Spacemon, Vol. 1 – Chapter 9: Belly of the Beast

Welcome to another exciting installment of Spacemon, the tale of a Pokemon TRPG campaign! It is a sci-fi space epic played using the Pokemon Tabletop United (PTU) system and GMed by fellow TAY author DragonStorm247. You can get caught up on the entire Spacemon saga here!

“That should do it, my friend,” Maxx Aler said, rapping his knuckles against the Dunsparce’s hull. “You’re all ready to blow up some baddies.”

“Hopefully we won’t need to,” Arlon said. “But better to have weapons and not need them than the other way around.”

“Very true,” Maxx laughed.

“Thanks for the guns, Maxx,” Arlon said as he shook his old employer’s hand. “But we’d best be off, mate.”

Maxx nodded. “Of course. Good luck on your expedition.”

When the Dunsparce dropped out of warp space near the Sector 31 warp gate, its sensors started picking up a strange signal. Arlon brought it up on the viewscreen, but couldn’t make sense of it. He’d never seen anything like it before. Thinking his crewmates might be interested, he reached for the comms.

“I’m picking up a strange signal,” he announced. “You guys might want to get up here.” 

A few moments later, the rest of the crew— except for the still-unconscious H— had gathered in the cockpit. Arlon watched as they began analyzing the signal.

“It seems to be coming out of warp space,” Morgan observed.

“But what is it?” Arlon asked. “I don’t think it’s a ship.”

“I’m going to try cleaning up the signal,” Morgan told him as she started tapping away at the console keyboard. “Let’s see … there.”

The signal played again, this time a lot clearer. “Huh,” Morgan said, tilting her head to the side. “It seems to be some kind of Pokemon cry.”

Just then, a giant pink space Wailord dropped out of warp space and flew directly at the Dunsparce.

“What the fuck is that!?” Arlon shouted, seeing the massive Pokemon rapidly approaching through the front viewport. He grabbed the controls and tried to turn the ship away, but the Wailord pursued.

“I can’t shake it!”

“Do something!” Dmitri shouted at him.

“I’m trying!” Arlon shouted back. “Strap yourselves in!”

Arlon pulled the ship up and steered into a hard Immelmann turn, bringing the Dunsparce around to face the Wailord. He then fired the engines at maximum power, propelling the ship full speed at the giant Pokemon.

“What are you doing!?” Morgan shouted at him.

“I’m gonna try dodging past it,” Arlon stated confidently.

“Are you crazy!?”

“I know what I’m doing!”

Arlon flew the ship straight for the Wailord, then attempted to roll to the side. Unfortunately, the giant Pokemon opened its mouth wide and swallowed the ship whole. The Wailord slammed its mouth shut, and a rush of water pushed the ship deeper inside. The Dunsparce eventually came to a standstill … deep within the belly of the beast.

After several minutes sitting around, dazed and disoriented, the crew snapped back to reality. Morgan quickly took stock of things as direness of the situation began to sink in. They were all still conscious at least.

“What … what just happened?” Shane asked.

“That thing ate us,” Morgan replied.

“Yeah … sorry about that,” Arlon apologized to his crewmates. “I honestly thought that would work. Now, let’s figure out how the bloody hell we’re gonna get out of here.”

“Uh, guys, there’s a man standing out there,” Shane then said, sounding quite confused. He pointed out the viewport, bringing everyone’s attention to a man standing quite a distance away, on the other side of what could only be assumed to be the Wailord’s stomach.

“What the bloody hell … ?” Arlon asked, trailing off as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. “Let’s talk to him, I guess. Maybe he can get us out of here.”

The group disembarked from the Dunsparce and stepped out onto the fleshy “island” the ship has landed on. Stomach acid surrounded the flesh mound on all sides. As they got their bearings, the man approached them, deftly hopping across several fleshy mounds emerging from the acid. He was an older man with gray hair and a neatly trimmed mustache, and he appeared to be wearing a formal naval uniform, albeit one that was drenched in saliva and other Wailord juices.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “Seems Wailord here has taken a liking to you.”

“That’s … a nice way to put it …” Morgan replied, her eye twitching.

“Terribly sorry about all that,” the man apologized. “But since you’re here … this is the Water Gym.”

“There’s a water gym inside a Pokemon?” Shane asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s … odd,” Arlon commented. “But the real question is, can we leave once we battle you?”

“Of course.”

“Can we get out without battling?” Dmitri asked.

“Now where’s the fun in that?” the man asked him, flashing a smirk.

“We might as well, mate,” Arlon said, patting dmitri on the shoulder.

“I’m Cap’n Benz, by the way,” the man informed the crew. “What are your names?”

“Shane.”

“Morgan.”

“Dmitri.”

“Arlon.”

“Well met!” Benz exclaimed. “Now, to defeat this gym, you must make it to the end.”

He turned around, then hopped back across the fleshy islands to what appeared to be the exit. Benz then turned back to face the crew as a Dragalge arose from the stomach acid.

In response to the Pokemon, the challengers released their own. Morgan released her Pikachu, Dmitri his Scyther, and Arlon his Deino. Shane released his Klefki— which, as he had explained, came into being when he injected H’s warp goo into a keychain.

“Jean, jump across to that island!” Morgan commanded her Pikachu as the battle commenced. She pointed at a fleshy protrusion near the Dragalge. The electric mouse sprinted to the “shore” and then hopped across. “Now, use Slam!” The Pikachu leapt at the Dragalge, throwing his weight against it and dealing some damage. Unfortunately, the Pikachu was pricked by one of the dragon’s poisonous barbs. The poisoned Mouse Pokemon landed back on the island, a little worse for wear.

“Gigan, use Wing Attack!” Dmitri then commanded his Scyther. The winged Pokemon flew at the Dragalge and swiped it with her wings.

“Hydra, use Dragonbreath!” Arlon followed up by commanding his Deino. The Irate Pokemon ran to the shore and let out a powerful stream of her breath, which succeeded in inflicting a partial paralysis upon the Dragalge.

In response to its attackers, the Dragalge unleashed a massive wave of sludge. The attack radiated outwards and struck both Jean and Gigan, severely injuring both.

“Gigan, come back so I can use a potion,” Dmitri instructed his Pokemon.

“You too, Jean!” Morgan called out to her Pikachu.

As the two Pokemon returned to their trainers so that they could be healed, Shane commanded his Klefki to attack, “K.E.Y.S., use Metal Sound!” The Key Ring Pokemon moved in range and let out a high-pitched metallic screech, which seemed to soften up the Dragalge’s scaly hide.

“Hydra, use Crunch!” Arlon then commanded his Deino. The small dragon Pokemon jumped at the dragalge and sank her teeth into the Mock Kelp Pokemon before landing back on the ground. In response, the Dragalge floated off into the acid,then fired off a draconic energy pulse at Hydra, knocking her out. Arlon immediately recalled his fainted Pokemon, then sent out his Aron.

“Gigan, use Wing Attack!” Dmitri commanded his Scyther as the Aron moved up to join the battle. Gigan once again flew at the Dragalge and swiped at the Mock Kelp Pokemon with her wings.

“K.E.Y.S., use Fairy Wind!” Shane then commanded his Klefki. The Key Ring Pokemon blasted a gust of wind at the Dragalge, but it did not appear to be bothered by the attack. Ignoring K.E.Y.S., it launched a large ball of sludge at Gigan, almost knocking the Scyther out.

“Ironhide, use Rock Slide!” Arlon commanded his Aron. The Iron Armor Pokemon materialized several large rocks, then launched them at the Dragalge, bringing it close to the edge.

“Gigan, finish it off with Wing Attack!” Dmitri shouted. His Scyther made another pass at the Dragalge and finally took it down.

Benz nodded approvingly in the distance. He recalled his Pokemon, then proceeded through the exit into the next “room.”

Before following, the crew switched out their Pokemon in advance of what was sure to be another battle. Arlon stuck with Ironhide, but Morgan and the others decided to change things up. Morgan went with her Treecko while Shane and Dmitri sent out Rotom, and Abra, respectively.

As they stepped into the next area, a Seismitoad emerged from around the bend and surrounded itself with a veil of water.

“You’re not gonna do any good here, mate,” Arlon said as he recalled his Aron in response. “You’re up Jiraiya!” He sent out his Froakie while the others prepared to attack.

“You too, Houdini,” Dmitri said to his Abra. He recalled the Psi Pokemon and sent out his Haunter instead.

“B.O.L.T., use Confuse Ray!” Shane commanded his Pokemon to kick off the battle. The Rotom unleashed a ray of psychic energy at the Seismitoad, sending it into a state of confusion.

“Frederic, use Absorb!” Morgan then instructed her Treecko. The Wood Gecko Pokemon moved in and drained some energy out of the Seismitoad, but it didn’t seem particularly bothered.

“Jiraiya, use Pound!” Arlon commanded his Froakie. The Bubble Frog Pokemon jumped at the Seismitoad and slammed into it, but, again, it didn’t seem particularly bothered. Shrugging off the hit, the Vibration Pokemon leapt forward and slammed itself onto the ground, creating an Earthquake, which hit its attackers and completely knocked Jiraiya out.

“Frederic, use Absorb again!” Morgan commanded her Pokemon. The Treecko drained more energy from the Seismitoad, recovering a bit from the hit he just took.

“Wilhelm, Night Shade!” Dmitri then commanded his Haunter. The ghostly Pokemon fired off a blast of ghostly energy, further whittling the Seismitoad down.

“B.O.L.T., use Astonish!” Shane commanded his Rotom, keeping up the pressure. The electric ghost flew at the Seismitoad and rammed into it. B.O.L.T. didn’t seem to inflict any damage on its target, but it did manage to catch the Seismitoad by surprise and prevent it from attacking.

“You’re up next Crocuta!” Arlon shouted as he took the opportunity to release his Mightyena. “While its guard is down, use Crunch!” Crocuta ran at the Seismitoad, teeth bared and ready to strike. Unfortunately, the Seismitoad came to its senses at the last second and dodged out of the way.

“Frederic, use Absorb!” Morgan then commanded her Pokemon. The Treecko attempted to drain energy from the Seismitoad once more, but the Vibration Pokemon continued to evade.

“Wilhelm, Shadow Punch!” Dmitri commanded his Pokemon. The Haunter flew at the Seismitoad and threw a punch with one of his free-floating hands, making contact with his foe.

“B.O.L.T., use Astonish again!” Shane called out a follow-up attack. His Rotom struck the Seismitoad once more, stunning it again.

“Frederic, Absorb!” Morgan continued to command her Treecko. This time, Frederic landed a hit and drained a massive amount of energy from the Seismitoad.

“Wilhelm, Night Shade,” Dmitri then commanded his Haunter. The Gas Pokemon unleashed another burst of ghostly energy, continuing the focused assault on the Seismitoad. The Vibration Pokemon attempted to fight back, but ended up whacking itself in the face in confusion.

“We need more firepower!” Shane called out. He recalled his Rotom, then sent out his Porygon2.

“We just need to keep shutting it down like we’ve been doing,” Arlon told him. Then, turning to his Mightyena, “Crocuta, use Crunch again!” The Bite Pokemon ran at the Seismitoad once more. This time, she managed to sink her teeth into her opponent and do some damage.

“Frederic, keep Absorbing!” Morgan called out to her Treecko. The Wood Gecko Pokemon kept up draining energy from the Seismitoad, slowly whittling it down.

“D.A.T.A., use Psybeam!” Shane then commanded his Porygon2. It fired a beam of psychic energy at the Seismitoad, but the shot went wide and hit the fleshy wall instead.

Looking desperate at this point, the Seismitoad ran up to Crocuta and threw a punch at the Mightyena. The fist connected and the Seismitoad began draining energy from her.

“Fight back!” Arlon barked at his Pokemon. “Use Crunch again!” Crocuta sank her teeth into her attacker, inflicting a nasty wound.

“D.A.T.A., use Psybeam!” Shane commanded his Porygon2. This time the Virtual Pokemon’s attack connected with the Seismitoad and brought it down.

“Phew,” Arlon sighed in relief. “That was a tough one.” He then recalled his injured Mightyena and sent his Aron back out.

Dmitri and Shane followed suit, switching to Klefki and Abra. As soon as Dmitri’s Abra emerged, it began to glow. When the light died down, a Kadabra stood in his place.

“Today’s your lucky day, mate,” Arlon said, patting Dmitri on the shoulder. “Your friend here didn’t really do any fighting.” The two laughed as they began to move on to the next area.

Morgan rolled her eyes as she followed the pair into what seemed to be the Wailord’s esophagus. Benz stood waiting for them behind a Clawitzer.

“You may fire when ready,” the Cap’n said to his Pokemon. He then turned and proceeded on to the next area.

“Houdini, Confusion!” Dmitri started off with a command to his Kadabra. The Psi Pokemon fired off a blast of psychic energy at the Clawitzer, dealing a bit of damage.

“K.E.Y.S., use Metal Sound!” Shane then commanded his Klefki. K.E.Y.S. proceeded to let out a high-pitched metallic noise that softened up the Clawitzer’s shell.

“Frederic, use Absorb!” Morgan commanded her Treecko. The little green Pokemon moved in and drained some energy from the Clawitzer.

The Howitzer Pokemon ignored Frederic, instead taking aim at Houdini. It fired off a pulse of darkness, which instantly took the Kadabra down. The Clawitzer clamped its claw down, making an audible clicking sound, as if it was reloading.

“Ironhide, use Rock Slide!” Arlon commanded his Aron as Dmitri recalled his fainted Pokemon. Ironhide ran up to the Clawitzer, unleashing a tide of stones. The attack delivered a powerful blow, stunning the Howitzer Pokemon.

“Wilhelm, you’re up!” Dmitri shouted as he released his Haunter. “Use Night Shade!”

“K.E.Y.S., use Draining Kiss!” Shane then commanded his Klefki.

The two Pokemon unleashed their attacks, further whittling the stunned Clawitzer down. It wouldn’t take much more to bring it down.

“Ironhide, use Take Down!” Arlon then commanded his Aron. Ironhide charged at the Clawitzer and threw all of his weight against it, knocking it against the side of the esophagus.

“Wilhelm, Confuse Ray,” Dmitri instructed his Haunter. The ghostly Pokemon fired off his attack at the Clawitzer, sending it into a state of confusion.

“Frederic, use Absorb!” Morgan commanded her Treecko. The Wood Gecko Pokemon drained more energy from the Clawitzer, but not enough to bring it down. However, the influx of energy caused Frederic to glow. He grew in size as he evolved into a Grovyle! The Clawitzer paid the newly evolved Pokemon no mind and fired off an Aura Sphere attack at Ironhide, knocking the Aron out.

“K.E.Y.S., use Draining Kiss!” Shane then commanded his Klefki. The Key Ring Pokemon flew up to the Clawitzer and drained away the last of its energy. The Clawitzer attempted to fire off a pulse of water as a last ditch effort, but only ended up blasting the ceiling as it went down. Water cascaded off in all directions, drenching the crew and their Pokemon.

“Ugh,” Morgan grunted. She shook herself off a bit, then recalled her Grovyle and sent her Pikachu back out.

Before they all proceeded, Dmitri also changed Pokemon, going with his Slugma. Arlon, meanwhile, recalled his fainted Aron and sent out his Mightyena once again. After waiting for him to heal the Bite Pokemon with a potion, the team headed into the next area. They emerged into what appeared to be the back of the Wailord’s throat. Cap’n Benz stood on the far end of the chamber. A smirk appeared on his face when he saw them.

Suddenly, a Starmie flew out of nowhere and got the drop on the challengers. It fired a pulse of water at Arlon’s Mightyena, knocking her out.

“Damn it,” Arlon grumbled as he recalled his fainted Pokemon. “Your turn, Cinder!” He released his Cyndaquil and directed her to attack, “Use Flame Wheel!” The Fire Mouse Pokemon rolled into a ball, threw herself at the Starmie as she covered herself over in flames, landing a decent hit.

“Jean, use Volt Tackle!” Morgan then commanded her Pikachu. The electric mouse charged full speed at the Starmie, electricity sparking out in all directions. He collided with his target and knocked it back against the wall, sparks shooting all along its body. Jean then passed out due to the poison of the Dragalge. Morgan immediately recalled her fainted Pokemon and sent her Grovyle back out.

“K.E.Y.S., use Metal Sound!” Shane then commanded his Klefki. K.E.Y.S. let out another high-pitched blast of sound, softening the Starmie up for an attack.

“Obsidius, Smog,” Dmitri instructed his Slugma. The Lava Pokemon sent a poisonous haze over to the Starmie in an attempt to poison it, but was unsuccessful.

“Cinder, use Ember!” Arlon commanded his Cyndaquil. She spit out a burst of flames, glowing white hot as she did. The glow covered over her body and she evolved into a Quilava as the flames engulfed the Starmie.

The Mysterious Pokemon remained immobilized in the fire thanks to the earlier attack from Morgan’s Pikachu, leaving it wide open for further attacks.

“K.E.Y.S., use Draining Kiss!”

“Frederic, use Absorb!”

Together, the Klefki and the Grovyle drained away the last of the Starmie’s energy, leaving it knocked out on the ground.

“Hmm … Impressive,” Benz complimented the challengers. He recalled his Starmie, then turned and walked away yet again, leaving the Dunsparce crew to prepare for the next battle.

Deciding it was time to use a new Pokemon, Morgan recalled her Grovyle and sent out her Totodile. Arlon, similarly, went with a new Pokemon, switching to his Houndour, while Dmitri just went back to Haunter. 

Following Benz to the next area, the crew soon arrived in a large chamber filled with water. Morgan wondered if this was, perhaps, the inside of the Wailord’s mouth. The Cap’n stood on a small, fleshy island in the center. A small rowboat sat in the water near the challengers.

“Who wants to get in this boat that is clearly not a trap with me?” Arlon cheekily asked as he stepped toward the small watercraft.

“I’ll go,” Morgan told him. She agreed that the boat was an obvious trap, but what else were they supposed to do?

The two of them climbed into the boat with their Pokemon and began rowing toward the island. Ripples started forming along the water as they moved along and a shadow appeared beneath the surface. Suddenly, a massive Gyarados burst out of the water, roaring loudly as it covered itself in a veil of water.

“Wilhelm, Frighten it!” Dmitri directed his Haunter forward and the Gas Pokemon flew up into the Gyarados’s face.

The two Pokemon roared at each other, then the Gyarados dove back into the water and swam toward Shane’s Klefki. The large Atrocious Pokemon rose from the water and spit a massive surge of flames at the Klefki, dealing quite a bit of damage.

“Wilhelm, Night Shade!” Dmitri then commanded his Pokemon. The Haunter fires off a blast of ghostly energy at the Gyarados, landing the first hit on the Atrocious Pokemon.

“K.E.Y.S., use Draining Kiss!” Shane commanded his Klefki. “Drain some energy back!” The Key Ring Pokemon moved in to attack, but the Gyarados dodged by diving down deep into the water.

The team had barely a few moments of respite before the Gyarado charged up from below, headed straight for the boat. Morgan and Arlon managed to dive off at the last second as the Gyarados smashed into the vessel. Their Pokemon, however, were not as lucky. The Totodile was launched into the water while the Houndour took the brunt of the attack. He began glowing, evolving into a Houndoom as he attempted to resist the strike, but it wasn’t enough and he passed out. The Totodile begins to glow as well, evolving into a Croconaw.

Morgan swam to the island with Arlon just behind her. The two of them climbed out of the pool, now soaked through with Wailord saliva. Arlon then recalled his fainted Houndoom and sent out his Quilava, which was his last Pokemon standing.

“Wilhelm, use Curse!” Dmitri commanded his Haunter as the battle continued on. The ghostly Pokemon inflicted a curse upon the Gyarados, counteracting the effects of its healing water veil.

From the island, Morgan commanded her Croconaw to attack, “Hector, use Scratch!” The Big Jaw Pokemon swam over to the Gyarados and scratched it with his claws, doing some damage.

“Cinder, use Ember!”

“K.E.Y.S., use Fairy Wind!”

Arlon and Shane commanded their Pokemon to attack simultaneously. The two Pokemon fired off their attacks from afar, whittling the Gyarados down. In response, the Atrocious Pokemon dove down again and emerged behind Hector. It roared loudly, then fired off a massive, powerful beam of energy. The beam struck the Croconaw, taking it down instantly, and kept going. It passed harmlessly through Wilhelm before colliding with K.E.Y.S., dealing a massive amount of damage.

Morgan quickly recalled her fainted Pokemon and sent out her Eevee. “Go, Yvonne! Use Bite!” The small brown Pokemon leapt off the island at the Gyarados and bit it, dealing a bit more damage.

“Wilhelm, Night Shade!”

“Cinder, use Ember!”

“K.E.Y.S., Fairy Wind!”

The Gyarados managed to fight through the barrage of attacks as it recharged. It then dove down and swam for Shane’s Klefki.

“Wilhelm, use Sucker Punch!” Dmitri commanded his Haunter as the Gyarados prepared to attack. The ghostly Pokemon rushed at the Gyarados as it rose out of the water, sights set on the Klefki. Fist raised, Wilhelm flew into the Gyarados’s mouth and phased through the other side, knocking the Pokemon out. The fainted Gyarados continued flying and landed on top of K.E.Y.S., knocking the Klefki out as well.

“Hmm,” Benz said as he looked on. “Hmm … Not bad! This was a most exciting challenge! As a token of your victory, I present to you the Nebula badge!”

Session/Revision Notes: Sorry about the length of this one, but there was no good place to chop it into two chapters. Reading through gym battles is pretty quick though, so I hope it balances out. In other news, H’s player was absent once again but The Other Guy returned!

The Water Gym was easily the most interesting of the ones in Volume 1. Having a gym battle inside a space Wailord was genius. It was funny how many Pokemon evolved in this battle. My Houndour and Cyndaquil evolved, as did Morgan’s Treecko and Totodile. We did catch them all at or over evolution level so we really only needed to use them once to have them evolve.

Update 9/14/21: Coming back to this chapter was interesting and exciting. As I mentioned in my update on the previous chapter, I cut the beginning sequence from this one and moved it into that one. That definitely helped with the length issue for this chapter, not that longer chapters haven’t become more common for Spacemon. I added an extra little intro scene to replace it and, other than a few minor changes here and there, I didn’t change much. I think the biggest thing was putting the whole gym into a consistent character perspective since it was written as one long scene. The lucky winner was Morgan. Oh, actually, the most important change was making Benz referred to as Cap’n instead of Captain. Can’t forget that.

Post-Chapter Challenge: Behold the glory that is the space Wailord! Spacemon takes place in, well, space! As such, there needs to be Pokemon retooled for space! This shiny space Wailord is a good example. It floats through space, doesn’t need air or water, is capable of warp travel, and is large enough to eat a spaceship!

For this week’s challenge, I would like you to pick any Pokemon you want and redesign it for space!

That does it for this chapter. As always the Spacemon gang and I will be monitoring the comments to foster discussion and answer any questions. Feel free to give feedback and critiques of the writing so I can improve it for the future, or just leave a comment with what you think about what went down in this chapter or what you think might happen next! You can also revisit past chapters, check out the rest of the Spacemon saga, join the Spacemon Discord server, or like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things Spacemon! Click here for the next exciting installment of Spacemon!