If we are talking iconic characters in the Pokémon franchise, one of the first names that should come to anybody's mind is the OG Professor who started Ash Ketchum and plenty other trainers across the world on their Pokémon adventures!

Professor Oak, or Professor Samuel Oak to give his full name, is an old researcher living in the small Pallet Town in the South-West Kanto region. His family also lives in the same town as him. He is closely related to the Pokemon League challenge, having been a powerful trainer himself at a younger age, and now helping new trainers across the region start out on their adventure and league challenge.

Pokémon Red, Blue, Fire Red, Leaf Green

Professor Oak is the first character you see in the game (edit: with the exception of Red and Blue, thanks pokemon x for pointing it out). He will ask you questions about yourself such as your gender (hard to tell I guess), your name, and even his grandson's name (which he apparently forgot, sucks to suck I guess).

After the player tries to enter the grass to leave the town, Professor Oak uses the last life force he has left to sprint across town, physically preventing you from going any further. I'm pretty sure an average 10 year old will be able to run into the grass regardless, but that would defeat the point of the game.

He takes you to his lab, where he will reintroduce himself and offer you the chance to take one of three Pokemon as your partner in crime. Your options are the Grass type Bulbasaur, the Fire type Charmander, and the Water type Squirtle. He tells you to go to the next city over, Viridian City, to fetch some items he had ordered. Apparently Pallet Town is such a wasteland that no postal service ever dares come close. Upon returning with his... goods..., Professor Oak hands you the Pokedex in exchange for your sworn secrecy about the substances he just let a 10 year old smuggle across town.

Later in the game Professor Oak will congratulate the player upon defeating his Grandson and becoming the champion of Kanto. Man, you really have to feel bad for your rival here. His grandpa doesn't even remember his name, and couldn't be bothered to show up for his coronation as champion.

In Fire Red and Leaf Green, Professor Oak will hand you a National Dex after beating the Elite Four and having caught 60 different Pokemon. This will finally allow you to evolve that Golbat that's been begging for it all game.

Pokemon Yellow

Professor Oak plays the same role as in Red and Blue, but instead of giving you one of the earlier mentioned starters, he instead catches a Pikachu in front of you in the grass and hands it over to you. This was done to more accurately follow the footsteps of Ash from the anime.

Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee

In these titles Professor Oak will have two partner Pokemon ready, but as the player obtains their own partner, he hands one of the others to your rival and keeps the other for himself. What could it have been? The two revealed partner Pokemon are Pikachu and Eevee, the one you get depends on the version you are playing.

Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal, Heart Gold, Soul Silver

Professor Oak is a big A-lister in the Johto region. He is a co-host of a big time radio show (podcast for boomers). He once again is the first character players see, as he retains his role during the introduction of the game.

The first time the player actually sees Professor Oak in Johto is during the tutorial portion, when the player enters Mr. Pokemon's house to receive a Pokemon Egg that Professor Elm, Johto's primary researcher and Professor Oak's protégé, wants to obtain and document. Professor Oak mentions the potential he sees in the player and hands them his phone number.

The player will not see Professor Oak for a very long time after this, first appearing in his lab in the Kanto region. Once you have obtained all 16 badges of the Johto and Kanto regions, he will grant you permission to head up Mt. Silver.

In Heart Gold and Soul Silver, he hands you a bunch of goodies on top of this. The National Dex, HM08 Rock Climb, a Kanto starter (Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle), and even a Jade Orb necessary to encounter Rayquaza. The requirements for obtaining all of these vary.

Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum

After a short break, Professor Oak is back. This time he is visiting the Sinnoh region, where his good friend Professor Rowan lives. Professor Oak flexes his status as a celebrity by owning a luxury vacation home in Eterna City. Professor Oak won't appear in the city when the player first visits it. After beating the Elite Four he will be in his home, ready for social interactions with children.

Like usual he hands you a National Dex. He also gives you the Up-Grade item, and the Pokéradar. Professor Oak is also the person who introduces the player to Palpark, where you can obtain Pokemon from GBA titles such as Emerald.

In Pokemon Platinum, Professor Oak will tell you about some legendary Pokemon spotted in Sinnoh. Following this conversation, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno will be roaming around the Sinnoh region ready for capture.

Finally, Professor Oak was part of an event in which he hands the player a letter and eventually allows you to meet the mythical Pokemon Shaymin.

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Professor Oak is a stern but friendly old man who loves Pokemon and wants young trainers to experience the joy he felt raising and training Pokemon. In all his main line appearances he has been helpful to the player, often handing them a National Pokedex or some rare items, even unlocking legendary Pokemon.

Like mentioned earlier, Professor Oak used to be a strong trainer himself. There is actual data found in the old Red and Blue games of a planned battle with Professor Oak, in which his Pokemon are even stronger than your rival's champion team.

Over the years and games we've learned a decent amount about who he is and about the people in his life.

The first important character related to Oak is of course his grandson. I'm not sure whether he's important to Oak, as he seems to be rather annoyed by the kid's attitude. Still, Professor Oak lives right next door to his grandchildren Fart and Daisy (and I assume their parents). They seem to be fond of him as well.

Another important character related to Oak is Agatha, a member of the Kanto Elite Four. She mentions Oak a lot, and is seemingly childhood friends with him, although she doesn't appear to view him in a favorable light. We actually learn more about their dynamic in the spin-off game Pokemon Masters. Agatha was a quiet kid who didn't want to socialize with anybody, but Oak wanted to get to know her better and kept trying to talk to him. Agatha would challenge him to battles so he would go away, but Oak always won in the end. Over time the two really bonded over these encounters. However when Oak opted to switch his focus from battling to research, Agatha felt betrayed and left behind. You're both 70 years old, just kiss already or something.

In future games Oak still has important relations to other characters. Professor Elm was his student and seems to be following in Oak's footsteps, being fascinated with Pokemon Eggs and the breeding process (mildly creepy ngl). We don't actually see their interactions, however. We do see Oak hanging out with Mr. Pokemon, an apparent childhood friend of his. And this one doesn't seem to dislike him! Finally in the Johto region, Kurt the Pokeball guy is childhood friends with him too. He even has a picture of them hanging on his wall, how cute.

Professor Rowan of Sinnoh is another friend of his. For once Oak is in little sibling mode, however, as Professor Rowan is older and even more admired than Oak. Even celebrities have people they are fans of I suppose.

Finally, Professor Oak has a cousin called Samson Oak, who is a character in the generation 7 games. Professor Samuel Oak doesn't appear in the games, however.


Oak is a fun recurring character that will always be beloved by the community. I have no doubt that he will one day return, unless he is by now deceased in the timeline lol.