specifically to handle the issue of Trainers disturbing the peace in Dark City."
The man nearly burst into tears.
"At last! The League finally sent someone!" he cried, leaping up in joy.
No one could blame him for his outburst. Life had been miserable lately—this tiny restaurant was his only source of income, yet the two rival gyms kept harassing him, leaving him with nothing but stress and fear.
"So… what's the League going to do about them?" he asked eagerly.
He assumed Nozomi was the advance investigator sent to assess the situation before the League dispatched a task force to deal with Kaz and Yas Gym.
"Deal with them?" Nozomi replied coolly. "Naturally, I'll be arresting all of them myself."
This time, the owner was stunned.
"Arrest them… all? By yourself? You mean—no backup from the League?" he asked, clearly skeptical.
He couldn't be blamed—Kaz and Yas were no ordinary Trainers, and both commanded strong Pokémon.
The man wasn't a Trainer himself, but he'd seen enough battles to know: if this young Investigator planned to take on both gyms alone… he was either extremely confident—or incredibly powerful.