shoz999
Back when Tigers used to smoke.
So one thing is pretty clear that Pokemon Sun and Moon, the OG versions, clearly looked to Kanto for some inspiration. One incredibly awesome, and do I even dare say genius, moment was that Prof. Kukui served as the final boss, the last obstacle for you the character to become champion and he put up a fair fight for most players opinions. For most casual fans, the idea that Prof. Kukui is somehow inspired by Kanto probably flew over most of there heads. For some hardcore fans, Prof. Kukui's role as the final boss is not only a connection but is seen by some as a direct reference to Prof. Oak's original and intended role as the Pokemon Champion, the final obstacle in Pokemon Red and Blue. For those who don't know there has been data found that Prof. Oak has a team exactly like Red's rival, Green, but at a much higher level. It is thought that he was intended to be the Pokemon Champion and in two major ways... it actually makes a lot of sense to the point that some Pokemon fans theorize that Prof. Oak, even though it's never confirmed, was at one time a Pokemon Champion in the canon timelines. One hint was that Prof. Oak accompanies you to the hall of fame, where only Champions are allowed. Another hint isn't actually from the games but it is from it's manga adaptation, Pokemon Adventures.
So if you know what Pokemon Adventures is, it's a very compelling adaptation of the video games that follows closely of the video games more than the anime does, albeit it does have it's own story liberties. Once you read arc after arc you start to realize it goes in quite an amazing depth into many areas of the Pokemon lore, from expanding on what's only hinted at in Pokedex entries to explaining how competitive battling works. One amazing feature it does however is that the Pokemon Adventures manga tends to use unused concepts of the video games, from Spiky Charmander, to most noticeably the female protagonist in her original unused design that we now know as Leaf, to Gold's skateboard, to Prof. Oak being a former Pokemon Champion. Okay. We now know that Pokemon Adventures has a strong connection to the idea that Prof. Oak was originally supposed to be the Champion in the games. Now some of you are probably asking, what does this have to do with Prof. Kukui? Well take a look at this picture from Pokemon Adventures...
Does this Masked trainer's design seem a bit familiar to you? That's right! It's very similar to Prof. Kukui's role as the Masked Royale which you can see below in an image of Adventure's take on the wrestling professor. Now this could be all a complete coincidence but I just had to mention this neat comparison. Although Prof. Oak's fighter design isn't from the games, the Pokemon games themselves are no stranger from looking to there media counterparts who have there own liberties for inspiration and while the manga is nowhere as popular as the anime, it shouldn't be looked down upon considering that GameFreak seems to love the manga's incredibly detailed and highly accurate take on the Pokemon World that Satoshi envisioned.
Anyways. Is there anything else Prof. Oakish you see in Prof. Kukui? Even in obscure details that may have flew over a lot of hardcore Pokemon fans?
So if you know what Pokemon Adventures is, it's a very compelling adaptation of the video games that follows closely of the video games more than the anime does, albeit it does have it's own story liberties. Once you read arc after arc you start to realize it goes in quite an amazing depth into many areas of the Pokemon lore, from expanding on what's only hinted at in Pokedex entries to explaining how competitive battling works. One amazing feature it does however is that the Pokemon Adventures manga tends to use unused concepts of the video games, from Spiky Charmander, to most noticeably the female protagonist in her original unused design that we now know as Leaf, to Gold's skateboard, to Prof. Oak being a former Pokemon Champion. Okay. We now know that Pokemon Adventures has a strong connection to the idea that Prof. Oak was originally supposed to be the Champion in the games. Now some of you are probably asking, what does this have to do with Prof. Kukui? Well take a look at this picture from Pokemon Adventures...
Does this Masked trainer's design seem a bit familiar to you? That's right! It's very similar to Prof. Kukui's role as the Masked Royale which you can see below in an image of Adventure's take on the wrestling professor. Now this could be all a complete coincidence but I just had to mention this neat comparison. Although Prof. Oak's fighter design isn't from the games, the Pokemon games themselves are no stranger from looking to there media counterparts who have there own liberties for inspiration and while the manga is nowhere as popular as the anime, it shouldn't be looked down upon considering that GameFreak seems to love the manga's incredibly detailed and highly accurate take on the Pokemon World that Satoshi envisioned.
Anyways. Is there anything else Prof. Oakish you see in Prof. Kukui? Even in obscure details that may have flew over a lot of hardcore Pokemon fans?