Pokémon Warrior: Lost Adventures

The light of evolution was blinding to his senses. Inside the nest, the cocoons were liberally scattered throughout the trees. While the majority resided in the crooks of branches looking at the ground did little to shield his eyes. The silk orbs doted the ground as well and seemed to reflect the rising glow.

Heat generated by the rapidly changing beast added to white light. To Kenji, it was as if some great Guardian of the Flame was announcing itself as the forest started to steam. He could hear the cocoons crack and hiss, snarling at him for intruding upon their domain.

However, greater than the rays of light shining through the silk was the release of energy caused by such a sudden change in the Pokémon's physiology. The Pokémon were using their reserves of Type Energy to fuel their physiological change. While it might make them weaker, they would be better prepared to meet a threat in battle.

Alone, the power would be a boost to one's own cultivation but as a swarm evolved Kenji found himself bombarded by the leaking waves of energy. Not only that, but he could tell that the Type Energy was wrong for him. Instead of the soothing growth he was accustomed to, Kenji felt sharp blades and buzzing snarls threaten him.

Here, his damaged spirit helped more than it hindered. As compressed as it was, his spirit was small enough to avoid the brunt of energy being released into the surroundings. The cold still lingering in his bones further insulated him from the rampaging power. The little that managed to touch his body was too weak to inflict any true harm. Still, Kenji shielded his eyes and curled in on himself as he automatically started to compress his spirit. He would have collapsed fully if not for the sled gripped in his hands.

When he was finally able to see, Kenji looked around frantically. His eyes barely registered the hardened silk shells around him, except as a threat. Right now, he was standing out in the open with nothing to act as cover or hide him from the emerging Pokémon. On the sled, Sprout was beginning to wail in terror and Kenji knew he had to act quick before they were discovered. While it was difficult to believe that his presence alone was the cause of an entire swarm's evolution, whatever emerged would still see him as a threat.

Twisting his head around in a panic, a warped tree off to the side caught his attention. The trunk's abnormal growth created a small overhang with enough room to lay underneath. It was currently being taken up by a large cocoon but from a quick glance, Kenji believed it to be old. The silk was sagging places and it was split open slightly as if something had emerged from it. More telling, there was no residual light shining from it.

Jerking the sled behind him, Kenji raced over to the opening and fell to his knees. He reached in quickly, without regard to what else may be hiding inside, to grasp the pale ball of silk. His fingers easily gripped the cocoon and as he pulled, the silk came apart in his hands. He did not have enough time to remove the entire cocoon as it dissolved but he was able to pull out most of the sticky material. The silk clung to his hands as he turned around to snatch up the young Pokémon and roughly shove him into the open space.

Spinning back around, he picked up the sled and backed into the tree until it was leaning against the trunk. Dirt fell out of Sprouts planter and most of the contents of the sled fell to the ground. Kenji silently cursed their loss, for it exposed the frame of the sled more, but there was nothing he could do. Already, the evolved beasts were emerging with loud cracks and cries of freedom as the transformed creatures emerged.

Crawling backwards, Kenji huddled against Sprout as he watched the forest through the openings in the sled. He gathered enough plants that several were still clinging to the branches making up the frame and helped to disguise the sled. Later, he would have to take time later to better secure the valuable food to the wood frame.

If he survived that is.

Shoving aside the despairing thought, Kenji took several breaths to force himself to regain control of his breathing and inspected the surroundings. Crouched on the dirt ground and with most of his view blocked by the wood frame, he was only able to see a small portion of the Pokémon Nest. The evolutionary light had died down during his mad dash and now he could see a rough outline of the beasts inside the cocoons. They were visibly fighting to break out as the shadowed forms twisted around.

Peering at the closest silk orb, it was the size of his chest. Not the largest cocoon he has seen so far but larger than average. The cracking of the hard silk filled the forest and Kenji spotted a pair of long black antennae poke out of the cocoon. Quickly following those was a large bulb of chitin with bright blue eyes. As the beast unfurled its wings, Kenji was struck by the beauty of the Pokémon.

The clear eyes, so unlike the usual insectile compound ones, were a sharp contrast to the prominent colors on the bug's wings. The thin membranes were a blend of yellow, red, and blue panels, all bordered in black. They glistened in the sunlight, dazzling him further. As the large butterfly grew accustomed to its new form, it gently flapped its wings and lifted off to bob through the air.

The scene was replicated as far as Kenji could see. As the delicate seeming Pokémon gathered into a swarm, they chirped and squealed in an overlapping cry. Instead of the harsh and atonal buzzing that many bugs favored, the butterflies sounded soft and delicate.

While most Type Beasts were known and recognized by their powerful calls, a beast fresh from an evolution had difficulty in findings its voice. For their earlier stages, a Pokémon's first full cry was one of celebration and a sign that they were ready to begin training.

Now was no different, as the beast's squealed, chirped, and trilled to the world of their emergence.

As the swarm grew larger, Kenji pressed himself against the trunk. Distracted by their beauty, he was forcibly reminded of their numbers as more of the beasts broke free of their cocoons. Gripping the frame of the sled, he ensured that it would not accidentally fall over. The last thing he needed was to accidentally knock over the lean-to or otherwise attract the gathering butterflies attention. While they could be dazzling to see, a swarm of Type Beasts could easily turn on him.

One of the larger butterfly Pokémon rose above the swarm with gentle beats of it iridescent wings. The butterfly's colors were vibrant and stuck out from the majority of the swarm, making the others appear more muted and dull in comparison. While the creature was not the largest, the control it exhibited over its new form was apparent.

Even from here, Kenji could see tell that the creature was using its newfound affinity for the sky to manipulate the air around it. Each flap of its large wings moved it further that it should. More than that, however, was how easily the butterfly maneuvered around its brethren. While others were occasionally bumping into each other as they bobbed up and down or side to side, this one barely touched the others with its wings.

He was impressed with the skill that the Pokémon was employing and leaned in to watch what it would do. It was possible that he could learn from the Type Beast, even if the energy it cultivated was entirely anathema to his own specialty.

As the Pokémon continue to fly up, he grew confused at the beast's actions. The tree canopy was thick enough to catch the broad wings should it try to escape upwards, yet the butterfly was still rising as though it would make the attempt regardless.

The large bug let out a piercing trill that cut through the collective noise of the swarm.

Kenji winced at the and he could feel Sprout shudder behind him. The beast had imbued the cry with a trickle of energy to make itself heard. While not enough to harm anything, the cry was made unpleasant and it pricked at his ears like thorns.

When the Pokémon had the attention of the swarm, it started to rapidly beat its wings. Unlike the gentle waves of before, the harsh flapping of its wings threatened to blow it away. The butterfly quickly recovered and directed the wind away from it. A light breeze transformed into a powerful gust that tore at the surrounding trees. Loose leaves, branches, and even cocoons were picked up by the powerful wind.

The other flying insects were shoved aside by the wind. However instead of growing angry and fighting to stay in place, they joined in with excited trills of their own. The beasts started to beat their wings, throwing their strength behind the leading Pokémon. Together, the swarm empowered the gust into a storm of wind.

Eyes wide in fear, Kenji watched as the storm cut into the wooden trunks. Branches were shorn free and tossed about. He noticed older, healed cuts along the bark and realized that this must be a usual occurrence every nesting season.

Not even the Pokémon escaped unscathed. An unlucky few were unprepared for the strength of the wind and thrown aside by the gusts of wind. They wings frayed and tore as they were thrown into nearby trees before escaping. Others struggled but managed to hold themselves in place, likely using their reserves to do so.

Kenji was likewise affect as the air threatened to pull the sled out of his hands. Fighting against the wind, he dug his heels into the ground and held on. As the creatures' energy whipped up the air into a frenzy, it began to tear at his body. Small scratches opened up on his exposed skin but fortunately his leather was thick enough to endure the worst of their swarm's power. He would likely be bruised tomorrow but it was better than being ripped apart by wind.

Clenching his jaw, he kept the whimpers of pain from escaping. With his affinity for nature and after years of cultivating its energy, he was especially vulnerable to power that anathema to it. While plants reached for the sky, it was not their domain. Storms dominated, tearing up the land and ripping apart even ancient trees. While the rain that fell could be nourishing, the wind was a blade testing the will to endure.

With no aura and a damaged spirit, all he could do was ride out the storm and hope that he would not be amongst the trees to be felled.

Through the pain, Kenji forced himself to watch the swarm of butterfly Pokémon work. Only in a battle of war would he have been able to see so many Pokémon combine their aura and strength towards a common goal. While not every beast was as powerful or skilled as the leading butterfly, their collective effort combined to form a greater whole.

"Beauti!" the leading Pokémon cried out as it angled its body and wings towards the sky. The beast showed off its skill once more as it directed the storm of wind upwards to the canopy

Wide tree limbs were forced aside as weaker ones were torn free completely. The trees leaned aside for the swarm as it rode the storm of air through the opening in the forest cover. The beasts rushed to escape into the open sky before the wind died and cut off their exit. Kenji caught a short glimpse of the blue expanse before the tree branches settled back into place.

Now that he knew what to look for, he saw scars on the surrounding forest that showed were previous swarm had used a similar method to leave. The wounds were healing over but Kenji was experienced enough to pick out the damage. Discolored bark and erratic offshoots decorated the upper levels of the nearby trees

As he pressed his face against the bottom of the sled, Kenji glimpsed the insectile Pokémon that were either too slow or too weak to join the swarm. Some sought to repeat the skilled butterfly's performance but, alone, they were far too weak. Instead, they trilled sadly as they drifted away, confined to the forest floor.

His eyes followed their movements and he noticed that there were still butterflies struggling to emerge from their cocoons. An unfortunate few seemed to stuck, as he could see their cocoons rock and hear their trills of fear. The loud swarm must have drowned them out and the others were either unable or unwilling to assist.

Watching the struggling beasts, Kenji felt pity rise up in him. It was a sticky sap of an emotion that urged him to help. Even without the emotional appeal, he wanted to walk out and help remove the threads trapping them. His mother raised him to offer a helping hand and he knew how she would react in this situation.

Seizing hold of the emotion, he curled it into a ball and buried it.

While his mother raised him to be kind, his father taught him to be a Warrior.

Pokémon were not kind creatures when scared. Most often they reacted with violence, even if was just to enable their escape. Others would perceive the one helping as the cause of their pain and seek vengeance. A minor few were the kind to inflict their own suffering upon others.

Waiting, Kenji heard a chittering sound from a rocking cocoon. The sound was a marked difference from the scared trills of before. Instead of a shuddering cry, this was more akin to a grinding buzz.

He squinted at the stuck Pokémon, trying to perceive what the creature was doing. His spirit was too damaged and worn from his ordeal to reach beyond his body. Typically only mystics and trained Warriors were capable of extending their spirits from their bodies. Without an aura to greatly aid the process, he was confined to using his more mundane mortal senses.

Poking out of the silk was a black needle. It blended well into the background and was thin enough that he had trouble seeing the tip of it. Staring at the cocoon, it seemed as if the beast was using its probiscis to shred the cocoon. It was odd to see the silk part as if sliced open instead of pierced.

Looking around, Kenji saw several others break out of their trappings with a squeal of triumph. They crawled free with silk threads hanging from their small bodies and wings but, after a few flaps of their wings, were able to discard the cocoon remains.

Soon, another small swarm of butterfly beasts gathered but instead of attempting to escape to the sky they drifted off until all that remained were cracked and empty cocoons. Kenji waited longer in case there were any more late hatchers but no more Pokémon emerged. Several cocoons were still wriggling as the beasts inside struggled to free themselves, but he could see their movements slow.

He debated on whether or not to act but he already knew what he would do. Hesitating now was only going to delay him further.

Lifting aside the sled, Kenji sprinted over to the nearest still moving cocoon and began tearing at the threads. The silk was wet and sticky, clinging to my hands as he reached out. The butterfly beast must have felt him ripping at the cocoon for its struggles took on a newfound strength. When Kenji saw the probiscis spearing through the silk, he jumped back to avoid being struck and rushed over to the next cocoon.

For all that he moved as fast as he could, Kenji was only able to save three more of the trapped butterflies. He still ran to the over cocoons he had seen shake but no matter how much he tore at them, nothing emerged.

Kenji pulled away from the last orb with a heavy heart. As he did his best to wipe off the silk clinging to him, he silently scolded himself for the feeling. There was no reason for him to be so emotionally attached to beasts that he was not linked to or even familiar with. Despite what he told himself, Kenji found it difficult to stop.

He trudged back to Sprout but paused when he felt something brush his back. Turning around, he was greeted with close up view of a chitinous body and large scaly wings. A long probiscis was curled near its round body where stubby limbs stretched out as if searching for something to grasp. The wings were a vibrant hue dominated by yellow featuring specks of red and blue. However, the most eye catching were the large clear eyes. They were a bright blue with a black pupil, resembling a human iris, and shined in the light.

Kenji jerked back with yelp and shouted once more when his head struck the trunk of the tree behind him. The bark was rough and unforgiving, dazing him for a heartbeat.

The large butterfly flapped away at his sudden scream of surprise before drifting forward curiously while he recovered.

Kenji rubbed his bruised skull as he eyed the flying bug Pokémon. He briefly debated trying to scare away the creature but quickly dismissed it. The insectile beast was clearly acting with curiosity, with its antennae wildly waving towards him and seemingly gesturing with its stubby limbs. There was no indication that it perceived him as a threat or as something to eat.

Besides, scaring Pokémon was an easy way to end up on the wrong end of its claws.

Or wings in this case.

He glanced at Sprout to gauge his companion's reaction to the new Pokémon. The turtle beast was trembling but not excessively so nor was it warbling in fear. Perhaps some of the butterfly's intention was leaking into its aura. Kenji could of course sense nothing. Satisfied that the turtle did not think the other beast a danger, he turned his attention back to the curious butterfly.

It continued to bob in the air while inspecting him so he slowly lifted his arm towards it. Bug Pokémon were not known for their forgiveness of abrupt movements. Few beasts were, in fact.

The creature's large head twitched back and forth in order to better see him move. When Kenji's arm was near its flailing limbs, the beast quickly latched on. As the Pokémon crawled over his arm, he stifled a giggle at the tickling sensation from the tiny hairs brushing his skin. It form was hard yet soft as the sensitive hairs coating it were delicate but covered a chitinous shell. The creature's wings gently opened and closed as the Pokémon inspected him.

"A Greenleaf's greetings to you, great butterfly." Kenji said formally with a nod of his head. "I am Sato Kenji, son of the Warrior Sato Isamu, of Warlord Motonari."

The Pokémon mimicked his nod with a bob before continuing to crawled up his arm. Upon reaching his shoulder it performed a hopping maneuver that, combined with the beat of its wings, allowed it to reach his head.

He tilted his head up to try and obtain a look of the butterfly but he could only make out the creature's spread wings. He felt it move around slightly before settling down.

"Ah, another companion perhaps." Kenji wondered aloud. "Unfortunately, there is another you must ask before me."

He looked down at the turtle who had its stubby feet planted in the dirt. The beast was quivering in place, staring at the larger Pokémon in obvious fear.

Carefully kneeling, he kept his head even before slowly tilting it to look at Sprout. The beast had its beady eyes squeezed shut. Kenji reached out and gently started to pet it to help the scared turtle beast relax.

"Hey, it's ok." he comforted the Pokémon. "It's just a new friend."

The scared beast warbled at his words but refused to open its eyes. The butterfly Pokémon joined with trills of its own as it sought to comfort the younger beast. Despite the softened voice, the turtle only started to shake harder.

"Come now, they don't mean any harm." Kenji added.

He continued to pet the Pokémon as the Beautifly's trills died down. As his hands ran over the Pokémon's scales and felt the scars, he sadly surmised that this was a similar position for the young beast. Cowering in the soil while a predator attacked from above with no other way to defend itself.

Kenji's throat started to close up but he fought it with deep, steady breaths as he continued to murmur to the fearful Pokémon.

"Shhh. It's ok. I won't let anything harm you." he whispered.

After another minute of comfort, Sprout relaxed enough to crack open its eyes and peer at the large butterfly. This seemed to be enough for the other Pokémon as it fluttered down from his head to trundle back and forth in front of Sprout.

It seemed to Kenji's eyes that the beast was strutting as it crawled back and forth. The delicate wings were carefully positioned to always be on display and each limb was placed with purpose. The Pokémon squealed and chirped, flexing its probiscis without extending it.

The young turtle warbled in fear but did not retreat. The large butterfly did not move closer but it continued to chirp and trill to the other beast.

When Sprout started to pull away, Kenji leaned down and encouraged it to crawl up his arm until it bounced back onto his head.

"How about this, you two." he spoke aloud. "You Flutter, can stay up there or fly around and you, Sprout, can stay on the sled."

Standing up, he let the young beast stay in the dirt while he put the sled back together. Most of the fruits were torn free and thrown about the woods until they burst. Kenji scowled and cursed the loss of his food but it was better that the food was destroyed than him. As he righted the sled and refilled the planter, his eyes landed on the cocoons around him.

The empty, silk cocoons.

Striding over to nearest cocoon, Kenji inspected it closely.

The threads comprising it were rather thick, instead the familiar thin threads of Sewaddle or the soft fibers of Cottonee. He reached out and experimentally tugged on a loose thread. When he helped free the Pokémon, he was not focused on the cocoon beyond tearing it apart. Even then, the silk was already damaged by evolution and he was able to separate it. Grinning at the cocoon, his eyes passed around the woods once more and took in the abandoned silk. Moving around the forest, he picked up several cocoons and stuffed them inside the largest one before placing it on the sled.

The silk was firm yet pliable. He was sure that he would be able to soften the silk further to braid into a proper rope or even fabric. If not, the cocoons were still strong enough to hold any berries that he foraged along the way. He would just have to be careful not to stuff them too full or the bottom fruits would burst.

Kenji grabbed another large cocoon and began to fill it but froze when he spotted a shadow within the silk orb he was going to grab. Stepping forward slowly, he peered through one of the cracks splitting the large orb. He was able to make out a form that decidedly did not match the delicate butterfly that was currently flying around the trunks.

Instead of long, thin antennae these were short and stubby knobs colored in yellow stripes. The wings appeared ragged and torn while the body was a long oval colored in lurid purple.

Paling at the sight, he slowly back away from the cocoons until he was by the sled. Kenji remembered the swarm of butterfly beasts that emerged and realized that there were far more cocoons present than there were butterflies in the swarm.

He returned his attention back to the silk orb containing the strange creature. While the ones in his hand was pale and soft, the other was of the variety that hardened in a light violet hue. Kenji lifted his head to re-examine the woods and despaired at the sight. A little more than half of the cocoons he could see were of a darker hue and bore damage similar to what he observed so far.

Looking back at Sprout, he understood why the Pokémon was still fearful and refused to move from the minimal cover gained from the warped trunk. It also explained his terror when they emerged all at once as well as the fear he exhibited their path through the forest. If one version of the worms grew to be butterflies, then it was likely that the other evolved into a more hostile form. Perhaps some sort of defense mechanism to produce defenders for the still transforming worms.

Kenji set the second cocoon on the sled and picked up Sprout. He placed the young Pokémon into the planter box before picking the sled up by the handles. Studying the placement of the cocoons and the trees, he searched for a path that would keep him from nearing the violet silk orbs. With the sled dragging behind him, he was forced to take a more winding and circuitous route through the cocoons to avoid the darker ones. Anytime he neared a normal pale cocoon, Kenji would pick it up and stuff it inside another to add to the sled. Despite their large size, they were quite light and folded easily.

Fortunately, it seemed that the other Pokémon were deep asleep or still awaiting to finish their transformation for none stirred. There were several heart-stopping moments when the large butterfly Pokémon carelessly flew near the occupied silk but it did not seem to disturb them.

Weaving between the trees, Kenji kept a careful eye on the upper branches and forest floor. It seemed that he was nearing the edge of the hatching grounds, as the once numerous cocoons appeared less and less. When he began to see the pale, red worms Kenji grew more reassured and stepped faster in his eagerness to leave the Pokémon Nest behind.