>>43881654It never said it was Giovanni; it said that Delia was part of his gang, but became a reformed member of society after meeting Ash's dad. But that's not canon anyway, so it doesn't really matter.
>>43881645If it was Professor Oak, even if he didn't want Ash to know, they'd probably have a closer relationship than the beginning of the series. Plus, it'd be a little weird with Oak canonically having relationships with someone else to have a son, since Gary is his grandson.
The only reason I don't think it could be Giovanni is because of him having an actual son in the Johto games and it's implied with the Raikou Special that the Johto characters are actually canon in the anime, even if their roles are revised.
I honestly think it was Silver, a man from another special/Pokemon Chronicles; He has a small resemblance to Ash and his quest for Moltres is similar in theme to Ash and Ho-Oh from the start of the anime. Not to mention, he's considered a great trainer which was Ash's Father's goal when he left his family. There is also a weird moment, where he's talking with Ritchie who begins to tell him about his friend Ash, and Silver acts a little weird (almost as if he knew who Ash was.)
The Anime Staff and TPCI have ruined all legitimate world building that isn't used to sell merchandise, so if there ever was actually a plan for who Ash's Dad was, it was probably dropped.
