Crobatman part 8: Beginning

Bruce yawned and opened his eyes.  He didn't recognize where he...oh, that's right.  He had rented a hotel room in Saffron, which was a fairly simple task.  The town had few tourists this time of year, and the campaign of terror had left the town almost visitor-free.  Bruce sat up on the side of his bed and surveyed his own meager landscape.  The room was in disrepair; the wallpaper was peeling, and there was a large stain on the carpet.  This was no place for a former Kanto champion, the son of a deceased Pokemon professor.
He stood up and walked to the bathroom, deftly avoiding the stain on the carpet.  The cold shower snapped him back to the harsh reality of his predicament.  On the one hand, he had finally found the limits of his Pokemon training prowess.  At this point, no one would fault him if he became a Pokemon professor and followed in his father's footsteps.  Of course, he also had to contend with the issues at hand.  Even when he was first battling through Kanto, Team Rocket had never controlled this much of the country, and now he had to deal with the Joker.  Something ate at his mind...how did he know the Joker's voice?
If he was going to help this town, Bruce knew that he had to hide his identity.  His father died because of his own public figure, and his mother had died because his fame.  His success in this latest venture would hinge upon his anonymity.  The only person who knew he had returned was Professor Oak, and he could be trusted to keep this secret.  However, he couldn't exactly take on Team Rocket or this Joker guy publicly without revealing his true identity.  Unless...
Bruce got dressed, released Pikachu from his ball, and headed out into Saffron, Pikachu following behind.  On his way to the hotel the night before, he had passed by Saffron's great Department Store.  At that time, he hadn't made much note of it, but today, he had much need of it.  Upon entering the building, the greeter at the door looked up, but said nothing.  In previous years, the doorman would have said something cheery in greeting, or at the least, warned him about health codes and keeping Pokemon in their balls, but nowadays, he was one of the few people in the city legally employed, and he didn't have to do much to keep his job.
Bruce walked directly to the store map.  His finger swept across the board until it came to rest on the clothes section on level 5.  He made his way to the elevator; it was out of order, so he had to take the stairs all the way to the top level.  In the once expansive store, he was able to move freely through the mostly empty aisles.  Bruce swept past the female attire, straight to the back, to the men's wear.  He grabbed a black leather jacket and 4 black t-shirts, a pair of black pants, and some snappy black boots.  He collected his items under his arm and headed downstairs to level 3, where adventuring gear was kept.
It had been years since Bruce had needed to visit this area of a Pokemart.  For the last two years of his traveling, he had lived in the wild, among the Pokemon he was studying.  During that time, he had constructed his own Pokeballs from Apricorns, learned of the healing powers of wild Berries, and even taught himself to sew.  And now, his knowledge was finally going to pay off.  He added a sewing kit to the stack of clothes he was carrying and headed back downstairs to pay.
Bruce headed towards the cash register, but stopped short.  There was no one at the registers.  In fact, he had seen no one else in the store, save for the door greeter.  Bruce wandered over to the sole employee.
"Hey, where is everyone?"
"Oh, they went home early.  Team Rocket's coming through in a few minutes."  He yawned.
Bruce was taken aback.  "You know about this kind of thing beforehand?  How can you be so calm?"
The greeter looked up.  "You're not from around here, are you?  Team Rocket comes by every Wednesday to take stuff.  They come in a big group; that's how I knew you weren't from Rocket."
Bruce sighed.  "So, who can ring me out?"
"Oh, go ahead and take it.  We've been out of business for a few weeks now.  We get very few customers, and the few employees that are left make all their money in the Joker's employ.  That's why Team Rocket ran us out of business."
"Hey, thanks, dude.  Hey, when do you think Team Rocket will be here?"
The greeter looked at his cheap watch.  "Oh, about 15 minutes.  Why?"
Bruce looked over his shoulder as he left the store.  "No reason.  Though Team Rocket may find a little...resistance this time."