Chapter 773: Meeting Kukui

"Hello, I'm here to see Dr. Kukui."

All All Baimu was very familiar with this black-skinned version of Professor Oak.

It had nothing to do with his silly imitation skills.

In the game Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Professor Oak rewards players with a non-legendary legendary-sized Pokémon based on the number of Ultra Burst Stickers collected.

This mechanic didn't exist in the anime.

Now he's the principal of the Pokémon School, with a Treecko that loves to ring the bell.

Professor Oak suddenly realized: "Ah, you're Dr. Kukui's guest—Gyarados! But he's probably still in class; feel free to tour the campus while you wait—Lycanroc!"

Watching the old man mimic Gyarados and Lycanroc one after another, All All Baimu felt his eyes were about to go blind.

Can a human face really change like Ditto?

Before he could say anything, Professor Oak chuckled and turned back into the dense forest.

This…

Did he get the direction wrong—or did he skip class?

All All Baimu stared at the fading back of Professor Oak, then turned to look at the arched school gate just across the bridge. He never imagined that not only were the students and school culture loose and free, but the principal himself wandered around aimlessly.

"Forget it, I'll find someone first."

He patted Garchomp's head, crossed the wooden bridge, and stepped into the open campus.

Although most storylines depict the school as empty, as if only Ash and his five companions were students, the reality was far from that.

There were many other students on campus.

But drawing more background characters and their Pokémon required extra budget, so the production team chose to spend money wisely—cutting out extras and focusing only on main characters.

All All Baimu wandered everywhere, entered various buildings, climbed to the second and third floors—but saw not a single familiar face.

Even if Dr. Kukui was absent, where were Ash and the others?

Outdoor class?

Just as he was about to leave with Garchomp, a teacher from inside the classroom chased after him.

"Sir, may I help you?"

"Hello, I'm here to see Dr. Kukui," All All Baimu stated directly.

The teacher smiled: "Dr. Kukui is teaching a Tauros riding class right now. Go out from the classroom building to the field—you'll see him."

"Thank you."

All All Baimu quickly descended the stairs with the exact location in mind.

Inside the classroom.

The students began discussing the brief glimpse they'd just seen.

"That Pokémon was Garchomp, right?"

"So fierce!"

"So huge! I saw a riding saddle on its back—if only I could get a chance to ride it!"

"Let's go find one in the forest tomorrow! Catch one!"

"There are no recorded sightings of wild Dratini in Alola—don't get your hopes up."

"Why is it like this—"

Garchomp had no idea its appearance had given a little kid both hope and despair in half a minute—it was busy nuzzling its Trainer.

In the hallway.

Garchomp's three heads rested one after another on All All Baimu's head and shoulders; every soft grunt made his brain feel like it was shaking.

"I'm gonna fall!"

The Trainer's warning was completely ignored.

Because Garchomp was confident it could catch his collar the instant he slipped.

Garchomp's clinginess always reached its peak during private moments; besides chewing on hands, its favorite way to show affection was constant physical contact.

Like how, as a blind baby, it clung tightly to its Trainer's pant leg, following step by step in those beautiful days.

It still recalls them constantly in its dreams.

If it could, it would now roll around with its Trainer on the grass—

Almost impossible.

Its Trainer loved cleanliness.

And during the brief few seconds of descending the stairs, All All Baimu was forced to strike a deal with Garchomp: next time they went to the beach to surf, it would ride Garchomp, not Bisharp.

Garchomp knew Surf too; carrying its Trainer through wind and waves was effortless.

"You guy..."

All All Baimu felt utterly exasperated, yet somehow it was better than being jealous of a motorcycle—jealousy toward a teammate was at least less absurd.

Behind the classroom building, the field.

His first glance caught Dr. Kukui, wearing a white baseball cap and nothing but a lab coat over his bare torso.

He was cheering with several unfamiliar students for three riders competing in a Tauros race.

"Last lap! Last lap!"

"Go! Go!"

"Two body lengths behind! Overtake them!"

Though only a few people were there, their shouts were as passionate as a horse racing track.

Not Ash?

Where was he?

All All Baimu looked around curiously, having assumed Dr. Kukui taught only Ash's class—apparently, that wasn't true.

He didn't interrupt Dr. Kukui's lesson; instead, he watched from afar and held back Garchomp, who was eager to urge him to join the Tauros race.

He said solemnly: "You bark like a cow, but you're not a cow—don't meddle!"

"Shaa!"

Garchomp insisted it could be one.

All All Baimu ignored it.

He wandered the campus two more times; Ash and Pikachu's mysterious disappearance left him slightly disappointed—he'd so easily encountered Team Rocket and Gladion, yet the main target was so hard to find.

"Deng-deng~ Deng-deng-deng!"

The bell suddenly rang, echoing across the campus.

Class dismissed?

All All Baimu glanced at the large clock atop the classroom building—a tiny, dainty Treecko flashed past.

He hurried back to the field.

"Dr. Kukui!"

He was just saying goodbye to the students after class. Seeing a young stranger approaching from afar with such a familiar tone, he paused for a moment, recalling.

Had they met before?

"Sorry, who are you?"

Dr. Kukui genuinely couldn't remember and smiled apologetically.

All All Baimu raised his phone, showing an email reply from Dr. Kukui a year ago: "Do you remember this? I once asked you about Pokémon move learning."

Dr. Kukui rubbed his chin, confirmed the email content, then suddenly smacked his palm: "Ah! I remember! You're All All Baimu!"

His face lit up with delight.

Though a Pokémon Professor, compared to renowned great Professors, he was just an ordinary, unknown man.

He started his Pokémon Blog purely for work convenience, never expecting one day to receive an email.

The sender appeared to be a new Pokémon Trainer, troubled by a Pokémon's stagnation in learning moves, and had specifically sought his advice.

Dr. Kukui poured out every ounce of his knowledge to reply, exhausting his mind to use clear, refined language—even demonstrating moves on his own body.

When he later received a thank-you email, his inner satisfaction was immeasurable.

He never imagined he'd meet the sender in person.

"It's me."

All All Baimu nodded with a smile: "Thank you so much for your guidance back then. Without your tireless teaching, my Pokémon training wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

So far, most of Bisharp's and the others' moves came from self-learning; only a few were rewards from the simulator.

Dr. Kukui's knowledge helped him move from merely knowing that Pokémon move learning required Trainer involvement, to actually participating in it.

Knowing and doing are worlds apart.

Dr. Kukui laughed heartily: "I only provided theoretical knowledge—you're the one who truly helped yourself."

He glanced at Garchomp beside him and praised: "This must be your Pokémon? Strong, healthy, and fiercely imposing—excellent!"

Then,

Dr. Kukui warmly invited All All Baimu to his office; the latter, whose intention had always been to talk, naturally didn't refuse.

Naturally, they discussed their current developments.

All All Baimu had no intention of hiding anything—he revealed he'd won the Kalos League and the Hoenn Super Contest.

Dr. Kukui exclaimed in surprise: "So you're the All All Baimu who trended online!"

There were countless people named All All Baimu; when he saw the trending topic, he assumed it was a coincidence—never imagining it was the new Trainer who'd asked him about move learning.

Besides,

The IP addresses of the emails were completely unrelated to Fuchsia.

All All Baimu nodded and replied, "Because I traveled through Fuchsia last year."

Professor Kukui smiled upon hearing this and said:

"Are you coming to the Alola region this year? Then you've come to the right place—Alola has beautiful mountains, clear waters, and Pokémon you won't find anywhere else. You'll surely love it here!"

"I think so too."

All All Baimu smiled in return, and since the groundwork was laid, he immediately asked about Z-Moves.

He omitted Gragio's name, saying he had met a young boy who wielded mysterious power and had learned about Z-Rings and Z-Moves from him.

Professor Kukui admitted, "He's right—Alola has no Gyms or League Conferences. Instead, there's a special challenge called the Island Challenge, which every Alolan Trainer who reaches a certain age can join."

"But isn't that only for Alolans?"

All All Baimu asked.

Professor Kukui answered without hesitation: "Of course—anyone can join the Island Challenge as long as they receive permission from the Island King!"

Ah.

All All Baimu's expression twisted; this answer was practically no answer at all.

What he feared was that the Island King would refuse.

As if sensing his concern, Professor Kukui poured him another cup of tea and said, "Don't worry—Hala, the Island King of Melemele Island, is a very kind and generous elder. If you show sincere and serious intent, he won't refuse."

That's true.

Of Alola's four Island Kings or Queens, aside from Modan, who is cunning and lazy, the other three are all reliable.

Hmm…

Maybe Hapu is questionable?

All All Baimu let his thoughts wander briefly, then thanked Professor Kukui for his generous explanations—just as the class bell rang.

"Here's the address of my lab and Island King Hala's home. Feel free to visit."

Professor Kukui regretted not being able to talk longer, so he wrote the address on a slip of paper.

All All Baimu accepted the paper with a calm expression: "Understood. I'm very pleased to have met you."

In fact,

meeting Professor Kukui had always been part of his plan.

Even without questions about the Island Challenge, this was one of the main reasons he'd said he'd come to the Pokémon School sooner or later.

—

Leaving the Pokémon School,

All All Baimu went to the shopping plaza in Hau'oli City to buy local specialty ingredients needed for Happiny's new dish.

Happiny, the prodigy of new dish development, had already begun its terrifying experiments—he hoped none of his Pokémon had been harmed by the time he returned.

"Sssss…"

Dragapult had tried multiple times to persuade its Trainer not to enable this cruelty—all attempts failed.

Happiny's new dishes invariably harmed every Pokémon in the team equally. As a Pokémon highly sensitive to smell, Dragapult endured both olfactory and gustatory torture.

Refuse?

That's Happiny!

Haven't you noticed that Happiny sleeps beside All All Baimu every night, while jealous Dragapult hasn't even let out a single fart?

If Gulpin is the spoiled princess no one dares to provoke, then Happiny is the gentle older sister no one can bear to see disappointed.

In Dragapult's memory, when it was young, only its Trainer and Happiny had ever truly cared for it.

"Huh? A chain store?"

All All Baimu stopped in front of a Malasada chain shop.

He was curious about this Alolan specialty—what made Malasadas so irresistible that Team Rocket's Triple Honey Donuts were ignored?

He went in and bought a pile, stuffing one into each of Dragapult's three mouths, then ate one slowly himself.

"Hmm… alright, I can't beat it."

All All Baimu savored it, then turned to Dragapult, licking its lips: "What do you think?"

All three heads of Dragapult nodded in unison, giving high praise.

Dragapult's standard for food was simple: not disgusting. But if it found something delicious, it rated the taste by how many heads nodded.

Three heads meant the highest rating.

This made All All Baimu feel sorry for Team Rocket—they'd worked at Malasada shops, yet never learned the secret.

Shopping complete.

Carrying four or five large bags, he rode Dragapult back to the seaside cottage.

Most Pokémon were playing outside; only Gengar and Sludgepony, the two great elders, were nowhere to be seen.

Steelix was repairing the temporary battle arena, which had been damaged by a large crater that morning.

Gulpin had somehow acquired a large sun umbrella and a beach chair, and now lay back on it like a beach beauty.

Happiny handed it a sliced fruit platter.

Dracovish and Dracozolt siblings were playfully teasing a wild Boldore.

The latter didn't realize they were Ghost-type Pokémon and angrily swung its fists, trying to shoo them away.

Shiny Gengar was half-buried in the ground, with a small flag stuck on its head, clearly imitating the wild Sandshrew beside it.

In the shallows,

Shiny Milotic's irresistible charm had drawn a crowd of wild Water-type Pokémon, including even a wild Milotic.

"Is it courting?"

All All Baimu jumped off Dragapult's back and watched from afar the wild Milotic, which seemed to be performing a comical Swords Dance.

Do you think you're Jigglypuff?

He looked around but couldn't find the expected protector, Bisharp.

"Where's Big Monster?"

All All Baimu asked the lazy Gulpin.

It pointed toward the dense bushes behind the house, indicating that Bisharp and Poliwhirl had gone in together and still hadn't returned.

Jungle expedition?

He didn't worry much—Bisharp and Poliwhirl were the two most reliable Pokémon in the team.