The trees thinned as the dirt gave way to broken concrete. Shattered signs jutted from weed-choked sidewalks, and the air smelled of rust and old lubricant oil. This was Viridian's forgotten edge—where the League's reach dimmed, and survival had its own rules.
It had taken Kotami and abra two days to get here from deep inside the viridian forest. After he and abra teamed up barely any Pokémon were a threat to them. The occasional strong Pokémon couldn't get in reach of them as abra teleported himself and Kotami a few hundred meters away every time danger struck.
The first teleport had been quite discombobulating for Kotami, but after a couple of times he got used to it.
Well fed and rested as Kotami had gone through his rice rations and abra made do with found in the wild berries, they decided to stop at a spot close to the slums and observe.
Kotami had 'strategically' decided not to wash himself these days as he thought appearing dirty and disheveled would make him look like a beggar, thus better blending him self in to the slums.
As he recalled abra into his pokeball, the link felt more distant and faded, although he could still feel abra's presence in the pokeball.
As he placed the pokeball into his now empty satchel, he started making his way through the dirty streets, back hunched as he fakingly begged people passing through the street on the edge of the forest, for money.
Those people either shot him looks of disdain or directly insulted him with phrases like "get away, you trash" or "get out of the way you dirty brat". Some even got physical and shoved him out of the way.
After a while as Kotami approached a dark alley a group of filthy beggars suddenly charged from behind, tackling him to the floor as they started beating him.
"This is our spot, you bastard!"
"Don't you dare beg around here, kid!"
"If we see you trying to take our money again, you are dead!"
Some screamed while kicking or punching him.
"Okay, okay, just let me go brothers, I promise I won't do this again"
Kotami begged holding his face between his hands to shield it and curling up to avoid getting internal injuries, his satchel securely tied to inside of his cloth shirt as his belly pressed on it, making the gang unable to see or touch it.
"I will listen to you seniors from now on, I swear!"
"Please stop!"
After a while most beggars were satisfied and stepped away as a rugged and burly man came forward and said: "from now on all your earnings belong to the gang, you will get your fair share if you behave and obey me"
"Understood?"
"Yes boss!"
As the burly man smirked. his ego swelling as he saw the growing gang which obeyed his whims as he was the strongest and most charismatic beggar in the slums.
While the gang leader gloated, kotami's face still bearing traces of fear, relaxed a bit.
As Kotami stood back up his mind was calm and indifferent, unlike someone who had just gone through what he did.
With frosty eyes he looked at the leader from his corner vision and awaited the developments.
After the gang members told him in which place he should beg, he sat down and started imitating the other young men begging around him, asking for food or money to people who looked well off, but fearful of anyone holding pokeballs on their belts.
The day passed quickly and after the sun set the leader called them and the beggars quickly regrouped.
They gave away all that they had earned throughout the day and Kotami followed the others through the reeking streets, passing by shabby houses with tapered walls, worn down shops with half lit, broken and buzzing neon signs with kantonese writing and some industrial factories emitting black smoke from their chimneys.
After a while they got to an abandoned warehouse, the leader banged on the door, as the sound of feet shuffling was heard and a gaunt kid opened the door.
The kid fearfully looked at the gang leader, awaiting instructions.
"Our shift is done, you, go and call the others, it is their turn now."
As the leader commanded the boy, Kotami felt surprised that these beggars actually had such an efficient operation system with shifts. Some beggars begging during the day whilst the others slept and went out at night after the first had ended their diurnal shift.
As everybody started making their way in, the group of beggars already inside started quickly preparing to go out as they had woken up in a hurry.
After that, Kotami walked tip toeing around sheets and junk on the floor which were supposed to be the other beggars' 'sleeping spots' and settled in a dark, damp corner filled with bugs crawling on the ground, as the leader had gone out, together with some underlings, with their earnings of the day to buy some stale bread for everybody's meal.
Kotami quickly 'cleaned off' the bugs and spiders by stepping on them and proceeded to lay down and wait for the leader to be back with their food.
After approximatively a quarter of an hour, the leader and the minions came back with their arms clenched around loaves of bread.
A minion started slicing the bread with a rusted knife and handed it out, since kotami was a new entry he got it last and only got one thin slice for his troubles.
Sighing, Kotami munched down on the hard, old bread and sat down on his 'claimed ground'.
After he was finished he layed down exhausted and beaten up ,as he went to sleep on the bug blood smeared floor clutching his pokeball tightly even as he slept.