Chapter 267 - 267: Night Shopping
Midnight.
Slateport City, Hoenn region.
After a nap, Cain freshened up a bit and left the hotel, heading straight to Slateport City's black market.
The Pokémon League in the Hoenn region doesn't exert as much control as in Kanto and Johto. Because of this, although Slateport City's black market isn't explicitly within the city, it's practically the same.
An area was designated exclusively for transactions, where chaos reigns, and you can find all sorts of people.
Team Rocket, which dominates underground organizations in Kanto and Johto, has barely managed to gain a presence in Slateport City's black market. They've only opened a small shop to have a minimal involvement in underground business.
The fear of Team Rocket has led Hoenn's underground organizations to constantly clash with each other, but when external forces try to intervene, they all unite against the enemy.
That's why, so far, Team Rocket hasn't been able to fully enter the Hoenn region. This is one of the main reasons why the Trial Island was activated: Team Rocket has very little influence outside Kanto and Johto.
Although the League doesn't exert strong control in these areas, it still has more power than Team Rocket. If things continue like this, the gap between Team Rocket's strength and the League's will only widen.