Professor Elm: The Johto Scientist Who Put Eggs on the Map

He hands out a starter Pokémon, but no Pokédex. Professor Elm is Johto's Pokémon Professor, a former student of Professor Oak, and he works in collaboration with his mentor and with Mr. Pokémon. His research focuses on how species reproduce — a subject that, at the time, had no place at all in the games.

Contents

• Three Starters, a Master Ball and No Pokédex
• Pokémon Eggs, His Most Far-Reaching Discovery
• In the Anime: A Theft, an Egg and a Lot of Videophone Calls
• In the Manga: An Egg Entrusted to a Delinquent
• Professor Elm at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Three Starters, a Master Ball and No Pokédex

In Generation II, he's the one who kicks off the game. Elm is the one who gives the player their very first partner, chosen from Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile — a trio that the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes carry over untouched.

One quirk often goes unnoticed in this scene, even though millions of players have seen it: Elm is the only Professor in the games to hand over a starter Pokémon without giving a Pokédex to go with it. With him, receiving your partner and taking on the mission to record every species are two separate moments.

His role doesn't end with the prologue. He's also the one who hands over the Master Ball before you face the Elite Four, which brings him back at the other end of the adventure, just as the game's stakes shift.

🥚 The three Johto starters have their own shelf: see the section Pokémon Starters.

Pokémon Eggs, His Most Far-Reaching Discovery

Elm studies several fields, but only one of them made him indispensable. His work focuses first and foremost on Pokémon breeding, to the point that he's commonly credited with discovering that Eggs exist at all.

Some Johto residents credit him with an even more specific find: proof that a Pichu can evolve into Pikachu. The remakes add that he also studies evolution, a second line of research that extends the first rather than competing with it.

He doesn't work in isolation: a former student of Professor Oak, he carries on his research in collaboration with him and with Mr. Pokémon. Each lab thus covers a distinct branch of the discipline, rather than duplicating each other's work.

In the Anime: A Theft, an Egg and a Lot of Videophone Calls

The series brings him in through the back door — right from his very first appearance, Team Rocket steals a Totodile from him that was promised to a new Trainer — and that's when Ash and his friends meet him.

The fifth season turns him into a regular contact. He calls Ash on the videophone to ask him to pick up an Egg from a research center while the group is crossing the Whirl Islands, is there when Larvitar hatches, then calls again during the Silver Conference, this time to talk to Jackson.

These episodes reveal most of his backstory: he studied under Oak at the university in Celadon City, heads Johto's Pokémon Preservation Council and owns a Corsola. Much later, Professor Cerise still cites his research on Eggs, and his portrait shows up on a lab screen in an episode of Pokémon Journeys.

In the Manga: An Egg Entrusted to a Delinquent

Pokémon Adventures gives him a rough time from his very first scene: the Totodile he's studying is stolen and the professor is knocked out. When Gold bursts in and leaves with the Cyndaquil, Elm takes him for the thief — the misunderstanding that shapes their whole relationship.

The falling-out turns into an experiment. Elm gives Gold an Egg so that he can speed up its hatching; out comes a Togepi that immediately picks up its Trainer's bad habits — dice, poker, pool — and gets Gold branded a full-fledged delinquent.

Still, the professor recognizes Gold's talent for bringing out the strength of newborn Pokémon, which lets him take down a wild Gligar and then a Tyranitar. Elm is also the one who identifies the particles taken from the Masked Man's clothes: they're used to make Badges, which suggests he's a Gym Leader. He advises Gold not to fight him; Gold replies that it's too late.

Professor Elm at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Professor Elm's role in the games?
  He gives the player their first Pokémon in Generation II and in the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes, then the Master Ball before the Elite Four. One quirk: he's the only Professor who gives out a starter without handing over a Pokédex.
• Why is Professor Elm associated with Pokémon Eggs?
  Because his research focuses mainly on Pokémon breeding. He's commonly credited with discovering that Eggs exist, and Professor Cerise still cites that work much later in the anime.
• Which Pokémon does Professor Elm give out?
  Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile. In the anime, he's seen giving a Chikorita to Casey, Vincent and Lyra, a Cyndaquil to Jimmy, and a Totodile to Marina and later to Khoury.
• Does Professor Elm have a Pokémon of his own?
  Yes, a Corsola. The anime establishes it, along with his role as head of Johto's Pokémon Preservation Council and his training under Professor Oak at Celadon University.
• What does Professor Elm do in the manga?
  In Pokémon Adventures, he has a Totodile stolen and gets knocked out, mistakes Gold for the culprit, then entrusts him with an Egg that hatches into a Togepi. He also identifies the particles left behind by the Masked Man as a substance used to make Badges.

In short

Elm holds a low-key place in the gallery of Professors, and yet his lab opened up an entire mechanic for the series: without his research into reproduction, there would be no Eggs, and so no breeding. The games show him at only two moments, the first partner and the Master Ball, but what he brought to the rest of the Pokémon world goes far beyond those two scenes.