(After Lunch is Over)

"Well today we were going to start of by a theoretical lesson. But since this will be your first lesson I thought it will be better to make this a practical lesson. Alright you two bring out all your Pokemon which can use any type of punch moves. It can be anything ice punch, power up punch, hammer arm, thunder punch, focus punch anything.

Ash and Serena nod as they toss their Poke-balls and release their Pokemon.

"Good. Now follow me." Dragon Emperor says while walking towards the Bamboo Forest next to their camp.

After a while he comes to a halt in front of two stone boulders. He turns to Ash and Serena and says "Alright. Let's see what your Pokemon can do. See these 2 boulders. Have one of your Pokemon come here and punch that rock with a punch type move. I want to see at what level your Pokemon are."

"Right. Pancham use arm thrust on the boulder on the left." Serena says.

"Snorlax ice punch on the other boulder." Ash says.

Both Pokemon attack the boulders with their respective moves. Two minor explosion takes place revealing 2 partially broken boulders.

"Not bad. Both the Speed and Power of your Pokemon are quite good." Dragon Emperor says.

Ash and Serena both light up upon hearing that.

"However all that is quite useless." Dragon Emperor replies causing the duo's expressions to drop.

"I now see the level at which to begin." Dragon Emperor says while bending down and picking up 2 bamboo leaves.

"Come here you two." He says to a confused Ash and Serena.

"Alright." Both of them reply in a confused way.

"Here take this." Dragon Emperor says while handing them both a leaf.

"What do you want us to do with it?" Serena says.

"I want you to shred it by punching it with your fist." Dragon Emperor replies.

Ash and Serena both look in a flabbergasted manner at Dragon Emperor at this odd request.

"Are you kidding me? This is the special training that will make us Pokemon masters? By now I could have got my badge at the Cyllage city gym. Instead I am here wasting my time to punch a leaf." Ash replies in a frustrated manner.

"Well if it so easy why don't you do it? Unless you are scared that is." Dragon Emperor replies with a taunt.

"You think I can't shred a stupid leaf. Well there you go." Ash says while letting go of his leaf and punching it with his free hand. However the leaf simply bounces of his fist and continues falling to the ground as if nothing happened at all.

At first he is stunned at what happened. He looks first at Serena who is equally shocked. Then he looks at the Dragon Emperor who is amused.

"If you fail once you should try again. Isn't that your motto. Never give up till the end." Dragon Emperor says while smirking.

Ash clenches his fist in frustration. He bends and picks up the leaf and tries again but the same thing happens again.

"You too." Dragon Emperor says to Serena who is too busy looking shocked at what is happening.

"Right." she replies before starting to do exactly what Ash is doing.

"This will be fun." The Dragon Emperor thinks to himself before sitting down on the ground as he watches them both fail miserably.

(1 hour Later)

Both Ash and Serena are exhausted by their repeated failed attempts as they drop to their knees out of desperation.

"Ironic isn't it. The Ash Ketchum who beat a mega evolved Blastoise lies here defeated by a leaf." Dragon Emperor says while smirking.

"If you can do it. Why not do it yourself?" Ash says in an annoyed tone.

Dragon Emperor smiles. He bends and picks up a leaf. He lets it go in mid air. In an instant his fist moves towards the leaf with great speed which upon contact with it shreds into tiny pieces.

Ash and Serena are shell shocked as they stare at the Dragon Emperor.

"How" Ash says before being cut off.

"Did I do that? I did it because unlike the 2 of you I used my brains." Dragon Emperor replies.

Both Ash and Serena realize that there was more to this than they thought.

"We are sorry." They both say in unison with bowed heads. Upon hearing that the Dragon Emperor smiles.

"Good. It seems my students have learnt their first lessons. Lesson Number 1 : Always respect your teacher. Lesson Number 2 : Don't use only your eyes to judge a situation. Sometime there can be more to a situation than meets the eye. Lesson 3 before doing a task rid yourself of all ego and over confidence, for they can cloud your sense of judgement. Have you 2 learnt these lessons?" He says.

Both Ash and Serena nod.

"Good. Now coming back to what you two were doing. What was happening?" Dragon Emperor asks them.

"U mm. Let me think about that." Serena says while closing her eyes. Ash does the same.

A few moments later Serena says "Our attacks weren't working because they had no effect."

"That's right. The leaves were simply bouncing off our fist. No energy was being transferred from the punch to the leaf." Ash cries.

"Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. You are both completely right." Dragon Emperor says.

"But why did your punch work Dragon Emperor?" Ash asks him.

"You may possess the strength to break a boulder like the one your Pokemon just broke with the power of your fist but a leaf will simply laugh at your waste of effort. To break a leaf you don't need great power or strength. To break it you must learn to focus your attack's power into a single point. That is what this lesson is about. Focus. How to increase your Pokemon's attack power and your strength by focusing it in the right way." Dragon Emperor replies punching another leaf and shredding it in front of their eyes.

"Cool. How do we do that?" Ash says while looking excited.

"Patience young man. If you really want to learn it you will have to work hard. It will be painful too mind you." Dragon Emperor says.

"I will do it." Ash replies with confidence. Serena nods in agreement.

"Good. Then get in a line with all of your Pokemon." Dragon Emperor says while moving.

After all of them are in line.

"Good now get down on the ground face first. Once you are on the ground. Lift yourselves on you toes and hands just like a push up." Dragon Emperor says.

"This seem to be doable." Serena says while breathing heavily.

"Alright now lift your palm into the air while balancing your body weight on your fingertips and toes." Dragon Emperor says.

"What?" Ash and Serena shout in unison.

"You didn't think the training would be a walk in the park. Did you? This training is intense. It will help you learn how to focus power in a single point namely in this case your fingertips and toes. Stay in the position for half an hour. If you fall down get up and do till you finish your total half an hour." Dragon Emperor says.

Both Ash and Serena gulp as already their bodies are shaking uncontrollably along with a pain building up in their body especially in their fingertips.

After a few minutes "The pain will go. Remember there is no real pain. It is just a signal from your brain to stop. Keep your focus on not giving in and you will prevail."

Apart from Ash, Serena and Snorlax all the Pokemon are doing fine though they are still shaking. Suddenly Ash and Serena collapse on the floor.

"I can't take it anymore. Can I have a break." They both say in unison.

"Back on your finger tips. You still have 20 minutes to go. Then a good break after that. Now quit sulking around and back to work." Dragon Emperor says while dismissing them and moving forward to inspect how each and every Pokemon is doing.

(30 minutes later)

"That has got to be the most excruciating experience of my life." Serena says while looking at her red, swollen hands which are still shaking uncontrollably. Ash doesn't say anything for he is in the same predicament. Both are red and sweating furiously and not to mention extremely tired. The Pokemon are also quite panned out by this exercise however they are faring better than their trainers.

"Alright. Now take one of these bowl. They contain lukewarm water and a few herb extracts. Massage your hand while keeping your finger soaked in the warm water for 5 minutes. Your hands will be as good as new. After your hands are back to normal we shall continue with the next lesson." Dragon Emperor says.

(10 minutes later)

"Unbelievable. 10 minutes ago my fingers were red and swollen with pain. Now they are just back to normal. What was in that finger bowl Dragon Emperor?" Serena asks.

"The herb mix in the warm water is a recipe that has been closely guarded and handed down among Pokemon Masters and their disciples for centuries. For now just use it. When the time comes I will teach you how to make it." Dragon Emperor replies with a smile.

Both Ash and Serena nod.

"Good. Now for the first day this was enough. I know that you are tired so no more practical lessons. Now you can give your Pokemon a rest inside their Poke-balls. We shall not be needing them for the next lesson." Dragon Emperor says.

"OK." Ash and Serena reply while recalling their Pokemon into their balls.

"Alright now I have another surprise for you." Dragon Emperor says while getting up and walking towards his bag pack. He brings the bag pack to where Ash and Serena are sitting.

He opens the bag and brings out 2 containers containing 2 Pokemon eggs.

"Is that hat I think it is?" Serena asks.

"Yes. These are Pokemon eggs." Dragon Emperor replies while handing Ash the container with a egg with a dark brown and light brown patches pattern and handing Serena the egg with snow white color pattern.

"A tradition in the training of new students in the ways of a Pokemon Master is to have them raise their own eggs. Raising a Pokemon from an egg not only test your skills as a trainer but also teaches you new ways n which you can bond with Pokemon." Dragon Emperor says.

"Which Pokemon eggs are these?" Ash asks as both he and Serena examine their eggs with curiosity.

"Your's is a Rockruff egg. A rock type Pokemon form the Alola region and Serena's is an ice type Alolan Vulpix egg. Both should hatch within a day or 2." Dragon Emperor says.

"The Alola region? I have never heard of it? Can you please tell me more." Ash says in excitement.

"Of course. The Alola region is a region which consists of a group of islands. It is very unique in the sense that the Pokemon there are unique in their appearances and properties due to the hot and extremely sunny climate there. For example the normal Vulpix in reddish pink in color and is a fire type whereas the Alolan Vulpix which is going to hatch from Serena's egg is white in color and is an ice type. Alola region also happens to be the birthplace of Z-Moves." Dragon Emperor says.

"Wow." Both Ash and Serena say in unison.

"When will we get to learn about Z moves?" Ash asks Dragon Emperor.

"When you are ready and have mastered the basics first. Now Ash I have specifically chosen Rockruff for you because of 2 reasons. The first reason is because it is a Rock type on of the few types you don't have with you right now currently. Second reason this is one of the few rock types which have very high speed, mobility and agility. I am confidant it will become a great partner for you." Dragon Emperor says while Ash takes of his jacket and puts it around the container.

"As for you the reason have chosen Alolan Vulpix for you Serena is because firstly it is an ice type something which you don't have. Secondly a well trained ice type will give you access to several new performance routines. Being a small, agile and cute Pokemon it should do very well in Performances as well."

Serena smiles at Dragon Emperor and then puts her arms around the container just like a mother embraces her child.

"Alright. Now remember both will hatch within a day or two so take care of them." Dragon Emperor says while Ash and Serena get up together holding their respective Pokemon eggs in their containers.

"Anything else?" they both ask Dragon Emperor in unison.

"No. You 2 did very well for your first day so no more training for today. However you will do one thing." Dragon Emperor says before pausing.

"What is that?"

"I want you both to take out Serena's laptop and summarize today's event. What techniques, training methods, lessons, information etc you received today. Everything. Have it ready for me before tea time." Dragon Emperor says while standing up and walking away.

"Where are you going?" Serena asks.

"To check up on your friend Clemont. I need to see how far he has gone with his training too you know." Dragon Emperor replies while walking away.

Both Ash and Serena smile before walking away towards their camp while holding hands.