When Ash and Cynthia arrived outside the villa they saw that there was a kid banging on the gates of the outside wall. They went up to him, Cynthia placed a calming hand on his shoulder and asked "what seems to be the problem?"

The kid yelled "they said that the Sinnoh Champion wasn't here, but I know that she's been here for the last two months."

"Why do you need to see me so urgently?"

"I don't need to see you, lady" the kid said, not looking to see who was talking to him, "I want to see the Sinnoh Regions Champion, but nobody'll...did you just say that..."

"I'm Cynthia."

The kid looked up and saw that it was indeed Cynthia. He melodramatically announced "Cynthia, I heard that you were here."

"Really? Well, I suppose I shouldn't really be that surprised; word does tend to get around rather quickly these days, and I have been here for about two months now. I suppose its more strange that someone hasn't come looking for me before now. So, what can I do you for? An autograph?"

"An auto...! No! I want a battle."

"A battle?"

"Yeah!"

"With me?"

"Yes."

"hmm..." Cynthia sighed and said "sorry, I'm not in the mood right now. Maybe later."

"What! But I want to battle now!"

"I just told you, I don't feel like it." The kid growled and was about to say something before Cynthia said "Why don't you battle Ash instead?"

"Who?"

"Me" Ash stated.

The kid looked at Ash long and hard before confidently announcing "nah, he looks way too weak to compete with my awesome skills."

"I see," Cynthia stated, "then it's decided, you'll battle Ash and, should you be victorious, I might decide to battle you myself."

"Alright! I'm gonna battle a regional champion!" the kid announced, jumping up in excitement.

Ash turned to Cynthia and asked "do you want me to destroy this kid?"

"No. But I think that he does need a large dose of humility beaten into him before he hurts either himself, or his Pokémon."

"Eh?" the kid asked, not understanding what Ash and Cynthia were talking about.

Completely ignoring the kids question, Ash asked "So, how many Pokémon?"

The kid thought for a minute before announcing "I think that if I'm going to be battling a rookie trainer such as yourself, three Pokémon should allow me to defeat you and keep some in reserve for Cynthia."

Ash turned to Cynthia and said "I forgot how irritating it could be for someone to look so far down on you." He then asked "is there a Pokémon transfer device inside?"

"Yes," Cynthia replied.

"Would I be able to use it?"

"What's wrong with using the Pokémon that you currently have with you?" the kid asked, looking at Ash.

"Well, I just got here and I was actually planning on catching an almost entirely new team, consisting of Pokémon caught in the Unova Region. So I only have one with me."

The kid had a sweatdrop appear, not understanding the reason as to why Ash might attempt such a thing. Cynthia, before the kid could say anything else, replied, "yes, of course you can, come on in," as she opened the gates and walked through them.

Once inside, Ash placed two of his Pokéballs into the Pokémon Transfer Device and then called Professor Oak. "Hey Professor" Ash said, when Professor Oak's face appeared on the vid-screen.

"Why Ash! I must say, I am surprised that you are calling me now."

"Yes, well this kid decided that he wants a Pokémon battle with three Pokémon and, as you know, I only have one with me."

"I see, so, which ones would you like?"

"I think that Feraligatr and Sceptile should do." He thought 'although I'll probably only end up using one of them.'

"Alright, I'll send them over immediately."

"Thanks professor" Ash said as Professor Oak left to retrieve the requested Pokémon.

Ten minutes later Ash was standing opposite the kid that had challenged Cynthia on a battlefield that the Sinnoh Elite Four use to train their Pokémon. Cynthia, on the sideline, said "alright, now this will be a three Pokémon battle, the competitors are only allowed one Pokémon at a time. You will both call out your first Pokémon at the same time, after that substitutions are only available after the first Pokémon has been defeated. Only two Pokémon are to be on the field at once. Are both challengers ready?" Seeing both of them give affirmative answers, Cynthia announced "then begin."

Ash asked "Uhh, kid, I don't think that I got your name before?"

"Oh! Right, sorry. It's Percy."

"Alright Percy," Ash said.

They both withdrew a Pokéball and said "come on out." As Ash threw his, Garchomp appeared. As Percy threw his, out of it, appeared a Tepig. "Uhh..." Percy said before gulping loudly. "Whatever, Tepig, use Magnitude." Tepig raised up on its hind legs as it glowed red and, when its forequarters landed, the ground started shaking. It did however have no effect against Garchomp who, due to an order from Ash, had taken to the sky long before the earthquake started. "Tseh," Percy scoffed. "Tepig, use Ember."

Ash sighed at the trainers complete disregard of the current situation and said "wrong move."

"What?" Percy demanded as his Tepig shot many balls of fire at Garchomp.

"This," Ash stated. "Garchomp, take it." Garchomp let all of the fireballs hit him and, when the attack ended, it was completely unscathed.

"Wha..." Percy exclaimed, confused as to how Garchomp was completely uninjured.

"Garchomp is also a ground type Pokémon" Ash explained. "Garchomp, show him a real fire attack. Use Flamethrower." Garchomp breathed a powerful stream of fire at the earthbound Tepig. When the fire died down, Tepig was unconscious with burns all over it.

"Tepig return" Percy stated, his shoulders slumped.

"Now do something that I wish I had done earlier on in my career and think before you make a move."

"Wha..." Percy stated before thinking to himself 'think before I make a move...alright then, what do I know about that...Garchomp, was it?...' "Alright then," Percy said as he withdrew something from one of his pockets. He held it up and said "Garchomp."

The device in his hand was a Pokédex that he had received from the Nurse Joy in his hometown. The Pokédex stated 'Garchomp, the Mach Pokémon. When it folds up its body and spreads its wings, it can fly like a jet plane at the speed of sound.'

"Alright then, what do I have that can compete with something like that?"

"I'll give you a hand and tell you that it is also a dragon type Pokémon."

"Okay, so what do I have that...Ah! I know..." Percy reached behind his back and withdrew another Pokéball after returning Tepig's Pokéball to its slot on his belt. As he threw the Pokéball into the air, he said "come on out, Pidove."

"Huh?" Ash half asked, half exclaimed, dumbfounded by Percy's move. "Alright, you can go first Percy."

"Alright, Pidove, use Air Cutter."

"Garchomp, block it." Garchomp crossed its arms so that its fins were protecting it, functioning like a shield.

"Now, Quick Attack into Aerial Ace."

Ash thought 'that's a trick that I've used a load of times! Still, against a Pokémon like Garchomp, it's not going to matter.' He said "Garchomp, catch it." After Garchomp was ineffectively hit by the air cutter, it dropped its guard and waited for the Pidove to attack it. When it appeared in front of him he quickly grabbed it and, knowing the strategy that Ash was using, as he had done so many times before, when practicing against his swallow, he formed a Dragon Pulse and, taking into consideration Pidove's size and relative strength, made sure that it was only half the strength that it would usually be, before hitting the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon with it from close range. After it was hit with the Dragon Pulse Garchomp descended to the ground and gave it to Percy so that it did not suffer any excess damage. Ash stated "That was a good combination that you made just then, where'd you get the idea from?"

"Well I kind of fluked it against the Striaton City Gym Leader's Pansage."

"Wait, the Striaton Gym, you started with a Tepig, didn't you?" Cynthia asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, it's just that, I've been told that traditionally, should the trainer choose a Tepig as their starter, then they should have faced off against a water type."

"That's true, but I asked to be able to challenge all three of them, and they accepted."

"Well, alright then."

"But what I want to know, is how in the world was Garchomp able to stop Pidove?"

"Oh, that," Ash said "well, I also sometimes use that tactic when I'm battling and, well, it makes sense to train your Pokémon to be able to counter your own strategies, otherwise someone might just use them against you, to break your pace. Believe me, it has happened before, and it will, no doubt, happen again, especially if you go to the Sinnoh Region."

"Alright" Percy stated, unsure why Ash was telling him this. Percy sighed and stated "look, obviously I underestimated you, and overestimated myself. I have no further Pokémon that would be able to mount a challenge against you and your Garchomp. It would appear that I still have a long way to go before I can mount a challenge worthy of the title, Champion."

"Hey, believe me, I've lost battles before and always come out the better for it. I'm sure that this battle has shown you something too, hasn't it?"

"Yes, and I thank you for it. But mark my words, I won't lose against you in the Unova League."

"So there is an Unova League then?" Ash asked.

"What?" Percy exclaimed, unable to comprehend anybody not knowing of the Unova League.

"I told you, I just got here from Kanto, I don't know much about this place yet."

"I see" Percy said. "Then, yes, there is an Unova League, it is held in the city above Victory Road. But you'll need to collect eight badges before you can enter."

"I see" Ash said as Percy left, "and thank you."