Serperior's intervention was perfectly timed, saving Braviary and the man from being splattered on impact.
Riding Dragonite, Lucas quickly landed, hopped off, and ran over to where Serperior had caught the pair.
Braviary's muscles twitched with spasms—it must have been flying on the brink of collapse, forcing its body past its limits.
As for the man—still gripped tightly in Braviary's talons even as it passed out—he was actually in a slightly better state.
He wore a white baseball cap and had healthy, tanned skin. He was dressed in a white lab coat, but his muscular chest and abs were exposed, giving him a bit of a wild look.
His face was pale, lips dry, and his belly sunken in.
Clearly, he was dehydrated, starving, and completely out of energy.
Lucas sent Serperior back to the house to fetch the medical kit, then squatted beside the man, muttering, "He doesn't look like a Paldean… That outfit is more like someone from a tropical region. Could he be from another region?"
"He's got six Poké Balls at his waist—one of them must be Braviary's. The other five are locked, so he must be a trainer."
Lucas felt the man looked familiar, but couldn't quite place him.
Serperior moved quickly, bringing back the medical kit and a bottle of warm water.
Lucas patted her head in praise, then got to work helping the man.
…
"Hmm… a strange ceiling?"
Kukui woke from his stupor, blinking his dry eyes and seeing a wooden ceiling overhead.
His brain started working again, throbbing with pain as he tried to piece together what had happened.
Clearly, he was in some sort of room, which meant he'd survived that sudden typhoon after all.
Before he could even feel grateful, Kukui's eyes widened. If he'd been rescued, what about Braviary and the other Pokémon?
A wave of anxiety hit him as he tried to force his still-weak body to sit up—but failed.
Suddenly, a big hand reached out, firmly pressing him back onto the bed.
Kukui looked up at the hand's owner—orange-skinned, with a comically cute expression. The sight was strangely familiar.
He'd never forget the name of this Pokémon: Dragonite—the ace that beat him in battle.
With a hoarse voice, Kukui muttered, "Dragonite…"
"Drago~."
Hearing Kukui call her name, Dragonite tilted her head and answered. Then, as if remembering something, she gave Kukui a warning look not to move, before turning and slowly leaving the room.
Though he sensed the big hand was gone, Kukui stayed put. Even with limited information, he could piece together some facts.
Most likely, the house's owner had saved him, and Dragonite belonged to them. Braviary was probably also safe.
His guess was soon confirmed.
Not long after Dragonite left, two sets of footsteps approached outside the door. Soon, a woman very familiar to Kukui and a young man entered the room, with Dragonite following behind.
The woman was Nurse Joy, and the one who called her was Lucas.
As soon as she entered, Joy professionally squatted down to check Kukui's condition.
After a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Lucas. "Now that he's awake, he'll be fine. For the next few days, make sure he only eats a little liquid food at a time—otherwise, his stomach won't be able to handle it."
"If that's all, I'll head back to the Pokémon Center."
Lucas nodded, "Thank you, Miss Joy."
"It's nothing," Joy waved and left gracefully.
After seeing Joy out, the room was quiet for a moment before Kukui couldn't help but ask, "Did you save me?"
Lucas nodded. "I did."
"How long… was I unconscious?"
"I don't know how long before I found you, but since I rescued you, you've been out for three full days."
In those three days, Lucas had finished more than half his sowing.
With anxious eyes, Kukui asked, "What about Braviary and the others?"
Lucas smiled teasingly, "Your Pokémon are a lot tougher than you. They're helping out on my farm right now."
Whether it was Venusaur, Lucario, or Incineroar, they were all quite useful and saved him a lot of effort.
"Oh, by the way, because five of your Poké Balls were locked, I was worried the Pokémon inside might be injured like Braviary. Staying inside the balls would be deadly, so I had someone unlock them. Hope you don't mind?"
"Not at all—in fact, I should thank you," Kukui shook his head, gratitude plain on his face.
Lucas chuckled, "No problem. Your Pokémon have been a huge help these past few days. Thanks to them, my sowing went much faster."
"Sowing…?"
Kukui glanced at Lucas, then at Dragonite behind him.
The young man had said this was a farm, and he was sowing seeds, but that Dragonite behind him… just its presence told Kukui how strong it was.
Of all the Dragonite he'd seen, probably only the red-haired Dragon Master's Dragonite was stronger.
And yet such a powerhouse was helping with farm work?
Lucas didn't mind Kukui's odd look. He already had a suspicion and asked, "By the way, you don't look like you're from Paldea. Can you tell me your name and where you're from?"
Kukui paused, then nodded. "Of course. My name is Kukui, and I'm from a wonderful place called Alola."
Just as Lucas suspected when he saw certain Pokémon come out of the Poké Balls—this man was probably Professor Kukui from Alola.
Pausing for a moment, Lucas calmly asked, "So, Kukui, what happened to you and Braviary? Why did you show up looking so battered on the outskirts of Los Platos Town in Paldea?"
A look of lingering fear flickered across Kukui's pale face as he replied, "Braviary and I were crossing the sea when we were caught in a sudden, terrible typhoon…"