Finally arriving in Ceruso City, Davis has a chance to challenge Ran to earn his first badge.

"Wow! It's like an actual forest in here!" Terra said as she had a look around the gym.

"A fitting place for a gym that works with bug-types." Cletus said. As they had a look around, Davis and Ran faced each other for their battle. "Watch and see how a gym works, Terra. Each gym has its own set of rules."

"The gym battle between Ran, the gym leader, and Davis, the challenger, will now begin! Each side is allowed the use of two pokemon! The battle will be over when both pokemon from either side is no longer able to battle!"

"I've kept you waiting, but you're finally getting your battle, Davis." Ran said. "Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready." Davis said.

"Shall we begin? Beedrill, let's do this!" Ran called as he released his first pokemon.

"Sptree!" The time has come for Davis' first Grecko gym battle.

I want to be the very best

Like no one ever was

To catch them is my real test

To train them is my cause

(Pokemon!)

Every challenge along the way

With courage I will face

I will battle every day to claim my rightful place

(Yeah!)

Pokemon

Gotta catch'em all

Oh, so true

Our courage will pull us through

You teach me, I'll teach you

Po-ke-mon

Pokémon

(Davis' voice): Bug Bite Me

"That's the same Beedrill he used earlier. Well, it's going down all the same." Davis said. He's aware that Beedrill is strong, but that's not stopping him. "Bluja, let's go!"

"Bluja!"

"Starting out with your flying-type? You might have the advantage, but that doesn't mean you'll win easily." Ran claimed.

"What does he mean? Flying-types are strong against bugs." Terra said.

"Just because Davis has the advantage doesn't mean he'll win easily." Cletus said. "A gym leader has to challenge trainers. I'm sure Ran has ways to deal with type advantage."

"I'm winning this all the same! Bluja, start with Quick Attack!" Davis ordered. Bluja flew right in and attacked with great speed.

"Use Agility!" Ran called. Beedrill flew with great speed itself as it was able to avoid Bluja.

"Don't let it getaway! Chase after it and use Wing Attack!" Davis called. Bluja turned around and flew after Beedrill.

"Beedrill, Fury Attack!" Ran called. Beedrill thrusted it's stingers at Bluja. Bluja was forced to move out of the way and ended up missing. The two of them continued to chase each other around and tried to land a strike on the other, but couldn't get a clear shot.

"Look at them go!" Terra said.

"This is what I was talking about." Cletus claimed. "Bluja's flying-type attacks don't do much good if they can't make contact. Ran is trying to make sure that's the case by using Agility and Fury Attack to keep the opponent away."

"Time to fight back! Now use Pin Missile!" Ran called. Beedrill took aim and fired with its stingers. Bluja flew around to avoid the attacks, but ended up getting blasted as there was no escape.

"You okay?" Davis asked. Bluja was able to shake it off and keep going.

"Pin Missile once more!" Ran called with Beedrill attacking once again.

"Not this time! Keep them guessing with Double Team!" Davis called. Bluja made copies of itself and the fakes ended up taking blows for the real one. "Now use Peck!" All of them attacked with their beaks glowing.

"It's like being attacked by a flock!" Ran said as he couldn't see a way out. Then, the real Bluja made contact with Beedrill and did some damage.

"Now use Wing Attack!" Davis called. Bluja flew right at Beedrill once again and smashed its wings against Beedrill this time. The attack looked like a strong one as Beedrill was knocked out of the air and crashed into the ground. When that happened, Beedrill was down.

"Beedrill is unable to battle! Bluja is the winner!"

"So the first win belongs to Davis. For a second, I thought it was going to be tougher than expected." Terra said.

"But that's the point." Cletus said. "Gym leaders know how to deal with trainers that have advantage so they can challenge them and get them to bring out their best."

"You sure know a lot about this sort of thing, Cletus." Terra said.

"I guess I never told you. The truth is that I was once a gym leader myself." Cletus admitted. "My gym worked differently from this one, but I understand what a gym leader has to do. Ran Igor be down a pokemon, but his next one could be tougher than that Beedrill."

"You did rather well, Davis, but I wonder if that's because of the flying-type attacks." Ran claimed. "Well, we'll see how you deal with my next pokemon. Sticklur!, let's go!"

"Kwa Kwa!" Ran's next pokemon was an interesting one. It was a big bug, but it was brown like wood with a yellow underbelly. It had six thin legs with a tail-like extension sticking out from behind. It had thin antenna with dot-like eyes. It's most distinct feature was the sharp teeth that forced its lips open.

"What is that thing?" Davis questioned as he used his pokedex.

"Sticklur, the Stick Bug Pokemon. A bug-type. Sticklur resembles a piece of wood to get close to its prey and then bite with its teeth."

"I've never seen anything like that before, but we'll just win this one as well. Now, use Wing Attack and let's finish this quickly!" Davis ordered as he went on with the battle. Bluja flew right in and had its wings ready to strike.

"Use Bug Buzz!" Ran called. Sticklur unleashed a sonic red sound that smashed into Bluja and stopped it from attacking. "Now use Bug Bite!" Sticklur jumped right at Bluja and started nibbling on its wings. Bluja's body was feeling irritated from that and managed to get itself free.

"You okay, Bluja?" Davis asked. Bluja seemed fine, but then started to wobble in the air and was having trouble staying afloat. The poor thing did not look so well. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong with Bluja?" Terra questioned.

"It looks like Bluja has been poisoned, but how?!" Cletus said.

"It's because my Sticklur's ability is Venom Jaws." Ran claimed.

"Venom Jaws? What is that?" Davis questioned.

"Basically, whenever Sticklur uses a biting attack, it has the chance of causing poison or paralysis no matter what attack is used." Ran clarified, but that's a big problem for Davis. "Of course, it doesn't hurt to have the real thing. Now use Poison Fang!" Sticklur had poison energy flow through its teeth. When that happed, it leaped right at Bluja and took another bite out of it. The bite and the poison was too much that it was knocked out of the air and out of the battle.

"Bluja is unable to battle! Sticklur is the winner!"

"Unbelievable! A flying-type lost to a bug-type!" Terra said. "I'm starting to see what you were talking about, Cletus. That pokemon looks tough and dangerous."

"You're right. If those bites make contact, it's going to be a real problem for Davis." Cletus claimed.

"Bluja, return." Davis said as he brought Bluja back in its pokeball. "It's okay. You did good."

"I guess I'm up now." Imperialdramon claimed.

"Yeah, but be careful. We need to watch out for those teeth." Davis said. Imperialdramon understood and walked right on the field. Sticklur might look easy to squash compared to Imperialdramon, but it's one dangerous pokemon.

"Let's see what this guy can do. Bring it on." Ran dared.

"You got it! Brick Break!" Davis said. Imperialdramon flew in and attacked Sticklur by smashing his arm right on top of it.

"It's a hit!" Terra said.

"Yeah, but fighting-type moves don't do a lot of damage against bug-types." Cletus informed. "This battle is only beginning."

"Use Bug Buzz and knock him off!" Ran called. Sticklur unleashed that same buzzing from before. Imperialdramon tried to endure the sound, but it was so irritating that he had to move away and let Sticklur go. "Now use Poison Fang!"

"Get out of the way!" Davis called. Sticklur jumped at Imperialdramon, but Imperialdramon was able to avoid those teeth just in time.

"Now use Energy Ball!" Ran said. Sticklur turned around and fired a ball of green energy with it blasting Imperialdramon.

"Now use Focus Punch!" Davis called. Imperialdramon flew right at Sticklur and tried to land another hit. He made contact with something and formed a dust cloud. When the dust cleared away, he lost sight of Sticklur.

"Where'd that thing go?" Imperialdramon questioned as he had a look around to try and find Sticklur, but didn't see it anywhere until it was too late.

"Watch out! It's on your arm!" Davis called.

"Bug Bite!" Ran called. Sticklur started nibbling away on the exposed flesh on Imperialdramon's arm. Imperialdramon flailed his arm around and tried to shake it off. Imperialdramon managed to fling it off, but then his body felt weird.

"Argh... My arm..." Imperialdramon groaned as he was having trouble moving.

"It looks like it caused paralysis this time." Ran said. "Now use Bug Buzz!" Sticklur unleashed the sonic attack again and it smashed against Imperialdramon. With Imperialdramon having a hard time moving, he can can only take it.

"Imperialdramon is hanging in there, but they can't take those attacks." Cletus said. "Even if he's paralyzed, they can still attack."

"Come on, Davis! You've got to battle back!" Terra cheered.

"If Imperialdramon has a hard time moving, it's going to be difficult to fight back." Davis said as he tried to think of what he can do. "We can't just take those attacks. What can we do to end this quickly, especially when Sticklur has those teeth?"

"While you're busy figuring that out, I'll keep the attacks coming." Ran warned. "Now use Poison Fang!" Sticklur jumped at Imperialdramon again with its teeth sticking out. Just then, an idea came to him.

"Use your armor to block those teeth!" Davis called. Imperialdramon tried his best to move and got a piece of armor in the way to block Sticklur's attack. "Now use Dragon Pulse!" Imperialdramon tried his best to fight through as he took aim and blasted Sticklur with the attack and knocked it right off.

"No way!" Ran said as he was surprised Imperialdramon could still move.

"Finish this with Focus Punch!" Davis ordered. Imperialdramon tried to force his body to move and charged right at Sticklur. He gathered power into his fist and crushed the bug with it.

"Sticklur is unable to battle! The victor of this battle is Davis Motomiya!"

"Yeah! We won!" Davis cheered.

"Yay." Imperialdramon said. He would have been more excited about it if he could move some more.

"Wow! He really won!" Terra said. "That was a great battle!"

"It sure was. One thing I learned from watching Davis battle is that he always has a surprise for you." Cletus claimed.

"You did well, Davis." Ran said as he was rewarding him with the badge. "There are some dangers in the forest, but you came prepared for it. That is why you have earned the Critter Badge." He claimed as he gave Davis and fly-shaped badge.

"Thanks a lot, Ran." Davis claimed as he took it. "Yeah! My first badge in Grecko, the Critter Badge!" He claimed with he and his pokemon excited about this win.

"Nicely done, Davis." Cletus claimed.

"Wow! So that's what a gym battle is like! That's incredible!" Terra said as she loved seeing what a gym battle is like.

Davis first gym battle in Grecko has ended with his victory. This only the first battle, but one step closer to the Grecko League. There is sure to be more excitement, as the journey continues.

To Be Continued...