Gary Oak

* Ruby and Sapphire
* The Beginning
 Gender
 Birth date
 Eye color
 Region
 Family
 Friends
 Trainer class
 **Voiced by** | Carter Cathcart

**Gary Oak** (Japanese: **オーキド・シゲル** *Shigeru Okido*) is a recurring character who appeared in the Pokémon anime. He is a Pokémon Researcher from Pallet Town and grandson of Professor Oak. He is a childhood friend of Ash Ketchum and his main rival in the original series. In *Pokémon Journeys: The Series*, he serves as Goh's rival in Project Mew. His Japanese name is derived from Shigeru Miyamoto.

## History

### Pre-series

Gary has been a neighbor of Ash Ketchum since they were both young. At one time, they seemed to be friends and went to see movies together, as seen in *Lights, Camerupt, Action!*.

Shortly before beginning their journeys, Gary and Ash found an old Poké Ball while fishing. The two boys began fighting over who would get to keep the Poké Ball but ended up breaking it in half. Since then, they decided to keep the two separate pieces for themselves. It was revealed in *The Ties That Bind* that they still carried the pieces with them.

### Original series

Gary debuted in *Pokémon - I Choose You!*, where he went to Professor Oak's Laboratory along with two other Pokémon Trainers before Ash did. After choosing his starter Pokémon, he left Pallet Town with his cheerleaders on a sporty red convertible, refusing to tell Ash which Pokémon he had chosen.

Gary made quick progress through his Pokémon journey, much to Ash's annoyance. He breezed through the Pewter and Cerulean Gyms prior to *Showdown in Pewter City* and *The Water Flowers of Cerulean City*. It was also revealed in *Challenge of the Samurai* that Gary had also defeated Samurai in a battle.

Gary made a brief appearance in *Here Comes the Squirtle Squad*, where he exited a town store, accidentally knocking Ash out in the process. In *Mystery at the Lighthouse*, Professor Oak revealed to Ash that Gary had already caught 45 Pokémon, compared to Ash's team of seven. Professor Oak also revealed that Gary's Pokémon included a much larger Krabby than the Krabby that Ash caught that episode.

In *Beauty and the Beach*, Gary hopped onstage during the Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest and attempted to insult Ash in front of the gathered crowd.

In *Dig Those Diglett!*, Gary was one of the Trainers who decided to help out the foreman in getting rid of the Diglett affecting construction at Gaiva Dam. Gary attempted to send out a Pokémon to battle the Diglett, but it did not exit the Poké Ball, and a Diglett returned it to him. He tried to send out his other Pokémon, though they also did not leave their Poké Balls and were returned to him by the Diglett. Realizing that his Pokémon did not want to battle the Diglett, he deemed it pointless to stay and left with his cheerleaders in their convertible.

In *Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon*, Gary went digging for Fossils in Grampa Canyon. As soon as Gary starts, he finds something he thinks is a Fossil. However, when one of the members of the excavation team takes a closer look, he realizes that it is a Pokémon's dung. Later, when an Aerodactyl gets out of control, Gary is one of those affected by Jigglypuff's song that puts everyone to sleep. At the end of the day, when Officer Jenny decides to close the archaeological site, Gary is suspicious of the excuse given for the presence of the Fossil Pokémon that were out of control.

In *Riddle Me This*, Gary was on vacation rather than bothering to challenge the local Cinnabar Gym. When Gary is confronted by Ash, he reveals to his rival that there has been no Gym in Cinnabar Island for several years. Later, Gary finds Ash again while Ash's group was looking for a place to stay, trying to humiliate Ash, Gary offers food in exchange for Ash to do what he asks. Soon after, Jigglypuff appears and thinking it's a show, Gary and the cheerleaders end up falling asleep, which makes the Balloon Pokémon angry.

In *The Battle of the Badge*, he revealed that he had already received ten Badges. He then went to the challenge the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni. At first he seemed to be winning, knocking out his Golem and Kingler with his Nidoking and Arcanine, respectively. However, the tide of the battle turned when Giovanni sent out Mewtwo (disguised in armor). Though Gary was allowed to use both his Pokémon against him, Mewtwo made quick work of Gary's team, and he lost the battle. When Ash and his friends later entered the Gym, they found Gary and his cheerleaders lying unconscious on the floor. Once Ash revived him, Gary warned Ash about that Pokémon's power. He asserted that Giovanni's mysterious Pokémon was not only powerful, but also evil—and that no Trainer would ever beat it. Gary then watched Ash battle Team Rocket, who had appeared as the temporary Gym Leaders and invited Ash to challenge them. During the battle, he tackles Meowth to prevent him from using a remote to detonate the platform where Ash stood. He also admits that Ash is a good Trainer after watching his team defeating all the Pokémon that Team Rocket used. Following the battle, Gary flees the collapsing Gym with the others.

In *Showdown at the Po-ké Corral*, Gary returned to Pallet Town and headed to the lobby of Professor Oak's Laboratory. The grandfather mentioned to both Ash and Gary that they were the top Trainers, noting the other two couldn't compare with their battling skills. Professor Oak then showed Gary's collection of Pokémon to Ash. Although he had seen more Pokémon, Gary had managed to catch a far greater amount. After Team Rocket was defeated, he promised Ash that they would have their battle at the Pokémon League.

In *All Fired Up!*, Gary met up with Ash in the Pokémon League in Indigo Plateau. He departed the area after claiming he would get *Loseritis*. The next day, he was seen in the stadium with the other Trainers and Ash. Gary did not stay that long as his opponent, Melissa, defeated his Nidoking using her Golem, which eliminated him from the Pokémon League. Following the loss, he left on another journey.

Gary eventually returned from that journey in *A Tent Situation*. Much unlike his former self, he congratulated Ash on his victory in the Orange League. Ash challenged him to a battle in the next episode with Pikachu as his choice. Gary in turn used his Eevee. Gary managed to defeat Ash and then left on his journey through Johto.

Ash and his friends encountered Gary on their way to Violet City in *Illusion Confusion!*. Gary recommended they find themselves a Hoothoot to avoid becoming lost in the particularly disorientating forest before leaving to continue catching more Pokémon.

In *Power Play*, he battled a Trainer named Alex Davis with his Umbreon, which had evolved from his Eevee prior. Gary was able to defeat Alex and his Alakazam. The battle made Ash want to challenge Gary next, but he refused and walked off. Ash sent out his other Pokémon to battle Umbreon, but Gary had already left. From their campsite, Gary and Umbreon noticed a blackout in a town Ash and his friends were in. The two jumped into the rescue of the Power Plant when it was attacked by the Team Rocket trio with their Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet. Following the mecha's defeat, Gary worked with Ash and his friends to get the power back on.

In *Extreme Pokémon!*, he was practicing with Arcanine for the Extreme Pokémon Race. He then entered the race and competed against Ash and his Bayleef. They were both in the lead, though Ash was able to narrowly win the event.

Gary arrived in Silver Town in *A Claim to Flame!* to compete in the Silver Conference. He greeted Ash and exchanged pleasantries, promising to get to the top and defeat him. Gary was able to get past the screening round along with Ash and Harrison.

In *The Ties That Bind* and *Can't Beat the Heat!*, he battled Ash in an intense Full Battle. In the final round, Ash ended up winning the battle when his Charizard defeated Gary's Blastoise, eliminating him from the tournament. Afterwards, Gary continued to support Ash's campaign from the sidelines.

By *Johto Photo Finish*, Gary decided that he didn't want to be a Pokémon Trainer anymore, but instead a Pokémon researcher like his grandfather. Gary managed to reach Pallet Town a few days before Ash, and as he was preparing to leave for his next venture with just his Blastoise, Ash encountered him in *Gotta Catch Ya Later*. Gary's fresh start approach inspired Ash's desire to travel to Hoenn.

### Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

Gary appeared in a flashback to Ash's childhood in *Lights, Camerupt, Action!*.

In *Putting the Air Back in Aerodactyl!*, Gary was revealed to be working on Sayda Island as a Fossil researcher with Dora, head of the Sayda Lab. There, he revived an Aerodactyl from an Old Amber. At first, the Aerodactyl was afraid of him and every other person on the island. However, Gary gained its trust after he fed it some fruit that Aerodactyl used to eat. Afterwards, Dora announced that Gary could now work full-time at the Sayda Lab.

Eventually, he moved to the Sinnoh region, where he was conducting his research. He sent a postcard to Ash from there in *The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!*, which motivated him to not to get himself down after a loss and keep fighting, much like he did during their rivalry.

In *Home Is Where The Start Is!*, Gary reunited with Ash. He battled him with his Electivire and defeated Ash's Pikachu once more.

### Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

During his time in Sinnoh, Gary became an assistant of Professor Rowan. As before, Gary conducts his research on rare Pokémon, including Fossil Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon. Gary demonstrated more maturity and more respect for other people, especially Ash. Upon meeting him, Dawn thought that he was a poet like his grandfather.

In *Ill-Will Hunting!*, he was taking care of a group of Shieldon and protected them from J and her minions. Gary and Ash were forced to join forces to defeat the enemy, even though Ash had been against it. However, thanks to the efforts of the two they managed to save Shieldon from the hands of J.

He appeared again in *Fighting Fear With Fear!*, where he helped Ash and Gligar by giving a Razor Fang to Ash. This caused Gligar to evolve later on. He was in the area after hearing rumors of Azelf, whom Ash had seen earlier at Lake Valor.

Gary later appeared in *The Needs of the Three!* and *The Battle Finale of Legend!*, working alongside Professor Rowan at Valor Lakefront where he attempted to protect Azelf from J and Team Galactic; however, he was unable to defeat Saturn in battle. He later monitored the changes around Mt. Coronet caused by Cyrus' attempts to summon Dialga and Palkia. Gary and Professor Rowan later arrived to collect the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs after Ash's group and Cynthia handled Team Galactic.

It's later revealed that Gary followed Ash's attendance at the Lily of the Valley Conference, in particular, the battle between him and Paul in *Battling a Thaw in Relations!*.

### Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Gary later reappeared in a fantasy in *The Dream Continues!*.

### Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Gary reappeared in *Advice to Goh!*, using his Blastoise to save Ash and Goh from an Onix that Goh failed to catch. While reuniting with Ash, Gary revealed that he had left Sinnoh to travel the world to research Pokémon. After being introduced to Goh, he let both of them know that he is pursuing the Legendary Pokémon Moltres, while Ash told him that he was looking for his lost Infernape. They both agreed to help each other with their respective tasks.

After a bit of journeying, they arrived in a valley, where they found both Infernape and Moltres, and proceeded to battle the latter. After an intense match, they managed to damage Moltres enough to force it to retreat, while Gary retrieved a burning feather that it had dropped. Back at Professor Oak's Laboratory, Gary was revealed to be participating in Project Mew, with retrieving a Moltres feather having been his Trial Mission. Gary subsequently left to continue his research.

Gary reappeared in *Leaping Toward the Dream!*, where he briefly met Ash and Goh as they arrived in Sinnoh for Goh's first Project Mew mission.

In *Battling in the Freezing Raid!*, Gary was seen at the Seafoam Islands in search of an Articuno. On finding Articuno, Gary took part in a Raid Battle with Ash, Goh, and Horace, using Tyranitar, Umbreon, and Arcanine, only for Articuno to eventually fly away. Despite this, Gary managed to obtain Tokens for the mission and an extra Token for leading the battle, a short time later, before going his way Gary had a brief conversation with Goh about the posture a Challenger should have.

In *Narrowing the Chaser Chase!*, Goh was informed that Gary was on another mission led by Quillon. Shortly after the conclusion of the Sea Mauville battle royale, Quillon informed Danika that Gary had successfully completed his mission. In the display of the current Project Mew Challenger placings, Gary was revealed to be the highest-ranked Challenger in Project Mew with a total of 12 tokens.

In *Chasing to the Finish!*, Gary assisted Goh in the final Trial Mission at the Split-Decision Ruins. After defeating Lyla and Sterling, they teamed up to take on Regieleki and Regidrago, with both of them successfully catching one of them and officially becoming Chasers afterwards.

In *A Flood of Torrential Gains!*, Gary met with the other members of Project Mew in Slateport City to begin the final expedition. During the meeting, Gary talked to Goh about Ash's final battle in the Masters Eight Tournament. In *Partners in Time!*, he was briefly seen together with the other members of Project Mew during the climax of Ash's battle against Leon.

In *The Mew from Here!* and *In the Palms of our Hands!*, Gary and the other members of Project Mew explored Faraway Island in their search for Mew, eventually succeeding in finding it. After this, Project Mew was disbanded.

In *This Could be the Start of Something Big!*, Gary and Horace were seen being greeted by Professor Oak at the entrance to his Laboratory.

Gary reunited with Ash again in *The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!*. After rescuing a trapped Charmander, Gary congratulated Ash on winning the World Coronation Series. After questioning Ash about what his next step would be from now on, Gary went off on a new journey alongside Umbreon.

## Character

The day he started out on his Pokémon journey, he came off as an arrogant Trainer, much like his game counterpart, Blue. His chosen starter Pokémon was Squirtle, which was actually the same Pokémon that Ash originally wanted to start with. He even had a group of cheerleaders who cheered him on in all his battles and would go so far as crying whenever he lost. He didn't walk on his journeys like most Trainers did; instead, he had his own sporty red convertible with a chauffeur. Gary loved when he got a chance to make fun of Ash by bragging about how far behind Ash was compared to him. He also gave Ash the pet name of "Ashy-boy" (Japanese: "Satoshi*-kun*"), which occasionally seems to annoy him. His style of training at this point was to capture many Pokémon and to use the strongest, as a stark contrast to Ash, who focused on developing a bond with his Pokémon.

His arrogance continued over time during Ash's journey in Kanto until he challenged the Viridian City Gym Leader, Giovanni, to a Pokémon battle for his final (but unnecessary) Badge in *The Battle of the Badge*, where he was brutally defeated by Mewtwo. However, this still didn't change his arrogance. It would take a loss at the Pokémon League way later on against Melissa for him to finally realize that he greatly needed to change himself. Following his loss, Gary would become more polite and respectful of others, no longer showing any of his arrogant and extravagant tendencies from the past. This change in attitude would continue to be apparent throughout his few appearances during the Johto season.

As Ash's first and longest rival, his relationship and rivalry with Ash would prove to play a pivotal role on the latter's outlook as a Trainer. Despite his low opinion of Ash, Gary would make a point to show off his superiority in every way he could during his earlier appearances. The duo's dynamic would see a major change once Gary was abruptly eliminated in the Indigo Plateau Conference, with Gary growing humble and ceasing his arrogance and antagonistic attitude towards Ash, though he would still tease him at times. By the time of the Silver Conference, Ash and Gary would have a more amiable relationship with one another while still maintaining a sense of rivalry. After his defeat against Ash, Gary would graciously accept his defeat and gave him his half of the Poké Ball, symbolizing the end of their rivalry and the renewal of their friendship. Even after ending his rivalry with Ash, Gary would continue to have an impact on Ash and his journey moving forward, continuing to serve as a motivation towards him while at times lending him a helping hand.

## Pokémon

Since the very start of his own journey, Gary has shown exceptional skill as a Pokémon Trainer, catching and training an astonishing number and variety of strong Pokémon in a short period of time and losing battles very infrequently. Despite the huge amount of Pokémon he owns, Gary takes very good care of them all, as noticed by Brock and Tracey when they first saw his Eevee. As revealed by himself in *Showdown at the Po-ké Corral*, Gary often rotated the Pokémon in his party to suit the needs of the battles he would participate in. During his journey in Johto, Gary however was seen training and focusing only on specific members of his team such as Umbreon and Arcanine.

In *Johto Photo Finish!*, Gary chose to leave his Pokémon with his grandfather with the exception of Blastoise, but over time he recruited some of the Pokémon to help with various tasks and research.

As of *Showdown at the Po-ké Corral*, Gary had captured more than 200 Pokémon from 60 different species.

Gary's current party is made up of Pokémon that he has used in Trial Missions for Project Mew. This listing is for Gary's Pokémon as of *Pokémon Journeys: The Series*.

### In rotation

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### In storage

Gary's Krabby was briefly seen again in *Showdown at the Po-ké Corral*, where Gary compared its size to Ash's Krabby's size.
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Gary also used Nidoking during the Indigo Plateau Conference in *The Fourth Round Rumble*. He battled Melissa's Golem, but was defeated. This loss meant that Gary was eliminated from the tournament.
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It later appeared as a fully evolved Pokémon in *Putting the Air Back in Aerodactyl!*, where Gary used it to stop Butch and Cassidy from stealing an Aerodactyl.
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### Unseen Pokémon

Before his battle against Gary in *The Ties That Bind*, Ash was seen checking Gary's page on the Silver Conference website, where Gary's Pokémon were listed with pictures. Among them, there were several Pokémon that Gary hasn't been seen using.

### Temporary

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## Trivia

* Gary is one of the few characters from the original series, who appeared during both dubs of the anime, to have his English dub voice remain unchanged; he is always voiced by Carter Cathcart.
* Gary is one of the few characters to have a surname in the Japanese version of the anime.
	+ Furthermore, Gary is the only rival in the anime to have a surname.
* In the original series, Gary's attire is similar to Blue's during Generations I and II. In his *Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire* and *Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl* appearances, Gary wears Blue's outfit from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. In his appearance in *Pokémon Journeys: The Series*, Gary wears Blue's outfit from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Interestingly, the cape he adorns in OK!, its equivalent Pokémon Johto and in *A Tent Situation* resembles the one worn by his cross-canon manga counterpart Blue in the Yellow arc.
* Gary owns the final evolutionary forms of each of the special Pokémon that can appear on Route 201 via dual-slot mode, swarming, or the Poké Radar (Arcanine, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Dodrio).
* In Pokémon Stickers series 1, a sticker depicting Gary identified him as "**Bailey**". The same error occurred in the Polish dub of *Challenge of the Samurai*. The occurrence of the same error in two apparently unrelated sources might indicate an early-planned name, much like how Ash was initially known as "Casey".
* Although Ash's flashback in *Lights, Camerupt, Action!* seems to suggest that Gary and Ash were childhood friends, this is contradicted by Gary's conversation with Ash in *Pokémon - I Choose You!*, when they first started off on their Pokémon journeys; it indicated that was the first time they met.
	+ This is further contradicted in *The Ties that Bind*, where Ash and Gary interacted with each other mere days before they set out on their journeys, with the two already knowing each other for sometime beforehand based on their exchange.
* Gary is the only character from Ash's fantasy sequence in *The Dream Continues!* to not be one of his traveling companions at the time.
* Gary is the only character whose game counterpart is a Champion, but hasn't been a Champion at any point in the anime.
* Excluding Ash, Gary is the only character to have participated in more than one on-screen League Conference.
* According to *Pocket Monsters: The Animation*, aside from his being Professor Oak's grandson, he is also the grandnephew of Pallet Town's mayor. It also explains that his girlfriends are the mayor's electoral staff.
* Gary is the first rival to capture a Legendary Pokémon on-screen, his Regidrago.