Why did Professor Oak give Ash a Pikachu? Popular Pokemon fan theory provides speculations

Pokemon will forever be one of the most adored franchises to have seen the light of day. Pokemon continues to be a cultural icon, whether through the countless games, varied manga, or the anime series. Pikachu, the franchise's iconic mascot, is almost as significant as the brand itself. Fans primarily remember this creature as the electric mouse Ash Ketchum was made to accept from Professor Oak in the anime, who ultimately became Ash's closest friend.

Pikachu continues to be Ash's best friend even though he dumps all his other friends – Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, and more – each season.

This article will examine why Professor Oak gave Ash a Pikachu in the main Pokemon series.

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Here's why Professor Oak gave a Pikachu to Ash Ketchum as his first Pokemon

Ash, along with Sammy in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In the first episode of the canon series, Professor Samuel Oak gave Ash Ketchum, one of the most iconic, if not the most iconic character of the franchise, an ill-tempered Pikachu. This was contrary to the popular belief that the Professor gives tamed and easy-to-handle creatures to new trainers.

According to some popular fan theories, not reluctance made Professor Oak hand the dangerous Pikachu over to Ash. It was more of a deliberate and planned decision. Had he not done so, the entire fabric of the universe would get ripped, and nothing would be the same as we know.

This theory is strengthened in the fourth film, Pokemon 4ever - Celebi: The Voice of the Forest. You may also know it as Celebi: A Timeless Encounter. In this movie, a young boy named Sammy comes across Celebi and saves it from some hunters, thus forming a close friendship with the creature.

[Pokemon] Prof Oak choose Pikachu for Ash because he remembers him having it in the events of Pokémon 4ever by u/TeacherHeze in FanTheories

Celebi then brings Sammy 40 years into the future, where he crosses paths with Ash and his friends, Brock and Misty. Ash then introduces Sammy to Pikachu, and the two form a close bond throughout the movie. Sammy even makes sketches of Celebi and Pikachu, as the two have become almost inseparable.

Later, Celebi and Sammy returned to their original timeline, but before that happened, Ash told Sammy about the Pokedex as it was still not invented in Sammy's timeline. As we know, Professor Samuel Oak is the inventor of the PokeDex, and this gives rise to a Bootstrap Paradox in which an item has no distinct source of origin. Had Ash not revealed the PokeDex to Sammy, maybe Professor Oak would never have come up with the idea of the same.

Ash holding the Poke Ball with an insignia (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Coming back to Pikachu, over the years of Professor Oak's life, he knew that Ash would come to him to get his starter creature. He believed that Ash must get a Pikachu as his starter critter, or it might create a weird paradox and significantly alter the course of time.

One could also argue that having seen Ash's bond with Pikachu, and Professor Oak wanted to give the Pikachu to Ash as they would develop an inseparable and life-long friendship.

If you were to dive a bit deeper, when you watch the anime's first episode, you will see that Ash's starter Poke Ball has a special insignia. Professor Oak probably did this to tickle Ash's intrigue. Furthermore, Ash was supposed to pick his starter creature and three other trainers on the same day. Strangely, Professor Oak did not convince Ash's mother to wake him up, and by the time he reached the Professor's lab, he was only left with Pikachu.

These only go to show that Professor Samuel Oak had intentionally given the Pikachu to Ash to prevent the Pokemon universe's cosmology from tumbling like a house of cards.