"Here you go, son. Try my delicious Shoyu Ramen."
The old woman placed a bowl of steaming ramen in front of Hisoka. Although she looked quite old, she still had a lot of strength in her bones. While Hisoka was resting inside her house, she was doing the chores all by herself.
The 70 years old woman was called Nana. Hisoka affectionately called her Grand Nana, though. She had been living in Dark City since she was a young 20 years old girl, opening a simple ramen restaurant.
"Thanks a lot, Grandma Nana," Hisoka picked up a pair of chopsticks and a soup spoon. Then, he slowly took a sip of the mouth-watering broth and sighed in satisfaction.
This bowl of ramen was simple and didn't have any extra toppings. Just a simple poached egg and some chopped green onions. But it was one of the best ramens that Hisoka had ever tasted.
"Oh yeah, Grandma Nana. Do you know anything about the Kaz and Yas Gym?" Hisoka inquired.
At the same time, he was doing the dishes together with Grandma Nana after eating her delicious ramen.
Granma Nana put away the cleaned dishes in her hand and let out a deep sigh.
"Yeah, I know about it. Those two Gyms have been fighting every day, messing this city. These guys don't care about us at all. Their fights often hurt the residents. Even my shop was hit by them several times," Granma Nana complained.
Boom!
Boom!
While Hisoka was talking with Granma Nana, there was a sudden sound of glass shattering from outside.
"Oh no, it's happening again," Granny Kurana stomped her feet angrily.
"What the hell are those guys doing? It's the third time they fought this week. They are going to destroy the city at this rate," she said angrily.
Then, she took a deep breath and continued, "Initially, our city was doing quite well. Although not many people come to this city, they are still some tourists who are interested in the city's old history. But lately, those guys from Kaz and Yas Gym scared those people away, causing the city to look bleak."
The old woman poured all of her grievances to Hisoka with utmost passion.
Then, Hisoka walked to the window, opened the curtains, and took a peek outside the shop.
He saw two groups of men in blue and green uniforms fighting on the street.
"Come on, boys! Let's crush those bastards from Yas Gym today!"
The blue uniform group was headed by a black, spiky-haired man. He was short and stout, clad in blue clothing, with a letter K at the front. He also wore a red scarf around his neck.
On the other hand, a tall and thin man with an orange scarf was leading the opposite group. They all wore green overalls with the letter Y on their chest.
"Guys! We won't stop until we drive those guys from Kaz Gym out of Dark City today!" the tall man shouted confidently.
Yeah!
Yeah!
"So, these guys are Kaz and Yaz," Hisoka, who was observing from inside the house, murmured to himself.
'Let's see the true strength of these two people,' thought Hisoka while looking at the situation.
...
"Electabuzz! Thunderbolt now!"
The stout man from Kaz Gym took the lead in the attack. The ferocious-looking Electabuzz rushed to the front of the Kaz group.
Chi!
Chi!
The Electabuz let out a loud roar as it raised its two arms in the air. Then, it released two powerful yellow lightning bolts from its horns toward the opposite group.
Zap!
The lightning bolts came in an instant, making the Yaz group unable to dodge in time. Several members were electrocuted by the Thunderbolt. Luckily, the people in this world were much more resilient than the people on Earth. After being shocked by the Electabuzz attack, they fell to the ground unconscious.
At the same time, the lightning bolts released by Electabuzz not only attacked the people from Yaz Gym but also shattered the glass of the surrounding buildings.
Seeing that his people were shocked by the Electabuzz, the thin man's eyes became gloomy. Then, he waved his hand and shouted, "Scyther, attack them all!"
After that, a green figure jumped to the front. It raised its sharp scythe and slashed at the people from Kaz Gym, who was shocked by the sudden appearance of a Pokemon next to them.
Cut!
Argh!
Scyther moved its wing, causing the wind to buzz as it moved at high speed. Green shadows flashed among the crowd, slashing at their body one by one. Their clothes were torn, blood was flowing, and the members of Kaz Gym covered their wounds, lying on the ground and moaning in pain.
The old streets of Dark City were relatively narrow. And as Scyther did not control its speed, it sometimes slashed at the buildings next to them, almost cutting through the wooden walls.
"Are they crazy?" Hisoka was shocked, looking at the action of both parties.
These people dared to use Pokemon to attack people in broad daylight. This was a serious crime in the eyes of the League. They had been trying to crack down on this issue for a number of years. Especially if it caused someone to be seriously injured or, worst, dead.
Hisoka still remembered the League dispatching one Elite Four member and sixteen Elite-ranking trainers just to catch a criminal that had killed someone right in front of the masses using his Pokemon. After being captured, the criminal was directly sentenced to death. Since then, no one has dared to attack someone using their Pokemon.
The fight lasted for about forty minutes, and many people were injured. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured or lost their life. Hisoka didn't want this matter to escalate and be known by the League, which would make it harder for him to obtain the Gym qualification later.
Luckily, these guys still knew their limits. Hisoka put down the curtains and didn't care about the situation outside the shop. He had already had a good estimate of their strength in his mind. The Gym Leader of Dark City is going to be him, Hisoka.
"Grandma Nana, do you know if there's any place for sale in this city? If not, a big house will do just fine," Hisoka asked.
"House?" Granny Kurana thought for a few moments.
She then replied, "I remember there seems to be one in the southern part of the city, but it is quite old. And the owner moved to a different city a long time ago. If you want to buy it, I think you need to talk with the Mayor."
...
"Is this the City Hall of the Dark City?"
Looking at the old two-story wooden bungalow, Hisoka shook his head with a wry smile. The economy of Dark City was indeed poor. He had never seen any modern building in this city yet.
However, even if the economy of the city was underdeveloped, Hisoka was sure that after Dark City had an official Gym, the development of this city would improve massively. And the Gym Leader can take at least 5% of the city's tax revenue each year, including the funds from the League.
There was not even a security guard at the front gate. Shrugging his shoulders, Hisoka walked into the City Hall unimpeded.
...
Mayor's Office,
An old man with thinning hair wearing old-fashioned glasses was sitting on a wooden chair, holding a paper.
Then, the man took a look at the young man in front of him, his glasses slipping from his eyes, and asked in a slow tone, "You mean a big building in the southern part of the city?"
"Yeah!" Hisoka, who was sitting on the opposite chair, nodded his head.
"Hmmm, let me see," the man put the glasses back on his eyes and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Ah, Yes! I remember it now. There was indeed such a building. I think the owner left about twenty years ago. If I'm not mistaken, he gave the land deed to the City Council back then. Can you wait for a moment? I don't remember the place very well. I guess I have to check the archives."
"Sure, no problem. Mayor Chris," Hisoka shook his head.
The old man stood up from the chair, slowly walked to the bookcase at the back, and took out a dusty, large book from the bottom drawer.
Cough!
Cough!
The old man blew the dust on the cover, causing him to cough several times due to the dust. Hisoka wanted to come forward and help the old Mayor but was rejected with a wave of his hand.
"Don't worry about me, young man. Although I'm old, I still can continue my job for another ten more years. And if you want to open a gym in this city, please don't harass the innocent residents of this city just like those guys from Kaz and Yas Gym. Our lives are not easy, you know?"
A smile appeared on Hisoka's face. Then, he looked at the grinning old man and softly asked, "How did you know that I would open a gym in this city?"
"Haha!"
The old man smiled heartily when he heard Hisoka's question.
"Don't underestimate me, young man. I've been the Mayor of this small city for nearly fifty years. There's nothing in this city except the old houses and a few specialties. Many people had left this city a long time ago. It's quite rare to see new people in this town. And when you said you wanted to buy such a large place, I'm quite sure you wanted to open a gym. Why would you want to buy such a large place in this city?" Mayor Chris replied.
"I really want to open a gym here," Hisoka admitted and told the truth.
"The fight between Kaz and Yas Gym has seriously affected the running of this city. And even if one of them wins the fight, the League will never give them the official Gym qualification based on their previous bad deeds," Hisoka explained.
After listening to Hisoka's answer, Mayor Chris let out a deep sigh.
"At least you're smart. Why can't those two people understand this? The first priority of being a Gym Leader is to protect the local residents. Not for honor, fame, and money," the old man shook his head in disappointment.
After saying that, the man buried his head in the book and continued to search through the many documents to find the land deed.
"Found it!"
The old man excitedly stood up from the ground. And probably because he had sat for a long time, his legs lost their balance and fell to the ground.
"Be careful!"
Luckily, Hisoka's response was fast. He quickly ran to the old man and caught his falling body.
Then, Hisoka slowly brought Mayor Chris to his chair. The old man rubbed his aching legs and said with a smile, "Thank you, young man. It looks like I'm not young anymore, huh?"
After a few moments, Mayor Chris handed a folder to Hisoka and said, "This is the land deed left by the owner of the place. You can take a look. If you are willing to take over the place, I can sell it to you at a discount."
Hisoka opened the folder and took a thin, yellow paper out. There was also a letter addressed to the City Council about a little information left by the previous owner.
It turned out that the previous owner of the building was a private Gym trainer. After living in Dark City all his life, he was not willing to sell the Gym to others. So he decided to give the ownership of the Gym to the City Council, hoping that he would make a final contribution to his hometown before leaving with his son.
The building was built like a typical gym that specialized in teaching Pokemon. It covered about an acre, about twice the size of a basketball court. It had three open areas in the front, center, and backyard.
If this was in a big city, such as Saffron City or Cerulean City, Hisoka had no doubt that the price of this building was going to be expensive as hell.
Luckily, Dark City was only a third-tier city. When compared to large cities, the price of this building was quite low.
The price of this building twenty years ago was about 80,000 dollars, clearly written in the land deed. But after considering the land appreciation, even if the Dark City was a backwater place today, a large piece of land would cost at least 150,000 dollars.
Hisoka didn't take advantage of the situation that was happening in the city to devalue the price. If he wanted to manage the Gym well, he must have a good relationship with the local residents and government officials.
Even if the old Mayor refused to accept the previous price, Hisoka still wanted to buy this dojo at the current market price. Mayor Chris had a good impression of the polite Hisoka, so he tried his best to sell the building to Hisoka at a low price.
Finally, after both parties took a step back, Hisoka bought the land for 100,000 dollars. He was now the new owner of a training gym that had been abandoned for decades.
Standing at the front gate, while looking at the gradually disappearing figure of Hisoka, the old Mayor sighed in relief. At the same time, he was feeling quite worried about Hisoka. The two Gyms had been competing with each other for a long time. Once it was known that someone else had opened a new Gym in Dark City, he would definitely become a thorn in the eyes of Kaz and Yas Gym.
The old Mayor was quite helpless about this. Hisoka was too young. In his mind, how could a fifteen-year-old boy become the opponent of those two unscrupulous people?
...