Samson Oak

Samson Oak (Japanese: ナリヤ・オーキド Nariya Ōkido) is a Pokémon Professor in Alola. He studies the regional variants and Totem Pokémon of the region. He is a cousin of Professor Oak, with whom he shares a striking resemblance.

Pokémon Sun and Moon
Samson Oak is first seen in Malie City on Ula'ula Island in, when the undefined's Rotom Pokédex recognizes him. He tells the player about his research on regional variants, and asks them to come meet him in the city's library. When the player meets him in the library, he talks about regional variants again, before requesting that the player show him the local variant. Upon being shown an Alolan Persian, he explains why regional variants exist, and explains his theory on why the Alolan Persian looks the way it does before giving the player a. He also talks about his cousin in Kanto, who gave him a Kanto Pokédex which he uses to compare the Alolan variants of to their regular form counterparts. Finally, he tells the player about how might come visit Alola someday because of the Z-Crystals Samson has sent him.

Samson is later met behind the Malie City Recycling Plant, where he explains why the Alolan is the way it is and gives the player a  before leaving for Malie Library. The player may also encounter Samson inside the Geothermal Power Plant on Blush Mountain, where he will be standing in front of a photo of the Kalos Power Plant. Here he will tell the player about the hair of Alolan before handing the player a. He is also met behind the Pokémon Center atop Mount Hokulani, where he talks about 's different forms. Before going back to Malie Library again, he gives the player a.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
In, the player meets Samson earlier, namely before going to Big Wave Beach to Mantine Surf to Akala Island, this replacing the initial encounter in Malie City. In these games, Samson studies Totem Pokémon and will give the player Totem-like Pokémon at Heahea Beach after collecting a certain amount of Totem Stickers. He is also an expert Mantine Surfer, initially holding the second-highest scores at all four of Alola's surfing beaches. The player can also encounter him at near Ula'ula Beach, where he contemplates how he never seems to be able to beat a certain "kimono-clad cad" when it comes to the ranking boards.

Pokémon Sun and Moon

 * Malie City
 * "Why, hello there, Rotom! Are you feeling nice and comfy there in that Pokédex of yours?"
 * "Oh! Well, hello there. Good to meet you. I'm Oak—Samson Oak. I'm a Pokémon researcher, and I'm looking into the regional variants found around here."
 * "And you must be, huh? Young mentioned you to me."
 * "Rotom, you be sure to help this fine young / on his/her trip around the islands, all right?"
 * "And you, ! I'll be trusting you to keep Rotom safe, as well! The young fellow from Kalos who helped invent that Pokédex put a lot of work into it. And as much love and care as any parent!"
 * "I'll be in the Malie Library if you ever need me. Feel free to stop by and chat anytime. If you're having trouble finding the library, just follow the black-brick road! Meaning the patterns on these paths, of course. Black circle, black triangle, black square. Follow that pattern and it'll get you there!"


 * Malie Library
 * "Alola, young ! Since you're out and about exploring on your island challenge, you must already know about regional variants, don't you?"
 * Yes: "Just as I would have expected!"
 * No: "Indeed? Maybe they are rarer than I thought..."
 * "Yes, regional variants... They arise when the influences of a particular region cause a Pokémon's physical aspect and even type to change."
 * "If you have caught one of the local Persians—the regional variants—I would quite like to see it!"


 * If the player has an Alolan Persian in their party
 * "Oh! That's a local Alolan Persian, all right! I've heard that having a round face can be considered quite cute here in Alola! Maybe that explains the Alolan regional variant? And since Persians are so smart even before they evolve, it may be that they use the extra energy born during Evolution to instead help strengthen and bulk up their bodies... How very fascinating and alluring! And since this regional variant Persian evolves only with high friendship, I know what kind of wonderful Trainer you must be, my young friend!"
 * "Thank you, ! Let me give you this in thanks!"


 * If talked to again
 * "Oh, that cousin of mine in Kanto... He and I look remarkably alike, or so everyone always says. He's Professor Oak, though. He actually is the one who gave me this Kanto region Pokédex that I carry with me now for comparison as I look into things here in Alola."
 * "Sam has a grandson, in fact, who is a pretty astounding Trainer himself. Boy's name is . I actually sent him some Z-Crystals as well, so who knows? Maybe he'll come visit Alola, too, someday!"


 * After meeting Blue in the Battle Tree
 * "What! You met my grand-nephew Blue?! Well, if that doesn't just take the cake! It's like six degrees of Pokémon separation!"


 * Malie City Outer Cape
 * "Oh, hello! Hello! Alola!"
 * "Did you know that Alolan are in fact not native to the region at all, but instead are what we would call naturalized Pokémon? There is not so much sludge and pollution for Grimer to feed on here in Alola, though, so they have grown to feed on garbage instead. They do not give off a foul stench, thanks to the way they contain any poisons within their bodies, but their crystals are terribly poisonous!"
 * "Here! I've been wanting to give you this."
 * "I hope you'll try to complete your Pokédex. For Rotom's sake as well!"


 * Mount Hokulani
 * "Oh, hello! Hello! Alola!"
 * "You know, there's this Pokémon called . It comes down from space like a shooting star. And the cores of these Minior seem to shine in a number of different colors! They don't seem to be regional variants, but it's an interesting phenomena nonetheless."
 * "Here! I've been wanting to give you this."
 * "I hope you'll try to complete your Pokédex. For Rotom's sake as well!"


 * Geothermal Power Plant
 * "Oh, hello! Hello! Alola!"
 * "Here in the Alola region, volcanic eruptions can result in long, thin strands of magma... They form strands of glass rather like hair! But the hair on the here is not glass, but rather whiskers of some metallic substance. They use them for communication and as a sort of sensor to investigate their surroundings."
 * "Here! I've been wanting to give you this."
 * "I hope you'll try to complete your Pokédex. For Rotom's sake as well!"

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

 * "You have an island challenge amulet! Plus Normalium Z and Fightinium Z! So it would seem that you've cleared that trial of Ilima's, have you? And even battled Hala? Congratulations!"
 * "Oh! Well, hello there. Good to meet you. I'm Oak—Samson Oak. I'm a Pokémon researcher, and I'm looking into the Totem Pokémon found around here."
 * "Yes, Totem Pokémon... Why are they so large? What gives them that burning aura? Don't you find yourself wondering as well?"
 * I do!: "Precisely my point! In that case, let me tell you this..."
 * Not really...: "Is that so? You may say that now, but I think that hearing what I have to propose will change your mind!"
 * "I want you to collect certain stickers for me, to receive a totem-like Pokémon for yourself! That's right. I mean the Totem Stickers!"
 * "You can find Totem Stickers here and there. Peel them off whenever you find them, and try to collect them all."
 * "If you collect 20 Totem Stickers to show me, I'll give you a fine /!"
 * "Don't let me down, young ! After all, you are the that Professor Kukui entrusted with  there!"
 * "I'll be around Heahea Beach on Akala Island, if you need to ever find me! You can reach it with a spot of ."
 * "I'll be around Heahea Beach on Akala Island, if you need to ever find me! You can reach it with a spot of ."


 * "Alola, young ! Since you're out and about exploring on your island challenge, you must already know about regional variants, don't you?"
 * Yes: "Just as I would have expected!"
 * No: "Indeed? Maybe they are rarer than I thought..."
 * "Yes, regional variants... They arise when the influences of a particular region cause a Pokémon's physical aspect and even type to change."
 * "If you have a local Persian—the regional variant—I would quite like to see it!"
 * "If you have a local Persian—the regional variant—I would quite like to see it!"


 * If the player has an Alolan Persian in their party
 * "Oh! That's a local, all right! I've heard that having a round face can be considered quite cute here in Alola! Maybe that explains the Alolan regional variant? And since Persians are so smart even before they evolve, it may be that they use the extra energy born during Evolution to instead help strengthen and bulk up their bodies... How very fascinating and alluring! And since this regional variant Persian evolves only with high friendship, I know what kind of wonderful Trainer you must be, my young friend!"
 * "Thank you, ! Let me give you something good as thanks!"


 * If talked to again
 * "Oh, that cousin of mine in Kanto... He and I look remarkably alike, or so everyone always says. He's Samuel, though. He actually is the one who gave me this Kanto region Pokédex that I carry with me now for comparison as I look into things here in Alola."
 * "Sam has a grandson, in fact, who is a pretty astounding Trainer himself. Boy's name is . I actually sent him some Z-Crystals as well, so who knows? Maybe he'll come visit Alola, too, someday!"


 * After meeting Blue in the Battle Tree
 * "What! You met my grand-nephew Blue?! Well, if that doesn't just take the cake! It's like six degrees of Pokémon separation!"


 * Malie City Outer Cape
 * "Oh, hello! Hello! Alola!"
 * "Did you know that Alolan are in fact not native to the region at all, but instead are what we would call naturalized Pokémon? There is not so much sludge and pollution for Grimer to feed on here in Alola, though, so they have grown to feed on garbage instead. They do not give off a foul stench, thanks to the way they contain any poisons within their bodies, but their crystals are terribly poisonous!"
 * "Here! I've got something good for you!"
 * "I hope you'll try to complete your Pokédex. For Rotom's sake as well!"


 * Mount Hokulani
 * "Oh, hello! Hello! Alola!"
 * "You know, there's this Pokémon called . It comes down from space like a shooting star. And the cores of these Minior seem to shine in a number of different colors! They don't seem to be regional variants, but it's an interesting phenomena nonetheless."
 * "Here! I've got something good for you!"
 * "I hope you'll try to complete your Pokédex. For Rotom's sake as well!"


 * "Why, young ! We keep running into one another, don't we?"
 * "When I'm feeling stuck with my research into regional variants and Totem Pokémon, that's when I come out for a spot of Mantine Surfing! It's the secret to feeling all recharged!"
 * "Though it does get my that I can't seem to ever beat that kimono-clad cad when it comes to the ranking board..."
 * "Anyway! You keep collecting those Totem Stickers, and enjoy your island challenge! I'll be around Heahea Beach on Akala Island if you ever need me!"
 * "Anyway! You keep collecting those Totem Stickers, and enjoy your island challenge! I'll be around Heahea Beach on Akala Island if you ever need me!"


 * Geothermal Power Plant
 * "Oh, hello! Hello! Alola!"
 * "Here in the Alola region, volcanic eruptions can result in long, thin strands of magma... They form strands of glass rather like hair! But the hair on the here is not glass, but rather whiskers of some metallic substance. They use them for communication and as a sort of sensor to investigate their surroundings."
 * "Here! I've got something good for you!"
 * "I hope you'll try to complete your Pokédex. For Rotom's sake as well!"


 * Calling after the player collects <20/40/50/70/80/100> Totem Stickers
 * ''"Oh! Well, hello there! It's me, Samson Oak. I see you've collected some Totem Stickers. You should come stop by Heahea Beach!


 * Heahea Beach
 * "Oh! Young ! I've been hoping to see you again!"


 * After collecting <20/40/50/70/80/100> Totem Stickers
 * "It seems you've collected Totem Stickers! I told you I'd give you a special  that's as big as a real Totem Pokémon once you got, so I guess it's yours!"


 * After collecting <> Totem Stickers
 * "So you've collected Totem Sticker(s)... Hunting them down is quite the task, isn't it?"


 * After receiving the Totem Pokémon
 * "The captains and Trial Guides work hard to stick Totem Stickers up all around Alola. Searching them out should surely help you progress through your island challenge!"


 * If the PC boxes are full
 * "Hrmmm... It looks like your Boxes are too full to exchange your Totem Stickers for this fine totem-like Pokémon, ambitious young Trainer!"


 * After finding all Totem Stickers
 * "Even after finding every last Totem Sticker, that doesn't mean the quest to understand precisely what Totem Pokémon are, or what source their auras derive from, will end!"

In the anime
Samson appeared in Alola to New Adventure!. He is the principal of the Pokémon School and enjoys making puns using the names of Pokémon (while usually doing a visual impression too). His cousin had assigned  and  to deliver a  to him, which they did. While Delia returned home, Ash chose to stay behind after becoming a student at the school.

In Lillie's Egg-xhilarating Challenge!, he assigned the students to look after one of two Eggs, one of them being the Egg that Delia and Ash had brought with them. They chose the white colored Egg and he looked after the other Egg, which hatched into a in Getting to Know You!.

In Racing to a Big Event!, he entered the Pokémon Pancake Race with and won.

In Alola, Kanto!, he traveled to Kanto to visit Professor Oak, along with Ash,, and.

He appeared in Let Sleeping Pokémon Lie!, where he told Ash and his classmates of how he met Komala. Later, he, along with Professor Kukui,, and , helped Komala learn , thus putting a stop to 's routine tantrums after noticing its audience sleeping through its songs.

He appeared again in Filling the Light with Darkness!, Full Moon and Many Arms!, and SM093.

Pokémon
This listing is of Samson's known in the :

Pokémon competitions
Samson has competed in the following :
 * Pokémon Pancake Race - Winner (Racing to a Big Event!)

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Samson Oak debuts in The Decision and the Tournament of Six. He served as a judge at a tournament held at an Iki Town festival. During 's battle against Gladion, Moon was confused as to why Gladion wouldn't have his attack her newly-caught Alolan  with. Samson stepped in to tell Moon, who had only just recently arrived in Alola, about how regional variants can also have different types as well as appearances.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese versions of the game, Samson's name is written in Western order (given name placed before family name), as opposed to his cousin, Professor Oak, whose name is written in East Asian order (family name before given name).
 * In Malie Library, Samson refers to as his grand-nephew. However, the term "grandnephew" refers to the grandson of one's sibling, not to the grandson of one's cousin. Blue is actually Samson's first cousin twice-removed.
 * Samson is 5'9" (175 cm) tall.

Related articles

 * Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

Heinrich Eich Gabriel Oak Raphaël Chen Manuel Oak ナリヤ・オーキド 成也・大木