Ryuu, the Dragon Clan's Patriarch, was utterly surprised because of Joseph's progress during the six months the boy was training under his guidance. Joseph and his Pokémon truly had great potential.

In the beggining of his training, Joseph was met with the news that his team wasn't defensive — at all. They all had the same thing in common: They were swift and strong. But their resistance was so weak in comparison it was a miracle Joseph didn't lose more battles.

"Are you serious?" Joseph asked, worried.

"I am" Ryuu had said. "You need to replace one of your Pokémon with a sturdy Poison type"

"A Poison type?" Joseph had asked.

"Indeed. The weakness that none of your team covers is actually Fairy-types. You have moves that cover the rest of the weaknesses, but nothing against Fairies" Ryuu said. "Also, who to replace is also vital. Ursaring is the one to replace."

"What if I don't want a Swallow?" Joseph had asked. Ryuu thought of him as naive.

"Well, Delibird or Skarmory can learn Steel Wing" Ryuu said. "But Delibird is a naturally weak Pokémon..."

"I got it covered!" Joseph's eyes glistened. "Come with me, grandpa!"

Joseph guided Ryuu to the Ice Path, where he caught a wild Jynx with Icy Wind. The PokéBall was blocked, as Joseph had still six Pokémon on his team.

"What are you doing?" Ryuu asked.

"YO, FATHER WINTER!" Joseph shouted. "I want my Delibird back, thank you very much!"

Father Winter himself appeared to Joseph, with Delibird using Icy Wind to make the trolley float.

"I know Delibird is still yours, but I need a Pokémon to carry the..."

"Yeah, I know. I just caught this Jynx with Icy Wind just for you" Joseph gave him Jynx's PokéBall.

Father Winter opened it, and Jynx saluted him.

"Hm! This is just perfect! I'm sorry, Delibird, but it seems that next year you won't be giving gifts with me!" Father Winter said. "I must reward you for this, Joseph. Do you want a Mystery Gift?"

"Yeah!" Joseph smiled.

Father Winter got him a Mystery Gift. When Joseph opened it, inside there was a phone.

"Another phone?" SmartRotom asked.

"Alright, I'll keep it, I guess"

The Patriarch sighed, and decided to teach Joseph to boost his team's power by an ancient technique: The Dragon energy, which is the energy bound to the Dragon Clan's blood.

They meditated for a few months to try and get everything right while the Pokémon were trained, and Joseph found himself really talented on channeling that energy. Meanwhile, Joseph not only trained his whole team of six, but he decided to turn the cells of Zygarde in the Zygarde Box into other 9 Zygarde 10%, so all the cells got stronger.

In the battlefield, the Patriarch had decided to teach Joseph a technique of the Dragon Clan that very few could dominate.

"If you transfer your energy to a Pokémon, you can make it achieve a level beyond evolution. We don't have a name for it, if you manage to domain it you'll call it however you want" Ryuu said.

"Alright!" Joseph said.

"You need to channel it, and transfer it to your Pokémon"

"Are you ready, Dragonite?" Joseph asked.

"Drago!" Dragonite nodded.

"Alright, let's power you up!" Joseph said, accumulating energy and transfering it to his Pokémon.

"Draaaaaaa!!!" Dragonite augmented his power exponentially, without changing form or anything.

"You did it!" Ryuu said, proud. "You can call this technique however you want"

"The Super State!" Joseph said, excited.

Ryuu sighed. Zippy Zap, Pika Papow, Super State... Joseph was a bit cheesy with names, but that was endearing on him: Despite his strength as a Trainer, he was still a kid.

Oh, that reminded him, Joseph's 12th birthday was going to be in a month. Joseph hadn't asked anything as a gift, so he probably didn't even notice. So, Ryuu had decided to get some birthday cake and some candles. For a gift, he asked Bryce for Piter's number and called Falkner as well.

"Yes?" Falkner was the first one to answer Ryuu's phone.

"I am the Patriarch of the Dragon Clan. I want you to come to Joseph's surprise 12th birthday party in a few days" Ryuu said.

"Wait! His birthday? It is in Blackthorn, right? I gotta tell Ai, she's a friend of Joseph!" Falkner said.

"Ai is a girl...? Why didn't I hear about her?" Ryuu asked.

"She Pokéathlete, she doesn't do Gyms. She wanted to humble him about Pokéathlon stuff and ended up charmed by his determination!" Falkner said.

"Thanks. Well, it's in exactly a month, so I hope you come" Ryuu hang up. Then, his SmartPhone rang. It was Piter. "Hello, I'm the Patriarch of the Dragon Clan"

"Why did you call me, old man? I'm a Dragon Hunter!" Piter said. "I defeat guys like you for breakfast!"

"I am well aware, as well that one of your best friends is my grandson Joseph, whose birthday is in a month" Ryuu said.

"Ooh, yeah! Alright! I'll be there, Mr Patriarch!" Piter said, hanging up. "Bye~!"

Ryuu smiled, charmed by Piter's obvious happy, competitive personality.

A month, huh? They would train without rest during that hell of a month! Joseph would be the strongest Trainer of them all, Ryuu swore it in his pride as a grandfather!

To be continued


Joseph's Team:
Dragonite (Male) (Level 70)
Delibird (Male) (Level 60)
Pikachu (Male) (Level 70)
Heracross (Male) (Alpha) (Level 80)
Latias (Female) (Level 82)
Zygarde (10% Form) (Level 70)