13 Karate Master Koichi, Mr. Psychic

A/N: Cam makes a stop in Saffron on his way back from the Vermilion mission. After all, he's got time to kill, right? So why not check out that cool dojo...

-x-X-x-

The moment that the pink-haired Rocket Grunt steps into his dojo, Karate Master Koichi feels the eyes of every single one of his students fall upon him. He knows that it falls to him to deal with this, which is why he's already moving forward, but still… that sort of decision paralysis needs to be trained out of his men. If nothing else, they shouldn't be looking to him because they're afraid, they should be looking to him because they're disciplined!

The Karate Master can tell the difference, but now is not the time for him to dwell upon such things. After all, there's an existential threat to their dojo in their midst!

"Hooh-ha! Criminal scum! We've been warned about your sort! Hwah! You, Rocket, are not welcome here! Leave and do not return under any circumstances! Ha-yah!"

He doesn't actually hit or kick the kid. Not only is Karate supposed to be a disciplined physical activity to better yourself and your health rather than a violent weapon to be used against strangers, but the Rocket Grunt also hasn't actually done anything wrong besides walk inside. And those six Pokeballs on the kid's belt don't look like they're for show either… best not to get into it, really.

Instead, he plants his hands on the kid's shoulders, turns him around, and marches him right back out the door that he just came into. To his mild surprise, the Rocket doesn't actually resist. He walks right along until they're outside and Koichi lets go of him, at which point he just turns and stares blankly at the Karate Master.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Koichi squirms under the kid's gaze. It's not like he WANTED to have to kick him out or anything! Everyone deserved to learn Karate! Everyone deserved to learn the joy of training as well as training WITH Fighting Type Pokemon! But the kid… he was… well… circumstances forced Koichi's hand, at the end of the day. That uniform he was wearing marked him as a criminal, and the Karate Dojo had it tough enough as it was without associating with criminals!

… And yet, at the same time…

The kid is still standing there, staring at him, though he looks about ready to just turn and walk away since Koichi isn't making any other aggressive moves. Before he can leave, the Karate Master clears his throat and holds up a hand.

"Hooah! Hold for a moment, Rocket!"

Pausing, the Grunt continues to stare at him in silence. Koichi takes the chance… to bow low at the waist, his hands clasped in front of him.

"A thousand apologies for kicking you out! You must understand my point of view, please! Pokemon League policy dictates that we not associate with criminals whatsoever! If they found out we let you hang around, they would take away our Dojo! Hyaah!"

Chancing a glance up from his bowed over position, Koichi sees the Rocket still looking at him. He's not saying anything… and those dead eyes of his are a bit unnerving. Does he understand Koichi's position? Or no? Is he merely standing there in silent judgment of Koichi's kowtowing to the very organization that stripped away his Dojo's Gym Status?

Well, at the very least, the kid isn't walking away. Swallowing compulsively, the Karate Master slowly straightens back up, before clasping his hands behind his back and spreading his stance into a ready position.

"Ahem. However! I was thinking we could make an exception! Just this once! Hah!"

"… Okay."

Progress! Perking up, Koichi clears his throat again.

"Excellent! Then… listen up!"

He spends a moment gathering his thoughts, and then glancing around surreptitiously to make sure no one was listening. There was nobody nearby that HE could see anyways, so… so they should be alright.

"There is a house in this city! Hoo-ah! Down south, by the Pokemon Center! In this house, lives a bald man!"

The Karate Master's hands clench into fists behind his back just thinking about the man. His teeth grind together, before he continues his explanation.

"Goes by the name 'Mr. Psychic'! Hoo-yah! Stupid name, I know!"

Shaking his head in self-applied irritation, Koichi grumbles.

"This man… he is death to our Dojo, understand?! He gives out the TM Psychic! Hwah! For free! Hah! To anyone who asks for it! Argh!"

Unclasping his shaking fists, bringing them to either side of himself, the Karate Master uses every fiber of his discipline to avoid flying into a rage just thinking about it.

"With that damn TM… even the weakest Pokemon Trainer can knock out all of our Fighting Pokemon in a single hit! Bah!"

That fucking old man had been the bane of Koichi's existence for a long time. His Dojo had lost its Official Gym License because of that bastard. But maybe… just maybe there was a solution. It wasn't like Koichi or any of his students could do anything about it. They'd asked nicely, but Mr. Psychic had given them some bullshit answer about how… how their requests were foretold and foreseen to be rejected! Like because he'd somehow seen the future and seen that a future version of himself would reject their requests out of hand, he too had to reject their requests out of hand!

… Karate Master Koichi did not seem himself as a violent person. His body was NOT a weapon, it was a TEMPLE. But no individual had made him want to beat a fool bloody more than Mr. Psychic. Unfortunately, they couldn't do that. Even if they jumped the psychic bastard together and kicked his ass, he would just go to the authorities and they would be labeled as a gang, their dojo closed down once and for all.

And that was assuming he didn't use his damn psychic Pokemon to give them all brain aneurysms or something equally heinous or awful!

No, in the end… Koichi only had one choice. To consort with a known criminal, in the hopes that this Team Rocket Grunt could do what he and his students could not. It was low… lower than low truly, but the Karate Master was out of options. He would take this stain upon his honor, so his students didn't have to. And maybe one day… Kanto might just have a Fighting Type Gym again…

With that glorious dream in mind, Koichi lays out what he wants.

"I want you to go beat up Mr. Psychic, Rocket! Ha-yah! Make him stop giving out the TM Psychic to everyone who asks once and for all! Mmmmyah!"

The Rocket continues to stare at him. If the Karate Master had waited one moment longer, he might have gotten the response he was looking for… but Koichi is a bit frantic. He doesn't wait. He's already in too deep to risk the Rocket rejecting him now.

"If you do this for me, I can promise you a special reward… and my undying respect! Though you may be a criminal, you will hold a place of honor in my heart! Ho! What do you say?!"

"… Okay."

The Rocket gives his assent, turns, and walks away. As soon as he's not looking, Koichi's shoulders slump and he wipes his brow with the back of his hand. That kid… his energy was SO unfair. Like, holy shit what a tough negotiator! He'd completely fleeced the Karate Master for all he was worth! Not only getting him to promise THAT… but also his respect! To a criminal!

Argh! But if he came through for Koichi, he would truly have no choice. His honor dictated no less, even if he had been backed into this corner, and forced to associate with a criminal. He could only hope the Rocket succeeded…

-x-X-x-

A bead of sweat trails down the back of Mr. Psychic's neck. The bald old man trembles, as he feels IT approaching his domicile once more. The Oncoming Storm. See, Mr. Psychic really is psychic. With the gift of foresight, he's always been pretty good at seeing something, or even someone coming.

Like for instance, he knew there was bad blood between him and the Karate Dojo. Not only had they come by and asked him very politely to stop giving out his collection of Psychic TMs to everyone who asked, but he'd seen what happened if they ran into him late at night out in the city in a dark alley. Needless to say, they were not quite so polite.

He could defend himself, of course. His Psychic Pokemon were strong enough to handle a few martial artists. But if they got the drop on him, he would go down, and his foresight abruptly cut off after those times. What he was saying was… given half the chance, the so-called disciplined and 'honorable' sorts up in the Karate Dojo would kill him in a fit of pure emotional rage.

Knowing it would be a crime of passion did NOT make it any better. It was still his damn life on the line! So yeah, he hadn't fucking bowed down to them. No, he hadn't stopped giving out the Psychic TM! Fuck 'em! They were all a bunch of thugs and violent ne'er dowels who relied on their fists and feet instead of their minds! They just didn't know how low they were all capable of going.

That said… he wasn't just privy to the Karate Dojo's inhabitants. He had a pretty good read on most of the people in Saffron City… as well as the people who traveled through it. Most were nobodies. They barely mattered, and if they didn't interact with him in any way, shape, or form, then Mr. Psychic didn't pay them any mind.

But sometimes people with what Mr. Psychic called large 'psychic footprints' would come through town. They would shake things up in some way, or in the case of someone who stuck around like say, Sabrina or the Silph Co President, they would be pillars of the city, massive presences that effected the day to day lives of every living person in Saffron.

… And then there was the Oncoming Storm. He'd only felt it a couple times at this point. Not until more recently had he realized it was not an it, but an actual person. Traveling from Celadon to Cerulean, and then from Cerulean to Vermilion… and now stopping in Saffron for an extended stay.

He could feel the Oncoming Storm approaching… getting closer and closer… until finally, the door to his home opens, and a young man with pink hair and a Team Rocket Uniform steps inside.

Mr. Psychic freezes, as dead eyes filled with the promise of pain land upon him. His gift of foresight seizes up for a moment, before showing him exactly what the Rocket Grunt has in mind for him.

"W-Wait… we can t-talk about this!"

The Rocket had stepped forward, but he stops now. Mr. Psychic's mouth opens and closes as he sees a dozen futures in as many seconds. All of them result in a Pokemon Battle between him and this Rocket. But not just any Pokemon Battle. The Rocket has six Pokeballs on his waist. In the futures that Mr. Psychic sees, he only uses two of them, and only ever one at a time.

One is a Dragonair, massive and strong. That's the Pokemon that he brings out if Mr. Psychic refuses both to stop giving out his TMs and refuses to initiate battle himself. Then… then there's the other Pokemon. The one that the Rocket brings out if Mr. Psychic dares to initiate combat and brings out his trusty Kadabra.

This is how he knows there's more going on behind those dead eyes staring him down than meets the eye, because if he does THAT… then the Rocket sends out a Kadabra of his own. But not just any Kadabra. The Rocket's Kadabra makes Mr. Psychic's Kadabra look like a fucking CHUMP.

More than that… the Rocket's Kadabra knows Psychic. He knows it NATURALLY, from TRAINING. Mr. Psychic knows this, because HE has the entire collection of the Psychic TM to be found in the Kanto Region! There's not a single copy of it anywhere else in the entire nation!

If he lets this result in a fight, Mr. Psychic knows… he will be ruined. And so, dropping out of his chair and onto his knees, the bald old man sobs and begs.

"P-Please… h-have mercy! You… you're here for my Psychic TM, r-right? Here, just take it! You can have it!"

Of course, while it's true that that's what the Rocket Grunt is here for, that's not ALL he's here for. Sweating profusely under those dangerous, seemingly dead eyes, Mr. Psychic sobs out another breath.

"You… you want more! Alright, I'll g-give you more!"

He goes and gets a box of Psychic TMs and gives them all to the Rocket. But of course… that's not enough either. He can tell, still.

"PLEASE! I WON'T! I WON'T GIVE IT OUT ANYMORE! YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME! H-HERE! JUST… HAVE THEM ALL!"

To say he's built his entire identity around his psychic abilities and the TM Psychic would be the understatement of the century. He's literally CALLED Mr. Psychic. And yet… in this moment, it's all a liability. If he wants to survive this encounter, he can't cling on to a single bit of it. And so, Mr. Psychic tosses every copy of Psychic he has at the Rocket, until in the end, he has nothing left.

And only then, as he curls up into the fetal position on the ground and sobs like the broken man he's become, does he hear the sound of footsteps walking away, and his door opening and closing as the Rocket leaves him be.

The Oncoming Storm has retreated. For now.

… Lance and his government were right to treat Team Rocket as a public menace! They were all monsters, every last one of them!

-x-X-x-

When the Rocket spills what must be Mr. Psychic's entire collection of the TM Psychic onto the ground in front of Koichi's Dojo, the Karate Master can hardly believe his eyes. It's such a wild sight that he finds himself breaking his tried and true speech pattern for a second.

"H-Holy shit you actually did it!"

Of course, he then realizes what he's just said and self-consciously clears his throat before trying again.

"R-Rocket Hyah! Get those out of view! Then… come inside!"

He escorts the Rocket into his dojo, gesturing for his students to ignore him and his guest. It'll only be for a split second, really. The kid can't stick around… but he's earned his reward all the same. Reaching the back of the dojo, Karate Master Koichi crosses his arms over his chest and nods his head at the two Pokeballs on cushions sitting there.

"Pick one to be your own, Rocket! To have and cherish, and to exemplify your skill as a defender of Fighting Types everywhere! Haa-yah!"

He's well aware that the Rocket already has six Pokeballs on his belt… but Koichi would be lying if he said he didn't hope that the kid would actually use whichever he chose. But in the end, the Karate Master didn't dare put any conditions on this. He'd done what the dojo had failed to do all these years, and ended the threat posed by Mr. Psychic once and for all!

When the Rocket chooses Hitmonchan without a word, Koichi just smiles and nods.

"Good choice! Now! Go! And… I'm afraid, never return! Hah! But don't think we'll ever forget you and what you did for us, Rocket! Hyah!"

"… Alright."

And then the Rocket turns and leaves. Koichi watches him go, a strange feeling of pride welling up in his chest. Truly… truly there were good people on BOTH sides of the law…

-x-X-x-

A/N: I've always personally vibed with Hitmonchan WAY more than Hitmonlee. Wonder what everyone else thought back during your first run through Kanto? Was it a toss-up for you guys? Was it very obviously one or the other? Hitmonchan gets Elemental Punch Moves. Hitmonlee gets... kicks?

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Comments and Likes sustain me!

Also the story remains TEN chapters ahead over on my P atreon for early access!