Oak's Dream is one of those weird, charming Pokémon Blue hacks where Professor Oak himself is the main character—yeah, the old guy finally gets his own adventure. You start off with a totally different lineup of starters (no Pikachu here), and the dialogue’s been rewritten to fit the whole "what if Oak was the trainer?" angle. Some of the wild Pokémon are swapped out too, so you’ll run into surprises even if you’ve played the original a hundred times.

It’s still classic Game Boy Pokémon at its core—turn-based battles, grinding in tall grass, the whole deal—but with enough tweaks to make it feel fresh. The map’s mostly the same, though a few routes have different trainers or items tucked away. If you’ve ever wondered what Kanto would look like through Oak’s eyes, this is probably the closest you’ll get.