Samson Oak

Samson Oak
Species	Human
Hair color	White
Eye color	Black
Height	5'9"
Relatives	Samuel Oak (cousin) Blue (cousin twice removed) Daisy Oak (cousin twice removed)
Debut	Pokémon Sun/Moon

Samson Oak is a Pokémon researcher who appeared in the seventh generation games of the Pokémon series: Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. He is a cousin of Professor Oak who resides in the Alola region. His topics of study include the regional Pokémon forms of Alola and Totem Pokémon.

Background

Samson was the cousin of the famed Professor Samuel Oak who also became a Pokémon researcher, and the two shared a strong resemblance in terms of physical features. Samson was distinguished by his tan skin, his mullet and the more casual Alolan fashion that he sported. He lived in the Alola region and conducted research there. He received a Kanto region Pokédex from his cousin, which he used for comparisons with Alolan forms of Pokémon. Samson also enjoyed Mantine Surfing at Route 12, though he felt dejected that he could never beat the score of "that kimon-clad lad". Samson also mentioned that he sent a number of Z-Crystals to Samuel's grandson Blue and encouraged him to visit Alola.

The focus of his research differed depending on the version. In Sun/Moon, Samson Oak was focused on studying Alola's regional forms, and he first appeared at Malie City. In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, he was focused on Totem Pokémon (while still talking about his regional form research) and was met earlier in the game by Route 2 of Melemele Island. He could then be found at Malie Library in all versions, where he asked to see an Alolan Persian and gave a Love Ball in exchange for seeing it, while sharing his theories about Persian's regional differences. Afterwards, he could be found at several other areas of Ula'ula Island, where he dispensed factoids about local Pokémon and gave Elio/Selene different types of Poké Balls while urging them to complete the Pokédex for Rotom's sake. He also showed up at Route 12 in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, where he talked about Mantine surfing. He could otherwise be regularly found at the Malie Library, where he talked about his family.

In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Samson could also be regularly found at Akala Island's Heahea Beach, where he gave Elio/Selene a Totem Pokémon every time they collected a certain amount of the Totem Stickers hidden throughout the Alola region.

• 20 Totem Stickers: Gumshoos (Ultra Sun) or Alolan Raticate (Ultra Moon)
• 40 Totem Stickers: Marowak (Ultra Sun) or Araquanid (Ultra Moon)
• 50 Totem Stickers: Lurantis (Ultra Sun) or Salazzle (Ultra Moon)
• 70 Totem Stickers: Vikavolt (Ultra Sun) or Togedemaru (Ultra Moon)
• 80 Totem Stickers: Mimikyu
• 100 Totem Stickers: Ribombee (Ultra Sun) or Kommo-o (Ultra Moon)

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, Samson Oak semi-regularly appeared during the Sun/Moon-based series, where acted as the principal of the Pokémon School in Alola that Ash Ketchum attended, along with Lillie, Hau and many trainers who were originally trial captains in the games. He initially met Ash when his cousin tasked Ash and his mother Delia with delivering an egg to Samson, at which point Ash decided to attend the school. His main Pokémon was a Komala, which rang the school's bell. He also had a Vulpix that hatched from the egg sent by his cousin and was also shown to own an Alolan Exeggutor. Towards the end of the series, Samson participated in the Manalo Conference and was defeated by Hau in the tournament's first round. He later made minor appearances in the Pokémon Journeys series.
• Samson has appeared in the Pokémon Adventures manga, during the Sun/Moon arc. He initially appeared as a judge for the Iki Town festival tournament and informed Sun about regional forms. He later helped Sina and Dexio with their Zygarde research and also helped Sun to battle Necrozma.

Trivia

• His Japanese name is Nariya Okido, with Nariya being derived from Nariya-ran, which is the name for a bamboo orchid, while Okido refers to "oak" and is the Japanese surname for Professor Oak. his English name of Samson Oak seems to have been chosen simply due to sounding similar to Samuel.
• Samson refers to his cousin as Sam.
• He refers to Blue as his grand-nephew, even though he is technically his cousin twice removed.