Professor Rowan

Professor Rowan (Japanese: ナナカマド博士 Dr. Nanakamado) is a character who first appeared in the Generation IV games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and is also known as the leading Professor of the Sinnoh region. He appears to have a serious demeanor, compared to previous Professors' kind and cheery attitudes.

In the games
Professor Rowan is responsible for giving beginner trainers a starter Pokémon, specifically Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup.

As the lead manager of his laboratory, like Prof. Oak, Professor Rowan is given the task of introducing the player throughout the beginning of the game as well as helping his assistant, Dawn or Lucas, choose which Pokémon to start with. Professor Rowan can be found in Sandgem Town researching and collecting data on various Pokémon. He also upgrades the player's Pokédex to National Mode when they have seen 150 Sinnoh Pokémon.

In the anime
Professor Rowan appeared in the first, second and third episodes of the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl anime. Professor Rowan first appeared in Following A Maiden's Journey! where he helped Dawn find her way to the Pokémon Center so she could pick out a starter Pokémon. When she arrived there, the starters had escaped, so she went to find them. On the way she befriended the Piplup. Later, she chose it to go with her on her journey with Ash and Brock.

Trivia

 * Professor Rowan is the only regional professor that does not wear a lab coat in their artwork.
 * Professor Rowan was the first professor to not be named by a plant.