Waking up was a slow experience for Kenji. He vaguely remembered tossing and turning in effort to find a comfortable position before falling back asleep. The fever dreams were a vivid blur in his mind, ranging from terror to despair. Eventually, he woke for the final time.

He looked around blearily from the dirt floor he found himself on. There were strange shapes nearby that slowly resolved into a small pile of berries. Sunlight cast the shelter in shadow, the large tree and rock providing him cover from the heat.

Pulling himself up, he groaned with the expectation of the cramps and aches that plagued him for the past several days. To his surprise, not only did he not feel such pains but, he felt far better than he had since his arrival in this unfamiliar forest. His muscles were loose and limber, with the strength to use them.

Grabbing a fruit, Kenji started to eat slowly and then with an increasing vigor as his appetite returned. The first several bites were small until he started dig into the food. Only after he was halfway through did he stop to wonder where it came from. His memories of the time after the glade were hazy and descended into a thick fog that he could not pierce. Still, he was sure that did not stop to forage for food let alone pile it up before falling to sleep.

Taking stock of himself, Kenji quickly discovered the plant wrapping around his hand. Despite what he expected, there was no pain originating from the limb nor any pain from the rest of his body. The blisters forming on his feet where well on their way to being healed. The only fatigue he felt was a weakness of spirit. As if he wanted to simply lay down and stay there. Even so, it was weakness that Kenji found he could push through.

Having finished his late morning meal, he stood up into a crouch and left the confines of his shelter.

Immediately, Kenji was greeted by Sprout's excited chirps. The young Pokémon was buried in the soil as he soaked up the sun's rays. The beast wiggled in obvious pleasure at seeing him, lightly shifting the dirt around his shell.

Unable to help himself, Kenji found a smile take shape. One that he did not have to force or struggle to maintain. A smile that came easily and naturally.

Like a dark cloud crossing the sun, the same smile fell away and Kenji felt guilt curl in his chest. How could he be happy after everything he went through? After everything that he lost?

Shamed, he turned away from the turtle. The memories, and darker thoughts, threatened to overwhelm him. It felt as though he were on the edge of pit and he forced himself to move.

To help distract himself, he began to push himself through the Warrior stretches that he conducted since he was a child. Not only was he able to perform more than the few that he found himself restricted to these past few days, Kenji was pleased to discover that he was nearly able to finish the exercises. To further test himself, he conducted a simple kata that was aimed at preparing the body for the special techniques exclusive to Warriors.

The movements strained his bones and pulled at his muscles as he worked up a sweat through the rest of the morning. Excited by his progress, Kenji remembered the faint fever dreams that plagued him.

Particularly the winged orb that cared for him.

The thought of some being or creature caring for him without his knowledge or even awareness of the act unnerved him. It proved to him that he was defenseless and completely at the mercy of others, beast or otherwise.

Wiping the sweat from his face, Kenji turned to face his companions.

At some point, Flutter had returned and was currently resting on a nearby branch. However, it was Sprout that intrigued him most. For during the course of his exercise, Kenji could not help but notice that the young Pokémon was attentive in following his actions.

"Would you like to join?" he asked seriously.

The Pokémon cocked his head with a small warble. It was clear he did not understand what Kenji was saying.

"Well come on." he said with a gesture, waving the young beast forwards.

Sprout climbed out of the divot he dug in the ground and trundled towards him. As he did so, Kenji ruminated over how to actually train the Pokémon.

The beast was too young to perform the more arduous training exercises he remembered his father's Pokémon conducting. Not to mention, even if he was, Sprout was an entirely different beast. The Pokémon would be completely unable to move as his father's partners did.

Meaning that Kenji would have construct his own training regime.

The though excited him almost as much as it depressed him. It was his father's duty to pass down methods and techniques honed over generations. As it would be his duty to pass down to his son and so on. Even his mother, despite not being an official Warrior in the kingdom's army, would have special techniques to give to him.

Tears pricked at the corner of Kenji's eyes. He furiously rubbed them away before they could fall. Inhaling deeply, he shook his head and stared at Sprout as the Pokémon stopped in front of him.

The beast had a shell that promised to become as sturdy as a stone and perhaps a bite to match. Sprout already had an inclination to pull into his shell, even if it was too small to do so properly.

That would be a good start, he decided.

"Sprout, pull into your shell." Kenji ordered.

Instead of doing so, the Pokémon stumbled closer with an excited chirp.

Kenji sighed. Perhaps this was going to be harder than he thought.

The sun passed slowly in the sky as he continued in his attempts to train the young beast. Kenji managed to convince the turtle Pokémon to withdraw into his shell several times. The only issue was that it was not guaranteed. Still, it was progress.

"All right, Sprout. That's enough for now." Kenji told the Pokémon.

The Pokémon warbled at him tiredly. The simple practice of pulling into his shell was more exercise than he has seen Sprout do in the entire time they have traveled together. If it was not for the beast's size then he would assume that the Pokémon had recently hatched.

Sitting down in the dirt, Kenji patted the ground in front of him. When the little beast started to weakly paw at the dirt, Kenji helped him dig up a hole deep enough to plant himself in. When he was settled in, Kenji lay his legs over each other and settled his hands atop them.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"To begin, you must clear your mind." he started.

Kenji followed his own instruction. He took all the thoughts and worries that plagued him, his doubts for his survival, the memories haunting him, and let them drift free. Sprout stayed silent and Kenji did not open his eyes to see how the Pokémon was faring.

"With the mind clear, allow yourself to focus on what you're feeling. The sun on your skin-scales- as it warms your body. The soil beneath your limbs. The wind as it blows through the trees."

He paused as he spoke, taking a moment to feel the world around him.

"Within each aspect of the natural world exists a powerful energy. One that you can draw into yourself."

Turning his focus inwards, Kenji felt the despair more clearly. The shadows clinging to him rushed to forefront as he sensed for his spirit. Where before he beheld a small garden, now nothing but dark, stamped ground remained. His aura was nonexistent, as there was no Energy to bring it to life. His spirit was crushed and buried, a seed unable to sprout.

Turning his mind aside, he instead reached for the world around him.

In his homeland, the energy would be specially cultivated in quiet gardens and expansive groves. There, the Type Energy would be a near physical thing. Back in the rose Pokémon's glade, he could sense it in the vibrant plants the thorny beast grew.

Here, it was so faint it might as well be nonexistent. Nevertheless, he endeavored to open himself to the nature-aligned energy. He was but a seed waiting for the right moment to sprout. Right now was not that moment but he could still strengthen himself, nourish the land that was his body and feed his spirit until it was ready.

When he began to feel the strain of cultivating, the difficulty in focusing and the call of sleep, Kenji slowly pulled out of his meditation. He did not abruptly close his spirit like one would a door. Instead he imagined a flower folding into is petals until the next sunrise.

When he was ready, Kenji opened his eyes and looked at the Pokémon in front of him. He was surprised to see that Flutter had drifted closer at some point. The giant butterfly was slowly flapping its wings, perhaps feeling the wind as it blew. He was glad that the creature was joining him, for the Pokémon felt all too distant during their journey together so far.

He was not sure he would offer the beast a link if the chance arose, or if the butterfly would accept it. A link was a bond deeper that ran deeper than blood. That the Pokémon was a beast of the skies and a bug would make it all the more difficult and limited.

Meanwhile, Sprout was seemingly asleep. The turtle's breathing was breathing so low, with great pauses in between, that he might as well have been a plant.

Shaking his head, Kenji remembered when he began meditating. The quiet garden with a pleasant breeze was enough lull anyone to a nap, let alone a young boy. He stood up quietly so as to avoid disturbing the two Pokémon.

Flutter's antennae twitched at his movement but the beast did not move further.

Moving away, Kenji circled the shelter. He inspected the rock and living tree critically before turning his eyes to the forest around them. While it was not the best shelter he could think of, it was one of the better ones he has encountered so far. They were near the river and none of the trees bore any significant territorial markings that he could find.

Some time to recover would be nice, instead of trudging on day after day. Not to mention, having a base to return to would be important if he was going to be stuck in the forest longer than he feared. He would be able to store food, craft a better sled and maybe a weapon or two in order to defend himself. Take time to prepare for a long trek instead of simply surviving as he's been doing.

The more Kenji thought about it, the more he found himself favoring the idea of creating a permanent shelter. It would allow him to better scout the forest around him and perhaps even create others that he could escape to if necessary.

Humming softly, Kenji returned to the shelter and found that Sprout had shifted to follow the sun. Flutter was nowhere to be seen, likely having left to seek out more nectar. He would have to join the Pokémon in foraging soon as his food supply was getting low.

"Now what to do first? A door?" Kenji muttered to himself. "A door."

Grabbing his sled, Kenji carefully removed his remaining food and gather supplies. The fruit, wrapped in the stems that still carried them, were placed in the back of the shelter and on top of a thick piece of wood he found nearby. Maybe later he could take them down to stream and wash them but for now simply keeping the berries off the ground would have to do.

The vine ropes and coils of silk were placed closer to the large opening, more so that he could have room to lay down at night. The cocoons he decided to hang from the tree growing above. If he squinted, Kenji could imagine that he was surrounded by paper lanterns. Already, his newfound refuge was beginning to feel like a home.

A home that he desperately wanted to escape from.

Kenji shook his head to dispel the negative thoughts. He would grow, he was growing to overcome this challenge. He would emerge from this unfamiliar forest a changed person.

"A Warrior." he whispered to himself.

"I will become a Warrior." Kenji promised.

With his sled cleared off, Kenji dragged it to the river. The walk was longer than he would have liked but soon he was wading into the water. The riverbank was mostly lined with rocks but it was the bottom was where his concerns lay. While the moving water kept most of the river clear and free of dirt, it was slow enough only the riverbanks were rocky. Diving beneath the surface, he anchored himself to the rocks on the riverbed as he scooped handfuls of mud free.

Breaking through to the surface, Kenji swam to the shore and lifted the mud out of the water. To his dismay, he found his hand was barely filthy let alone filled with the mud he was seeking. Kenji stared at his hand, looking from his dripping palm with dirt encrusted fingernails to the river and back.

"Fool." he called himself with a sigh.

Pulling on his trousers, Kenji left his shirt behind on the sled while he jogged back to the shelter. There, he quickly grabbed one of the smaller cocoons and quickly returned to the river. He doffed his trousers once before diving down to the riverbed. Kenji found that it was difficult to hold onto the cocoon and scoop mud without being carried away by the current.

Using his feet to hold onto the rocks, Kenji labored to fill the cocoon with mud. His lungs burned before was able to fill it even halfway. Hefting it underwater, he struggled to swim to the surface. His breath nearly escaped him and Kenji saw black creeping in at the edges of vision. He felt his chest strain and before he could open his mouth, Kenji broke through the surface.

He only managed to gasp a few breaths before the weight of the mud dragged him down and along the river. He kicked himself forward until he was in the shallows enough to walk back to the river bank. The water drained out of the cocoon as he hefted it out of the river.

Once he reached the sled, Kenji dropped the load on the rocks. The water continued to drain, returning back to the river. Sitting on the flattest stone he could find, Kenji scooped the mud out with his hands and slathered it on the sled. He had to return to the river several times before the he had enough mud to completely cover the wood.

While Kenji waited for his new door to dry, he cleaned himself off in the river. Glancing up, he inspected the sky. It was rare for him to gain such a clear view of the world above. On the far edges of the sky, away from the mountains towards where he believe a great sea lay, clouds were gathering. It appeared the land was due for a rough storm in the days to come.

Turning his attention back to the changed sled, he judged that it would stay together long enough to reach his shelter. Kenji lifted it by the handles and grunted at the weight. He should have known that it would be far heavier and difficult to drag through the forest.

By the time he arrived back, he was sweaty enough to need another dunk in the river. He dropped the sled, the loud thud waking Sprout temporarily before the beast fell back to sleep. If only he could sleep so easily or freely. The monstrous roars, hunting calls, and screams often awoke him at night.

After positioning the changed sled in front of the shelter, Kenji squatted down and grabbed the edges. Grunting from exertion, he lifted it up and nearly dropped it when was time to push it above his head. He could feel his muscles burn from the effort but with a shout he shoved forwards to lay it against boulder.

It covered one entire side of the large entrance and offered better protection from the elements. The clouds were gathering on the horizon and promised a fierce storm to come. He would need to hurry to be ready to meet the winds and deluge of rain. Despite the oncoming weather, severely lacking supplies, and sense of loss, Kenji felt a flicker of hope.