Professor Kukui (anime)/History/Pre-series

Since his childhood, Kukui had been a fan of Pokémon moves, often observing Hala's s to witness these attacks in action. He would follow the matches along with his Move Index guidebook. At some point, he befriended and later obtained a, which originally belonged to his parents. The pair would often spend time in the forests of Melemele Island playing with all of the wild Pokémon. He also befriended a  living in the forests and received a Firium Z after helping to relieve it of its sneezing. In addition, he is a childhood friend of Molayne.

At the age of five, he met, whom a had accidentally sent into the past. Due to Ash's mastery of Z-Moves, he started calling him the (Japanese: ワザキング Move King) and asked to battle with him. Ash easily won the battle and taught the young Kukui, whom he started calling (Japanese: ガオ Gao) due to his cap, that there was no shame in losing. He then proceeded to tell Kukui about his Gym and Pokémon League battles in other regions, inspiring Kukui's own ambitions. Soon, Ash was transported back to the present by Celebi, leaving both young boys unaware of each other's real names.