Pokémon Home is here, and there’s a new Professor Oak in town.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
The world, it seems, can never have enough Pokémon games. Ever since 1996, Nintendo's been pumping them out on a regular basis; not only have there been far too many standard Pokémon titles over the years for us to count, there have also been assorted spin-off games and mobile apps. That's a lot of Pokémon.
A brand new title, Pokémon Home, has just launched on Nintendo Switch (and also on iOS and Android), and it's already got people talking. This one isn't a game; it's more of a cloud service that enables you to move and trade your Pokémon from various games, but that's not what's got Pokémon fans excited.
No, the real talking point surrounding Pokémon Home is about an unlikely piece of character design relating to series stalwart, Professor Oak. Oak, we're sure you all know, is a sensible-looking, mild-mannered Pokémon Professor and former trainer who gives you your first starter Pokémon in many of the games. In Pokémon Home, however, there's a new character: Grand Oak. And he's causing quite a buzz.
Professor Oak and Grand Oak; spot the difference (Image credit: Nintendo)
While Professor Oak is the sort of person you'd definitely find in the kitchen at parties, Grand Oak is nowhere near as retiring. A self-styled great Pokémon researcher, he looks like Professor Oak might if he had a life-changing experience on holiday in Ibiza and then spent the next six months partying hard and finding himself, man.
Gone are the sensible haircut and lab coat; Grand Oak rocks a pair of killer green shades, a soul patch and the sort of mullet that hasn't been seen in the wild since the late 1980s. The kind of mullet that Pat Sharp or Andre Agassi could only aspire to.
Everyone talking about his glasses and beard, but I feel like we're skipping over the fact that Grand Oak is just straight up sporting a primo mullet, the most powerful of haircuts. https://t.co/9mPFkeyf9OFebruary 12, 2020
There's no arguing that Grand Oak looks like he means business, and he's definitely on a mission. Within the Pokémon Home story he's the creator of this online system, and he's determined to create the ultimate Pokédex by cataloguing all the Pokémon uploaded to Home. And with his resemblance to one of the 20th century's great scientific minds, who's going to argue?
I wonder who Professor Grand Oak is based on 🤔#Pokemon #PokemonCards #YouTube #YouTuber #Subscribe #PokemonTCG #TCG #PokeTaj #PokemonGo #PokemonGoUK #PokemonGoCommunity #PokemonHome pic.twitter.com/uCzuUh5ubtFebruary 12, 2020
We just hope his attention doesn't wander. It's not that we doubt his abilities; it just looks like he might have other things on his mind at the moment.
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Grand Oak lookin like Michael from The Good Place having his midlife crisis https://t.co/kzsauYCZCR pic.twitter.com/17KflGbdhwFebruary 12, 2020
But, you know, as long as he's happy then that's just fine by us.
Y’all judging professor Oak but look at how much happier he looks! He’s like that old man who’s done pleasing other people, doesn’t give a fuck anymore, and is finally happy being his true weirdo self. Plus I bet he’s getting laid more often.#pokemonhome , #grandoak pic.twitter.com/Lcj3ks2MAHFebruary 12, 2020
If you want to hang with Grand Oak then head for the Pokémon Home site. And if you haven't got a Nintendo Switch yet, see today's best deals below.
Jim McCauley is a writer, performer and cat-wrangler who started writing professionally way back in 1995 on PC Format magazine, and has been covering technology-related subjects ever since, whether it's hardware, software or videogames. A chance call in 2005 led to Jim taking charge of Computer Arts' website and developing an interest in the world of graphic design, and eventually led to a move over to the freshly-launched Creative Bloq in 2012. Jim now works as a freelance writer for sites including Creative Bloq, T3 and PetsRadar, specialising in design, technology, wellness and cats, while doing the occasional pantomime and street performance in Bath and designing posters for a local drama group on the side.
