What Does Professor Oak Do With Trainer's Pokemon?

Professor Oak has been caring for trainers' Pokémon for years, but how does his service operate exactly?


Professor Oak would make a fortune if he charged trainers by the Pokémon to look after them, which is a shame because most services in the Pokémon world are free. Professor Oak's lab holds 64 Pokémon of Ash, including his 30 Tauros, and he's just one of many Pallet Town trainers who do the same. Professor Oak's involvement in the daily lives of trainers' Pokémon is unclear due to the large number of trainers' Pokémon living on his land.


Trainers are only allowed to carry a total of six Pokémon at any given time, therefore any additional must be stored. Professor Oak's Laboratory is where Ash's Pokémon usually end. The Pokémon, unlike the games, are not transformed into data and kept on a computer. The Oak Corral, a large area on Professor Oak's property with a variety of habitats designed to allow all sorts of Pokémon to live happily, seems to be a diversified ecosystem with varying habitats designed to allow all species of Pokémon to live securely.



Professor Oak may have received more than he bargained for when he began this service 25 years ago, with seven regions and 750 Pokémon. Despite the fact that Ash helps minimise the load by frequently releasing Pokémon before they end up at Oak's lab, even though his Pokémon count continues to rise as his trip advances. Professor Oak, fortunately for our hero, does not appear to have a limit on the number of Pokémon trainers may leave with him.


Professor Oak can't leave the Pokémon on his property to their own devices all of the time because they are living beings who need to be cared for. Pokémon in the wild are self-sufficient, but once caught, they are soon domesticated and require proper Pokémon nutrition. Professor Oak's entire day would be spent merely feeding the numerous Pokémon under his command if Tracey Sketchit wasn't there to help. Given that a Snorlax requires 900 pounds of food each day, Ash's Snorlax should be the only one of its kind on the island.


Unlike Charizard's time in the Charicific Valley, Ash's Pokémon rarely return from Oak's lab stronger than they were since they were left. Professor Oak clearly does not train these Pokémon, as they occasionally learn new moves. However, while Ash's Infernape battled Ash's other Fire-types to gain stronger, Pokémon Journeys demonstrates that some Pokémon train themselves.



Professor Oak's Infernape is also a good sign of how attentively he watches trainers' Pokémon, which isn't very closely. When Ash and Goh return to the lab, Ash inquires about his Infernape, to which Professor Oak casually replies, "I haven't seen Infernape in a few days." As a result, when a trainer's Pokémon leaves Oak's land on its own accord, he does not appear to look for them. Trainers would almost certainly highlight this in a Yelp review.


When Ash returns to Professor Oak's Lab to meet his Pokémon, they are always excited to see him. Perhaps they simply adore their trainer, or perhaps this rare affection from Ash's visits is the only affection they ever receive. Despite the fact that Professor Oak has spent far more time with Ash's Pokémon than with Ash, only his Muk appears to have any feelings for him.



This isn't to suggest Professor Oak is cruel to the Pokémon; it's just that the sheer number of them means feeding them is the most he can do on a regular basis. After all, he is a Pokémon professor, thus he is more inclined to spend his spare time studying them rather than interacting with them. The Oak Corral's unusual design allows him to monitor Pokémon as close to their natural habitat as possible.


Professor Oak goes above and above to assist eager young Pokémon trainers on their journeys, yet he asks for very little in return. Trainers can summon him at any time to exchange out Pokémon, and he normally looks after the ones they leave with him. The true star of the Pokémon anime is Professor Oak, and it wouldn't hurt for Ash to lend a helping hand now and then.