Pokemon manga fan-artist Pokeyugami read between the lines of Oak and Agatha’s relationship and brought them to life in an unofficial new video (thanks, GamesRadar). GameFreak teased a close relationship between the two from the very beginning, and a handful of other Pokemon games have dropped the tiniest of hints about what happened.
When you face Agatha during the Elite Four battles of Pokemon Red and Blue, she says Oak has gone soft in old age. She’s got a bit more to say in FireRed and LeafGreen, where she says he’s a shadow of his former self.
The mobile game Pokemon Masters EX has the most to say on the subject. It turns out Agatha used to be close with Oak, but ended their friendship when it became clear he was too weak for competitive Pokemon. Ouch.
これは時空の歪みによって発見された、「ポケットモンスター オーキドとキクコ」！
This is Pokémon: Oak and Agatha, discovered through a distortion of space-time! pic.twitter.com/hrXPVgOXE3— 時空の歪み研究員 (@pokeyugami) May 10, 2023
Pokeyugami took those hints and imagined a scene that might happen between the two trainers in their younger days, when friendship still bloomed. The video shows Oak and Agatha discussing their respective views on Pokemon. It’s in Japanese, but you can still pick up what’s going on.
There’s also a nice nod to the popular fan theory that the opening of Pokemon Red and Blue, where a Nidorino fights a Gengar, is actually depicting a battle between Oak and Agatha.
This isn’t their first foray into detailed Pokemon fan creations either. Pokeyugami previously posted a series of animated manga-style shorts imagining what Pokemon might look like if it were remade in the series’ original art style.
The whole thing is just lovely – even if the inevitable outcome is sad. Perhaps with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet bringing the idea of time travel to the RPG series, GameFreak might one day revisit the past as well and bring some of these stories to life themselves.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
