The year is 1865. The country of Kanjoh, alongside its Hoenn and Hisui territories are plagued by powerful creatures known as Pokémon. These terrifying creatures exist all over the globe, and for the people of Kanjoh, they were once the only threat to the people of the country. Now that is no more. In the summer of that very year, vessels of war were spotted upon the horizon of the Cerulean beaches, belonging to western powers.
The Galarians, the Paldeans, and especially the Unovan, seeking fortune and resources from the island nation. Carrying cannons and black powder rifles, the people from the west demanded the people of Kanjoh give into their demands to open up the isolated country to trade and prosperity. Many citizens feared the power behind these factions, but they held hope, for the mighty samurai clans from all across the region banded together, under the banner of the Shogun, de facto leader of Kanjoh, Kamado.
Though the samurai families were able to push back against those who wished to colonize them, their leadership would soon crumble. A year later, Kamado left north to Hisui with many of the samurai warriors. Scattered and leaderless, the people of the Kanjoh grew anxious, fearing of being invaded from the eastern waters once more. Seeking to replace the leader who left them on their own, the Region of Kanto was formed, splitting off from Johto, who staunchly believed in Kamado's right to rule.
It is now summer of the year 1868, and the former Kanjoh region is at the brink of civil war. Tensions are high, peaceful negotiations are nigh impossible, and in the middle of it all, a certain young man, living in the quiet woods of Viridian Forest, is about to be dragged into a life he would've never been prepared for.
"Noon already, huh?" Ash said to himself, peeping through the window of of his tiny log cottage. "Well, better get to it..."
Fetching his katana, gifted to him by his father, Ash left the house, making his way to the creek south west of his home.
"Come Charizard." Ash called to his friend, the tamed Pokémon napping in a bed of rocks, shielding the brush from its fiery tail.
Coming to the creek with a bucket in hand, Ash drew water from the stream. Fixing a crease in his worn and torn Yukata, Ash peered into his reflection in the water to study his face. Suddenly, he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him. Giving the signal to Charizard to be on guard, Ash unsheathed his Katana. Out from the bushes was something Ash would've never expected. It's was a young woman, about in her late teen years, same as himself. Her skin was noticeably dark, something Ash never saw before.
Noticing the tattered rags she wore as clothes and her bruised arms and legs, Ash could tell this poor girl had been running for a long time. Sheathing his blade, Ash approached the girl.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked, only for the girl to step back, her face wrought with fright.
"She looks nothing like the villagers from Viridian that I've seen..." Ash thought to himself. "Wait..! Is she one of those foreigners I've heard about?!"
Before he could ponder that thought any long, more rustling came from the brush behind her. One look at the girl's face, one etched with dread and despair, Ash could tell that something, or someone, was hunting her. Ash wasn't too sure on what to think about foreigners, given the villagers who've shared their disdain for them, but Ash couldn't bear to see a poor girl be hunted down like an animal.
"Come here, it's okay..." Ash said to her in hushed, gentle words, peeling away some branches of a nearby thick bush. "Quick, in here..!"
With little remaining options, the girl nodded in gratitude, hiding herself in the bushes, as the footsteps grew closer, Ash could tell this was not one single thing chasing her, but an entire hunting party. Turning his business back to the river, Ash heard the footsteps of roughly 3 men.
"You there. Peasant." The voice demanded. "We're hunting a fugitive that was spotted fleeing into these woods. She's a young lady, skin as dark as dirt, about the age of a teenager. Have you seen anyone of that description?"
Turning to them slowly, Ash got a look at all of the men. They were a group of ronin, wearing tattered straw hats and wearing pure black yukatas. Armed with bows and katanas, Ash also noticed they had a Houndour with them, most likely their means of tracking the girl.
"No sir. I've live in these woods, and know them like the back of my hand. If someone like that came through here, I'd know." Ash responded, letting the 'peasant' title slide.
"We know for certain she came through here. You know the rule of law. Any persons harboring those filthy foreigners will be put to the sword." The man threatened, his hand now resting on this hilt of his katana.
"Of course, sir. I understand the rule of the Gomi Coalition well enough. We cannot suffer the lives of those who wish to trespass onto our lands." Ash said. "But as I said, I've not seen anyone in these woods for months, let alone the person you mentioned. You're actually the first people I've seen in a while. Why don't you stay a while longer, hmm? I can make you some tea back at my home?"
"Ah, forget this backwater country hick, sir!" The man behind him exhaled. "That damn woman could be getting further away from us. Besides, we had other orders to convene with that man anyways."
"Tch, very well." The leader of the pack scoffed, making his way to leave.
As the group left however, the Houndour they had in their company began sniffing the air, as if it had picked up the scent of its prey. As it's attention turned to the bush the girl was hiding in, her breath stifled, Ash discreetly readied his blade, primed to silence the cur if it alerted its masters.
"Come, beast!" The man commanded the hound Pokémon, bringing the Pokémon away from its target.
As the group left, Ash finally was able to exhale, checking to make sure they left before turning to the bush he smuggled the young woman into.
"You're safe now." He said, extending his hand on to help her up. "Are you okay?"
"You...saved me...why..?" The young lady asked weakly before keeling over.
"Let me take you to my home first. I can help treat those wounds." Ash offered, letting the girl rest herself on his shoulder as a crutch.
As day turned to dusk, they duo were now safely in Ash's cabin, with the young man beginning to apply healing ointment on the cuts and bruises she had.
"That should do it for the healing solution. Now I just have to put on bandages." Ash said, grabbing some linen wrappings from his trunk.
"Thank you..." The young girl said weekly, her injuries still hurting. "Those men said you folk don't like foreigners. Why did you save me anyways?"
"Felt like the right thing to do, is all..." Ash shrugged. "I figured you were needing more help than they did. Only felt right to help buy you some time. Say, what's your name anyways?"
"You...want to know my name..?" The young lady mouthed, as if she couldn't believe the words she heard. "Nobody's ever asked me my name before..."
"Why's that..?" Ash asked.
Pausing for a moment, collecting the courage to speak, the young lady finally spoke up.
"I'm an escaped slave. I was brought here to this country on a ship with a vile, evil man. I finally saw the chance to escape, and so I ran, anywhere, just not there." She began to say. "My name is Iris. Thank you again for saving me..!"
"Iris... That's a beautiful name." Ash smiled as he continued to wrap bandages gently around Iris' arm. "I'm Ash."
As night drew, Ash allowed Iris to stay the night at his cottage, offering his tatami mat to let her sleep, as well as the wild beetroot stew he made from the scraps he was able to find in the wild. Giving his new guest an old kimono left behind by his diseased mother, Ash smiled when he found it matched her size.
"You live here, all by yourself?" Iris asked.
"Its not an easy life, but it's my life." Ash replied. "Still, I have a lot of problems working the land. Most of the food I eat is just crap I find growing in the wild, I'm lucky if I find anything edible that the Pokémon haven't beaten me to. I can't work the land for shit, not like my mom, anyways."
Pausing for a second, Iris thought of an idea.
"I might be overstepping, but could you allow me to stay with you?" She asked desperately. "I know how to farm, and I'm a pretty decent cook, too! I can help out with that kind of thing if you can let me stay. I promise I won't be a bother to you, sir! Just please! I have nowhere else to go, not with those men after me!"
"Well, I honestly was getting lonely out here, with just me and Charizard." Ash pondered. "You have a deal! Feel free to stay as long as you like!"
"Thank you so much, sir!" Iris warmly replied. "By the way, that Charizard. I've hardly ever seen a Pokémon that doesn't attack of flee from people on sight. How on earth is a creature like that tamed?
"Oh that big oaf? I found him when he was just a little Charmander, hiding from the rain. I nursed him back to health and I guess he just wanted to stay with me." Ash told her. "Hey, I guess that he's kinda like you, in a way."
Realizing that wasn't too far off from the truth, Iris gently giggled from Ash's words, with the young man sharing in her laughter. All of the warmth between the two was cut short however, by the sound of voices in the night.
Knowing that people seldom tend to venture into the woods at all, least of all at night time, Ash suspected the worst and feared the hunting party returned. Blowing out the candles lighting his cabin and peering out the window, Ash noticed a group of four men approaching the building. Ash ducked down, fearing he was spotted. Looking out his back window, Ash signaled to his Charizard to retreat deeper into the forest, fearing that if he fought, the entire forest would go up in flames.
"Damnit..!" Ash hissed under breath, readying his Katana before turning to Iris. "Keep silent..!"
"Its as that peasant boy said, sir. He really did live out here in the sticks." The voice Ash recognized as the pack's leader said.
"It doesn't matter. Our matters we discussed earlier about the Watarugumi cannot be overheard. These documents I've 'repossessed' will bring and end to Kamado's rule, and the Dawn of a new age for your Gomi faction will rise like the sun." A voice said in the darkness. "Burn it down, and then escort me to Viridian Village. I can take care of things from there, and with this, you may even flush out that foreigner you believe to be hiding in the woods."
"Yes sir!" The pack leader said. "You heard him, beast! Incinerate that cottage and the woods around it!"
With a bark of affirmation, the Houndour let loose a deluge of flames from its mouth, engulfing the wooden house instantly.
"Shit!" Ash screamed, stepping back as the fire began to spread into the house.
Turning to face the window at the back of the house, Ash guided Iris through the window, only after that did he grab what little else he could before the roof began to collapse.
"Stay low!" Ash ordered Iris before turning around the back of his home, sword in hand.
Facing down his foe, Ash noticed the three hunters had already gone deeper into the forest to spread the fire further. The one who seemed to contact the hunters, however, remained, watching as the glowing embers consumed Ash's home, destroying all it touched, his body lit up in the glow of the orange light. Wearing a silk blue yukata, the man clearly was a man of significant standing. Clutching his sword at his waist, the man readied himself.
"You bastard!" Ash screamed, clutching his sword in anger.
"I know who you are, boy." The man's said, slowly unsheathing his weapon. "I'm Falkner, proud defector of the soon to be extinct Watarugumi. I was on a mission to the east to deliver some very special papers to the head of the Gomi Coalition, but I'm sure my prize will be even greater if I bring them your head, as well."
Standing firm, keeping his stance at a guard, Ash shuffled to the side, ready to strike at any moment.
"I don't know what any of that is, nor do I care. You just burned my house down." Ash said with cold sternness. "Prepare yourself. The only thing you'll be meeting is the afterlife."
The two stared each other down, several dozen feet from each other. As the glow of fire reflected in their gleaming blades, Ash and Falkner waited with baited breath to see who'd make the first move. Falkner charged, his stance as graceful as a bird in flight. Ash raised his sword to counter, blocking the strike from above. With swords locked, Falkner ran his sword along the curve of Ash's blade, hoping to break his guard.
Back peddling from the attempted strike, Ash went for a grazing strike, slicing at Falkner's shoulder, but with not enough force to deal a meaningful blow.
"Come now, is that all?!" He taunted Ash. "I know you can do better than that!"
Charging at Falkner, Ash clutched his sword's handle with both hands, going for a wild, obvious strike from above, with Falkner blocking easily. With one hand on his katana, Falkner reached for his tanto knife to skewer Ash's stomach.
"Wide open!" Falkner grinned sadistically.
Right as he prepared to plunge the knife, a blast of wind sharp enough to slice flayed Falkner's back, forcing him to recoil. Seeing his opportunity, Ash took his blade and with a sharp, precise swing, Ash cut clean through Falkner's left flank, his blood gushing from the wound. As the man collapsed on the forest floor, bleeding from his mortal wound, Ash turned to his companion.
"Took your sweet time, huh Charizard?" Ash asked his partner. "Nice Air Slash!"
"You...coward..!" Falkner murmured, coughing up blood. "You have no honor..!"
"You burned my house down and threatened my life. You don't deserve and honorable death." Ash scoffed, wiping the blood from his blade before sheathing it.
"Just like those low life Watarugumi..." Falkner weakly uttered, his vision going dark. "You have...no idea what you...got involved in brat..."
Kneeling over his enemy, Ash rummaged through Falkner's pockets, finding a scroll of parchment.
"So this is what you were talking about?" Ash asked while he still knelt over his opponent. "You'd burned down my home and this forest all for this little paper?"
"Give...it back!" Falkner muttered through his coughing, grabbing Ash by the wrist to prevent him from opening it. "The likes of you...don't...deserve to read tha..."
As Falkner's grip weakened, Ash shook off the man's hand from his wrist. Turning to see if Iris was ok, he brought her over to his side. As the two watched as Ash's house finally burned down to its foundation, Ash looked back at Falkner to see that he had already passed away.
"I have no idea what that man was going on about, but there better be an answer for what he did in this here scroll." Ash said, his fingers reaching to remove its seal, all before a voice called out.
"That traitor was right about one thing. That's for Watarugumi eyes only." The voice said.
Turning to see who spoke, Ash noticed a man and a woman wearing a silk yukata and kimono respectively. Adorning them atop their clothing was a purple haori, its decadent color something Ash had never seen before.
"Who are you?!" Ash asked, sword ready.
"We're here for that, actually." The man pointed to the scroll in Ash's hand.
"You forget yourself, First Captain. Let us introduce ourselves properly to this young man." The woman spoke. "It's the least we can do, considering he just saved our group from a serious snag."
"Wait a minute..." Ash muttered to himself. "If you're here for this scroll, then that means you are..!"
"Yes. I am Claire, Acting Commander of the Watarugumi." Claire introduced herself. "Thank you for dealing with our traitorous former Fifth Captain, Falkner.
"And I'm Brock, First Captain of the Watarugumi!" Brock smiled. "You know, Acting Commander, you saw this young man's moves as I did. Wouldn't he be perfect?"
"Perfect for what?" Ash asked.
"As long as you return that scroll to me, I assure you we can fill you in on that." Claire replied with a stoic calmness, holding out her hand gently so Ash may hand it over.
Reluctantly handing over the document, Ash began to ask questions.
"First of all, what the hell is the Watarugumi? Secondly, why did this man burn down my house? Lastly, just what the hell is going on here?" Ash began to ask before realizing that the fire surrounding the area was put out. "And since when did we not have to deal with a burning forest?"
His last question was answered immediately as a Dragonair descended from the sky, landing beside Claire.
"Thank you for putting out the fire, dear." Claire thanked the Pokémon.
"Wait, you befriended a Pokémon too?" Ash asked.
"Yes. That's probably the reason why Brock here said you'd be perfect. Claire said as she petted her Dragonair. "Your partner Charizard and your swordplay are extraordinary."
"Perfect for what?" Ash asked, more confused than anything.
"Ash, how would you like to join the ranks of the Watarugumi?" Brock proposed.
Author's Note: Hello once again, dear readers. YaboySteven back again with a brand new fanfic idea, using Pokémon characters and centering them around the Meiji restoration period of Japan. Thought of this a while ago, but I finally put it into words. Of course, this is purely experimental on my end. I wished to make a story purely focused on the story telling aspect rather than the smut.
With that in mind, naturally, this FanFic will have little, or more likely, no smut involved. If that's not your cup of tea, I understand completely. If this, by some off chance, does manage to gain some sort of following, I may consider continuing this into a story. Until then, it will remain as this experimental one shot for now. Feel free to tell me your opinions of it I. The reviews. My other fanfics you enjoy are also in the works, and will be updated soon. Hope you all enjoy, many hope to see you in the reviews. Happy reading!