The Best Pokemon Professor [Top 11 Ranked]

Professor Oak

Professor Oak is the original Pokemon Professor, a series stalwart known to fans through his enduring presence both in game and in the Pokemon anime.

Professor Oak has appeared in more Pokémon games than any other Pokémon Professor, giving him the most appearances and making him the most well known of all the Pokémon Professors.

Professor Oak is a big deal in the Pokémon world, being considered the general expert on all things Pokemon. He's responsible for giving players of Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow and all of their remakes starter Pokémon, and his appearances in the anime make him extremely well known.

Professor Oak is considered the general authority on Pokémon, and his status as the first Professor, his knowledge of Pokemon, and his enduring presence in the franchise make Professor Oak the single best Pokémon Professor.

Professor Kukui

Professor Kukui is my personal favorite of the Pokémon Professors. Kukui has it all: sick lab coat, beach house, and even a secret identity as the bad-ass Masked Royal.

Professor Kukui is all about practical research into Pokemon moves, making him not only the Pokémon world authority on Pokemon moves, but a great battler too.

Kukui is the final obstacle players of Pokémon Sun and Moon have to defeat to become the very first Champions of the Alola region, and what an obstacle!

Kukui is a great Pokemon Professor, showing off a much more practical side to academia. Kukui's a great guy with so much personality, and being just that little bit more interesting than other Professors gets him the number two spot.

Professor Sada & Professor Turo

Professor Sada and Professor Turo are a pair of Pokemon Professors from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet respectively. These two professors are obsessed with time travel and the Terastal phenomenon of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, to the point that they both neglected their only son together, Arven.

Professor Sada

Professor Sada is all about the past, with her name even being a pun in Spanish. As a Pokémon Professor she created what is supposedly a time machine that brings powerful and fearsome Past Paradox Pokemon into the present day Paldea region of Pokemon Scarlet.

Causing a whole lot of havoc in the process.

Professor Turo

Professor Turo is obsessed with the idea of future Pokemon, and it's this obsession which led him to creating a 'time machine' in Pokemon Violet which brings Future Paradox Pokemon into the present day of Paldea. Like his former wife and counterpart Professor Sada, Turo's name is a pun in Spanish based around his obsession with the future.

For me, these Professors are very interesting and with a super tragic story that affects not only them, but the Paldea region, the player, and their son, Arven. This interesting backstory and how it affects the plot of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gets them their number three spot.

Professor Laventon

Professor Laventon is chronologically the first Pokemon Professor featured in the series, appearing in Pokemon Legends: Arceus as a professor interested in cataloging Pokemon.

That is, Professor Laventon created the first Sinnoh region Pokedex.

Laventon is an interesting guy because he seems to be quite scared of Pokemon, but gets himself out and about in the wilds of Hisui regardless.

Professor Laventon is a great character, and he sticks by the player character throughout their dangerous journey through ancient Hisui. I like Laventon, because even when he's frightened he gets the job done.

Professor Magnolia

Professor Magnolia is a really interesting character. She's the Galar region expert on the Dynamax phenomenon, which makes Pokemon grow to absolutely ridiculous sizes. Some Pokemon even get a special Gigantamax form, offering a brand new design.

Professor Magnolia is present throughout the player's journey in Galar, being ready to support the player's attempt to win the Pokemon League, and also giving the player a Master Ball.

Professor Magnolia is also apparently a colleague of Professor Willow, Professor Willow being the Pokémon Professor for Pokemon GO.

Professor Birch

Professor Birch is a fantastic Pokemon Professor. Unlike some of the other Pokémon Professors, Professor Birch studies Pokemon habitats, making him a bonafide Pokemon ecologist.

Professor Birch is an interesting character because he gifts the player with no less than four starters during the events of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

This is a pretty big deal, especially since he gifts the rare Generation V starters which have been a bit more difficult to find in more recent generations.

But not only is Professor Birch a great Pokemon Professor, he's a family man too, being the father of the player character's friend and rival. As well as being a multiple times published author.

Professor Sycamore

Professor Sycamore is a great Pokémon Professor. An expert in the fan favorite Mega Evolution phenomenon, Professor Sycamore is the premier authority on Pokemon for the Kalos region.

And he's pretty stylish too in my opinion.

Professor Sycamore gives players two starter Pokemon. One through NPC companion Tierno at the start of the game, and another later on.

Professor Sycamore even gives players a Mega Stone for their chosen Kanto region starter, allowing it to be used for Mega Evolution into some of the best Mega Evolved forms, period.

Professor Juniper

Professor Juniper is the very first female Professor to be featured in the main-line Pokemon games. The regional Professor for the Unova region, Professor Juniper studies the very origins of Pokemon themselves.

Professor Juniper does all of the standard things a Pokémon Professor does: hands out starter Pokemon, evaluates Pokedexes, and occasionally gifts the player with TMs.

But she's also from a time in the franchise when professors didn't really do much in the story, so she's not quite as interesting as some other researchers.

Professor Rowan

Well known in the Pokemon world for his research into Pokémon evolution, Professor Rowan unknowingly at first, gifts the player character and their friend a starter Pokemon during the Generation IV games, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.

Professor Rowan and his research into Pokémon evolution would come back again in the somewhat controversial remake games, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Professor Rowan appears again and again during the story of Diamond and Pearl, helping to point the player in the right direction at various different times.

Professor Elm

Professor Elm is probably the only Professor that I managed to actually forget about. And it isn't really Elm's fault, as he was the Pokemon Professor for Pokemon Gold and Silver, which were more of a sequel game than an individual entry.

But Professor Elm suffered for it, being relegated to lesser importance than Professor Oak even though he was Johto's resident Professor. But Professor Elm does research into the little understood phenomenon of Pokémon eggs.

The fact that Pokémon lay eggs is apparently surprising to the residents of the Pokemon world, but Professor Elm is the world's foremost expert in it, so he's got that going for him, at least.