--aka the lore is confusing as fuck and i’m sorry about that so i’m writing up this post to try to organize things better for everyone else’s sake.
Oak is primarily meant to be a secondary character to Giovanni; with most if not all threads I write him in connecting somehow to Giovanni. That being said, the duo shares lore, and everything in Giovanni’s bio applies here as well.
Mainly, the most critical point is that there was a war between Kanto and Johto; and tension that preceded it for several decades. The war lasted about three years and ended approximately ten years prior to the events of Red/Blue.
Oak was the champion during the war and many years prior; Giovanni and Agatha were two of his elites, and the other two are mostly throwaway OCs that died during the war.
As you may already be aware, much of this lore is based on the ROMHack Firered Rocket Edition, and if you’re familiar with that game, or just me talking, Oak was not a good person.
I’m aware that not everyone is interested in the implications of that. I’m also aware that some people would like to explore that. Therefore, I offer verses that feature Oak in both directions. By default I go with his standard verse that’s more canon compliant. Please let me know if you’re interested in the other verse. I am too, I just don’t want to force it on anyone.
Because the two versions of the characters differ so drastically, its really important to pay attention to the verse tag to see which one any particular thread / headcanon / etc. refers to.
Oak had a rather unnoteworthy childhood. His mother worked hard to provide for them, his father killed in a tragic accident. Barely getting by, it wasn’t as if they had many toys, so Oak entertained himself by studying the world around him, picking things apart, learning about the mysterious creatures called Pokémon.
But it was a different time then, and once he turned 10 he was free to get his license as a Pokemon trainer and roam the region.
Training and battling was secondary to his goal of understanding and documenting these creatures, but one that he proved himself to be good at. Maybe it’s because his methods were revolutionary in a traditionalistic region; maybe he simply had natural talent.
He took his time, yes--his methods were thorough and perfect--but it really was no surprise when he took the mantle of champion.
He knew about the rising tensions between Kanto and Johto. Everyone did. It was background noise that had shaped the region for generations. Maybe he should have did something more about it. Maybe there was nothing else to do.
The simple truth was that the minute he got the first report of Johto attacking, he knew the war was lost.
But still, he tried. Where they lacked pure power, he tried to use wits to win. He headed the Mewtwo project (Giovanni funded it; though the public still believes it was a Team Rocket affair) he lead the men, he did everything he could, and when there was nothing else to be done, he surrendered.
The act earned him immediate backlash from the nationalistic region and even his own wife and the other surviving Elite. Most people blame the loss of the war solely on him and brand him a coward for not fighting until the end.
Oak was stripped of his license to battle and kicked out from the Pokémon League, but he still had a very respected reputation within the scientific community (of itself more likely to be filled with cowards who sympathized with his decision, or intelligent folk who understood it) and managed to settle down into the role of a professor.
In this verse, Oak’s fascination with Pokémon stems solely from awe and respect; a desire to understand and coexist with these amazing creatures that walk the world.
The role of champion was accepted less because he wanted to do it and more because it was traditional. He had defeated the previous champion, and declining the position would have not only been unconventional, but also extremely disrespectful.
So he lead a relatively peaceful era in the region; in fact working hard to dispel many of the superstitions the people held and encouraging them to become more open to the world. Despite his best efforts, the majority of his innovations that stuck were really only related to Pokemon battling; battling was traditional, honored, and something the people of Kanto could agree with.
Still, he spent a great majority of time encouraging people to learn more about the world, think critically for themselves instead of relying on rumors, visit other regions, and even tried on multiple occasions to loosen Kanto’s restrictions on foreign species.
Like many geniuses, Oak was ahead of his time, and with a people so deeply wounded and opinionated, there was only so much he could do.
Though he tried to bargain peace with Lance, his offerings were rejected, and inevitably, war broke out. He and Lance both knew that Kanto would buckle under a full assault. In all honesty, Oak wanted to surrender immediately, but knew the people would never accept it, so with reluctance, he fought.
Not directly, given that his place was in the back, as a commander, but he lead, he fought, and he felt the death of each individual as blood on his own hands.
He tries not to think about it anymore. Maybe he was a coward; maybe he was too afraid to put his own life on the line; especially after the war took his son and daughter-in-law from him.
He had to give it to the people of Kanto. They may have lacked brute strength, but they had passion. Unfortunately, passion doesn’t win wars, and it soon progressed to the point that he couldn’t let it go on any longer. Lance demanded his surrender, and he did.
He’s aware that Giovanni (and many, many others) hold a grudge against him for it, but, there’s not much to be done about it. In the case of Giovanni particularly, a part of Oak blames him for the death of the other two elites; given they followed Giovanni’s lead in disobeying Oak’s instructions to wait before entering the battle. Besides, what happened hardly justifies what Giovanni’s done.
It’s not a sentiment he talks about much, but he’s honestly glad that it’s all over. Maybe Johto winning wasn’t the best way it could have ended, but he’s happy just being a professor now, and truthfully, the change of power had very little effect on the people. He really should have just surrendered from the beginning, huh?
This version of Oak is different on a fundamental level. His goals were never noble or fueled by curiosity, rather with one single intent: power. He understood from a young age that Pokémon were the key to strength and that commanding powerful Pokémon made you powerful, and such lead his research.
Cold and ruthless, Oak doesn’t care about anyone or anything be it Pokémon or human, and will equally take advantage of everything he can. Now, that doesn’t make him sadistic; he protests that label--it implies that he bothers to think about the people around him.
His rise to Champion was a foregone conclusion but no less meticulous; his image perfectly curated to show nothing but unfathomable power, and the people bowed their respect to him.
It was also utterly unfulfilling.
Sure, he was the strongest in Kanto; a pathetic little backwards region that couldn’t tell a Starly from a Pancham.
He had bigger dreams, bigger ambitions; but he wasn’t about to sacrifice what he already had; so for many grueling, unbearable years, he played the part of the perfect champion, a pleasant smiling face, the hero and savior of the region. He found the perfect Elites to support his cause; each easily manipulated and deployed for a specific cause; he encouraged the people to look beyond the horizon of skepticism, even encouraged his Elites to travel the world, learn more beyond the borders that confined them. The backdrop of the war provided convenient propaganda to make sure they never got too out of control, though.
But, the people were stubborn.
Oak wanted more and he grew tired of the grueling monotony.
Well, the history books say that Johto launched the attack that officially started the war, but that doesn't mean there weren’t things going on in the background that fueled the flames.
But it worked; the people, now terrified, all flocked to him to save them. They needed something drastic, something powerful to turn the tides of war...and, say, people that were once against the idea of genetic engineering were suddenly willing to accept it if it would save their region.
And maybe his son did die in the war; it wasn’t like he could save everyone, after all.
One thing led to another. Or, in other words, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Every Pokémon he created with genetic engineering was either unstable or uncooperative; Giovanni failed to listen to orders and ran off with two of the other Elites, jumping into the battle too early; Lance had control of Suicune, Entei, and Raikou.
As the years went by and Johto crept further and further into Kanto, the war effort was obviously a losing battle. Though Oak let the war rage on, weakening both sides as much as possible, he was desperately scrambling for another plan. There was no time. He would even go as far to say that he underestimated the war and was paying the price.
It was Lance himself that lead the charge into Indigo Plateau to strike the final blow. Oak, Agatha, and Giovanni were the final stand; had Giovanni listened, the Elite would have been at full strength, his own Pokémon wouldn’t have been bruised and battered. But Oak had failed to control Giovanni, failed to properly use his assets, and now they were at the zenith.
He surrendered. It was the only logical choice. Agatha followed his lead; Giovanni did not. Too bad Lance didn’t finish him off, but oh well.
Retiring to a position of a Pokemon professor wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but he scrapped together whatever was left of his pride and departed.
It would give him more freedom to pursue his experiments, though ...
