On the second day after waking, Kukui's super-strong Alolan constitution began to show—he could eat more and even started walking around.
Once he could walk, he couldn't resist heading to the fields to observe what Lucas usually did and see if he could help out.
During the day, Lucas spent most of his time in the fields.
Aside from Kukui's own Pokémon, there were only a few other Pokémon active in the farming area.
Three Eldegoss were the main force cultivating the soil, followed by a tiny Smoliv, who was still too weak to help and just cheered from behind.
Occasionally, Kukui saw a puppy Pokémon he didn't recognize, playing nearby with a Fidough. The one managing the field seemed to be a Serperior.
Honestly, the moment Kukui saw that Serperior, he could tell it was powerful. With such a strong Pokémon, why was Lucas still using the slow method of having the Eldegoss spread cotton to cultivate the soil?
Why not just have Serperior use Grassy Terrain? Why complicate things?
Kukui made a note to observe further.
During planting breaks, Lucas would often gather some young Pokémon to train them.
From this, and the sight of several Pokémon that sparked his fighting spirit, Kukui deduced that Lucas must be an excellent trainer.
Several Pokémon were being trained, such as a group of Poliwag practicing Water Gun under the lead of a particularly smart Poliwhirl.
The Poliwag all had different abilities—two were Damp, one was Water Absorb, and the Poliwhirl, which didn't show either, Kukui guessed had the rare Swift Swim.
These Pokémon lived in a lake on the farm, which Kukui learned from chatting with Lucas was called Thunder Lake. He hadn't visited it yet and was curious why it was named that.
The Eldegoss would also gather around Lucas during breaks, listening to him lecture, their cute, half-understanding expressions moving Kukui.
Besides that, Kukui learned the puppy Pokémon's name from Lucas: Growlithe.
The first time he heard the name, Kukui was shocked. The Growlithe he knew didn't look like this—some Alolan Officer Jennys use Growlithe as police Pokémon.
But, though his curiosity was piqued, Lucas just smiled and brushed off the question, so Kukui temporarily assumed this Growlithe was some kind of regional variant like Alola's Exeggutor or Raticate.
Growlithe had great talent—sometimes Lycanroc would teach it Rock-type moves, and Kukui guessed its typing was Fire/Rock.
Growlithe learned quickly; according to Lucas, it had already mastered "Smack Down," "Rock Tomb," and "Stealth Rock" from Lycanroc.
In Kukui's eyes, Growlithe was very suitable to be trained as a main battler. Though its actions were still childish, its obedience, battle instincts, and sponge-like learning ability made it not inferior to his own Incineroar.
Lucas personally trained only a few Pokémon; the rest, who hadn't evolved, needed more time to adapt to the farm before joining in.
Kukui agreed with this. For Pokémon with miraculous evolution abilities, childhood is brief.
As he hadn't fully recovered, Kukui could only stay out for a little while before Dragonite, assigned to help him, brought him back to the three-story wooden house.
The Pokémon in the house also amazed Kukui. He was lucky enough to taste the fresh cream produced by Milcery living in the cupboard—the sweetness and texture made him imagine how delicious malasada would be with this filling.
After observing the unevolved Pokémon, Kukui turned his attention to Lucas' main team.
Through these Pokémon, he confirmed Lucas must have been a powerful trainer.
Luxray often patrolled the farm like a territorial guardian and occasionally checked on Kukui, clearly responsible.
Ceruledge loved cooking, often carrying two differently colored aprons. Sadly, Kukui never got to taste Ceruledge's dishes.
Ceruledge occasionally sparred with the rarely seen Swampert downstairs; from the intensity of their moves, Kukui could tell they never slacked off.
Once he was in better shape, Kukui planned to challenge Lucas to a battle.
Luxray, Serperior, Ceruledge, Swampert, and Dragonite were likely Lucas' main Pokémon. The last one shocked Kukui.
In the living room, a somewhat plump Pokémon often lay by the fireplace. If Kukui wasn't mistaken, it was the legendary Fire-type bird from Kanto—the origin of the Sacred Flame, Moltres.
Because of Moltres, Kukui was sure Lucas was a powerful trainer.
Few people could capture a legendary Pokémon.
Kukui felt lucky that after failing to challenge the Kanto League, he ended up on Lucas' farm and saw a different kind of life between trainers and Pokémon—a warm farm built together.
Maybe, he could be more than just a trainer. He could help his hometown of Alola create a Pokémon League of its own!
During his recovery, Kukui confirmed one more thing: if he, a trainer who lost to the Elite Four, could help Lucas, it would be with that.
From his observations, none of Lucas' Grass Pokémon knew Grassy Terrain. But just ordinary Grassy Terrain felt unimpressive to Kukui.
Fortunately, Kukui knew a special way to learn Grassy Terrain in Alola. If Lucas was interested, he wanted to teach it as thanks for saving his life.