This is just a little oneshot about what Professor Oak must have been thinking during certain Celebi-related events in his lifetime. Hope you enjoy!
December 16, 1958. Arborville, Johto. Morning.
Sammy Oak of Pallet Town stepped out of the forest gateway, completely exhausted. He barely knew what had happened just then, but from the way the village looked it seemed like he was back in his own time.
He turned around to see Celebi fly away back into the forest, and he smiled as he remembered the events of the last 24 hours. Who would guess that he would be sent forward in time by a Pokemon barely anyone had ever seen, let alone heard of.
Ash, Misty, and Brock all seemed like nice people, nice enough for fifty years in the future. But all Sammy was focused on was continuing his journey in his time with some knowledge of the future in his head.
Sammy looked in front of him to see a large group of people crowding around, pointing at him and presumably talking about him.
A young woman pushed her way through the front of the crowd, arms crossed, and stood in front of Sammy. "Didn't I tell you about the Voice of the Forest? Where have you been?"
Sammy recognized the woman as Towa, the villager who originally warned him not to go into the forest. "Ma'am, it's a long story. Can I just go back onto the route now?"
Towa sighed. "Fine, traveler. I just hope this doesn't happen again.", she explained as she moved away to let Sammy pass through.
Sammy chuckled to himself. "Oh, just wait fifty years.", he mumbled under his breath as he walked past the villagers and their uncanny stares.
He was then startled by a girl running directly in front of him, an angry glare on her face. "Sammy, where in the world have you been? I've been worried sick!", she yelled in his face, causing him to flinch.
"A-Agatha! Could you keep it down?", stammered Sammy, completely bewildered by her surprising tactics.
Agatha's face showed a look of anger and confusion, causing Sammy to speak again. "I-It's a long, long story. How about I explain it while we're on the main route?", he exclaimed, trying not to get yelled at by her again.
"So you're saying that you met three kids from the future and helped save a mythical Pokemon?", asked Agatha. Sammy nodded nervously, expecting her to yell about it being fake.
"That's gotta be the stupidest story I've ever heard!", she shouted as Sammy covered his ears. "I'm being serious! It actually happened!", fired back Sammy.
"Okay, enlighten me. What were their names?", said Agatha, and Sammy answered her almost instantly. "They were Ash, Misty, and Brock."
It took Agatha a while to ponder his response. "Ash, huh? That name sounds oddly familiar… ", she muttered.
The name also rung a bell in Sammy's head, and he managed to remember something from their previous travels. "Didn't that weird island down south have something with the word Ash in it? I forgot the name, but I think it did."
"Yeah, I think you're right. Either way, it's probably a coincidence. I doubt those two things would ever be connected.", exclaimed Agatha, and Sammy nodded. "I just hope if I'll ever get to see them again. They did seem like a nice group of people."
April 24, 1985. Pallet Town, Kanto. Morning.
A 38-year-old Samuel Oak was now sitting on his couch, talking to his newly-appointed assistant. He had been a full-on Pokemon Professor for about a year and a half, and now it was time to get a few people on his staff to work on the massive Pokemon preserve on the property.
Across from him was the 26-year-old Spencer Hale, who had just been hired by the Professor about twenty minutes ago, give or take. He looked like a nice person and a hard worker, two qualities that Professor Oak greatly appreciated.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Sam went to answer it, only to be greeted by a young girl with brown hair in braided pigtails, panting heavily.
"Uh… how can I help you, ma'am?", stammered Sam as he tried to regain his composure, while the girl finished catching her breath.
"Oh, hi. I'm Delia Ketchum, here for the assistant interview.", exclaimed the girl, while Sam tried to hide his shock. Ketchum was the last name of that kid that he met in Johto who said he was from the future. At that moment, Sam decided that these two events were not a coincidence at all.
"Oh, I see. Please, come on in.", exclaimed the Professor as he stepped to the side to allow Delia inside the laboratory, where she sat down next to Spencer and immediately struck up a conversation with him.
"Thank you so much, Professor! When do I start?", asked Delia. Sam had just hired her as his second assistant, and she was definitely fired up. 'Just like that Ash kid', thought Sam as he walked back into the lab's living room.
"You know what, how about you take a break for the rest of the day. I'll see you at eight in the morning tomorrow, though.", explained Sam as his newly hired assistants nodded, and left the building to go back to their homes.
Sam sighed and sat down on the couch, thinking of that amazing experience he had almost thirty years earlier. If Ash from 1998 and this Delia girl from 1985 were somehow connected, he would be there to see it unfold.
May 22, 1987. Pallet Town Hospital. Afternoon.
Professor Oak walked into room B97 of the Pallet Town Hospital and smiled at the sight in front of him. His assistant Delia Ketchum was in the hospital bed, holding her newborn son.
"So, Delia. What are you going to name him?", asked Sam eagerly. He had been waiting for this moment for almost thirty years, and for two years he was hoping that his theory was correct.
In those two years where Delia was his assistant, he saw her fall in love, get pregnant, and suffer from her baby's father leaving. She did seem more down and less optimistic ever since he left her, but Sam thought that she would get better with the birth of her baby.
Sam was awoken from his deep thoughts by Delia mumbling something to herself, and the Pokemon Professor turned to the new mother. "You know what… I think I'll name him Ash."
April 1, 1997. Pallet Town Research Laboratory. Late Morning.
Professor Oak stood in his lab's Starter Pokemon room, wondering what to do next. He had already given out two starters to his grandson Gary, his friend Leaf, but there still was one more, that being Charmander.
"Come on, Sammy… just gotta preserve the timeline… no big deal… ", mumbled the Pokemon Professor as he grabbed the Pokeball containing Charmander and ran into the Pokemon Storage Room, where he kept Pokemon that trainers had caught all around Kanto.
Oak found an empty Pokeball bin, and he gave a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, Charmander, but this is for your own good.", he exclaimed as he placed the Pokeball in the storage bin, and took three empty ones.
He ran back to the starter room to make sure Ash hadn't shown up yet, and he sighed in relief once he saw nobody else in the room. He pressed the button to open the table where the extra Pokeballs where, and placed the three empty Pokeballs inside.
Sam then grabbed the Pokeball containing the Pikachu he had caught the night earlier and placed it in the center compartment, and then closed the table quickly. He looked out the window, and sure enough, there was Ash in his pajamas being confronted by Gary outside the gates.
He walked out of the lab unnoticed and stood right beside Ash, who was talking to himself, before he decided to speak up.
"So, you decided to show up after all."
"Does that mean all the Pokemon are gone?", asked Ash, who was clearly panicked. Sam knew he had to play it safe and act worried as well, just so Ash wouldn't get suspicious of his actions.
"Well, there is still one left, but I-", exclaimed the Professor worriedly, but he was cut off by Ash. "Professor - I'll take it!", shouted the boy as Sam pretended to cower in fear.
He then opened up the center compartment in the circular table, revealing a Pokeball with a lightning-bolt insignia on the top half. He grabbed the Pokeball and held it out in his hands.
"I think I should warn you, there is a problem with this last one.", answered the Professor, but Ash wouldn't budge one bit. "Professor, I have to have a Pokemon!"
"Well, in that case… "
December 16, 1998. Arborville, Johto. Sunset.
"What's the matter, Ash? You haven't said a single word yet. Didn't you enjoy your little adventure in the forest too?", exclaimed Professor Oak. He was talking to Ash, Misty, and Brock through his lab's videophone, and they were telling him all about what had happened in Arborville that day.
He could see that Ash was clearly upset about his past self going back into the past, but they didn't know that, so he decided to play it safe until he heard Ash speak.
"Oh, sure, Professor. But ya see… I met this Pokemon Trainer and we got to be friends. But… I just don't think I'm gonna see you again.", exclaimed Ash sadly. "He decided to go back to where he came from, Professor. To another time."
Sam smiled. "I wouldn't worry, Ash.", he reassured as he saw the raven-haired boy look up at the screen. "True friendships can withstand the test of time, and I have a feeling this one will.", exclaimed the Professor, who was grinning on the inside.
Sam smirked to himself, and he thought it was time to drop one last hint. "I'm sure you and Sammy will be friends forever.", he explained.
He saw Ash's mood lighten once he finished his sentence, but Misty had a curious expression on her face. It was fine if he let one thing slip during that conversation, it was all in the past anyway.
"Thanks, Professor, I think so too."
December 16, 1998. Pallet Town Research Laboratory. Evening.
Professor Oak smiled to himself as he sat down on a small couch in one of his many work rooms in the laboratory. He felt as if a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he was finally free of the constant nagging and theories inside of his head.
He felt as if he had come full circle. From traveling to the future and meeting Ash forty years earlier, to meeting Delia and hiring her as his assistant, and lastly, watching Ash grow and succeed as a Pokemon Trainer.
In that moment, he decided that these last forty years had all been worth it in the end. He had first arrived in Arborville forty years earlier, but they had come right back to him in one fell swoop of memories and nostalgia.
He grabbed an old-looking sketchbook that he carried from his early days as a trainer and opened it up. He flipped through the pages, hoping to find one of his favorite drawings that he made during that time.
He smiled as he looked upon a lightly-drawn sketch of a Pikachu and a Celebi, the old and new memories rushing back to his head.
"Hmm… it seems like it happened only yesterday… "
.
.