Before you ask, yes, this chapter was inspired by Sonic Frontier's song: "Undefeatable".

Chapter 26: Undefeatable PT 1

"You want me to teach you how to use 'Flow?'" Geeta's smile deepened. "Now why would I teach you something You already can use?" Both Kai and Nemona widened their eyes in shock, and took a step back, even.

"I- I already can-?" Kai said.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew how to use Flow, Kai!?" Nemona cried.

"You think I KNEW that I knew!?" Kai roared at Nemona before turning back to Geeta. "Wait- You haven't seen me fight before. How do you even know that I-"

"Someone who was watching your battles told me all about it," Geeta said.

"What!? Really?! Who..?!"

"Who knows?"

Nemona's eyes widened as she raised her hand. "Oooh, Ooh, I know! It was Direc-" Geeta quickly stomped Nemona's foot with a look of annoyance. Nemona hopped on one leg while holding her hurt foot. "OW OW OW!" She cried while hopping away.

"Nemona is a strange one," Geeta said after a sigh, "Is she not?"

"Yeeep. You get used to it," Kai said with a nod.

"Right… Anyway, allow me to continue." Geeta said, crossing her arms. "What lead me to the conclusion that you at the very least have experienced 'Flow' was your fights with Team Star. Mela, and were completely defeated. She hadn't even reached full power- and she beat you with ease."

Kai narrowed his eyes in sadness. "You don't have to rub it in," He muttered under his breath low enough for Geeta to not hear.

"Despite your second battle ending in a loss," Geeta said. "You did significantly better. Being able to dodge Mela's attacks at full power is no easy feat. Especially for a trainer who has no badges."

Kai blushed a bit.

"My theory is that you performed better because you had less stressors in your mind. The stakes were lower. Your second battle with Mela wasn't to prove yourself to Nemona, or prove yourself to Team Star. It was just a friendly battle between two people."

"Just.. a friendly battle..." Kai said.

"Because of those stressors being relieved, you had less to think about during the battle, yes? Less to worry about, in regard to if you're performing well enough, or how strong the enemy is. You had no time to think, only act. Right?"

"R-Right," Kai said, nodding.

"That's when you gained access to Flow. You stopped thinking about other stressors and focused entirely on the fight. Because of this, your performance was significantly better than the last, despite not training very rigorously." Geeta raised a finger while keeping her arms crossed. "The one tip I can give you is this: The less mental clutter in your mind, the better. The less distracted you'll become. And when you put your entire mind into a battle…you'll enter the state of Flow."

"I mean... the way I think of it... is that Nemona's hit me with faster attacks, y'know?" Kai said.

"Right."

"Um...I've got a question," Kai said. "How come when you enter 'Flow', your eyes start glowing and stuff?"

"I've conquered my insecurities and fears to the point that my mind can focus without limitation. And when I'm able to truly be on my own side..." Geeta's eyes started glowing blue. "My eyes glow as such." Geeta blinked, and her eyes stopped glowing. "The same will happen to you when you do the same. However, the moment you start to think twice about your actions is when it will fade away."

"I don't think there's gonna be a 'when' I learn flow. You mean if-"

"I mean, When." Geeta said with a smile.

"Ugh...Anyway, 'Flow' is more of a state of mind than a technique...?"

"Exactly. My level of mastery allows me to tap into Flow at will. When you use Flow yourself, it'll activate randomly as you start to learn how to control it."

"So the only reason why I can't do it is because I always distract myself with... my own thoughts."

"The only person in your way is yourself, yes." Geeta said.

Kai sighed.

"Hey!" Nemona said, walking up to the two trainers and visibly okay after being stomped on the foot. "I don't have any mental distractions when I fight and I don't enter the state of 'Flow!'"

"Nemona, when was the last time you stopped holding back?" Geeta asked.

Nemona's eyes and mouth were wide open as she began to sweat a bit. "Uhhhhh…."

"Exactly," Geeta said, "You're so preoccupied with holding back that you can't possibly enter the state of Flow."

"Wait-" Kai said. "Does that mean anyone can enter this state of Flow?"

"Yes," Geeta said.

Geeta put her hand on top of Kai's shoulder and smiled. "I apologize that there weren't many tips that I could give you in regard to Flow. I too am slowly coming to grips to what it is. But I can give you one more tip: When you hate yourself to a degree of which you doubt that you could ever win any battle… it's impossible to enter flow, let alone win a battle. You'd be fighting a two-versus-one. Your enemy, your thoughts, versus yourself. A simple way of reducing the clutter in your mind… is that you simply have to learn to believe in yourself. And for people like you and I… That is a tall order."

"Wait… Geeta, do you… "

Geeta pulled her hand away from Kai and put both of her hands behind her back. She then turned around.

"Anywho…" Geeta continued, "I suggest you test your might at the nearest Gym. The one closest to us is the Cortando Gym, yes? If you decide to make your way there now, I would be happy to watch your battle and perhaps even give you pointers..."

"I-... That'd be an honor!" Kai cried.

"On one condition." Geeta said, turning her head to Kai, who tilted his head in confusion. "You and I will walk there together. Just the two of us. We will use no Pokémon for transportation."

"Oh- uh… okay." Kai responded.

"Oooh, Hiking time!" Nemona cried.

Geeta turned her head to Nemona. "I believe I said The two of us. Meaning me and Kai alone will go on this trip."

"Wha- Whuddya mean?! Things are getting much more interesting! Why would I leave?"

Geeta turned to Nemona, then glanced at Tinkatuff, who was hitting rocks with her hammer again and being impressed with how much of a dent it was leaving.

"Tinkatuff?" Geeta said. The tiny pink Pokémon turned to Nemona. "I remember being told that you and Nemona have some unsettled business to attend to."

Tinkatuff's eyes widened with furious rage as soon as she remembered what had happened with her and Nemona. The battle that they were going to have until an explosion from Mela and Kai's fight rang out. The tiny Pokémon glared and gritted her teeth in anger.

"Wait-" Nemona turned to Tinkatuff, who was approaching with her hammer above her head. "Wha-"

Tinkatuff jumped to Nemona's face and swung downward, only for Nemona to side step and jump away from the Pink menace, who landed on the ground and approached Nemona with furious eyes.

"Heh," Nemona grinned, raising her fiery greatsword that was Fuecoco onto her shoulder. "Good thing I didn't disengage my armor. Let's do it, Tinkatuff!"

Geeta placed a hand on Kai's shoulder, motioning with her other hand for the two of them to leave. Kai nodded, and went with her just before the Fairy type and trainer went at it.

"Kai-" Geeta said as the sounds of Tinkatuff and Nemona's grunting became quieter as the two left. "I wanted to speak with you alone for a reason. Also, please do not disengage your armor, or tell Quaxly to undo his transformation. Let that blade stay in your hand at all times."

"Oh… Okay." Kai said.

"I will not refrain from being brutally honest with you," Geeta said, as the sounds of Tinkatuff and Nemona's grunting became too far for them to even hear. "But I will warn you first: Are you alright with me being honest?"

"I mean, you're trying to help me, right? Sure."

"All right." Geeta said. The top champion's hand left Kai's shoulder as she placed both hands behind her.

"If you are to go to fight the Gym leader in Cortondo City as you are now, Kai, You will, without a doubt, lose your battle."

"Lose..!?" Kai cried.

Sada and Turo both were in their laboratory deep in the Crater of Paldea, watching a monitor that showed their creation's point of view: Aeon, who was staring at and having a conversation with Arven. The two were walking along a dirt road.

"I didn't think that you of all people would need advice on cooking," Aeon teased.

"I mean," Arven said, "I don't know how to make pastries, okay? I have a mini cooking set not a mini-bakery. Besides, you NEED to try some of the sweets at Cortando town."

"I suppose so."

"'I suppose so', what's next, robot? Gonna say 'beep, boop'?"

"I can if you want me to."

"You- I was being sarcastic!"

"I am as well."

"I'm going to hit you in your little head, you know that, squirt?"

"It won't hurt."

Arven brought his hand to Aeon and flicked his forehead. The two siblings exchanged a long glance before Arven started to chuckle.

"You're such a doofus," Arven said, patting the boy on the shoulder. "I think you and I are going to get along just fine,"

Sada and Turo smiled at the exact same time.

"This is perfect," Sada said. "This is almost exactly what happened last time,"

"If things continue to move this smoothly, do you think we'll succeed this time?"

Sada nodded. "Our calculations are all correct. Their chances of winning, when the final showdown begins, is less than zero."

Geeta closed her eyes as she watched Kai's surprised expression after hearing what she had said. "Allow me to explain why your loss is guaranteed if your mindset stays the same as it is now," Geeta said. "Your mind is simply too clouded. You have the skill and talent, your Pokémon are strong enough for the battle, however… you don't believe in yourself."

Kai felt so insulted at that point that he started to fight back tears. "What am I supposed to do, then? Lose?"

Geeta smiled. "What's something good you can say about your ability to battle?"

"Something…good? I mean, uh…" Kai lowered his head as he thought of an answer. He watched his feet move as he walked and shook his head in affirmation to himself that he had no memory of doing something good. "I guess I can think of when I fought against Mela, and did OK. But…"

"But?"

"Yeah, but I lost. So it doesn't matter."

"Does defeat have to be all bad?" Geeta asked. "Defeat can open a lot of doors for us, perhaps even more than winning. If I hadn't lost to Nemona, I would have never found the need to train and become several times stronger than I was before."

"...What's your point?"

"My point is," Geeta said, smiling deeper. "That your battle meant so much more than you losing. What happened during that fight was that you were able to learn about yourself, and about your battle style. You were quite arrogant during that battle with Mela, making her go full power against you on purpose."

"Yeah, but… ugh. I hate doing that. I kind of get in the moment and just do and say things that get me in trouble. I hate it when I do that…"

"But that's who you are, yes?" Geeta said. "Do you enjoy acting arrogant?"

"I mean, yeah. I do enjoy it, but if I lose, then-"

Geeta shook her head.

"Don't think of losing and winning as an all-or-nothing scenario. It's possible to gain something from either scenario. According to my friend, Mela said that if you had used a different Pokémon of a different type, you would have won. You also gained the respect of her underlings. Is that something not worth celebrating?"

"No, not really."

"Why?"

"Because I lost, that's why. I mean sure, yeah, I got the respect of Team Star, and I nearly won, but I lost, and-"

Geeta frowned. "How about this, then: Did you enjoy yourself?" She asked.

"...Yeah." Kai replied, crossing his arms. "I did. Almost as much as the time when I beat that titan Klawf. I felt like I was on top of the world when I beat that big Pokémon in a stylish way. I felt like I could do anything. Then I said something embarrassing to a person I like, and I kind of went back into my shell…"

"But it was fun, yes?"

"Yeah, it was."

"So why not act that way all the time? So you can feel like you're on top of the world, and have fun?"

"Because, I can't. It's… it's stupid, and it makes me look stupid."

"Why?"

"Because it does, okay? It's…" Kai turned his head and closed his eyes. Everything around him became dark, and not even Geeta could be seen in the darkness. In front of Kai was his other self- his true self, chained and bound ahead of him. The chains were slightly more loose after cracking a bit with his battle with Mela. The Kai who was not chained looked at his true self in the eyes and glared at him with intense hatred. "It's embarrassing," Kai continued. "I don't like it. That version of me doesn't deserve to exist."

"We've arrived," Geeta said.

Kai opened his eyes in shock as he came back to reality. Geeta was right- the two were right in front of Cortando town, with several buildings and people walking along enjoying themselves.

Geeta looked up at the Gym Leader Building, which was the tallest of them all, then turned to Kai.

"There is no single word of advice I can give you in regard to learning to believe in yourself other than trusting the words and praises of your friends in your past," Geeta said, "But if you are truly against yourself, you will Never be able to succeed. But that doesn't mean that all hope is lost. Remember what your friends have told you thus far. They are your crutch until you learn to believe in yourself on your own. Allow yourself to be left with your thoughts without fear and let your emotions flow without interruption so you can start to understand them. If your problem is anything like mine was, then you have something to say to yourself."

Kai said nothing and lowered his head.

"Kai," Geeta said, "Do you want to free yourself of your chains and be your truest self?"

"...Yes." Kai said. "I do. But I'm terrified."

"I understand. I was the exact same way when I was your age. I want to help you, because I don't like it when others go through similar things that I do. Especially when I can do something about it."

"Right."

"I have one more thing to say. The only one that doesn't believe in you… is you. You know what needs to be done."

Geeta turned and walked away, leaving Kai by himself.

Kai groaned and shook his head. The grip he had on Quaxly, who was the Water katana, tightened. The Katana he held moved in response, but only a little bit. Kai sighed.

The world around Kai became completely dark again. The other Kai, the one in chains, appeared behind him.

"So. Are you going to let me out?" The true Kai said.

"No.'

"You heard what Geeta said."

"So what?"

"So, You know that the only way to win is to let me out. Let me be me."

"Do you know how embarrassing it'll be? How stupid I'll look? How-"

"Why is it that you care so much about what other people think!?" The true Kai cried. "Why can't you- just for once in your stupid, pathetic life, realize that the only way of winning is to just let go and be yourself?! Just once, just once I want to be free without you dragging me down and saying that I'm worthless, that I'm trash! Do you want to just lose again!? Is that it?! Huh? You heard what Geeta said! If we can't get along, we'll lose!"

"You think I don't know that?!"

"Then DO something! You're the one who put me in these chains, let me out!"

"Shut up!" The unchained Kai put his hands on his temples. "I'm thinking…"

"Thinking of what? You'd better be thinking about how you're going to let me out of these chains!"

"I said, Shut up!"

"How stupid can you be to not-"

"SHUT UP!"

Kai sat down in front of his other chained up self.

"You just don't learn," The chained up Kai said.

"YOU don't learn!"

"You don't get that deep down, you want to win."

"Of course I do! Why are we even fighting about this!?"

"Why are we fighting each other?"

The unchained Kai paused. His eyes widened. "I… I dont know." He said.

Kai fell to his knees in front of his chained up self. "You think I don't know that I have to let you go to win?" Kai said to his true self.. "We both want the same thing."

"The whole reason why we… I mean, I…" The true Kai said.

"The reason why I became a trainer," The Kai on his knees said, "Was because of Nemona. Nemona pushed me, farther than I thought I ever could go. And the only way I thought of thanking her was proving myself… and becoming stronger. So I could live to her the end, I saw myself as just… a tool to make Nemona happy. But-"

"But in the end," The chained Kai said, "I was afraid. Afraid of what would happen if I 'let myself go'. I was afraid of the consequences of what would follow if I were to just… go wild."

"But…" Both Kais spoke at the same time. "That time when I fought against Klawf… was when I felt the most alive. Where I could truly be myself. It wasn't about proving myself, or anything. Even if I lost, it wouldn't have mattered that much."

"We agreed with each other on one thing..." The true Kai said. "Can we agree to let me out this once?"

"Fine. But only during the battle. I'm still afraid of you. I'll let you go wild when the battle begins. Okay?"

"...At least we're starting somewhere..."

Kai stood alone, thinking to himself as townspeople walked by him. Kai's head was lowered, a shadow loomed over his eyes.

Geeta returned to Kai. "Are you prepared to fight against Katy?" She asked.

Kai nodded.

Geeta nodded and smiled. "Let's go. The quicker we pass the pre-test, the better."

Nemona and Tinkatuff breathed heavily while staring at one another.

"Dang, Tinkatuff, you're a great sparing partner…!" Nemona cried, leaving her battle stance and flipping her greatsword so she could shove the bladed tip into the ground. The flaming Greatsword ignited before disappearing, turning into a tiny orb that took the shape and form of Fuecoco, who floated in the air briefly before Nemona caught him and hugged him.

Tinkatuff looked surprised. "Tinka?"

"I'd love to fight you more when Kai's with you," Nemona said, "So let's just call this a draw, and go join the others, yeah? I want to see the battle between Kai and Katy."

Tinkatuff sighed. She muttered her own name under her breath, which, if it were translated to english it'd mean: 'All this girl thinks about is battle- I'm not a match for her on my own…'

"Let's gooo!" Nemona said, putting Fuecoco on her shoulder and shooting her fist in the air as she lead the way. Tinkatuff sighed begrudgingly and turned her head, noticing that Team Star's Mela and Eri were gone. They must have gotten Eri to safety, the pink Pokémon thought. She turned and started wobbling after Nemona.

Arven and Aeon were munching on Cinnamon rolls together while walking in the streets of Cortondo city.

"It's delicious, right?" Arven said.

"Absolutely," Aeon said, "But I wish that we had something to watch while eating…"

Arven glanced up at the ceiling of the Gym Leader building, and eyed someone familiar approaching Katy. Arven's eyebrows rose.

"Is that Kai?!" Arven roared.

"Is Kai challenging his first Gym?" Aeon said.

"I think so! Let's go!"

Both Arven and Aeon exchanged a nod before running.

Kai, who was no longer in his invoker armor, and had both of his available Pokémon in their Pokeballs, stood face to face with the Gym Leader of Cortondo: Katy. She was a green haired woman dressed in a chef's uniform and an apron. She had a very pleasant smile on her face.

"Hello there!" Katy said. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Kai! Geeta has told me a bit about you."

Kai didn't respond, because he was feeling the pressure once the crowd around him began cheering and clapping in a rhythmic fashion. Drums began to play as well.

"She also said you were in a sad mood," Katy said. "I hope that our battle is fun enough to make a sweet memory! Also, do you know about the extra rules for Gym battles? Every Gym battle has special gimmicks behind them! It'd be a treat if I told you early what mine was, but I like to save dessert for last! You'll have time to figure it out! Ready when you are!"

Kai and Katy moved their wrists which had their invoker bracelets on near their faces as the clapping and drums became louder and faster.

"S'cuse me, Lo siento! I'm sorry!" Nemona said, pushing through the crowd watching Kai. Tinkatuff was right behind her. "Pardon me!" She cried.

"Sorry-" Arven said, moving along with his robot sibling while they both held their plates and cinnamon buns.

"Excuse us!" Aeon said. He was very curious to see how far Kai had come.

Kai and Katy pressed their Invokers as everyone started clapping in unison even faster. Their invoker armors engaged at the exact same time.

Kai pulled his Pokéball and threw it, and out of it came Quaxly. Kai's invoker shined blue, indicating his link with his Pokémon. Kai pulled his Tera orb out, and Quaxly ran over to his Trainer's side. Kai crushed the orb, and an explosion rang out as the terastilization sigil appeared in front of the pillar that rose below the boy and his Pokémon's feet. The Pillar faded and revealed Kai with his Water Katana.

"Going all out from the start, huh?" Katy said. "I guess it's fine if I do the same!"

Katy threw her Pokeball, and out of it came Grubbin. Grubbin roared a tiny roar as Katy's invoker shined green, indicating her link with her Pokémon. Katy pulled out her Tera orb and shattered it once Grubbin came. Once the pillar that rose below her feet came and went along with the sigil of Terastilization, it revealed Katy's smiling face. The pincers that Grubbin had on its body were acting as claws on Katy's fists.

Kai closed his eyes as everything around him became dark. Kai's true chained self appeared behind him.

"Are you ready?" The chained Kai said.

Kai felt chills run down his spine as he closed his eyes.

"Get em, kid!" Kai heard Arven's voice.

"You can do it!" Aeon's voice reached Kai's ears.

"Show em' what you're made of!" Kai could hear Nemona from a mile away with how loud she shouted.

Kai began to hear other voices in his head, other than his friends that were watching.

"My flames were incredible," Mela's words came to his memory suddenly, "But nothing compared to yours,"

"The only one who doesn't believe in you…" Geeta said, "Is you."

"Think about what would happen if you undid the shackles of your self-doubt," Clive's voice came to him, "What would you become if you truly believed in yourself?"

Kai opened his eyes and clenched his fists. The chains that held his true self began to crack before completely shattering.

In reality, Kai's head lowered as a shadow loomed over his head once again.

"All right," Katy said. "Ready or not, here I come!"

Katy started running in first, raising her fist to prepare to strike. The moment Katy threw her punch-

Kai disappeared.

Everyone in the crowd gasped. Katy's eyes widened in shock. She turned her head around, trying to find her opponent.

"You're too slow, old lady," Kai's voice reached Katy from behind her. She spun around and saw Kai standing with his back turned to the Gym leader. Katy grinned.

"You think so!?" She cried as she threw another punch. Kai moved, swinging his blade as though he were sheathing it behind his back to block her punch without turning to face her.

Katy's eyes widened.

"Quick question." Kai said. He turned his head. A wide, cocky grin was on the boy's face. "Have you considered retiring?" Kai swung his blade to deflect Katy's fist away as he spun to face her. He then entered a battle stance.

"I love the confidence..!" Katy cried.

"It'd be quicker and less embarrassing for you if you just gave up now..!" Kai cried. "Cause I'm about to go wild. Wilder than I've ever gone before! Get ready…!"

Fun fact: Geeta's 'Flow' ability is based off the real-life psychological state of 'Flow'.