Professor Oak
| Professor Samuel Oak オーキド ユキナリ博士 Dr. Yukinari Okido | |
| [[File:File:Professor Oak GenIII Sugimori.png|{{{size}}}]] Art from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen | |
| Age | around 50 |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Eye color | Black* Blue* |
| Hair color | Gray* Brown* |
| Hometown | Pallet Town |
| Region | Kanto |
| Relatives | Blue, Daisy (games) Gary Oak (anime, manga) May (manga adaptation) |
| Trainer class | former Trainer, Pokémon Professor |
| Generation | I, II, III, IV |
| Games | Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, FireRed, LeafGreen, Stadium 2, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum |
| Anime debut | Pokémon - I Choose You! |
| English voice actor | Stan Hart (4Kids) Billy Beach (TPCi) Tara Jayne (child) |
| Japanese voice actor | Unshō Ishizuka Keiko Toda (child) |
Professor Samuel Oak (Japanese: オーキド ユキナリ博士 Dr. Yukinari Okido, Ookido-Hakase and Orchid are also seen) is a Pokémon Professor and has a home and research lab located in Pallet Town. According to Professor Elm, Oak concentrates on Pokémon and human relationships as a profession.
In the anime
In the anime, Oak is most notable for his vast research facility, where he cares for and studies hundreds of Pokémon, including those owned by, but not currently traveling with, Trainers from Pallet Town. His often-forgetful attitude and other antics are also notorious. He also has a hobby of composing haiku-like poems about Pokémon or Pokémon-related themes.
| File:201Exclamation.png | Spoiler warning: Major plot or ending details may follow. |
He appears as a young boy, Sam (Japanese: ユキナリ Yukinari) in the fourth film, Pokémon 4Ever. Ash Ketchum befriends Professor Oak as Sam, when he is transported by Celebi into the future. The revelation that Sammy and Oak are one in the same comes in the credits, when Tracey Sketchit is cleaning out the closet and finds Sam's sketchbook, not knowing anything about Sam. He is impressed by the Professor's skill in art. Also, Professor Oak knew Sam's name even though Ash never told him. Ironically, in that movie, young Sammy saw numerous Johto Pokémon, notably Celebi and Suicune, although in the Kanto arc, there are only 151 in the Pokédex he invented (but this may have been because Oak later realized that he needed to preserve the timeline and not reveal his knowledge of the future).
Prof. Oak lives up the road from Ash's mother and the two often appear together as they are good friends. He currently lives with Tracey Sketchit, who became his loyal assistant in The Rivalry Revival. Tracey and Prof. Oak are very passionate about studying Pokémon and are both artists. He has confidence in his grandson, but more often joins Ash's mother and friends in cheering on Ash in his competitions.
Oak is sometimes the candidate speculated to be Ash's father, along with Giovanni and Silver. However this is improbable because he is Gary's grandfather, and Ash and Gary are the same age.
In the novelizations written by Takeshi Shudō, Professor Oak comes from a prestigious family. He has two brothers, one is the mayor of Pallet Town and the other is the Post Master, and his grandfather was the first Trainer from Pallet Town to receive widespread recognition. According to Professor Elm, Professor Oak's studies and research mostly focus on how humans and Pokémon interact with each other.
He is an old friend of many other Pokémon professors, including Ivy, Elm, Birch and Rowan.
Pokémon
This listing is of Professor Oak's known Pokémon:
 Charmeleon |
 Dragonite |
 Pidgey |
 Seaking (dub only) |
Befriended
 Celebi |
Voice actors
- Japanese
- 戸田恵子 Keiko Toda
- English
- Brazilian
- Spanish
- Chelo Vivares (Spain)
He also has these Pokémon to give to new Trainers:
 Bulbasaur |
 Charmander |
 Squirtle |
Known Trainers with his starter Pokémon
| Squirtle (to Gary) |
 Pikachu (to Ash: as starter) |
Bulbasaur (to Gilbert) |
Squirtle (to May, not as a starter) |
Pokémon residing at Oak's Lab
Pokémon previously residing at Oak's Lab
| File:May's Bulbasaur.PNG Bulbasaur |
 Aipom |
Voice actors
- Japanese
- 石塚運昇 Unshō Ishizuka
- English
- Stan Hart (4Kids dub)
- Billy Beach (TPCi dub)
- Brazilian
- Wellington Lima (regular voice actor)
- Dráusio de Oliveira (Pokémon Chronicles, some season seven, nine and ten episodes)
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Hugo Jiménez (Latin-American)
- Roberto Encinas (Spain)
- Polish
- Grzegorz Pawlak (seasons 1-4; all dubbed movies)
- Jacek Kałucki (seasons 5-6)
- Janusz Wituch (season 10)
In the games
| File:Y Oak.png | File:OakSprite.png |
| Oak sprite from Generation I |
Oak sprite from Generation III |
In Generation I and Generation III
Professor Oak works in his Laboratory in Pallet Town with his aides. He gave Red, Blue and Leaf their first Starter Pokémon in Pokémon Green, Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue, Pokémon Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen. He is an idol to many Trainers and researchers, including Professor Elm, and always plays an important supporting role in the many games that he appears in.
He was a childhood friend of Agatha. They remained good friends (some speculate that they were a couple) and top-class Pokémon Trainers until Oak stopped battling and became interested in Pokémon research. Agatha said that he became soft and started to regard him as a fool. However, Oak still affiliates with the Pokémon League as an adviser.
In the Generation I games there is unused Trainer data for Prof. Oak. This implies that Oak was originally going to be able to be battled. In the data, Oak has Level 66 Tauros, Level 67 Exeggutor, Level 68 Arcanine, Level 70 Gyarados and one of the Kanto starters at Level 69. This places his strength on-par with the player's rival and the Pokémon League champion. As well, four of his Pokémon are identical to the ones used by the champion, only higher level, so originally Oak may have been intended to be in the game as the champion, or at least another high-ranking Trainer. This is supported by an email on the PC in Oak's lab, from the Pokémon League issuing a challenge to all Trainers, then specifically requesting Oak come visit them. The only known way to battle Oak is to use a special stat of 226 with the Mew glitch, or cheat.
Fame Checker
This is a list of the Fame Checker's information on Professor Oak in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
- Pallet Town - sign
- What does this person do?
- "Oak Pokémon Research Lab."
- Pallet Town Research Lab - Prof. Oak
- What is this person like?
- "To make a complete guide on all the Pokémon in the world...
- That was my dream!"
- Pallet Town Research Lab - aide
- What is this person like?
- "Prof. Oak may not look like much, but he's the authority on Pokémon.
- Many Pokémon trainers hold him in high regard."
- Viridian City - Pokémon Journal
- Family and friends?
- "Prof. Oak reportedly lives with his grandchildren, Daisy and Blue."
- Pokémon League - Agatha
- Family and friends?
- "I hear Oak's taken a lot of interest in you, child.
- That old duff was once tough and handsome.
- But that was decades ago. He's a shadow of his former self."
- Pallet Town Research Lab - aide
- What does this person do?
- "Prof. Oak is going to have his own radio show soon.
- The program will be called Prof. Oak's Pokémon Seminar."
- Message from Oak
- From: Prof. Oak
- To: [Player]
- "Why do Pokémon compete and battle so hard for you?
- They do so because they can see the love and trust you have towards Pokémon.
- Never forget that."
In Generation II
Professor Oak was always well-known in Kanto but in Generation II he became more of a celebrity, a "star Pokémon Researcher", then. He started to be famous in Johto because of his Radio Show with DJ Mary. He was going to turn down the show at first but Mary's energy and persistence wore him down. Gold/Kris first met him visiting the home of Mr. Pokémon, another of Oak's childhood friends. Later he grants the young Trainer access to Mt. Silver, a place which only finest Pokémon Trainers may enter, after the player has earned all the badges in Johto and later Kanto.
Professor Oak has many old friends. One of them is Kurt, a Poké Ball smith from Azalea Town and another is Professor Elm who used to be Oak's assistant. In fact, there is an email addressed to him from Professor Elm:
- "...
- Prof. Oak, how is your research
- coming along? I'm still plugging
- away. I heard rumors
- that <name> is
- getting quite a reputation.
- I'm delighted to hear that.
- Elm in New Bark Town 8-)"
It should be noted that this is the first time that Internet slang is used.
Professor Oak has gained many fans and admirers. One of them is Schoolboy Chad, who frequently calls the player to share trivia about Oak.
In Generation IV
Professor Oak is also a good friend of Professor Rowan. He visits Sinnoh often, has a home in Eterna City, introduces Trainers to Pal Park, and gives them the National Pokédex, as well as the Up-Grade, Poké Radar and the function Trainer Counter of the Pokétch. A letter that he sends to the player in a special event allows the player to find Shaymin. An aide in Rowan's laboratory mentions that Oak is Rowan's junior in terms of seniority.
In TCG
He made a cameo in the TCG game for Game Boy on his own card.
In sidegames
Professor Oak also was one of the two human characters appearing in Pokémon Snap. He was working on a Pokémon Report for the Pokémon species of Pokémon Island, and hired Todd to take pictures for the report. He provided Todd with the ZERO-ONE and its Dash Engine upgrade, Pokémon food, Pester Balls, and a Poké Flute. When Todd took a picture of each of the Pokémon Signs, Professor Oak drew a connection between them and the constellations to determine that Mew must be on Rainbow Cloud.
In the Pokémon Special manga
Although Professor Oak's first mention was in A Glimpse of the Glow in a conversation between Red and some Pallet Town children, his debut was in Bulbasaur, Come Home!, where Red had wandered into his lab and was immediately accused of being a thief. In his haste, Red accidentally released all the Pokémon in the lab, including Bulbasaur, causing the two to track them down and re-capture them. After being saved by Red from a Machoke attack in Viridian City, Oak gave Red the Bulbasaur and a Pokédex. The professor also makes appearances in The Secret of Kangaskhan and Gyarados Splashes In!, talking about Team Rocket's experiments. Oak later appears in Volume 3 to battle Blue under the alias "Doctor O" and reveals Blue's phobia of Flying-type Pokémon and her theft of Squirtle. However, he shows compassion by giving her the last Pokédex and forfeiting his position in the Pokémon League.
In the GSC Saga, Oak is now known as the leading authority on Pokémon in both Kanto and Johto and has developed the three new Pokédexes. The first was stolen by Silver, the second and third he gave to Gold and Crystal. During the battle with the Mask of Ice, he gave out the titles to the six Pokédex holders and Yellow. At the end, he employed Crystal as his assistant and thanks to her, the Pokédex had been filled and he owned all non-legendary Pokémon for his research.
In the FRLG Saga, Oak was captured by the The Three Beasts to lure Red, Green and Blue to the Sevii Islands; but not before he recalled their three Pokédexes. After he was freed at Trainer Tower, Oak upgraded the Pokédexes to add the National Pokédex capability.
One of Professor Oak's projects was a full analysis of a report holding all information on the last awakening of Jirachi. From this, he worked out that it would appear where the Battle Frontier was being built during its opening week. He immediately contacted Scott and, while he would not move the opening, Professor Oak managed to convince Scott to allow a Pokédex holder to guard Jirachi. This was Emerald. However, someone stole the disc with all the data from Professor Oak's lab.
Pokémon
He has these Pokémon, or has owned them in the past:
On hand
 →  Spearow → Fearow |
 Doduo |
 Pidgeot |
 Garu-tchi |
 Odo-tchi |
 Redi-tchi |
Given away
 Lucky-tchi (Given to Daisy) |
Saur (Given to Red in Bulbasaur, Come Home!) |
Charmander (Given to Green before A Glimpse of the Glow) |
Blasty (Stolen by Blue) |
In the laboratory
 Kakuna |
Pidgey |
 Caterpie |
 Metapod |
 Rattata |
 Tentacool |
 Poliwag |
 Weedle |
 Meowth |
In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Professor Oak or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
| Name | Type | Rarity | Set | Set no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Oak | T |  |
Base Set | 88/102 |
| Base Set 2 | 116/130 | |||
| Professor Oak's Research | T | |
Expedition Base Set | 149/165 |
| EX FireRed & LeafGreen | 98/112 | |||
| EX Dragon Frontiers | 88/101 | |||
| Professor Oak's Visit | Su | |
Secret Wonders | 122/132 |
| (H) | Unnumbered Promotional cards (no English release) | – |
There also exists a "dark counterpart" of Professor Oak, called Impostor Professor Oak, who has also appeared in other Pokémon media. Apart from his first incarnation, Expansions in which he has been featured also include Dark Pokémon. The following list is of cards mentioning or featuring Impostor Professor Oak or his Pokémon.
| Name | Type | Rarity | Set | Set no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impostor Professor Oak | T |  |
Base Set | 73/102 |
| Base Set 2 | 102/130 | |||
| Impostor Oak's Revenge | T | |
Team Rocket | 76/82 |
| Impostor Professor Oak's Invention | T | |
Neo Destiny | 94/105 |
Other appearances
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Professor Oak appears as a random trophy wearing his regular clothing from the anime.
Trophy information
The leading expert on the study of Pokémon. It seems there are always new and mysterious species of Pokémon being brought to light, and Professor Oak is at the heart of it all with his insightful research. The Pokédex is one of his inventions: new Trainers receive one, and a Pokémon to boot, when they start out.
Trivia
- Professor Oak is the only Pokémon Professor to have appeared in all Generations (from Generation I through Generation IV), appearing in Generation I and Generation III as the regional professor and making occasional appearances in Generation II and Generation IV.
- Professor Oak is the only Professor that has been shown to catch a Pokémon in the games, catching Pikachu for the protagonist of Pokémon Yellow.
- Professor Oak is the only in-game professor to have his first name revealed via the anime.
Names
| Language | Name | Reference to |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | オーキド ユキナリ博士 Dr. Yukinari Ōkido | オーキッド Ōkiddo, Orchid. 大木戸 Ōkido is a Japanese family name and placename. Literally, big-tree family. |
| English, Spanish | Professor Samuel (Sammy) Oak | Oak tree, perhaps derived from Japanese Ōkido. |
| French | Professeur Chen | Chêne means Oak in French. |
| German | Professor Eich | Eiche means Oak in German. |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Professor Samuel (Sam) Carvalho | Carvalho means Oak in Portuguese. |
| Korean | 오용호 박사 Dr. O Yongho | 오 (伍) O is a Korean family name, probably chosen because of its similarity to the first syllable in Ōkido. |
| Chinese | 大木博士 Dr. Dàmù 雪成・大木 Xuěchéng Dàmù (full name) |
大木 is from 大木 Ōki 雪成 is from Japanese 雪成り yuki nari, "to become snow". |
External links
- Ōkido's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
