She knew she could do with healing and re-packing. But leaving the building could be just as hard as pushing on. She wasn't short of money in any sense, the grunts she'd beaten had thrown all but they're fainting Pokémon at her as a distraction as they fled.
As she tried to stuff one of the potions back in her bag without roughing up all the money something fell out and tinkled to the floor.
A gym badge. Pryce's gym badge to be precise. She dusted it off before pinning it to her sash alongside her other 6. Just one left. Blackthorn Gym. The home of dragons and the famous tamers. Her heart lept at the idea she might run into Lance again. Her mother had mentioned he was from Blackthorn.
The little town was high up in the Johto canyons and very few had ever reached the gym. The ice path had been and still was the only viable way to reach the town. A mass of frozen caverns and mazes. Lyra frowned. She wasn't looking forward to that trip.
As her Machoke stirred from his nap, he and her Dragonair prompted her to continue the fight, they knew the odds were awkward either way and they would rather be caught dead fighting than running away.
"Are you sure your okay?" she asked the purple super powered Pokémon. He all but grunted in response and stretched. Dragonair lead forward out the room carefully peering around the corners for her and checking the corridors for further attacks.
"Huh? Seems very quiet now...are you sure there's just him left?" Lyra asked the dragon Pokémon as they stood but a corridor away from the only grunt left on the floor that was wearily guarding the stairs to the tower. Dragonair just whined. It was unsure.
But before Lyra could step around the corner and make for the grunt to battle she heard footstep on the metal floors behind her.
Spinning she came face to face with red hair.
"Damn it Silver what the hell are you doing here!" she hissed as her Machoke growled warningly at the other boy.
Silver just smirked tossing a poke ball from hand to hand. "Looking for Mr Lance-a-lot...I thought letting you go on the lower floors would lead me to him knowing how he helped you storm down the hideout in Mahogany, but seems I was wrong...he isn't here...but you are, so I'll remove you before I take care of these loser grunts!" she snapped as Machoke made forward and the boy Sneasel jumped from the ball to fight.
Once more Silver was left in a bad mood recalling his fainted Pokémon and swearing like a sailor as he shoved her away and ran back the way he came. Lyra would never understand that boy.
But as she pulled herself to her feet the Rocket grunt came around the corner hearing the commotion and with a shout launched his Golbat towards her!
With a shriek Lyra was back on the floor, her Dragonair speeding into the fray and freezing the Pokémon solid with a well aimed ice beam. The grunt unfazed tossed two houndooms into the battle and Machoke was charging to help defend Dragonair.
The commands went back and forth for sometime the grunt being too prepared to take her on and as soon as Machoke took out one of the fire Pokémon he tossed in a Raticate which launched itself with some ferocity at her Machoke and with a well placed hyper fang left the super powered Pokémon on his knees in serious pain.
Lyra withdrew him quickly and fumbled to throw out Nidoking. The poison king Pokémon was quick to rip the Raticate from Dragonair's tail and firmly body slam the rat into the nearby wall dropping it aside as it fell unconscious.
The Grunt finally began to back up, recalling the weakened Houndoom and making for the staircase. Lyra healed her Machoke and Dragonair before making after him.
She wished she hadn't.
The floor erupted into fuss as the grunt went run through yelling about an intruder.
Before Lyra knew it, the defeated grunt total had reached 37 and now she was stood panting beside her Nidoking in front of a laughing Rocket Executive Ariana.
Down to just 3 Pokémon and her sheer will, Lyra was forced to fight the woman down in order to get to the elevators. It was close. Too close for comfort and as Lyra slammed the button for the observation deck she found she might pass out before the next battle.
With only Nidoking, Dragonair and Feraligater left, Lyra was sure this would be the end.
With her finally full restore in hand and her water type Pokémon beside her she left the elevator to step out onto the observation deck. She took a moment to admire the view of the city from the tower, noticing the police cars the now lined the street. Finally.
But why had they not raided the place? she'd practically done all the work for them!
With a huff of annoyance she turned to finally see her final challenge stood over the other side of the deck.
Archer.
"Finally little Miss Wonder has arrived, I'm surprised you even made it this far..."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "You villains really do love the sound of your own voice don't you?" she retorted making the older man snarl.
"Never mind that! We have already succeeded, you may have taken down the Mahogany Unit but we have broadcast our radio signal and soon Giovanni will return from his solo training, he will return to us and you will finally feel the wrath of Team Rocket!"
Lyra's Feraligater growled threateningly and the Executive swallowed before reaching for his Pokemon. "Very well...if it is a battle you want...it is a defeat you will get!" he yelled before tossing a Houndour out.
Ferligater took care of that battle quickly. Tsk, you are always going to get your ass kicked if you don;t think on your type match ups.
Next came Koffing and a smokescreen attack that flooded the floor in a heavy black and smothering fog. Lyra was left coughing and choking as she fought to command her Pokémon.
A well aimed sludge attack left her Pokémon too weak to continue and she withdrew him from further harm, throwing Nidoking into the battle.
The poison type rallied off against the other for some time until the Koffing fainted. But not before it launched another bout of poisonous smog leaving Lyra on her knees and her Nidoking worse for wear.
Archer was laughing. She could hear him in-between his own coughing fit.
Houndoom came next and even though Nidoking had weakened the fire Pokémon it had been too tired from its burns to keep fighting and fainted with a bang as the hound bit fiercely into its calf.
Her Dragonair burst forth from its ball without command and set about ending the fight once and for all with a well placed Ice beam. The Houndoom shook off the first attack and laughed itself for bite attack only to be smack away with a powerful dragon tail.
"Danny..." Lyra coughed trying to see some way to end this.
The Dragon Pokémon whined its notice before surging an aqua tail attack at the fire Pokémon. The Houndoom roared in pain, fighting to its feet wobbly and uncoordinated.
Dragonair launched its attack again as the hound tried to get closer to bite but it was too slow collapsing from exhaustion it finally fainted and Archer was left speechless at the sudden defeat.
Archer made some point about disbanding Team Rocket as the air began to clear. Lyra found her legs unable to obey her as the executive made a rush for the elevator and fled the scene.
Every time she breathed in her lungs burnt. Her head was spinning and her Dragonair curled itself around her with a whine displaying its fear.
"It's...okay, I just...need to, get...some fresh air" she wheezed trying to move her self towards the elevator.
She all but managed to hit the button with the last of her strength before collapsing.
She faintly remembered feeling her Dragonair licking her face before succumbing to the darkness.
