Professor Kukui (Japanese: ククイ博士 Dr. Kukui) is a Pokémon Professor from the Alola region, as well as the founder of Alola's Pokémon League. He is the only character in the games to have the Trainer class Pro Wrestler (Japanese: プロレスラー Pro Wrestler).
Description[]
Professor Kukui is a regular character in the Sun & Moon series who made his debut appearance in Alola to New Adventure!. He works as a teacher at the Pokémon School of Melemele Island. Ash lives with him while attending school. In this continuity, he is initially not married to Professor Burnet until The Professors' New Adventure!.
In The Guardian's Challenge!, he gave Ash the Rotom Pokédex.
In Rocking Clawmark Hill!, Kukui and Ash found Rockruff come home injured and on investigating found it had been training on Clawmark Hill. After watching Ash train Rockruff, he noticed they had developed a bond and allowed Ash to catch Rockruff.
In Partner Promises!, he informed Ash about the guardian deities, since Ash had recently encountered Tapu Lele.
In Alola, Kanto!, he accompanied the class and Samson Oak to Kanto. The following episode, he revealed part of why he wanted to arrange the trip was to announce he wanted to establish an official Pokémon League in Alola.
In Family Determination!, Kukui accompanied his students to Poni Island to catch up with Lillie, who had ran away from home with her brother, Gladion, in search of a way to save her mother, Lusamine. In the following episode, while watching the deities bless Nebby, he received a call for help from Professor Burnet on his cell phone. Deciding to go alone, Kukui by Burnet's side with a Pokémon he had been keeping in a Poké Ball in his lab coat pocket, Braviary. Thanks to Braviary, Kukui was able to drive away the Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o that had surrounded Burnet and her Munchlax, but by the time the two professors returned to the Altar of the Sunne, Ash and the others had already ridden off on Nebby into an Ultra Wormhole.
In The Professors' New Adventure!, he and Professor Burnet revealed that they were getting married. A few days later, the wedding ceremony was held on the beach outside his house.
Professor Kukui's alter ego, the Masked Royal, debuted in SM063. When Ash and his classmates visited the Battle Royal Dome, Ash's Litten got agitated on seeing Royal's Incineroar, which led him to invite Ash, along with Kiawe and Sophocles, to take part in a Battle Royal, which the Masked Royal easily won. Days later, after seeing Litten training to master Flame Charge, Professor Kukui, dressed up as the Masked Royal, showed up to have a battle with Ash. During the battle, Litten evolved into a Torracat and was able to perfect Flame Charge. Despite this, however, the battle ended in the Masked Royal's victory. Afterwards, the Masked Royal declared that he and Incineroar were now Torracat's rivals.