Summary

• Professor Oak's true first meeting with Ash as a youngster creates a plot hole in the Pokemon series.
• Pokemon 4Ever, released in 2001, unveils this revelation but Ash never learns the truth about Oak.
• Sammy, revealed to be Samuel Oak, had a deep connection with Ash that remains a secret, altering their dynamic.

In Pokémon, Ash and Professor Oak supposedly first meet when the young trainer is growing up in Pallet Town, but their true first meeting actually introduced a huge plot hole. The much older professor actually met the future world Champion when Oak was a youngster himself. Pokémon 4Ever revealed this detail, but Ash never actually finds out the truth about his friend.

Pokémon 4Ever released in Japan in 2001 and in the United States in 2002. It is directed by Kunihiko Yuyama with a screenplay from Hideki Sonoda. The film follows the usual formula for the franchise, in which Ash and his friends hear a legend, meet a rare, legendary Pokémon – and in this case – thwart a villain’s evil scheme.

In this animated feature, Ash meets Celebi and makes friends with a boy named Sammy. Though Sammy initially appears to be just another new companion that Ash will befriend for a single movie before never being mentioned before, like Pokemon The Movie 2000's Melodie, Sammy actually has a deep connection to Ash that opens up a variety of problems in the main series.

Pokémon's Professor Oak Was Just a Kid When He First Met Ash

The end of Pokémon 4Ever reveals that Sammy is actually Samuel Oak, long before he became the Kanto region’s primary professor and Pokémon expert. A faded sketch sitting atop his desk matches one Sammy worked on during the duration of the film, featuring Celebi and Pikachu together. However, despite wondering if he should have said something within the movie, Professor Oak never actually tells Ash the truth about who he is and when they first met.

While Sammy's future is a fun secret for audiences, it seems odd that Professor Oak never told Ash the truth. This creates a big shift in their relationship dynamic since it adds a new layer of respect and appreciation between the two that is never depicted within the show. To Ash, Professor Oak always remains a mentor figure and family friend of his mother. To the professor, however, Ash is a close friend who helped him save a special Pokémon – as well as someone who shared a rather traumatic experience with him when it was believed Celebi had died.

How Ash's Time Traveling Adventures Change His Relationship With Professor Oak Forever

Oak Already Knew Ash And Pikachu Would End Up As Partners

Though the canonicity of Pokémon 4Ever is debatable, if it is to be taken as canon, than it could have big implications for Ash and Oak's relationship. Since Sammy saw Ash alongside Pikachu, Brock, and Misty, that means Oak already knew who Ash's first Pokémon and traveling companions would be long before the young trainer from Kanto did. In a way, it all makes Ash's journey far more like his destined path rather than a direct result of happenstance.

In the actual anime series, Ash only receives Pikachu as opposed to the normal Kanto starters of Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle because he woke up late and Pikachu was the only Pokémon Oak had left to spare. This initially seems like total happenstance, something that only happened because of very specific circumstances. However, when taking Pokemon 4Ever's Oak retcon into consideration, there would have to be some intentionality on Oak's part. Instead of Oak being a kind ing character, 4Ever turns Oak into the lone puppet master behind Ash's entire journey.

Oak's Choice To Never Tell Ash About Their Meeting Makes The Whole Think Even Weirder

Further complicating matters is that Oak never actually tells Ash the truth. Obviously, this is more a result of the movie not wanting to directly contradict anything the anime established, but the end result makes Oak's actions much more questionable.

By not telling Ash the truth about his identity, the young trainer is always left to wonder what became of his friend after he returned to his timeline via time travel. Additionally, Professor Oak likely has far more iration and respect for Ash than the young trainer ever knows. It may be easy for writers of the anime to ignore some of the broader potential impacts the films could have in favor of leaving them stand-alone adventures.

However, it also leaves out the opportunity to create some incredible and emotional connections between the characters. In this way, it almost feels like each Pokémon film exists outside of the show’s events apart from Ash’s team matching the concurrent season. Nonetheless, Pokémon 4Ever created an amazing time-traveling friendship between Ash and Professor Oak with incredible repercussions that have just been left behind as a plot hole that will likely never be revisited.