The character began as a card, but the anime picked up the idea. In the Gold and Silver episode Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up?, James passes himself off as Professor Oak for a while before a series of tests exposes him. He wore the same disguise again in the Diamond and Pearl episode A Faux Oak Finish!, taking Oak's place at a convention so Team Rocket could steal Pokémon.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga, the fake professor is a disguise used by Sabrina's Kadabra to trick Red. The spelling has shifted over the years: Bulbapedia notes that Base Set's 1st Edition and Shadowless prints say Impostor while later prints say Imposter.
Our catalog lists 1 card under this name: Impostor Professor Oak's Invention, Rare #94 in Neo Destiny, released February 28, 2002 and illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Its Japanese title translates as False Okido's Invention.
Instead of attacking the hand like his earlier cards, it targets the Prize cards. You look at your opponent's Prizes and may have them shuffled into the deck, after which your opponent sets aside the same number of cards from the top of the deck, unseen, as new Prizes.
A Rare Trainer that lets you inspect and reshuffle your opponent's Prize cards.
Yes, as a disguise. James impersonates Professor Oak in Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up? and again in A Faux Oak Finish!.
You look at your opponent's Prize cards and may have them shuffled into the deck, replaced by the same number of unseen cards from the top.
Both appear on cards. Neo Destiny uses Impostor, Team Rocket's Imposter Oak's Revenge uses Imposter, and the Base Set card changed spelling between print runs.
| # | Card | Set | Year | Rarity | Price | 30D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Impostor Professor Oak | Base Set | 1999 | Rare | Unlimited | $7.71guide | +14.6% |
| 2 | Impostor Professor Oak's Invention | Neo Destiny | 2002 | Rare | Unlimited | $5.88guide | +5.2% |
| 3 | Impostor Professor Oak | Base Set 2 | 2000 | Rare | — | $3.48guide | +3.9% |
Ranked by each card’s main print in near-mint raw condition. 1st Edition, Shadowless and other versions are priced on each card’s page. The table updates live.
Impostor Professor Oak cards span 1999 to 2002, and the most valuable Impostor Professor Oak card is the Rare from Base Set in 1999. All 3 of the 3 Impostor Professor Oak cards carry a market value, and every one is a Trainer card from the WOTC era. The Impostor Professor Oak card value runs from Base Set through Neo Destiny, with a small spread of prints behind the leader.
Base Set (1999) holds the lead among Impostor Professor Oak cards with a Rare print. It sits 1.2 times ahead of the next card, Impostor Professor Oak's Invention, a Rare from Neo Destiny in 2002. Third is the Rare from Base Set 2 in 2000. All three are printed as Rare, so the ranking among these Impostor Professor Oak cards comes down to set and year rather than a difference in rarity.
By the value of its single leading card, Impostor Professor Oak ranks 79th of 110 characters with priced cards. With only three cards in the whole group, the Impostor Professor Oak market is a short ladder: the Base Set Rare leads, and the Neo Destiny and Base Set 2 Rares follow close behind.
Written from market data as of October 29, 2026; the table updates live.
TRAINER
3 Trainer cards · 0 partner Pokémon
Impostor Professor Oak is the fake Professor Oak of the trading card game, a villain whose disguise James of Team Rocket later borrowed in the anime. His Neo Destiny card, Impostor Professor Oak's Invention, is a 2002 Rare, and our catalog lists 1 card under this name.
No published index yet — too few of Impostor Professor Oak’s cards trade often enough to strike one.
Impostor Professor OakBase Set · 73 · Normal · Unlimited$7.710.0%82Quant score82 / 100
Impostor Professor OakBase Set 2 · 102$3.480.0%71Quant score71 / 100