Professor Oak

Prof. Oak in Pokémon: FireRed and LeafGreen Versions.
Prof. Oak
Species	Human
Hair color	Gray
Eye color	Black
Relatives	Nariya Oak (Cousin) Blue Oak (Grandson) Daisy Oak (Grandaughter)
Voiced by	Stan Hart (1998-2000)
Debut	Pokémon: Red Version/Pokémon: Green Version

Professor Oak is the Pokémon Professor of Kanto who is featured in Pokémon: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen Versions as well as appearing in most of the other Pokémon games. He is the authority on Pokémon in the Pokémon world.

Background

Mainstream Games

Professor Oak is known as the Pokémon Professor, namely because he has studied Pokémon most of his life. Back in the day, he was an incredibly skilled trainer, as suggested by his contemporary, Agatha. She goes on to describe Oak as tough and handsome to boot. Then his focus shifted, and his dream became making a complete guide on all the Pokémon in the world. This became the Pokédex, a handheld encyclopedia used by researchers to record information on Pokémon they encounter and capture. He himself learned under Professor Rowan, who was his senior in the field of Pokémon research. Oak went on to teach many other people for a while, including Professor Elm. However he was becoming elderly and as such, unable to realize his dream.

Generation I

It was then that he and invited his grandson Blue, and his neighbor, Red, to his lab. He gave each one one of his remaining three Pokémon and a Pokédex. Then he left them with a single task: to fulfill his dream. His grandson Blue was eager to try; however, his heart was in the wrong place. While Oak wanted him to complete his Pokédex, Blue didn't treat his Pokémon as friends, and was therefore surpassed by Red.

Professor Oak congratulated Red on his victory over the Elite Four, and escorted him to the final room of the Indigo Plateau, and recorded Red's team into the database of champions. (It should be noted that since only current and former Champions are allowed into the final room of the Elite Four, so it can be assumed that Oak was once a Champion himself.)

Generation II

In Pokémon: Gold, Silver, and Crystal Versions he then struck a deal with the Goldenrod City Radio station, giving him a radio show, co-hosted by Mary. The show is actually prerecorded, so Oak will often go back to his laboratory to listen to it. He meets Gold at the beginning of Gold's journey at the house of Mr. Pokémon, and will give him a Pokédex after seeing how well Gold treated his Pokémon and seeing great potential in the trainer.

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Professor Oak also gives Gold the National Pokédex as a reward for defeating the Elite Four and late. After Gold collected all sixteen badges, Professor Oak gave him HM 08: Rock Climb so that he could access Mt. Silver. And after Gold defeated Red, Professor Oak commended him for his success and would allow him to choose between Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle as a reward. In addition, if Gold showed him both Groudon and Kyogre, Professor Oak would give him the Green Orb needed to confront Rayquaza.

Generation IV

Oak also makes an appearance in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions. He visited Sinnoh for the opening of the Pal Park in order to ensure that its system was running efficiently. Along the way, he stopped at Professor Rowan's lab to upgrade Lucas/Dawn's Pokédex into National Mode. He then met the same trainer at the Pal Park just as he was leaving, explaining the concept of the Pal Park and also giving the trainer a Trainer Counter app for their Pokétech. Oak then remained in a house at Eterna City to continue his studies of Sinnoh's Pokémon and would analyze Lucas/Dawn's Pokédex if they visited, after giving them the Up-Grade item upon their first visit.

In the fourth generation games, Professor Oak also played a role in the Shaymin event. After receiving a letter from Oak (which can only be received at a Nintendo event), Professor Oak will bring the trainer to the stone tablet at the northern end of Route 221 as he believed only a trainer like Lucas/Dawn would have the experiences which needed to be projected into the stone tablet to unlock its secrets. The trainer succeeded in this, causing the path across the sea to the Flowery Paradise, where Shaymin could be caught, would appear.

Spin-off Games

In Pokémon Snap, Oak was given special permission to research the native species of Pokémon Island. To complete his “PKMN Report” he needed photographs of the Pokémon in their native habitat. He created the Zero-One to deal with it's adverse conditions, but he was still not getting any younger. He considered asking one of the skilled trainers he had encountered to take the photos, but worried that they might be tempted to catch the Pokémon. He, instead, enlisted the help of a wildlife photographer, Todd, to assist him.

In Hey You, Pikachu!, Professor Oak had developed a new portable computer called the PokéHelper which allowed people to communicate with Pokémon. He distributed a prototype version to the game's main character to test it on his Pikachu. Oak occasionally communicated with the player throughout the game to dispense advice.

Professor Oak, as he appeared in the anime, appeared in Pokémon Puzzle League. He invited Ash Ketchum to compete at the Puzzle Village. Ash could visit Professor Oak's Lab there in order to learn the rules of the game.

Other Appearances

• Professor Oak also made various appearances in the Pokémon anime, especially since the show's star is from Pallet Town. In the anime, Ash's extra Pokémon are sent to him instead of to Bill. While shown as a dignified Pokémon researcher, he is also shown to be somewhat absent-minded and is also often used as comic relief. The anime gives him the first name of Samuel, although it is unknown if this is canon to the video games. One movie, Pokémon 4Ever, features him as a child being sent on a time-traveling adventure with Ash due to Celebi.
• Professor Oak also appeared in the live action musical "Pokémon Live!", being featured in a song with Ash's mother. They are both captured by Giovanni but later rescued by Ash.
• He appears throughout the Pokémon Adventures manga, where he and Red start off at odds with each other due to Red breaking into Oak's lab and accidentally releasing all his Pokémon. However, as they recapture the Pokémon they slowly befriend each other, which leads to Oak letting him keep Bulbasaur. He also competes in the Pokémon League tournament as a masked competitor and defeats Green, whom had stolen his Squirtle, but afterwards forfeits from the competition and lets her keep the Pokémon as well as the last Pokédex. Oak continues to appear as a supporting or guest character in the manga's later arcs.

Trivia

• A trophy of Professor Oak appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
• He and Bill were the only characters to appear or be mentioned in every generation of the Pokémon games, until the fifth generation provided the first games in which Oak neither appears nor is directly referenced at any point, although Bill still was mentioned. Oak had previously been excluded from the third generation games Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, although he was still alluded to there (and could be considered as appearing in the third generation if one counted FireRed/LeafGreen as part of the generation).