Lyra awoke with a start and shivered from the cold night air enveloping her. Was that a dream? Something was clutched in her hand and she inspected it. It was a coin from the Goldenrod Game Corner but this one emblazoned with a picture of a Banette instead of a Voltorb, which was the normal design. Things had become so weird that she stopped wondering where the coin had come from or why she was even lying out in the open after being attacked in a storeroom. Instead, she looked around her and took in her surroundings. She was at the Rooftop Atrium of Goldenrod Department Store and it was sometime late at night because the normally-bustling plaza was now deserted. And her Poké Balls were still missing. Damn, so it wasn't a dream after all.

Gazing over the railings at the lights and streets of Goldenrod City below and pondering her next move, a banging sound from behind her caught her attention. Turning, she saw one of the vending machines rattling and rocking back and forth. Banging noises were coming from it as though someone was trapped inside the machine and trying to escape.

Terror shot up her spine, not least because the memories of her Banette 'dream' were still fresh. Nevertheless, she inched carefully towards the machine, which was the furthest from her in a line of three. It looked ordinary, no different from the other two machines which offered Fresh Water, Soda Pop and Lemonade. Still, someone or something was obviously inside. And because she had no other spare change, she took the Banette coin and inserted it into the machine's coin slot. Instead of the buttons illuminating to await her choice of beverage, the vending machine gave one final violent lurch and spat out a Poké Ball, before returning her the coin.

Lyra was a Trainer. Now taking the mysterious Poké Ball in hand, she told herself that whatever creature was in this Poké Ball was now under her control. She steadied herself and took a deep breath, then opened the Poké Ball. It was no surprise to her that a Banette came out but even so, she gave a small yelp of fright and backed away in anticipation of another attack. This Banette however floated gently to her and nuzzled her tenderly, as though she were its long-time Trainer. As she hesitantly stroked the Ghost Pokémon, she noticed that it was slightly injured as though it had just fought a battle. Whoever had knocked her unconscious and taken away her Pokémon were probably the same people who had put this Banette inside the vending machine. And as she realised this, she also realised that she had another clue from which to proceed – the Game Corner coin.

Though it was late at night, the Game Corner was still open because of the type of crowd it attracted. The Goldenrod City Game Corner still retained its slot machines, which were reserved for the exclusive use of adults. Being under 18 years of age though, Lyra was conducted by the Game Corner bouncers to the "junior section". Here, in a smaller hallway was a large card table and behind that table on a moth-bitten sofa sat a creepy and withered old man who called himself Mr. Game – a washed-up skank wearing a faded and ill-fitting suit, who had nothing to do with his life but literally gamble it away. Lyra knew him because she had played his Voltorb Flip game many times and with sheer luck, had finally won her prized Dratini. This was the man she was looking to see.

"Well, hello there! If it isn't the very lucky Lyra!" Mr. Game crooned while giving Lyra a paedophilic smile. "Back for another game? My heart pounds with excitement when people enjoy my Coin game!" He grinned slyly, emphasizing the words 'pounds' and 'excitement' in a suggestive manner.

Ignoring the chills creeping under her skin, Lyra maintained her composure and held up the Banette coin. "No games today. Is this coin from you?"

Upon catching sight of the coin with its finely embossed Banette print, Mr. Game's face straightened and he stood up. "This is not the place to discuss this. Let's go somewhere more private."

The old man led Lyra to a room in which there was a smaller card table and a chair on either side of it. Lyra saw that rows of Game Corner coins were laid out on the table in a grid normally used for Voltorb Flip cards. In the centre of the grid, an empty space indicated that a coin was missing.

"Please," Mr. Game said as he ushered her to take her seat on one of the chairs. He then took the coin from her, closed and locked the door, and sat on the other chair, replacing her coin in the centre of the grid.

"Now if you want answers, I will suggest that you play along. We will now play the Voltorb Flip Coin game," Mr. Game said in a serious tone, before pulling out four Poké Balls and opening them to reveal four Voltorbs who took their positions at the four corners of the room.

Mr. Game alone with her in a locked room, threatening her with four Pokémon into compliance. If it wasn't for the fact that he had completely shed his usual jovial paedophilic disposition and looked dead serious, Lyra would have kicked him in the groin under the table and run screaming out of the room.

The game had begun.

Lyra was still the physical manifestation of Lady Luck on earth and breezed through the first 12 rounds of the Voltorb Flip game, opening all the Banette coins and choosing no Voltorb coins. But alas came the 13th round and she only had 1 more Banette coin to find. This game was considerably harder as instead of 3s, 2s, 1s and Voltorbs, there were only Banette and Voltorb coins, with the number of Voltorb coins being equivalent to the number of 1 and Voltorb cards in a normal game.

As cold sweat poured down her forehead, Lyra suddenly remembered what her original purpose in coming here was. "Why are we even playing this game? What does this have to do with anything?"

"Now, now, don't be impatient. We are at the final round," Mr. Game said coldly.

Looking back down at the grid, Lyra considered where the final Banette could be. And then she realised that according to the grid, there could be no more Banettes – only Voltorbs were left.

"There are no more Banettes left!"

A flicker of emotion briefly showed on Mr. Game's face. Then it broke out into a full, crooked evil grin. "Exactly."

He then seized her hand and made it flip over one of the remaining coins.

"A Voltorb! You lose! GAME OVER!" he yelled in triumph.

And upon the pronouncement of those two final words, the Voltorbs at the corners of the room ignited simultaneously and erupted in an earth-shattering explosion.

Everything went white.