The winds of the Glaseado Mountain Range whipped around them, carrying the sounds of the rampaging Iron Thorns. The powerful Paradox Tyranitar smashed its claws against the rocky ground, causing tremors to ripple through the mountainside. Its massive form moved with erratic abandon, the creature's glowing eyes wild with confusion.
Despite the chaos, Kai remained still, his eyes never leaving the creature. The air around them was thick with tension, but he wasn't afraid. He knew something wasn't right — Iron Thorns wasn't attacking out of malice; it was trapped, lost between two worlds.
"Iron Thorns…" Kai muttered to himself, a frown settling on his face. "This isn't right. It's not supposed to be like this."
Geeta stepped forward, her usual confidence replaced with concern. "Kai, do you think it's being controlled? Should we move in to stop it?"
Kai shook his head, his gaze focused intensely on Iron Thorns. "No, it's not being controlled by any outside force... it's something else."
He glanced at his team, knowing that the situation was more complex than it appeared. Iron Thorns was strong, but it wasn't acting on its own accord. There was something about the creature's movements — something deeply disoriented, as if it didn't fully understand where it was or what it was doing.
"It's not acting on instinct," Kai said, his voice low. "This creature... it's stuck between two worlds. Between the present and the future."
The Elite Four exchanged puzzled looks. Rika stepped forward, her usual confidence shaken. "What do you mean by 'stuck between two worlds'?"
Kai's eyes narrowed. "I've encountered Pokémon like this before, Pokémon from the future. But Iron Thorns is different. It's physically here in this time, but its mind — its consciousness — is fragmented. It's caught between timelines."
The massive Iron Thorns let out another roar, its frustration growing. It was thrashing, but not with purpose. It was lost, confused — trapped in an endless loop between its place in the future and its current existence in the present.
"We need to calm it down," Kai said, stepping closer. "If we can help it regain some sense of direction, it'll stop. But first, I need to figure out what's causing this confusion."
Geeta nodded, glancing back at the others. "Kai, do you think you can communicate with it again? Reach out and help it understand?"
Kai closed his eyes and reached for the creature's mind, focusing all his energy on creating a connection. But this time, something was different. The usual warmth of the bond between him and a Pokémon was gone. Iron Thorns's mind was too fragmented, too broken by the temporal rift. Every time Kai tried to make contact, the connection slipped through his fingers like smoke. The gap between timelines was too wide.
"I can't... I can't reach it," Kai admitted, opening his eyes. "It's too disoriented. The rift is preventing any direct communication."
"Then what do we do?" Geeta asked, her voice tight with urgency.
Kai's expression softened as he looked at Iron Thorns, which had stopped its rampaging for the moment, its eyes darting around in confusion. It seemed aware of the presence of the humans, but it didn't know what to make of them.