Pokemon Home is Run By the Mid-Life Crisis Version of Professor Oak

Pokemon Home has a very bizarre and strangely familiar employee. Earlier today, the Pokemon Company officially released Pokemon Home, a free-to-download cloud storage service where players can store their Pokemon and transfer them into the newest games. As with other Pokemon storage options, Pokemon Home has a “host” who explains how to use the system and acts as an unofficial concierge to the system. While previous Pokemon apps have used younger, female characters, Pokemon Home is run by Grand Oak, a long-haired, sunglasses-wearing, goatee-sporting version of Professor Oak.

We’re not sure what relation Grand Oak has with Professor Samuel Oak (the professor who gives players their first Pokemon in Pokemon Red and Blue) or his cousin Professor Samson Oak from the Alola region, but it’s clear that the two are related in some way. It’s possible that Grand Oak is Professor Oak’s father or grandfather, or it could be that watching Red and Blue turn into seasoned adult Pokemon trainers has finally made Professor Oak realize his own mortality. If it’s the latter option, it would explain Grand Oak’s hideous asymmetrical soul patch, his Apple Watch, his popped collar, and the distinctive glasses that appear to be staying on his face by balancing on his nose alone. Let’s face it, no one dresses like that unless they’ve realized that they’ve wasted their entire life researching Pokemon after watching a 10 year old advance and prove his theories in the course of a whirlwind week-long journey to becoming the Champion of the Kanto region.

According to the app, Grand Oak wants to make a National Pokedex and gives players a Pikachu when they start up their Pokemon Home.We’ll have to see whether this Grand Oak is just into tragically bad haircuts, or if he’s also a fan of every 1980s movie that imagined a future where everyone wore pants made of aluminum and moved around using floating skateboards. You can get a full look of Grand Oak below: