We have Professors Oak, Elm, Birch, Sycamore, etc, in the games. We also have Professor Ivy, etc.---in the anime.
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This could apply to movies as well– user35971Sep 27, 2017 at 12:38
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1Not sure so not going to post this as an answer, but probably just for fun. Kinda like how many related Dragonball characters share a naming scheme (Saiyans are named after vegetables, Ginyu Force members after dairy products, etc.).– BecuzzSep 27, 2017 at 14:45
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Might be worth to note that note that not all professors follow this pattern. Manga exclusives, anime exclusives and games outside of the main series don't always follow this pattern– Dimitri mx ♦Sep 28, 2017 at 8:55
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1The various professors have plant names in Japanese too. Oak is Ōkido = "orchid"; Elm is Utsugi = this; Birch is Odamaki = "Aquilegia"; Sycamore is ~Platane = "Platanus". Of course, that just makes the question "why are they named after plants in Japanese", and I don't specifically know why. But idiosyncratic naming schemes like this are hardly uncommon or unusual.– senshinSep 28, 2017 at 18:47
1 Answer
There's no real reason to why they're all named like this, but rather they primarily do it to just follow a fun naming scheme. Naming schemes are common in a lot of media. The most common use of this is the use of the 7 Deadly Sins as names, found in several pieces of entertainment. You never know though, Game Freak might run out of trees eventually!
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This is an interesting angle. Are you certain that it was Game Freak that came up with that naming convention to begin with?– MakotoSep 28, 2017 at 15:27
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Personally, I feel that that it is primarily used just to make it easier to come up with names after the fact. I mean trees are a good metaphor as well, having experience that can be passed down, in a metaphorical sense of course. Sep 29, 2017 at 12:39