Pokémon Professors

This is a list of Professors in the Pokémon franchise, who often start the protagonist on his journey. Most of their names are named after types of plants and trees.

Professor Oak

Template:Pokémoncharacterinfobox Professor Samuel Oak is a human character who appears in the Pokémon video games, anime series, and manga. In Japanese, Professor Oak's name is Yukinari Okido (オーキド・ユキナリ, Ōkido Yukinari) a.k.a. Dr. Ōkido (オーキド博士, Ōkido-Hakase). He is a Pokémon researcher, and generally considered the best of his kind. As such, his role in the Pokémon games and anime is that of a mentor to young Pokémon Trainers, a source of information and an occasional plot device. Amongst other things, he is credited with inventing the Pokédex. Although he is an expert on all matters relating to Pokémon, Professor Oak specializes in Pokémon behavioural science. (Ja: オーキド・ユキナリ)

In the anime

The Pokémon anime series and films are a meta-series of adventures separate from the canon that most of the Pokémon video games follow (with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, a game based on the anime storyline; however, it still is game-canon and not Anime canon, however much it is similar to the anime). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum—an in-training Pokémon Master—as he and several other companions travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners.

In the anime, when Professor Oak was a young Pokémon Trainer (referred to as "Sammy" in the fourth movie in which he played an important role of the Pokémon storyline) he owned a Charmeleon (probably his own evolved starter Pokémon) as a youth. He met the legendary Pokémon Celebi while it was being pursued by hunters and through its time traveling powers was transported decades into the future for a short while. During this time he met Ash Ketchum, who gave him the idea for the Pokédex. This adventure more than likely influenced all of his ideas and inventions thereafter creating a predestination paradox.

At present, Professor Oak is an elderly man, around 50 years old. His usual attire is a white lab coat over a brown pair of trousers and a red polo shirt. His personality is that of the stereotypical absent-minded professor: slightly eccentric and not always focused yet nonetheless very intelligent.

Professor Oak lives and conducts his research from a large laboratory complex situated in the Kanto region's Pallet Town, which is based on Yokohama, Japan. His duties include tending to the surplus Pokémon that trainers send him for safekeeping, and getting local rookie trainers started by giving them their first Pokémon (a choice between Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle) along with a Pokédex.

There is no information on Professor Oak's parents or children. His grandson, Gary Oak, is a wandering Pokémon trainer turned researcher and former rival of Ash Ketchum, the protagonist of the Pokémon television series. Gary's rivalry with Ash ends when he becomes a researcher, paralleling Oak's old rivalry with Agatha (though, that old rivalry is game-canon, while as Gary becoming a researcher is anime-canon; Gary remains a trainer in the games).

Professor Oak has caught a Charmeleon, Pidgey, and even a Dragonite. He also mentions he once had a Seaking in the Pokémon Chronicles episode "Putting the Air Back in Aerodactyl".

His hobby is reciting senryū based on Pokémon species.

In the games

Professor Oak's appears in Pokémon Red and Blue (and their remakes, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen) where he introduces himself and gives a brief lecture on what Pokémon are. At some point, he asks the player for his or her name. Here, the player can either create his or her own, or choose a pre-made one. He also allows the player to pick one of three Starter Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. The player keeps the Pokémon of their choice but may not catch any of the others in the wild. In Pokémon Yellow, which is loosely based on the anime, he gives the player a Pikachu that he had captured when the player first met him. In the games he has two grandchildren, Blue (or whatever name the player chooses) and Daisy.

Professor Oak also appears in Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal as Professor Elm's colleague. In these games, he stars in a radio show broadcast from Goldenrod City and can be visited at his lab in Pallet Town after the game's Johto half has been completed.

He neither appears nor is mentioned in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald.

He also makes a major appearance in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl as Professor Rowan's friend. In these games, he gives the player the National Pokédex. In the Shaymin event, a letter from Professor Oak is sent to the player (via a man in green in the Pokémart) requesting that he/she must go to Route 224, where Professor Oak is standing in front of a white rock, unlocking the sea route to the Flower Paradise where Shaymin is located.

He also appears in the fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee as a trophy.

In the manga

Oak appears in several Pokémon manga series. He has caught a Charmander (which he nicknamed "Char" and which evolved into its full evolution, Charizard) a Pidgey and a Sandshrew.

In Pokémon Adventures, Professor Oak once battled against Pokémon trainer Agatha for supremacy as a young trainer, but his trainer days came to an end when he decided to study Pokémon rather than train them. This greatly annoyed Agatha, who went on to become an Elite Four member, even though it meant her rival was now out of the picture. This incident was later referenced in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

Professor Ivy

Template:Pokémoncharacterinfobox Professor Felina Ivy, Doctor Uchikido (ウチキド博士, Uchikido-hakase) in the Japanese versions, is the resident Pokémon professor of the Orange Islands, south of the region of Kanto.

Professor Ivy specializes in the study of the difference between the same species of Pokémon in Kanto and in the Orange Archipelgo. It is suspected that she is responsible for new Pokémon trainers by giving them their first Pokémon, some Poké Balls, and a Pokédex, like her colleagues Professor Oak, Professor Elm, Professor Birch, and Professor Rowan. She maintains a large laboratory complex in Valencia Island, where she conducts her research and takes care of the Pokémon belonging to Orange Archipelago trainers.

She has long, dark purple hair and wears a white laboratory coat over a dress.

Professor Ivy is first introduced in the second season of the Pokémon anime. Just after Ash Ketchum competes in the Pokémon League, Professor Oak asks him to travel to the Orange Archipelago region to retrieve a strange Pokéball from local Pokémon expert Professor Ivy. Ash and his friends Misty and Brock make their way to Valencia Island and meet the Professor and her triplet assistants.

The unusual Pokéball that Professor Ivy discovered is dubbed the GS Ball, due to being colored Gold and Silver. It serves as a plot device that leads Ash to the region of Johto to deliver it to Kurt, the world's Pokéball expert.

While Ash and his friends are readying to leave Valencia Island to participate in the Orange Archipelago Pokémon League, Brock announces that he has decided to stay with Professor Ivy for a while. He claims that he wants to help fix her dilapidated house and laboratory and study Pokémon Breeding. His claims are most likely a cover for his feelings for Professor Ivy, since Brock is notorious in the anime for falling in love with various attractive women. Ash and Misty find a temporary replacement for Brock — a Pokémon Watcher named Tracey Sketchit.

On returning to Pallet Town to deliver the GS Ball to Professor Oak, Ash, Misty, and Tracey find that Brock has already arrived at Professor Oak's laboratory. Ash's mother and Professor Oak explain that Brock arrived in Pallet Town completely exhausted, and refused to explain what had happened to him. He now reacts intensely to Professor Ivy's name; his face takes an agonized expression and he mutters "Don't mention that name!" Although no explanation has been given in the anime for what happened during Brock's stay with Professor Ivy, it is easy to infer that she rejected him in some capacity. Tracey decides to stay as Professor Oak's assistant, and Brock joins Ash and Misty to their journey in Johto.

Besides this appearance, Professor Ivy was in the animated film Pokémon: The Movie 2000. In that film, a "Pokémon collector" sets out to catch the legendary bird Pokémon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, which reside in the Orange Islands. The balance of nature is severely upset by his actions, resulting in extreme weather conditions. A concerned Professor Oak converses with Professor Ivy on the subject and they appear on a television show to explain the phenomenon to viewers.

Professor Elm

Template:Pokémoncharacterinfobox Professor Elm, Doctor Utsugi (ウツギ博士, Utsugi-hakase) in original Japanese language versions, is in charge of giving novice trainers their first Pokémon (Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile) in the video games Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. According to the story, he was a student of Professor Oak and moved to New Bark Town in the region of Johto where he conducts his research on Pokémon breeding. His English name refers to the elm tree, while his Japanese name refers to deutzia.

Professor Elm dresses quite casually, with a shirt that has a stripe across it slightly covered by his lab coat. He wears khaki slacks and sometimes wears night slippers or moccasins.

In the anime

He is stereotypically depicted as a professor that has a tendency to be absent-minded, due to his immersion in his work. His forgetfulness was shown in an episode of the Pokémon anime where Team Rocket visit his laboratory, and the professor carelessly assumes them to be Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center without looking up, and tells them to take the Pokémon, which they do. When the real Joy arrives, Elm discovers that one of his Pokémon, Totodile, has been stolen. With the help of Officer Jenny and the local Police Department the Pokémon is recovered from Team Rocket. This was meant to reproduce the moment in the game where one of his Pokémon is stolen by a rival character and is never recovered. Professor Elm also was said in one episode that he was Professor Oak's top student, and implies that he wants to surpass Oak.

In the games

In the game, this is hinted at in a much more subtle manner for if the player speaks to Elm's wife (neither she nor their child appear in the anime), she worries that Elm has not eaten lunch. If the player checks the trash can in his lab, they will see that he gets so involved in his work that he forgets to eat.

Unlike the other Pokémon professors, Elm specializes in genetics, making groundbreaking discoveries such as the fact that Pikachu is actually an evolved Pokémon. Professor Elm is also the head of the Pokémon Preservation Council.

Professor Birch

Template:Pokémoncharacterinfobox Professor Birch, Doctor Odamaki (オダマキ博士, Odamaki-Hakase) in original Japanese language versions, is a character in the world of Pokémon. He is considered the "Pokémon Professor" in the Hoenn region. Unlike other Pokémon scientists, he is known for his field work, rather than, in his own words, remaining "cooped up in [his] lab all day". He is an expert in the field of Pokémon habitual distribution. He is also responsible for giving new Pokémon trainers one of the three Hoenn starter Pokémon: Treecko, Torchic, or Mudkip.

In the anime

In the anime, Professor Birch appears at the start of the Hoenn Saga. When Ash the protagonist arrives in the Hoenn region, his Pikachu is ill from an overexposure to magnetism, and needs treatment immediately. However, Littleroot Town has no Pokémon Center. After finding one of Birch's assistants, Birch himself appears and takes Ash and Pikachu back to his lab, although this happens after a detour courtesy of Pikachu's accidental electric attacks. During the process of healing Pikachu, the machine overloads and Pikachu escapes. During the search for Pikachu, Birch disturbs and is consequently attacked by a pack of Poochyena. He is saved by May, a new trainer on her way to get a new Pokémon from Birch, who uses Birch's Mudkip to save him. After Pikachu is accidentally healed by a Team Rocket scheme, Birch gives May her first Pokémon, a Torchic, a Pokédex, and some Pokéballs.

He later appears when Ash, May, Brock and Max return to Littleroot to help save the Starter Pokémon from Team Rocket, and also helps to solve the mystery of Clamperl's evolutions.

In the games

In the games, Professor Birch is the Pokémon expert for the Hoenn region. He is a friend of the protagonist's father and the father of the protagonist's rival. When rescued by the player, he will present the protagonist with the starter Pokémon that the player used to rescue him (either Treecko, Torchic or Mudkip). As the game progresses, he will also give the player his/her Pokédex and may occasionally be found on Route 101 instead of his laboratory in Littleroot Town.

Professor Rowan

Template:Pokémon character Professor Rowan , Doctor Nanakamado (ナナカマド博士, Nanakamado-hakase) in original Japanese language, versions, is the authority on Pokémon in the fictional Pokémon region of Sinnoh, the setting of the Pokémon video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Professor Rowan's name derives from the rowan tree, similar to the names of other Pokémon professors, such as Professors Oak, Elm and Birch, which similarly derive from the names of other trees.

Rowan's laboratory is located in Sandgem Town, making him the first professor in Pokémon not to live in the protagonist's town. Specializing in the research of Pokémon evolution, Rowan is an expert on the Pokémon of Sinnoh. He gives the player a Pokédex, and allows him or her and the rival to keep one of the three Sinnoh Starter Pokémon (Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup) each after they are attacked by Starly while searching for a rare Pokémon, having seen a red Gyarados on TV appearing at the Lake of Rage (a reference to Pokémon Gold and Silver.)

In the anime

Professor Rowan appears in the first episode of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, "Following a Maiden's Voyage!" He meets Dawn and later gives her Piplup.

In the games

In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl games, Rowan starts out as a professor who visits Lake Verity to catch sight of the rare and powerful Pokémon (the legendary, Mesprit) said to inhabit the lake. Upon discovering that the creature is not there, or at least that its too difficult to find, he and his assistant accidentally leave behind the Professor's suitcase. When the player and his/her rival go to check on the case, they are attacked by wild Starly are forced to defend themselves using the starter Pokémon contained inside. When Rowan returns, he decides to reward the player and the rival with the two Pokémon.

After that, Rowan takes on the role of the first three professors from the previous generations. He stands in his lab and waits for the players to talk with him for the purpose of rating their seens and captures in their Pokédex. In addition, Professor Rowan does venture out of his laboratory for the plot, in which he had visits the Canalave Library with the protagonist and the rival to discuss about how they should defeat Team Galactic by visiting the other three lakes. It is later revealed after defeating Cynthia that he was the Sinnoh Region Champion before her.

Rowan also later meets Professor Oak when the player has seen all 150 of the Sinnoh Dex Pokémon (while Manaphy is counted in the Sinnoh Dex, it is not required for this event, similarly to Mew, Celebi, and Jirachi; also, there are other 4th Generation Pokémon that do not appear in the Sinnoh Dex, such as Giratina, that are not required), he gives him permission to allow the player to start up with the National Dex.

In other languages

Professor Oak

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