Professor Rowan: Difference between revisions

Professor Rowan ナナカマド博士 Dr. Nanakamado
Art from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Age	60
Gender	Male
Hometown	Sandgem Town
Region	Sinnoh
Trainer class	Pokémon Professor
Generation	IV
Games	Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Anime debut	Following A Maiden Voyage!
English voice actor	Julián Rebolledo
Japanese voice actor	Iemasa Kayumi

Professor Rowan (Japanese: ナナカマド博士 Dr. Nanakamado) is the resident professor of the Sinnoh region. He specializes in Pokémon evolution.

In the games

Lucas and Barry meet Professor Rowan for the first time

Professor Rowan works in Sandgem Town with Dawn/Lucas and their family. This makes him the only Professor from the handheld games that does not live in the player's hometown. He left the Sinnoh region four years prior to the events of Generation IV to study the Pokémon of Kanto with Professor Oak, and has recently returned at the start of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum after reaching the conclusion that Sinnoh holds far greater secrets. He has a stern personality that makes him seem intimidating and mean, but he is actually very kind and patient. Rowan says he still feels a thrill whenever he travels anywhere with his Pokémon. He apparently has a sweet tooth, as the refrigerator in his laboratory is full of nothing but sweets and candy. In Platinum he can be seen occasionally in the basement of the Veilstone Department Store sulking about the fact they've run out of Rage Candy Bars.

Rowan's particular field of study is Pokémon evolution, having discovered that 90% of all Pokémon are connected in some way to others through evolution. He is also interested in determining if evolution is supposed to be a form of Pokémon reaching maturity, or a way for an "incomplete" being to become "more complete," and the implications that the process has on legendary Pokémon, which don't evolve.

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Professor Rowan is seen for the first time observing Lake Verity with his assistant. After being interrupted by the player and his/her friend, he quickly walks off leaving his briefcase, which holds three Poké Balls containing Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup, behind. The player and his/her friend try to return it to him, but are attacked by wild Pokémon in the process, and are forced to use two of the Pokémon in the briefcase for defense. After returning the Pokémon to Rowan in his lab, Rowan hears about the survival tactics that they used, and tells them to keep the Pokémon, as well as giving them each a Pokédex to record data about every single Pokémon. Soon after, Rowan and his assistant travel to Jubilife City to drop off some notes, where they are attacked by Team Galactic, just as the player returns from Oreburgh City with his/her first badge.

After becoming suspicious of Team Galactic's activities, he gathers his assistant, the player and his/her friend in the Canalave Library late in the game, and tells them about the legends of Sinnoh. Before they are able to finish their discussion, however, an earthquake shakes the region, and the four manage to escape the building before an aftershock. Rowan urges the Trainers to journey to the three lakes of Sinnoh, seeing the aftermath of the explosion on the news, and sends the player's friend to Lake Acuity in the north, his assistant to Lake Verity near Twinleaf Town, and the player to Lake Valor.

He apparently previously gave Cynthia her first Pokémon and a Pokédex, though it is unknown how long before the games this occurred.

In Pokémon Platinum, Rowan's role is similar to Diamond and Pearl, however, the player and his/her friend leave Twinleaf Town just as Rowan returns from the lake, with Rowan stopping the two from journeying into the tall grass without a Pokémon. His assistant then arrives with the briefcase he left behind at the lake, and Rowan offers the two a starter Pokémon. When he is visited in Sandgem for the first time, he hands out TM27 (Return) as well as the Pokédex.

Professor Rowan is an old friend of Professor Oak, and Rowan's assistant claims that Oak is Rowan's junior in terms of seniority.

In the anime

Prof. Rowan in the anime

Professor Rowan made his debut anime appearance in Following A Maiden's Voyage! to give Dawn her Piplup. He made another short appearance in Ill-Will Hunting!, where he worked with Gary.

He also appeared from Camping It Up! to One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team! at a school with his assistants and Yuzo. He was one of the people by the finish line in One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team!.

He made a cameo appearance in Saving the World From Ruins!. He appeared again in The Battle Finale of Legend!, monitoring the distortions being caused by Cyrus' plot to control Dialga and Palkia.

Professor Rowan made a cameo appearance in Zoroark: Master of Illusions. His latest appearance was in SS024, he was seen studying a Shuckle before Dawn appeared. Then a Piplup and Chimchar escape, and Dawn and Shinko try and find them. Later they successfully bring back the Pokémon. He later says his farewells to Dawn, who is on her journey to Hoenn

Pokémon

He has these Pokémon to give to new Trainers:

		Turtwig
		Turtwig is a Starter Pokémon which a new trainer can choose from to start their Pokémon journey. One appeared in Following a Maiden's Voyage! where it was the only one that stayed in the lab after Piplup and Chimchar trashed the lab. Another one appeared in SS024 where Shinko was picking a Starter Pokémon, Piplup and Chimchar started fighting and escaped leaving Turtwig still eating.
Debut	Following a Maiden's Voyage!

		Chimchar
		Chimchar is a Starter Pokémon which a new trainer can choose from to start their Pokémon journey. One appeared in Following a Maiden's Voyage! where it causes havoc in the lab by stealing Piplup's food. Chimchar then escapes from the lab with Piplup on hot pursuit. But is later found and a Staraptor brings it back to the lab. Another one appeared in SS024 where Shinko was picking a Starter Pokémon. Chimchar and Piplup started to fight causing a window to break and Chimchar and Piplup escape. Later Shinko and Dawn find Chimchar and Piplup in an Ariados's web. Dawn gets them free, but multiple Ariados arrive. Dawn is able to fend them off but the leader Ariados uses Psychic to paralyze the group. Suddenly Dawn's Cyndaquil evolves into a Quilava and saves the group. Chimchar and Piplup are then sent back to the lab. Some Chimchar's only known move is Ember.
Debut	Following a Maiden's Voyage!

		Piplup
		Piplup is a Starter Pokémon which a new trainer can choose from to start their Pokémon journey. One appeared in Following a Maiden's Voyage where it got annoyed by a Chimchar after it stole its food, but in the end it was chosen by Dawn. Another one appeared in SS024 where Shinko was picking a Starter Pokémon. Piplup and Chimchar started to fight causing a window to break and Chimchar and Piplup escape. Later Shinko and Dawn find Piplup and Chimchar in an Ariados's web. Dawn gets them free, but multiple Ariados arrive. Dawn is able to fend them off but the leader Ariados uses Psychic to paralyze the group. Suddenly Dawn's Cyndaquil evolves into a Quilava and saves the group. Piplup and Chimchar are then sent back to the lab. Some Piplup's known moves are BubbleBeam, Bide, Peck and Bubble.
Debut	Following a Maiden's Voyage!

Pokémon he gave away to Trainers

Dawn's Piplup ♂

Used in his studies

		Starly
		Starly was first seen in Rowan's lab being examined by his colleagues. When Chimchar and Piplup got into a fight Piplup used BubbleBeam which accidentally hit Staraptor causing the laboratory to get ruined in the process. It is later seen coming back after Staraptor brings Chimchar back to the lab.
Debut	Following A Maiden's Voyage!

		Staraptor
		Staraptor was first seen in Rowan's lab being examined by his colleagues. When Chimchar and Piplup got into a fight Piplup used BubbleBeam which accidentally hit Staraptor causing the laboratory to get ruined in the process. It is later seen coming back after it brings Chimchar back to the lab with Starly. Staraptor's only known move is Whirlwind.
Debut	Following A Maiden's Voyage!

Voice actors

In the manga

In Pokémon Adventures, he gave Platinum three Pokétches, three Pokédexes and Turtwig (which ended up with Diamond), Chimchar (became Pearl's), and Piplup (for herself). He originally intended for Turtwig and Chimchar, as well as the respective Pokédexes given alongside them, to be awarded to Platinum's real bodyguards, Paka and Uji, but after seeing their and Platinum's resolves to fight Team Galactic, decided to formally bestow them after they willingly returned the goods. He then also upgraded the Pokédexes to National Mode, as well as the ability to see differences for all Pokémon, such as gender and other versions.

In Pokémon DP Adventure!, Professor Rowan adopted Hareta as a grandson. However, on seeing Hareta's ability to understand the souls of Pokémon, he felt it was best to leave him out in the forest with his Pokémon friends to care for him. He did not see Hareta again for four years. Deciding it would help the boy to travel and see the world, the Professor decided he should be a Pokémon Trainer and travel with his assistant, Mitsumi, and one of his Pokémon, Piplup.

Pokémon given away

Pokémon Adventures

		Turtwig ♂
		Main article: Tru Rowan gave Turtwig to Platinum. It ended up with Diamond instead of her real bodyguards.
Debut	VS. Starly

		Piplup ♂
		Main article: Platinum's Empoleon Rowan gave Piplup to Platinum. Unlike the others, Platinum kept Piplup.
Debut	VS. Starly

Pokémon DP Adventure!

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Professor Rowan or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Name	Type	Level	Rarity	Set	Set no.
Professor Rowan	T	–		Diamond & Pearl	112/130
				Secret Wonders	123/132
			(H)	Miscellaneous Promotional cards	–

Trivia

• Rowan's Japanese name is actually the word for the rowan tree. After much speculation that it would be a direct translation, it was revealed that his name would be Rowan in the English translation, continuing the long-standing pattern of professors named for trees.
• Rowan's studies declaring that 90% of all Pokémon are related through evolution are only close to true even as of Generation IV, as there are 77 Pokémon that do not evolve into or from any others, 35 being legendary Pokémon, giving a total of 84% that are related by evolution. However, if those studies didn't count legendary Pokémon, which do not evolve as a rule, the 90% estimate would be correct.
• Unlike Oak, who wants the Pokédex to be filled by capturing all 150 Pokémon, Rowan prefers the player to merely see all 150 (210 in Platinum).

• According to Pokémon Platinum, Rowan has been researching in Kanto for 4 years. As Generation IV occurs three years after Generation I/III, this means that he had already been in Kanto for one year before the beginning of Red/Leaf and Blue's journey (though he does not appear in either previous generation).

Names

External links

• Nanakamado's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.