Professor Rowan

Professor Rowan in Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Versions.
Professor Rowan
Species	Human
Hair color	Gray
Eye color	Blue
Age	60
Relatives	Kamado (ancestor)
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl Versions

Professor Rowan is the Pokémon Professor of Sinnoh who is featured as a supporting character in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions, as well as the remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. His research specializes in Pokémon evolution.

Background

Professor Rowan seems to be the oldest of the professors seen so far in the Pokémon games, described as preceding even Professor Oak in terms of seniority. To many, he would appear intimidating at first glance, but in reality he was quite kind. His was based in Sandgem Town, where his field assistant Dawn/Lucas (who was the child of one of his aides) also lived. Rowan went away to Kanto to four years and studied the Pokémon there with Professor Oak, but he eventually returned to Sinnoh because he believed that it held more secrets.

In Diamond/Pearl/Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, Rowan accidentally left behind his suitcase at Lake Verity, and Lucas/Dawn and Barryl each borrowed one Pokémon from it to defend themselves during a wild Pokémon attack. Dawn/Lucas discovered this after returning to retrieve the briefcase, and Professor Rowan simply asked them to come to his laboratory. In Platinum, Professor Rowan instead met Lucas/Dawn and Barry at Route 201 and let them each have a Pokémon to prevent them from recklessly entering tall grass (although he had still left his briefcase at the lake in this version, as Dawn/Lucas was briefly seen returning it to him before he gives them the Pokémon) after testing them on whether or not they were ready for the world of Pokémon. Professor Rowan then called the new trainers back to his lab, where he let them keep his Pokémon, feeling they had great potential as trainers, and gave each of them a Pokédex for use in recording information on all of Sinnoh's Pokémon for him (although Barry ran off before he could receive one).

The professor and Dawn/Lucas were next seen briefly at Jubilife City, where Team Galactic members attempted to threaten Professor Rowan for his research. However, Lucas and Dawn were able to fight off the grunts. Later on, Professor Rowan called a meeting with all three of the trainers helping him (Lucas, Dawn and Barry) at the Canalave City library. He told them about his studies on Pokémon evolution and the mysteries surrounding it, ordering them each to investigate one of the three lakes in order to gather data on the Mirage Pokémon living there, which Professor Rowan felt would be beneficial in his studies on why legendary Pokémon do not evolve. However, this meeting was interrupted by a sudden tremor, soon shown to have been caused by a Galactic Bomb that was set off at Lake Valor. This only hastened them in investigating the three lakes.

Professor Rowan checked up on Lucas and Dawn after they defeated the Team Galactic grunts on Lake Verity and suggested that Lucas/Dawn also check up on Barry. In Diamond and Pearl, he and Dawn/Lucas also showed up to encourage Lucas/Dawn in their battle against Dialga or Palkia at Mt. Coronet, congratulating them afterwards. After the lake crisis was resolved, Professor Rowan reported that the Mirage Pokémon had returned to their lakes. When Lucas/Dawn encountered Mesprit at Lake Verity's cave, the professor confronted them there. The professor realized that this encounter did not provide any answers to his mysteries on evolution, but only served to deepen them. But he was not disappointed, because he loved mysteries. He then suggested that Lucas/Dawn attempt to pursue Mesprit.

After Lucas/Dawn completed the Sinnoh Pokédex, Professor Oak arrived to update Rowan's Pokédexes into National Mode, and Professor Rowan also gave the trainer a Pokéradar which they could use to find more Pokémon that were not in Sinnoh's Pokédex. He encouraged Lucas/Dawn to continue in their Pokémon journey and in Platinum would visit the player's villa either on random days or after they bought the book shelf (which was full of books from Rowan).

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Professor Rowan has appeared in several episodes of the Pokémon anime's Diamond & Pearl episodes, where he provided Dawn with her starter Pokémon.
• Rowan has also appeared in the Pokémon Adventures manga during its Diamond/Pearl arc where he sent three Pokédexes, three Pokétchs and three starter Pokémon to Platinum and her two bodyguards, although two sets of each wound up going to Dia and Pearl instead. Professor Rowan and his assistant, the elder Berlitz, were both captured by a cloaked Team Galactic grunt later in the arc, but Platinum was able to save them. He gave them Pokédex upgrades afterwards, and he was also present at the final battle at Spear Pillar. He was later mentioned in the X/Y arc, where he warned Oak that Xerneas and Yveltal had resurfaced.

Trivia

• Like all of the professors in the mainstream games, he is named after a type of tree. His Japanese name is Nanakamado, which is the name for a Japanese rowan tree.
• He is mentioned in Pokémon: X and Y, where it is said that Professor Sycamore learned under him in the past.
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus features his ancestor Kamado as prominent character. He acts as the leader of the Galaxy Team and physically resembles a younger version of Rowan. Kamado does contrast Rowan in that he initially distrusts Pokémon because his original home village was destroyed by Pokémon, but he starts to come around on Pokémon at the end of the main story. This also establishes that Rowan has ancestry from another region, as Kamado came from a different region that was not specified (but could possibly be Johto, based on the Kansai dialect that he slips into in the Japanese version).