The basin was no longer a den.
It was a wound.
A crater of churned earth, shredded trees, and slick purple-black sludge that steamed in the morning air. The fog wasn't even natural fog — it was the Goodra's breath, thick with acidic vapor.
Cyrus wiped his face with his sleeve. "Okay. Yep. This smells like a Pokémon the size of a barn is exhaling on us."
Kina squinted ahead. "Listen."
The ground vibrated in slow, miserable pulses.The kind of sound you feel in your ribs before you hear it.
Then:
Hnnnnnnngh.A low, pained groan that made Sliggoo curl against Kina's leg.
"Is that… whining?" Kina asked quietly.
"No," Cyrus said. "That's something too big to whine."
Gengar froze beside him — pupils small, body rigid.
And that was the real warning.
Gengar never looked nervous.
Ditto tightened like a sash around Cyrus's shoulder, trying not to tremble.
They stepped forward. Carefully. Slowly.
Mudsdale braced itself and dug its hooves into the dirt.Toucannon stayed perched on Kina's shoulder but was dead silent — rare for it.
Then the fog parted.
And the Titan looked back at them.
The Hisuian Goodra was colossal — easily three stories tall when fully coiled. The metallic sheen of its armor was cracked across its back like shattered porcelain, each fault line glowing faintly with internal sludge.
One break, high on the left ridge of the shell, was wide enough that Cyrus could see the raw tissue beneath — glowing, pulsing, trying to knit itself together and failing miserably.
The Titan lifted its head.
Its eyes were huge and glassy, ringed with violet stress lines.Not angry.
Hurt.
But hurt big enough to kill something without meaning to.
When it shifted forward, the ground quaked, and sludge seeped from between its plating, sizzling as it hit the soil.
Kina whispered, "Cyrus."
"I know."
"We can't fight that thing."
"I know."
"Even the Ursaluna couldn't dent it."
"I KNOW."
A deep rumble rolled through the basin. Cyrus wasn't sure if it was a warning or a plea.
Then Goodra's eyes locked onto him.
Not Kina.
Not the Pokémon.
Him.
Good.
It recognized him from the shell sampling earlier.
Maybe that helped.
Maybe.
Cyrus raised both hands slowly. "Kina… let's do this before it stops tolerating us."
She reached into her pack and pulled out the sealed metal cylinder the binder was stored in — humming faintly from the reactive compound inside.
"You sure this will work?" she murmured.
"No."He took the cylinder."But if we wait until it thrashes again, we'll die before we find out."
Kina moved with him — half step behind, Mudsdale ready to intercept, Araquanid crouched low to protect her.
Cyrus stepped closer.
The Titan leaned in.
A wave of warm, corrosive breath washed over him, sour and metallic. Ditto flinched but didn't break form.
"I'm here to help," Cyrus whispered.
Goodra's enormous head tilted, confused.
Or curious.
Or both.
When Cyrus stood directly beneath its jaw, the Titan's shell plate shifted — slowly, painfully — exposing the cracked section fully.
Kina inhaled softly. "It looks worse in daylight."
Cyrus swallowed. "Don't say that out loud."
He popped the binder cylinder open.
A sharp chemical scent burst outward — not dangerous, but potent. The substance inside glowed pale blue, shifting like liquid glass.
Goodra shuddered.
"Easy," Cyrus said. "This'll sting for like… a long time. Probably. Sorry."
He dipped a large applicator pad into the binder.
The ground trembled.
Goodra groaned.
Cyrus touched the pad to the crack.
The Titan roared.
The sound blasted his hair back, nearly knocked Kina to her knees, and sent Gengar flying backward into a tree.
"KINA HOLD IT STILL—"
"I CAN'T HOLD A BUILDING-SIZED DRAGON STILL, CYRUS—"
Ditto slapped itself against the shell and hardened, trying to act like a stabilizer brace.
Cyrus pressed harder.
The binder reacted instantly — fusing across the crack like molten crystal.
Goodra thrashed.
Kina lunged forward and grabbed Cyrus's coat, grounding him before he could be flung back.
"We have to keep going!" she yelled over the roar.
"IT HATES THIS!"
"BECAUSE IT'S WORKING!"
He dipped the pad again and smeared more binder along a second fracture.
The Titan bellowed — not in rage, but agony.
Mudsdale staggered.Araquanid hissed, protecting Kina's legs with its bubble shield.Sliggoo cried out, tiny body shaking.
Kina's hand found Cyrus's shoulder, gripping tight. "We're close. Keep going."
He finished the last line.
The binder surged — glowing brighter, locking into place with a crystalline snap.
Goodra froze.
Then let out a long, low, trembling exhale that rattled the entire basin.
Cyrus slowly backed away. "Okay. Okay. Okay. Please don't kill us."
The a moment of stillness
Goodra lowered its head.
Not attacking.
Not angry.
Not calm either — but breathing easier.
A heavy eyelid closed halfway, almost like relief.
Kina exhaled shakily. "It's… working."
"Yeah," Cyrus panted. "Now we just need a miracle-sized painkiller and about six more months."
She nudged him lightly with her elbow. "You did good."
Their eyes met — brief, unspoken, but grounding.
Ditto melted into a puddle of exhausted goo on Cyrus's shoulder.
Gengar drifted back over, dazed but smirking.
For one moment, everything felt—HNNNNNNNNNNGH.
The Titan stiffened.
Not in pain.
In alarm.
Its head shot toward the treeline.
Kina froze. "Cyrus…?"
"I hear it."
A giggle.
Distant.Too light.Too pleased.
Something was watching.
Watching them.
Watching the Goodra.
And it definitely liked the chaos.
Cyrus's skin crawled.
Kina raised her voice softly to the Titan. "You're safe. Rest. We'll handle whatever…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
Because she couldn't.
Because neither of them had any idea what "whatever" even was.
The Titan slowly curled in on itself, settling, trembling… but calmer. Breathing steady.
Healing.
And above them, unseen, the air shimmered in a perfect ring before snapping quiet again.
Something was leaving.Satisfied.
Cyrus whispered, "Kina… we didn't fix the biggest problem."
She nodded, jaw tight. "I know."
"…We just fixed the one that could flatten the town."
Her exhale was shaky. "Hey I'll take it."
They stood there, shoulder to shoulder, staring into the empty treeline where the laughter had vanished.
One crisis eased.
But another about to begin.