I Sting (Pokemon Poison Type Specialist)

Virah sat down on a seat that the vendor pointed at, the man then asked her a question, "so, what do you want to know?"

"How much territory Team Rocket has is a good start," Virah replied, she hoped that she'll learn more about the area but if she doesn't then that's fine too, "like where they are and how large their area of control is,"

"Hm…" the vendor leaned back and pulled the stubble on his chin, "I guess… most of this place?" He answered, sounding unsure, "I think the Efrosin are independent and make their own drugs but I'm sure they out source from Team Rocket occasionally,"

… Virah did not understand any of that just now, but she'll try to do guesswork anyways, "I… you're saying that the Efrosin is another gang?"

"Yeah, they control this territory specifically," the vendor gestured all around him, "from the stalls on this flea market to the drugs being sold on the street,"

"That's interesting," Virah played along while looking around, she chewed on what she learned, "does everyone here sell drugs?"

"Not everyone," the vendor shook his head, "but almost all of us do it,"

Virah shifted her gaze to the man, "do you do drugs?"

A laugh was the response, followed by a light shake of his head, "… no, I just sell it, there's a lot of money to be earned from something like this you know?"

Virah nodded, "I get it,"

She didn't, honestly Pokemon battles were more profitable than this, even at the amateur level but she guessed that it's probably not an option for most people.

"Yeah… anyway, the Efrosin control everything around here, most of the western side is theirs while the east belongs to the Guiomar, and they're a different story," the vendor shrugged.

"I saw that it was abandoned and ruined," Virah said, "the eastern side I mean,"

"Yeah, that explains it perfectly," the vendor chimed, "unlike Efrosin, the Guiomar don't really want to improve the quality of their area, since they mostly run fighting rings,"

Virah nodded, "that makes sense,"

It didn't.

"Well, I don't know much about those guys, just that they usually hide their rings on warehouses or basements," Virah nodded, the vendor continued, "… the Efrosin have 3 leaders,"

"And it's fine for you to tell me this?" Virah quickly said as she faced the man with the same speed.

"Yeah," the vendor replied, "the siblings won't mind," he said, "Iolanta she's a Grass Type specialist," the man replied, "she's also the oldest of the bunch,"

"Uhuh…" Virah trailed off, wouldn't all of them be Grass Type specialists? Or is she just expecting things single mindedly? Still, it's good to know something like this.

"Then there's Vikentiy, he has Fighting Types and is the muscle of the group alongside Alena, a Fire Type specialist," the vendor's face remained impassive as he explained the dynamics of the group.

Virah listened intently and eventually learned more about the Efrosin than what she originally came for.

From what she's gathered, Iolanta had around 3 different fully evolved Pokemon, and all of them were unsurprisingly Poison and Grass Types.

What was surprising though is that the woman had a Venusaur, and learning that genuinely made Virah do a double take.

Still, it was an interesting thing to know, if not for the fact that Iolanta is dangerous, then it would be that most of her Team's moves would be neutral against Iolanta's.

She wouldn't be fighting the woman if she could help it, that's for sure.

"Vikentiy usually buries their victims but Alena is the more dangerous of the three so be careful around her," the vendor finished.

"I'll remember that," Virah nodded, "and I don't mean to rush or anything like that but what do you know about Team Rocket?"

"Hm…" the vendor hummed and shot her a critical eye, "that they only have one leader,"

"And he's?.." Virah trailed off.

"Dangerous," the vendor shrugged, he grinned, "well I guess his name is Diego-" Virah forced out a giggle, "- but yeah, he's dangerous, he's also not a specialist,"

Virah frowned, a balanced team could either make or break a trainer's career, especially if they don't know how to properly make one but if the guy is the leader of a local rocket branch then there's a good chance he knows what he's doing.

"Do you know anything when it comes to his team?" Virah asked, hoping that she'll fish out something.

"A little, but the man's secretive," the vendor answered, "everyone knows that he has a Pidgeot that he uses to fly around, and also a Golem, but nothing more than that,"

"How many Pokemon does he have?" Virah actively asked.

"A full team." Came the answer.

"Ah." Virah frowned, that wasn't good…

She shook her head, "so he has two fully evolved Pokemon?"

"Pretty much," the man shrugged, "maybe the rest of his team isn't as good but it's better to be safe than sorry,"

"I know," Virah nodded, she wasn't planning on attacking him directly up front anyway, given how weak her team actually is.

"That's all I know about him sadly," the vendor said, then he paused, "but I guess I also know a good bit about the branch as a whole,"

"Tell me," Virah replied, if what the man knew was good, then she may have just lucked out in finding him.

"I know that they also sell rare Pokemon," the vendor said.

"That's normal," Virah nodded, she assumed that the Venusaur of Iolante must've come from the same source.

"Usually they don't sell them though, they… "rent them out" so to say," the vendor air quoted.

"Debt?" Virah asked.

"Debt." Nodded the man, "they offer young trainers around here rare Pokemon, get them into debt, and extort them for all they're worth, and when they could no longer provide the branch their monthly demand, they "take it back"."

The vendor shook his head, "it's a constant cycle that happens around here and no one's wisened up to it," he said, "they think that they can somehow cheat rocket and get out of the slums with their rare starter,"

"Iolante she…" Virah trailed off.

"Sex." The vendor said, "she was able to save up because she fucked the leader before Diego,"

"Ah," Virah nodded, she was a bit dumbfounded but that was normal… sort of. Maybe.

"It's because of the two of them working together that the Efrosin came into existence actually," added the man, "and through the years she got 4 rare Pokemons from him,"

Virah watched impassively as the vendor raised a finger, "one is her Venusaur, two is Alena's Charmander," two fingers went up, then four, "and three and four would be Vikentiy's Hitmon Chan and Hitmon Lee,"

That was interesting, "and where's the leader now?" Virah asked, rocket couldn't have allowed something like that to happen for so long, "is he still alive?"

The vendor laughed, "what made you think that?" He shook his head, "no, apparently the big man himself came here and ruined a large part of the area, you can see it for yourself too if you want, it's on the north eastern part of the slums,"

Virah got up, if this was the vendor giving her a chance to end the conversation, then she'll take it, she didn't want to know more about Team Rocket at the moment so backing down was an option that she'll take.

"Thanks for everything," Virah rummaged through her pockets, "do you want me to pay you or?.."

"No need," the vendor smiled, "good luck on whatever it is you're doing,"

Virah nodded, "thanks,"

It didn't take long for her to disappear from view and once she was back on the alleyway, she quickly scaled the walls to reach the fire escape.

Once she was back on the rooftops, she quickly ran for the north eastern part of the area.

Devastation.

That was the only word that described the state of the place. Debris from fallen buildings scattered everywhere, it was the only thing she could see no matter how far she looked, cracks ran across the ground, their jagged forms looked like tangled hairs from her view above the rooftops.

Virah didn't know just how far the damage reached but she didn't need to, because the message is clear; whoever is the boss of Team Rocket was powerful enough to ruin entire parts of a city.