Chapter 79

On the day after Kukui awoke, his super Alolan physique began to manifest, specifically allowing him to eat more and to walk on the ground for the first time.

After walking on the ground, he could no longer contain his curiosity and went near the farmland to observe what Luo Mu usually did, looking for anything he could help with.

During the day, Luo Mu mostly stayed in the fields.

Aside from Kukui’s own Pokémon, the Pokémon appearing in the farmland were basically just these few.

Three Whitepuffs were the main force behind soil cultivation on this farm; behind them trailed a Minifluff, but this Minifluff was still too weak to be of real help—she could only cheer from behind.

Occasionally, a little dog Pokémon Kukui didn’t recognize would play nearby with another he remembered as Doggybun, while the Pokémon officially managing this farmland was a Kingdra.

To be honest, the moment Kukui saw that Kingdra, he knew it was probably very strong—why, then, did Luo Mu still rely on the slow, inefficient cotton-spreading method of the Whitepuffs to cultivate the soil? This puzzled Kukui greatly.

Why go through such complexity when all it would take was for that Kingdra to use the Grass Terrain move?

Kukui noted this down for now and decided to observe further.

During breaks between sowing, Luo Mu would often gather a few Pokémon that looked still very young and begin training them.

From this, and from the few Pokémon that immediately stirred Kukui’s fighting urge, he concluded that Luo Mu was undoubtedly an excellent Trainer.

Among the training Pokémon were several Wimpod, led by an especially intelligent Wimpod, practicing Water Gun.

These Wimpod each had different abilities: two had Water Absorb, one had Hydration, and the Wimpod leader, which showed neither ability, Kukui judged likely had the rare Unaware.

These Pokémon normally lived in the lake on this farm; during casual chats with Luo Mu, Kukui learned the lake was called Lei Ming Lake, though he had not yet visited it himself—he was very curious why it was named that.

During their breaks, the Whitepuffs often gathered with the Minifluff around Luo Mu, listening obediently to his lessons; their adorable, half-understanding expressions deeply charmed Kukui.

Besides that, Kukui also learned the name of the little dog Pokémon who played with Doggybun from Luo Mu.

Cattiva.

Upon first hearing this name, Kukui was stunned—this Cattiva was nothing like the one he knew; certain Lady Jusis in Alola even used Cattiva as an excellent police Pokémon.

Unfortunately, no matter how curious Kukui was, Luo Mu only smiled and deflected the question; Kukui could only temporarily treat this “Cattiva” as a regional form, like Alola’s Exeggutor or Rattata.

In Kukui’s view, this Cattiva clearly possessed exceptional talent; occasionally, Rockruff would be invited over by Luo Mu to teach it Rock-type moves, leading Kukui to judge that this Cattiva’s type was likely Fire+Rock.

Cattiva learned incredibly fast: according to Luo Mu, it had been training under Rockruff for several days and had already mastered “Rock Fall,” “Rock Lock,” and “Stealth Rock.”

To Kukui, this Cattiva was undoubtedly an excellent candidate for a battle Zhuli Pokémon; though its actions were still immature—its obedience to commands, battle instincts, and sponge-like capacity for learning—it was no weaker than his own Incineroar.

The Pokémon Luo Mu personally trained were just these few; according to Luo Mu, the other unevolved Pokémon had only recently arrived at the farm and needed time to adapt—he wasn’t in a hurry to bring them into active work.

Kukui agreed with Luo Mu’s thinking: for Pokémon with miraculous evolution abilities, their Yousheng stage is often fleeting.

Because his body had not fully recovered, Kukui could only stay outside for a short while before being brought back to the wooden three-story cottage by the Dragonite Luo Mu had assigned to assist and care for him.

The Pokémon inside the cottage also opened Kukui’s eyes: he once tasted the fresh cream produced by the Munchlax living in the cupboard; its sweetness and texture made him imagine how delicious it would be if used as filling in a Big Malasada.

After observing these unevolved Pokémon, Kukui turned his gaze to the few clearly Luo Mu’s Zhuli Pokémon.

Through these Pokémon, Kukui again confirmed that Luo Mu had once been a powerful Trainer.

The Luxio often patrolled near the farm, like a guardian defending its territory, and sometimes visited Kukui’s room to check on his condition—clearly a Pokémon with great responsibility.

The Pokémon named Cangyan Rengui loved cooking; Kukui often saw it holding two aprons of different patterns, seemingly fond of them both—but Kukui had never tasted any dish it prepared.

Occasionally, Cangyan Rengui would battle downstairs with the rarely seen Gyarados; from the impact and power of their moves, Kukui could tell they never slackened, always maintaining their combat readiness.

Once his condition improved, Kukui planned to challenge Luo Mu to a battle.

Luxio, Kingdra, Cangyan Rengui, Gyarados, and Dragonite were probably Luo Mu’s Zhuli Pokémon—but the final Zhuli Pokémon... Kukui was shocked and uncertain.

In the living room on the first floor of the cottage, beside the fireplace, a plump Pokémon often lay resting; if Kukui had not mistaken it... it was the legendary Pokémon of the Dragon Emissary’s region, the source of sacred flame—Flareon.

Because of this Flareon, Kukui was certain Luo Mu was indeed a powerful Trainer.

Few people can capture legendary Pokémon.

Kukui was grateful that after his defeat at the hands of the Elite Four, by chance he had come to Luo Mu’s farm; here, he witnessed another way of life between Trainer and Pokémon—a farm built together, warm and comforting.

Perhaps he could serve not only as a Trainer, but also elsewhere—perhaps helping his homeland Alola establish an Alola-exclusive Pokémon League!

During his recovery, Kukui also became certain of one thing: if he, a Trainer who had fallen before the Elite Four, could help Luo Mu at all, it would only be with that one thing.

From his observations, Kukui noticed that Luo Mu’s Grass-type Pokémon did not know the Grass Terrain move—but a simple Grass Terrain move, he felt, was too ordinary to offer.

Fortunately, Kukui himself knew a special method of learning Grass Terrain unique to Alola; if Luo Mu was interested, Kukui wanted to offer this knowledge in repayment for his life-saving kindness.