The fire takes you.

You stare into the darkness contemplating turning back. When you turn to take a final look at the fire, you’re caught off guard at the fire flying towards you. You throw your hands up to defend yourself. Your vision goes purple as you feel enveloped in warmth. The heat passes and you lower your arms.

You look around, the tunnel of Mt. Moon is gone. You’re in the landing of an oddly eerie mansion.The floor creaks under your every step. Every picture in the house seems to be of the same nerdy looking guy. “Hello, is anybody there?” you call out. You wait but nobody answers. Strange. Where are you? Are you still inside the mountain? You move down a hallway finding room after room. They’re all filled with dusty sheet covered furniture.

The fire atop the candles lining the hallway turns purple. Well, might as well follow the sign. You follow the purple flames through twisting corridors until you arrive at a large set of double doors. Pushing the doors open you find yourself in a large dining room. You hear a clatter of metal from across the room. You look across the room for the sound’s origin, then you see it. The guy from the pictures is sitting at the dining room table, a strip of meat hanging from his mouth, his cutlery resting where he dropped them, a look of surprise in his eyes.

He spits out the chunk of meat, “Welcome, uh welcome to the mansion.” He gestures around the room.

“Where are we?” you ask, still trying to learn anything you can about your strange surroundings.

“I think we’re in Mt. Moon, but I don’t know how I got into a house,” he says rubbing his head.

“So, you were in Mt. Moon as well. Did you see a purple flame?” you ask, trying to piece together the puzzle.

“A purple flame?” he seems confused. “No, I was lost trying to find my way through Mt. Moon and one night I fell asleep curled up with my pokemon and then I woke up here.”

“Strange, two trainers find their way to a creepy mansion inside a mountain. But we didn’t get here the same way. Unless the flame got you while you were sleeping.”

“Well, we’re stuck here now. I’ve looked everywhere for a way out. What do you say about a pokemon battle before I give you a tour?”

Shit, a pokemon battle now? You don’t have a viable excuse to say no, so it’s time to battle. “Fine but let’s make it quick, I want to find a way out.” You both throw out a pokemon, your Ponyta neighs and the guy’s Litwick flares to life.

“Litwick, night shade!” An eerie glow envelopes Litwick causing Ponyta to recoil.

“Ponyta, flame wheel!” you command as Ponyta launches into a fiery charge. She slams into Litwick, knocking him out in one blow.

“Oh, no I’ve lost,” he says, calling back his pokemon. Did he only have the one pokemon? Oh well at least you didn’t lose to this guy in such a weird place.

The rest of the night is spent walking around the mansion. You learn that your fellow captive is named Jerry. He shows you the rooms he’s enjoyed. A ballroom, a library, and most importantly the kitchen. Surprisingly the pantry is stocked with fresh foods, Jerry informs you that everything comes back each day so you can eat as much as you like. You make a sandwich before continuing your exploration.

You start to notice that it is the same scenery outside every window. The glass is cold to the touch. You even try throwing stuff through one, but everything just bounces off the glass. You try the doors in the landing, they won’t budge like the exit is barred from the outside. Jerry follows you around, he’s a weird dude. When you ask him about the pictures of him everywhere, he says they were already there when he woke up in the mansion. He seems genuine but it seems unlikely.

You grow tired from the exploration, and eventually split off from Jerry to find a bedroom to spend the night in. You wake up feeling refreshed to find the same eerie dark scenery outside every window. When you meet back up with Jerry, he’s making breakfast. He challenges you to another pokemon battle as soon as he sees you. The battle goes just as well for him as the last time. The day proceeds without any incidents or advancements in escape.

The days drag on, starting with a battle with Jerry and followed up with trying every room for any clue on how to escape. Jerry grows bored of following you from room to room everyday. He had probably gone through the process when he first arrived. He tries to distract you with games and books. You lose track of the days, the static scenery outside makes it hard to keep track of the passing hours, your phone long dead. Your hair has grown down past your ass. You’ve never had your hair this long before.

After another battle, if you can even call it that, with Jerry, you finally ask, “Why do you challenge me every day, even though you don’t stand a chance at winning?”

He blushes a deep red, “I’m a virgin,” he almost whispers to his feet. You’re shocked, he’s a trainer. How has he made it to Mt. Moon without beating any women at a battle? Then you remember his battling prowess and can believe that. “And it’s just you’re so pretty,” he continues while still not bringing his eyes back to you.

You feel an odd pity for your fellow prisoner. You had planned on looking for hidden secrets in the library today. But you could help him with his problem, you’ve fucked plenty of trainers already. You look at Jerry as you contemplate your plan for the day, he’s still staring at his feet embarrassed at having to admit his secret.