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The Professor Oak in the Kanto games is an Imposter Theory

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
I mentioned this in another thread before but I want to go into full details about this theory. I want to say that I first heard this theory on YouTube but I cannot find the video but the evidence in it adds up.

Basically the theory goes that Professor Oak was kidnapped shortly before the Kanto games (minus LGPE since they are their own thing) and is replaced by an Imposter who is pretty convincing at being Oak despite some clear evidence that he is a fake. He doesn’t know his so called grandson’s name or even know who you are even though you’ve been neighbors for years and your house is literally next to his and that is why upon starting a new game he asks who you and your rival are while feigning forgetfulness and remembers the info for the rest of the game. From there he is pretty stern and somewhat unfriendly towards you and your rival and acts as if you are wasting his time. He berates Gary after you become Champion for losing and “not treating (his) Pokémon correctly” which is obviously far from the truth as his team is pretty consistent the entire game with Raticate being the only member to be replaced. The Imposter seems to not know much about Pokémon themselves and he even acts surprised when you deliver the Parcel to him and announces the contents as if he didn’t know what was inside and as if it were a birthday gift.

Eventually the real Oak escapes being held captive and is the Oak we see in every other game he is in and in the post game of FRLG. Possibly during the Seville Islands events is when he regains his freedom as he is much more friendly and relaxed than before and he actually talks to you about Pokémon. He even knows his own grandson’s name and acknowledges that he was a Champion of the Indigo League even if it was extremely short lived and that his grandson is a really good trainer. He doesn’t bring up the Imposter because it’s a bad memory for him and it might have become something no one in Johto and Kanto ever talk about.

This explains why there are TCG cards of an Imposter Oak and why there were several different ones during the first two Gens. Every other Trainer card with a character on it related to actual characters in the games and Imposter Oak is the odd one out unless you consider this theory.

As to the exact identity of the Imposter, he was obviously part of Team Rocket and most likely Petrel since he can impersonate people and their voices and he theoretically could create the Imposter Oak’s hair if he dyed it and parted his usual style in the middle. Petrel also has the section of hair that hangs down over his forehead similar to the Imposter. He didn’t do a completely believable job at impersonating the Radio Director in Johto as he isn’t widely recognized and only a small number of people actually knew the Director and his habits and mannerisms. Oak was easier to impersonate as he is extremely famous and talked about and there is more to observe his habits and the way he acts out there. Giovanni had Petrel impersonate Oak to figure out a way to locate Mewtwo and to re-capture it and posing as Oak would be beneficial to this goal because Oak would obviously have all sorts of connections throughout Kanto to tell him about any new discoveries and anything else of interest and have the equipment to go out and safely capture any Pokémon that was noteworthy. Petrel sent out Aides to give the player items instead of doing it himself as a way from being discovered as being a fake.
 

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
This reads more like fan fiction than a theory, but I guess the two go hand in hand. That being said, this entire elaborate theory is based on... Uh, what exactly? The fact that there's an Imposter Oak card in the TCG? What about the dozens if not hundreds of other TCG cards that correspond to nothing existing in the games?
 

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
This reads more like fan fiction than a theory, but I guess the two go hand in hand. That being said, this entire elaborate theory is based on... Uh, what exactly? The fact that there's an Imposter Oak card in the TCG? What about the dozens if not hundreds of other TCG cards that correspond to nothing existing in the games?
I didn’t come up with this theory. I believe the person who created the theory was basing it on the strange behavior Oak seems to have in RBY and FRLG as he talks and acts completely different in those games than in other games he show up in. The Kanto games Oak seems to be extremely forgetful and doesn’t seem to know about Pokémon and seems to want you to leave as soon as possible if you talk to him. He seems to be completely clueless as to what is happening around him. Oak in Johto and beyond actually knows about Pokémon and tells you about certain Pokémon and is friendlier and doesn’t try to force you to leave.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
For a while I did actually think that the "imposter" Okido-hakase (Professor Oak) from the TCG was a beta R/G/B/Y concept that was never fully developed, until I read Pokemon Special. I like this theory however, mostly because it makes the character so much more interesting.
 

Blackjack Gabbiani

Clearly we're great!
In the Let's Go games they explained the "what's my grandson's name again?" thing as a joke he was playing because he knows his grandson hates it.
 

TwilightBlade

Well-Known Member
It's a fun theory that I wish had been true. Adding a plot where you have to fight a fake Professor Oak in RBY would've been really cool lol.
 

RedJirachi

Veteran member
In the Let's Go games they explained the "what's my grandson's name again?" thing as a joke he was playing because he knows his grandson hates it.
And they wonder why your rival is a jerk to you
 
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