Professor Juniper

Professor Juniper in Black and White.
Professor Juniper
Real Name	Aurea Juniper
Species	Human
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Green
Base	Nuvema Town
Relatives	Cedric Juniper (father)
Debut	Pokémon: Black/White Versions

Professor Aurea Juniper is the Pokémon professor native to the Unova region who is featured in Pokémon: Black and White Versions as well as their sequels. Her research specializes in the origins of Pokémon.

Background

She was the daughter of the prestigious Professor Cedric Juniper. She followed in her father's footsteps and decided to become a researcher of Pokémon. Aurea attended college, where she formed a strong friendship with a young scientist named Fennel. After graduation, she inhabited her father's old lab in Nuvema Town, although Cedric still stayed there often.

Black/White

The events of Black and White apparently began when the local mothers thought it was time for their children to see the world, and Juniper herself thought that they had potential. So the professor had a box filled with three starter Pokémon (Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott) sent to the house of Hilbert/Hilda, for that trainer and their two friends Bianca and Cheren to choose between. She then had them come to her lab, where she gave each of them a Pokédex and Pokéballs, and she also demonstrated how to catch a Pokémon before sending them off.

Professor Juniper kept in touch with the trainers at various points of their journey, often using the Xtransceiver. Shortly after they left on their journey, she contacted them to suggest that they visit Fennel. She also appeared at Victory Island after Hilbert/Hilda took care of the Team Plasma presence there if the player took part in the Victini event, where Juniper explained some of Victini's background to the trainer. Professor Juniper later appeared by the gate to Nimbasa City after talking to the gym leader Elesa and called the trainers to meet up with her, although she could not reach Bianca. Hilbert/Hilda and Cheren still showed up, and she gave them some Ultra Balls.

Professor Juniper later traveled to the Chargestone Cave at her father's suggestion to investigate the history of Klink, and she was accompanied by Bianca, who acted as her bodyguard. Her research eventually ended with the conclusion that Klink must have suddenly appeared in the cave a hundred years ago due to finding no prior records of their existence. They ran into Hilbert/Hilda throughout the cave, giving the trainer a Lucky Egg at one point, and towards the end of the cave they had a run-in with N. N questioned Professor Juniper and the way she tried to categorize Pokémon, but she told him that both of their opinions were equally understandable and that all people should choose for themselves how to relate to Pokémon. N soon left, but Professor Juniper hoped that he would at least consider her words, and then she returned to collect more data with Bianca. Later on, Cedric called her after he performed an analysis of the Dragonspiral Tower and found elements that dated back to the same time period as an unidentified stone at Nacrene City's museum. Professor Juniper went to the museum and identified it as either the Light Stone in Black or the Dark Stone in White, which Hilbert/Hilda needed for the big battle with N. She called Hilbert/Hilda over to Nacrene via an urgent Xtransceiver call so that they could receive the stone.

She tried researching how Hilbert/Hilda were supposed to revive the legendary Dragon-type Pokémon (Reshiram or Zekrom) from the stone, but she had no luck. Professor Juniper still met up with Hilbert/Hilda outside Opelucid City's gym after they defeated the gym leader there and earned their eighth and final badge. She congratulated Hilbert/Hilda on how much stronger they had become since leaving Nuvema Town and let the trainer have a Master Ball. She also showed them the way to Victory Road and asked them if they regretted their journey.

Professor Juniper would also appear at the Desert Resort outside the entrance to the Relic Castle when the player returned there following the defeat of Team Plasma. She explained the status Darmanitan that were turned into stone there and gave the trainer a RageCandyBar that could revive one of them. She could also be found in her laboratory throughout the game, where she would analyze the player's Unova Pokédex and give them TMs after they collected certain amounts of Pokémon.

Black 2/White 2

Over the next two years, she officially hired Bianca as her assistant. Bianca performed many errands for her and also acted in her place when she was busy.

In Black 2 and White 2, she sent Bianca to Aspertia City to give a starter Pokémon (the same three options as she provided in Black/White) and a Pokédex to an aspiring young trainer, Nate/Rosa, so that they could help to complete the Pokédex. She also included at least one extra Pokédex, as Hugh was also able to receive a Pokémon and Pokédex from Bianca. Professor Juniper later called on the Xtransceiver to thank Nate/Rosa for accepting the Pokédex, and she also took this opportunity to talk to Bianca and Cheren, who were nearby at the time. She asked the young trainer to enjoy their journey with their Pokémon to their heart's content.

Professor Juniper had heard from Cheren that a newly revived Team Plasma was planning to use a legendary Pokémon to take over Unova, but she did not know what Pokémon they could be planning to use, due to the fact that Reshiram and Zekrom had already gained masters. She decided to ask Drayden for more information and employ Nate/Rosa's help in solving the mystery. First, she went to Mistralton City so that she could get Skyla to fly her over to Lentimas Town. When she met Nate/Rosa at Mistralton, she congratulated them for their progress so far and gave them a Master Ball as a symbol of her gratitude. She took a detour to the Celestial Tower first so that she could examine it, and she gave Nate/Rosa a Lucky Egg when they found her there. The professor returned to Mistralton City at that point, with Bianca joining them at the last moment before Skyla flew them over to Lentimas Town. There, Professor Juniper explained her reason for the trip and asked Nate/Rosa to talk to Drayden about the legendary Pokémon at Opelucid City.

Along the way, Professor Juniper brought Nate/Rosa and Bianca to listen a woman at Lacunosa Town describe the local legend about the mysterious Pokémon associated with the creation of the Giant Chasm. Aurea considered it to be a piece of the puzzle and asked Nate/Rosa to ask Drayden about that as well. She then departed to conduct some more field research and asked Bianca to accompany her. That was the last role that she played in the storyline, but she also appeared investigating the Cave of Being, a cave that was said to be connected with Sinnoh. After Nate/Rosa met with her there, they witnessed the appearances of Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf, and she proceeded to explain them to the trainer. She suggested that they look all over Unova for them.

Professor Juniper could also be contacted over the Xtransceiver to give Pokédex evaluations and hints about evolving Pokémon. After the player saw all Pokémon in the Unova Pokédex, she rewarded the trainer with a Permit to visit the Nature Preserve, and once they were all caught she gave them an Oval Charm. When the National Pokédex was complete, she gave the trainer a Shiny Charm.

Pokémon Roster

The only Pokémon she is shown to use for battle is a Minccino. She uses it to catch a Patrat as a tutorial early in the game, and the Patrat could then be seen roaming freely in the laboratory. In Black 2/White 2, both of those Pokémon are seen walking around her laboratory, now evolved into a Cinccino and Watchog.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, Professor Juniper was introduced in the first episode of the Black and White series, where she drove Ash, Professor Oak and Delia Ketchum to her laboratory after they arrived in Unova. She gave new trainer Trip a Pokédex and a Snivy as his starter Pokémon, and her Oshawott wound up following Ash. She made recurring appearances in later episodes, with Bianca acting as her assistant. One episode featured her reviving an Archen and returning it safely to the wild after it evolved into an Archen, and another episode featured her and Bianca taking on Ash and Cilan in a tag battle. At the end of the Unova series, she sent Ash, Cilan and Iris on a cruise through the Decolore Islands to Kanto and the transfer of Ash's new Pokémon from her lab to Professor Oak's.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Professor Juniper appears during the Black/White and Black 2/White 2 arcs, where her role is similar to her role in the corresponding games.

Trivia

• She is named after the juniper tree, continuing the tradition of professors named after trees. The name Aurea seems to come from a butterfly genus.
• Her first name of Aurea was only mentioned in an official strategy guide and only in English editions.
• Professor Juniper's design was based on the image of a New York businesswoman.
• She is the first female professor to be featured in the games.
• The original concept for the game's professor when the generation's production began was that of a chubby older man who would have an even older father.