Captain Jigglypuff
*On Vacation. Go Away!*
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.
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.