Samurai Kanto

Originally posted April 13, 2024 (PF)

The actual first story for patchworks, everything else was retroactively glued onto the name. Based on the Woodblock Prints Merchandise from a few years ago.

Flute Player and the Battle on Silent Bridge

Hisui had once dealt with space time holes ripping up the delicate balance between human and pokemon.
This is a story that lacks that factor entirely. Rather, this is a story of anecdotal nature in the Kanto region. An observation log of a glimpse into an alternative world.

A flute that is said to instantly awaken any Pokemon. It has a lovely tone.

(Only those pure of heart can see the ones who once held the flute.)

A pair of merchants had traveled from the Johto region using the boat that was so graciously utilized in a way that had avoided angering the wrath of the yokai that traversed the sea. There were rumors of those that could destroy ships in single goes with their wrath and absolutely no way to prevent it outside of not going. But to not go would mean to not make money, and to not make money was to have a slow death sentence in the village. Even the small yellow rat that walked in a single file line alongside other beasts on the Kuchiba Port could easily ruin all their merchandise--not like the couple would know how, just that it could on a whim.

The seamstress who had made the clothes flinched back when one of the plant like yokai began sniffing their wooden dolls. "Oddish?" it chirped.

As it was, these creatures were to be avoided. And yet...

A large beast sat upon the bridge leading to their destination . It's snores rumbled the area with its every breath.

A groan emitted from her husband.
"You must be joking! We avoided all of these beasts just to end up with one in the way?"

A fisherman approached from the other side casually. He greeted them with a warm smile as the couple wallowed silently.

"Oh, you don't know? Silence bridge is known for this sort of thing happening. Don't worry, we've got an expert."

A tugging was felt on the sleeve of the seamstress. She looked down only to see a young boy in a kimono unlike hers. His hair was black and his eyes were a piercing red. On one side was a mouse like the one she had avoided on the port. In his hand he held a flute.

Her husband grew angry. "You're telling me that your expert is a *child?!* How dare you casually tug on my beloved's clothes!" The boy said nothing and only gestured for the two of them to move back. He pressed his lips to the flute.

What followed was a blur in her memory.
Lightning flashed. The slumbering beast had broken multiple pieces off the bridge. The boy had maneuvered in his geta as he avoided debris. The couple had stared in complete awe as a battle of destruction had reigned around them and the fisherman merely continued fishing as if this was normal.

As the smoke cleared from the gate, the boy approached the couple again.
He held something in his hands again.

"Apricorn." He held it out to the seamstress.

The seamstress turned in surprise. She pointed to the merchant cart.
"Oh, you mean Bonguri fruit? They're with our supplies too... I don't get it. How'd you do all of that?"

The boy mimicked a throw.

"Like this, then?" She threw the fruit.
To her husband and her shock, the beast had seemingly disappeared.

"W-where did it go?"

The fisherman who had greeted them before gave a chuckle. The boy said nothing and merely watched.
"Pssh. You brought the things and you don't even know what it does?"

The fruit had turned out to be slightly modified, she learned later. It was able to do something to shrink the things that she had feared for such a long time in her life.
But hers had failed.

The boy tossed a ball of his own. When it clicked, he released the beast and poked it in the stomach.

"Have you had your fill? Come along now."

Boys from Grassy Fields

Tokiwa Village was next to a forest and Mt. Shirogane. Past that mountain was the region of Johto which had proceeded to make a very interesting item using berries. In the camp were people of high authority surrounding a map.

"Trade can only be done between here and Guren island because the forest is full of too many yokai! All of them have different effects as well, how does anyone manage to keep this straight?! Our notes are useless!" The ranting man shoved aside the paperwork as it scattered over the table. An air of unease filled the other's minds.

The easy solution would be to find a way to get a messenger to the other towns or far worse, someone to climb over Mt. Shirogane and ask the Four Heavenly Kings, but to do so would be to admit defeat. To say, *we're sorry, lords of the Yokai, we were not strong enough.*

The tent flap lifted.
"Don't call them yokai. That classification is old news. We call them beasts these days!" A young boy arrogantly walked into the flap. The merchants stared at him. His hair was obnoxiously orange and he carried the feeling of radiating superiority.

"Monsters." The boy next to him said. The men stared at the two interrupters. This one stood with no movement aside from staring. The other boy stood with a smug look on his face as the tent flap rustled again and in came in a yellow mouse and a bird.

The boy who stood silently walked over to the papers that had fallen to the ground and began picking them up. The other launched into a spiel.

"We can classify the purple ones and spirits as yokai. The ones that have been tying up the messengers are of the insect type. The ones that are plant like are the nature ones."

"What of the... rat thing?" The mouse's ears flicked and it responded with "Pika?"

"Obviously he carries the power of the storm within him. Look at his tail!"
The mouse turned around to show his lightning shaped tail.

"The solution here is obvious. You need to properly care for the ghosts, find a fire monster or bird to handle your bugs, and do the same for the nature." The merchants stared as the boy paused for emphasis. "Or, if you're that concerned, try building a pathway through the woods!"

The boy with the deadpan stare began slow clapping as the lecturer bowed. There was a round of deep stares.

"Are you two trying to... sell your uses?"

The bowing boy got up with a quick "eh?!"

"Obviously not, I'm here to make a deal! Him and I are searching for an area to settle in and expand, and we need the permits. Me, being a genius, decided the easiest way would be to just get the permits and funding ourselves! "

The air went from cold to... slightly rancid. The men murmured amongst themselves and began soft laughs. The mouse's ears folded back.

One of the men spoke snidely. "Hmm? You wish to make a deal with us, do you now? But all I see are two children trying to play grown up!"

"What, of course not. We solved your problem, didn't we?! If you listen to me, then traveling to other villages will be easy!"

The response was a bark of a laugh. "Oh, so you really don't have anything here for us, do you."

His face grew beet red. The boy became flustered.
"Why you... one day, you'll rue the day you scorned the Orchid name!"

"Hmph!" He left the flap as the men began to laugh.

The two had wandered back to their field full of nothing but grass and a small tent they rested in. There was a long story involving the two of them, but for now, the most they could do was rest in the tent.

*It's nice and breezy today. Perfect for cloud watching.* The boy had patted on the grass as his friend had flung himself down with a scream of frustration.

The frustrated boy took a deep breath and sighed. "This is a nice place, isn't it?"

A murmur of agreement.

"We'll make a place here, just for the two of us and our monsters!" The other boy moved in slightly closer.

"We don't need anyone else if they won't take us seriously just because we're children! We'll do it ourselves, and if anyone objects, they'll take it up with me!"

Rumormongering

Rumors of a young girl haunting Mt. Shirogane ran rampant as the winter season approached. Even worse, said rumors involved her having the power to invoke yokai to fight for her. An investigation team went to traverse the mountain and never came back.
At least, that's what the rumors say.

"Why did you bring her here?!"

*She was having snowball fights with the monsters. It looked like fun, but then I beat her, so she followed me when I left her after she started crying.*

"Of all the... look, you, girl!"

"We're the same age! And I have a name!"

He sighed. "Doesn't matter. How good are you at paperwork? I finally negotiated with the merchants because they wouldn't get off my case about the wood we were using..."

She smirked. "I used to rob money out of all sorts of people on the road, and now you're saying I can do it officially? Woohoo!"

The lord slammed his head onto the table. His friend rubbed his shoulder as a gesture of "there, there."

"We're never gonna build the damn town!"

Explanation/Breakdown

A fairly simple AU based off some wooden art pieces that were sold as merchandise. Rather than an isekai'd protagonist it would follow an AU Red or an ancestor of Red as he goes through Kanto where they're still attempting to get the whole pokemon thing. I haven't played legends arceus so if there's any canon inaccuracies to the greater timeline that's on me. I'm not sure if it's their ancestors, a totally different AU that just happens to align with Hisui, so I just never gave them names to keep that part ambiguous. Japanese names for the locations because it would've been kinda weird saying Vermillion harbor, huh.

The first one was based on the silent(silence?) bridge artwork made by Hitoshi Ariga. Probably one of my favorite artists, I used to love his Megaman manga. I sure hope I used the right type of Japanese items, I was googling.

The lord that Red follows is Blue (Rival), the plot would be them attempting to build Pallet Town and not being taken seriously because they're children. Unlike Gen 1 Blue, this AU Blue tries to hold a part of arrogance but gets easily flustered. only shows this side to red. The ghost girl is meant to be Green (girl).

when your art block absolutely beats you up, you have to come up with some creative ways to get your ideas across for what people would look like. I was actually working on a different story when I wanted to go back to the kanto AU for a brief moment.

the end result was that i just ended up using characters from pokemon conquest and subsequent images from nobunga's ambition: ransei's picture scroll to get my idea across of "this is what i think they'd look like for this AU idea". It's clearly just images of Hanbei and Gracia, but please pretend that they're Blue and Green. Maybe one day I'll redraw them.

Anyways, once I finish framing the dialogue and getting a different image to use I'll probably post the next patchworks because I've been struggling trying to juggle all my WIPs because I have a problem where I keep juggling them instead of pointing at one and going "I'll finish you first." I like to post them when they're done, not leave them on a cliffhanger. This is why I only get one shots up.

This will probably be the defacto story of a past if I ever decide to brush up on talking about past content, or it's a fantasy samurai AU because I was considering writing a new follow up chapter where Misty's an actual fantasy mermaid.