“Winds of a New Beginning” indeed! New Bark Town marks the first step towards what will hopefully make for a fruitful and successful journey across the iconic Johto region! It’s quite the sunny day in town with a set of clouds accenting the sky. Some might even consider it cliche if it weren’t for the crisp breeze that blew through every now and then… but enough about the weather! You have your mind set on matters that are more important than a silly breeze. You’re here to claim your very first Pokemon!
Towards the west of the city is where your destination awaits and it’s none other than Professor Junipers laboratory! It’s a rather large building that sticks a bit out in this quaint suburban haven. The Professor is a lively woman with a passion for Pokemon that burns from deep within. She’s tall, professional, and has a great set of legs! *ahem* She’s also eagerly awaiting your arrival, so what are you waiting for? Whether you’re already in town, still traveling across country, or just arriving, it’s in your best interest not to be late. The Professor is a very busy woman after all.

You MUST:

• Obtain your starter from Professor Juniper and her team of researchers along with your very own Pokedex!
• Write at least one post this chapter.

EVENTS!!

• In the letters I’ve sent, there may be mention of a train traveling across Johto. Feel free to interact with other passengers or simply acknowledge their existence.
• The first town in every new journey is also traditionally the most boring. Test your writing skills by managing to stretch the length of this chapter over 3 hearty posts.

---

New Bark Town, The Town Where Winds Of A New Beginning Blow. That was the slogan of New Bark Town, Matthew had studied ever since he has gotten a letter back from Professor Juniper, accepting him as one of the lucky few to be picked to be a Pokemon Trainer. He was excited to have been chosen by Professor Juniper, so much so he could barely sleep a wink the night before, only catching forty winks on the train he was currently within. The Ride from Ecruteak City to New Bark town has been incredibly smooth and relaxing, only waking up for moments at a time during each of the stops. The Train was rather a high-end luxury, each section of the train that wasn't the engine or the Caboose had side rooms where people could relax while on the train while they waited for their stop, each room had two long seats facing each other which are more than long enough for Matthew to lay on and sleep without much discomfort, at the end of the room was a large window that showed off the quickly passing scenery, which Matthew has all been ignoring. Not due to any disinterest but a sincere desire to see all the details of the world which the train blurred with its movement. Matthew hopes to see every Pokemon in Johto with his Pokemon. Which Matthew was curious about what it will be, maybe it will be like the Professor's drawing and be a Lillipup or a Cinderquil, perhaps a Clefairy.

Matthew was excited to make drawings of all the Pokemon and people he will meet on his journey, it was making him all giddy, yet his eyelids betrayed that excitement by being as weighty as a Skarmory feather and he fell asleep again when the train left Cherrygrove City and heading to New Bark Town at an ever quick pace. In a few short hours, he will arrive to New Bark Town where he will start his journey, but first, a short nap will suffice his sleepy lull. So he places his head on the cushion of the bed and used his bag as a makeshift pillow and went back to sleep.

In all of his thirteen years, Elliot had only travelled outside of Olivine City once and that was to Goldenrod City. His mum took him for a few days when he was ten and he loved every minute of it. Elliot had never been so happy when he received the letter off Professor Juniper, his Mum on the other hand didn't want him to leave thinking he was too young to travel on his own. But she couldn't convince him otherwise, his mind was set on becoming a Pokemon trainer.

Elliot had been sat at the train station for around half an hour on his own rummaging through his bag, making sure he had remembered everything. But the only thing he really needed was the train ticket, which he hadn't let go of for the past two hours. As the train pulled up to the station, Elliot moved to the edge of the platform with a big grin on his face.

He jumped on the train as soon as the doors opened, not being able to control yourself. He'd never felt so adventurous in his whole entire life. Every minute Elliot ended up wandering around the train not being able to keep himself still. The first stop on the train journey was Ecruteak City, he read that there was two towers here and that some people believed legendary Pokemon lived there. Quite a lot of people got on the train as Elliot moved around exploring, he noticed someone only a few years older than him had got on the train on his own as well. Elliot was too scared to say anything to him anyway and decided to keep wandering about. Later on when Elliot passed the teen again, he was asleep.

---

BRIAR was going to fire their assistant. With a quick mental note made, they boarded the helicopter, chin held high despite the pilot's insistence for them to lower their head should they accidentally hit the rotor. It was foolish, really, as they were rather lacking in the height department and the rotor was positioned high above their head. They had no need to bow down, even if the pilot was screaming bloody murder about the threat of decapitation. They'd fire him after the assistant.

They had taken a plane ride from Unova, leaving their lovely mansion behind, to Kanto, where they promptly boarded a helicopter to take them to New Bark Town. The long travel had already taken up much of BRIAR's patience, and their assistant's failure to procure the exact brew they'd wanted had only thinned it out further. They were already sacrificing much of their precious time for this so-called journey, and to such a provincial area as Johto too. Had it been somewhere like Kalos, or even their home turf Unova, they'd have been in their element, but no, the Professor had called for them to assemble in a backwater region like Johto, where they would be stuck skulking around with mud on their designer boots.

Which, okay fine, they had included the sacrifice of their favourite boots in the letter they'd sent, but they hadn't thought they would actually have to trample around in the woods and such. True to form, taking up the role of the Pokemon Trainer had not been something BRIAR thought out fully. They'd seen the Pokemon that cameod in films and shows they'd participated in, but they hadn't thought it would include actually training them. "Well, it is in the name," their assistant had the audacity to state, as though BRIAR were too dim-witted to figure that out themself.

Their usage of the copter had massively cut the travel time should they have taken a bus or a train, and as the copter noisily descended into an open area near New Bark Town, they noticed that they were the first. The town's welcoming signage greeted them with its dulled down writing: 'Winds of a New Beginning.' The copter's rotor had only slowed to allow them to step off and for their assistant to carry their luggage off the vehicle before roaring to life again and exiting the area as loudly as it had entered. The heavy breeze caused by such an action had caused their assistant to fumble and for her hair to turn into a messy crop, but BRIAR stood amongst it in all their glory, clothes and hair as perfect as when they'd stepped out of their home.

They looked around at the quiet neighbourhood and openly sneered. "Come now, Jane-" "My name is Sam-" "We must find the Professor so I can be on my way." They began to walk, surveying the land as the click-clack of their boots now echoed in the comfortable silence that once again engulfed the town.

---

Maria's departure was bittersweet to her. Not because she had never traveled before. She had been around Kanto and to many of the other regions with her grandfather for short trips. But on those, she knew she wouldn't be gone for long, that she would return to her home soon. But now she was off on not a trip, but an actual journey. She had no idea when she would see home again. She had no idea whether she would even do good on her journey. But she had faith in herself. Her life was going to change when she stepped in New Bark town, and even if the path she was going to take wouldn't take her to the future she saw for herself, she would still go out and face it.

"I've been on this boat for too long..." Maria sighed as she leaned against the railing as she tried to get the "uncertain future" thoughts out of her head. Hailing from the region right next to Johto, but being closer to the ocean rather than the metro, Maria ended up getting a boat ticket to New Bark town, and thus, had a longer journey than most. It was already the second day that she was on the boat, but thankfully she was almost to her destination. The trip hadn't been bad, maybe a tad bit boring but not bad. Her favorite part had been seeing the Seafoam Islands and Cinnabar Island as the ship passed them. Maria got quite a few shots of them, many of them pretty good. She had just finished looking at the ones she decided to keep after she uploaded them to her laptop. She had brought her laptop, camera, the few essential supplies that most trainers carried in their bags...and some pokecandy from the Safari zone. She knew exactly what starter she was getting and while she knew Hoppip would be good for some aerial shots, a Hoppip wouldn't be much good when it came to actually battling, at least not at first. Her only hope was that she could get a decent battling pokemon before she ran out of candy or angered one too much with a rock.

But those concerns were at the back of her mind as the ship finally made dock. Maria was one of the first off the ship and looking around at the tiny town. Maria could even feel the winds of her new beginning blowing around her...until she realized that it was actually a helicopter letting some people off. Was that one of the other trainers...she felt like she had seen one of those people before but she couldn't place it. Aw well, it didn't matter to her right now. Her first order of business was simple. She asked a local to take a picture of her next to the town's sign. Her first photo in Johto, the first of many, and she wanted it to be of that so she could send it back to her grandfather.

With that done, Maria quickly made her way to Juniper's lab (after asking for directions), ready to meet her first partner in her journey.

---

Matthew was stirred awake by the murmur of the breaks breaking and the slight lurching of the train as it does itself to stop itself. Matthew let out a groan, then lift up his upper body to look out the window clearly. He let out a yawn and tried to wipe away the sleep from his eyes but it practically vanished when he sees the sign telling him where he stopped. He has finally made it to New Bark Town. A smile grew on his face as he let out a small gasp of excitement. Matthew grabbed his bag off the seat and started to jog down the halls of the train all the way to the exit, it would appear that most of the people were already there and there was a kid a few years younger then himself, he wondered if he came here for the Professor's quest. But before Matthew can ask the boy the doors opened, and Matthew absentmindedly walked out of the doors out to the train station of New Bark Town.

Even from within the Train station Matthew could smell the fresh air and nature, it was such a nice smell, especially after being in the train for a few hours. Matthew walked out of the mostly empty train station out into the real town, which looked more like a suburb than a town, but he found it charming, it reminded him of his neighborhood.

Now he needed to head toward the Pokemon Lab, which luckily for him, he studied the town's map all day the day before so he knows every street and store like the back of his hands. Matthew let out a beaming smile and started to walk to the Pokemon Lab posthaste. On his way there he sees a fancily dressed person that he swear he seen somewhere walk the same direction as him, after walking past them he sees a girl having her picture taken by the sign and than talking to somebody, he wasn't nosy enough to listen in to what she's asking, he kept moving forward to the pokemon lab. New Bark Town had a simple layout, the Pokemon Lab was the northern most building in the town and due to it's large size it was hard to miss. Not impossible mind you.

Matthew marveled at the Pokemon Lab when he finally arrived to the building it was such a High tech looking building compared to the more humble and rustic feel of the rest of the town. Matthew took in a breath of air and walked though the double doors of the lab. The inside of the building was higher tech, it looked like something from a Sci-fi movie from Unova, the Lab had advance technology to study Pokemon and their environment, it was breathtaking he wish he had all day to draw the complex machinery in great detail but he has something to do first.

Matthew, after asking an assistant where he could find the Professor, they all said she could be found beyond the large Library past the front desk. Matthew wasn't much of a reader but even the size of the library enchanted him with how much he could learn, but yet again he has to focus on the duty at hand. Matthew had to pry his eyes off the picture books as he walked past them to get to the Laboratory, and right away Matthew took notice of the woman right in the middle looking though notes as walked around the lab. Before Matthew could ask the woman if she was the Professor she looked up from her notes and took notice of Matthew, she had a look of excitement at seeing him, he wasn't sure if it was due to seeing him or having an excuse to look away from her notes. The woman put the note down on a table and she smiled at Matthew sweetly.

"You must be one of the new trainers!" She mused as she walked up to Matthew, standing next to the woman made him feel small, not only because he was short for his age, but also knowing he was standing right in front of the Pokemon Professor of the region, it left him a bit starstruck. The Silence stayed in the air for a moment as Matthew tried to find the words to say to the professor. Juniper tilted her head at the boy's difficulty at speaking, "Purrloin got your tongue? You don't need to be so shy, I don't bite." The Professor jest, which caused the short boy to blush a bit and he finally got the words to escape his lips, which wasn't the ones he wanted to admit, "I framed your drawing after I read it." He blurted out which caused his blush to deepen, the Professor raised an eyebrow than she let out a giggle, which caused Matthew to sink deeper into his embarrassment. "You must be Matthew, I'm surprised anybody would want to frame my pictures, but i'm honored an artist like yourself framed it especially compared to that Butterfree drawing you did for me." Professor juniper humbly said, which caused Matthew to rise above from his embarrassment a smidgen. "Well it not every day a professor respond to a letter with a drawing..." Matthew quietly responded with before continuing on with, "but I will draw things that are a million times better than my drawing to you on my journey and I'm so happy that you chose me!" Matthew brightly said with a smile growing on his face replacing the sheepish expression just moments ago. The Professor smiled as equally bright, "I'm glad to hear that Matthew, I can't wait to see your sketchbook after your travels." Juniper encouragingly said to Matthew.

"I can introduce you to your Pokemon Partner while we wait for all the other trainers." Professor Juniper said, Matthew Nodded excitedly and followed the Professor to the back of the Lab where a table held a few Pokeball on top of his polished top. Professor Juniper looked though the Pokeballs and finally found the one she was looking for, which she handed to Matthew. Matthew knew how to handle Pokeballs though handling his Grandmother's Pokemon, but before he could release the Pokemon from the ball, the Door to the lab opened and he couldn't help but look at the direction of the noise, Professor Juniper did the same.

Matthew wondered who it was.

The last thirty minutes of the journey, Elliot managed to sit down, but couldn't keep himself from fidgeting. His foot was shaking from side to side and he patted his leg with his hand as he looked out the window. The nerves started to set in for Elliot as the train journey kept on going. All the things that could go wrong, he was slightly second guessing his decision to actually come. But no, he couldn't think like that, he had to think positive. To show that he can be a one of the greatest Pokemon trainers in the world.

As the train pulled up to the station at New Bark Town, Elliot started to grin, the nerves slowly started to vanish. He waited a few seconds before standing up and getting off the train. The few people to get off the train were already rushing off going about their own business as Elliot stepped onto the station. Elliot waited a minute and grabbed his woolly bobble hat from his bag and then wandered off to look for the Pokemon Lab. It only took a minute for Elliot to spot it though, it wasn't really hard though, It was massive compared to every other building in the town.

Elliot stared at the big doors for a minute taking a few deep breaths. One step at a time, Elliot thought to himself as he entered the Lab. The Lab was like nothing he'd ever seen, except for something on TV. Elliot slowly looked around with his mouth wide open. As Elliot marvelled at the place, he didn't really notice two people watching him. When he finally did notice them, he stopped in his tracks, "Hi... I'm... I'm Elliot... Elliot Forrester."

---

The Pokemon Laboratory of New Bark Town was stationed to the west, practically overlooking the rest of the quiet settlement. BRIAR found herself frowning at the sight. It wasn't nearly as imposing enough. They could appreciate the sleek lines and the sheer magnitude of the building compared to the rest of the plebian architecture that littered the town, but it was simply too... cheery.

Their assistant seemed to not share their sentiments as her eyes began to alight with wonder at the Pokemon Laboratory. It irked BRIAR to no end. Oohs and ahhs echoed behind them, for which they pointedly glared at the young girl. They pushed past a lanky assistant that was to enter the building as well, and marched up to the woman that they had penned the letter to. "Professor Juniper, I assume," they began. The Professor responded in kind, with a warm smile on her lips as she extended a hand. "And you must be BRIAR. I'm a fan."

For their part, BRIAR merely eyed the proferred hand before turning to look around the laboratory, noticing that there were already two others there - younger than them and so irritatingly chipper. "Of course you are. Who wouldn't be?" It was a rhetorical question, and they glared down anyone who dared attempt to negate their statement. "I must admit, when I first saw you, I didn't think you were the type to settle somewhere so..." their hand waved in the air as an attempt to find a perfect word occured, "quaint."

Juniper blinked before smiling kindly, choosing to take the other's statement as a compliment. "It is a peaceful place, and perfect for new beginnings." She extended her arms, as though further welcoming the group, "That's what we're all here for - for a new beginning with Pokemon by our sides."

Samantha, BRIAR's personal assistant, stepped up to her boss and whispered, "I'm starting the camera. Remember why you're doing this." She fiddled for a moment with the small video camera before handing it over to BRIAR. It was especially made for what the star was about to partake in. It was small, water-proof, and had a battery that could easily be recharged by a weak volt from any electric Pokemon. What BRIAR loved most about it was that its compact structure allowed them to tuck it into the jacket they always wore, and the colour scheme matched too.

Now, the camera was a reminder of why they had travelled so far, and would continue to do so. Their fans, the very same people they had alienated themself from. If their assistant had tried to speak to them in such a manner for something less dire, she would have received a good tongue-lashing, but at that moment, BRIAR simply nodded and accepted the camera. Samantha looked positively beaming.

BRIAR turned back to the Professor, who had been watching the interaction with a small smile. "Very well. I'll be receiving a Pokemon, will I not?"

"Yes, of course," Juniper assured, but made no motion to grab a Pokeball for BRIAR. Instead, she gestured to the other two with them, a brunet and a blond. BRIAR could care less about those children, but it seemed that Juniper was intent on making her. "How about an introduction while we wait for the others?" Her eyes were urging, shining with a request that was truly hard to say no to. BRIAR had to wonder if that was how the Professor managed to get children to wander around a region with only a bunch of Pokemon with them despite the apparent danger of such an undertaking. It had to be those eyes. They let their gaze wander down. It had to be those eyes, or those legs. They raised their eyes again, meeting the Professor's smile. Both. It was definitely both.

With an exasperated sigh, they turned to the two boys. "The name is BRIAR, and yes, it is your pleasure." They turned back to the Professor, hand held out. "Have I earned that Pokemon?"

Behind them, Samantha just sighed tiredly.

---

It didn't take too long to find Professor Juniper's lab. Even if she hadn't gotten directions, Maria probably would have been able to pick it out of all the other buildings thanks to the fact it looked like what you would expect a Pokemon lab to look like. Bigger than the rest of the buildings and had a more important feel to it, or maybe that was because it was more importance to her than all the other buildings in the town. Either way, this was Maria's destination and it was time to go in and finally meet the kind professor who was giving her this wonderful opportunity. So she grabbed the doorknob and turned it, opening the door and stepping in.

"Hello, I'm here!" Maria said with a smile as she stepped into the lab. An assistant came up to her and told her everyone else was already in the back. Oh dear! Was she late? Maria quickly made her way to the back of the lab where there indeed was others. It looked like there was three (four?) other trainers, as well as Professor Juniper waiting there. Maria wasn't sure how many people had been accepted into the program, she thought it had to be more than four or five people, though, so that meant she hadn't kept everyone waiting. In fact, it seemed like they were all introducing themselves. "Hello there Professor Juniper, other soon to be trainers. I'm Maria Conway and I-" Maria stopped as her eyes fell onto Briar. "Oh my gosh!" She said as she went over to them, a little excited. "It's a Moltres xa20!" She said a she looked over the camera Briar was holding. "That's a really good one! I didn't think there was going to be anybody like me here. Though I guess you're into cinematography than photography." Well...they actually looked more like they expected to be in front of the camera. But they were the one holding the camera.

"You'll have to share your footage with me sometime! But for now..." Maria turned back to Professor Juniper and got out the picture of the Hoppip that she had sent to her. "I'd really like to see if the little guy matches the picture!"

---

BRIAR eyed the young girl that had entered the laboratory and seemingly zeroed in on the camera they had strapped onto their clothes. There was a mention of brands and models, which they could appreciate more if the talk was made about people rather than the camera. They could care less about the device used to record them as there was no doubt that no matter how low quality the recording would be, they would still look remarkable.

So strong was the urge to simply dismiss the young girl and get on with the process of receiving the first of many Pokemon in her undeniably gorgeous and powerful arsenal, but the subtle gesturing of their assistant sundered their thunderous words. Instead, a nod was given. "Specially made," they stated, fingering the device in an action that could be seen as fond though it was anything but. "I had my assistant there contact the CEO of the company and asked them to create one that had the abilities I needed for my journey."

They lifted a hand and ticked off their points on their fingers. "One, it would be able to handle recording vast amounts of footage with the highest quality possible, and still retain its compact look. Two, it would be able to sustain throughout various weather conditions. And more importantly, three, it can adapt to change its colour to suit my outfit of choice." The last one had actually surprised them when their assistant presented the device to them with a proud smile. They hadn't thought it possible, but apparently the company had been playing around with imitating the abilities of a Kecleon and Smeargle in their products - to create a camera that could record whilst invisible, apparently - and had decided that BRIAR's request was one they would happily utilize their invention on. Thus far, they had tested it out on three different outfits, and it did not disappoint.

They raised a brow at the young girl as if saying, yes, be impressed, but followed the girl's gaze when she turned back to the Professor. They nodded along, also eager to get their Pokemon as soon as possible. They had, after all, suffered through travelling miles to get to some provincial village more boring than the shows of that other wannabe star in the industry, mingled with plebians that were far beneath their status, and wasted their time on useless chatter. Time was gold, and BRIAR wasn't keen on having theirs wasted.

"I tire of games, Professor. I require the Pokemon promised and the..." they paused, looking over to their assistant who mouthed the word to them, "Pokedex. I'm sure you must live a busy lifestyle such as I do, and would appreciate not getting delayed by mingling." They sighed, taking a moment to check the status of their fingernails. Still perfectly manicured, they turned back their attention to the woman before them. "The earlier we are out of those doors with a Pokemon and your little device in our hands, the more we can do for you and your cause. What say you?"

The energy this young crowd brought into the lab was almost overwhelming. It was a nice change of pace as things had started to become rather monotonous. “Now, now. I’m sure you’re all eager to get started on your journey, so I won’t keep you waiting much longer,” the professor said. Looking back towards one of her associates and signaling him to come forth, the lanky assistant brought a tray out with multiple Pokeballs in it. “Go ahead and choose one that’s to your liking,” the professor explained. “On your way out, be sure to pick up a Pokedex as well! That’s what you’ll be using as your all access pass to Pokecenters and Pokemarts around the region!” Scanning over the crowd one last time, she took a deep breath in flashed them all a smile. “Now shoo! Hurry on! These Pokemon arent gonna train their selves!”

A few other people walked into the Pokemon Lab shortly after Elliot did, one of them was talking about herself like she was a celebrity but Elliot had no idea who she was. He never really watched TV, he spent most of his time outside.

Everyone started to talk but Elliot stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt and ask for his Pokemon, luckily the Professor interrupted the two girls. She told one of her many assistants to come over with all the Pokeballs, everyone went and grabbed one before Elliot, who was too nervous to try and grab one before someone else. So he waited until the other three grabbed one.

There was a few Pokeballs left on the tray, but Elliot knew straight away which one he wanted and it was still there. "Thanks." Elliot quietly said as he quickly grabbed the Pokeball off the tray, still not believing someone was giving away free Pokemon. Elliot then rushed out the place grabbing the Pokedex on his way out.

---

BRIAR eyed the assortment of Pokeballs presented to their group. In truth, they all seemed similar to them and their lack of knowledge on the creatures hindered them from analyzing the options available before they chose. That, and the fact that they were certain that no matter the species, they'd be able to turn that Pokemon into a top notch star that would be able to trample its opponents without much trouble. With this in mind, they grabbed a Pokeball at random. Holding out the Pokeball in their hand, they allowed the red light to shine forth and release the Pokemon held within.

'Ah! It's a Shinx!' Samantha exclaimed, almost gushing in excitement. The assistant dropped to her knees and carefully approached the Pokemon, who jutted out its chin and preened at the attention. BRIAR watched approvingly. 'This is a great choice, BRIAR.' She scooped the Pokemon in her arms and snuggled it. The smile on BRIAR's face dropped.

"Enough. We don't want her getting attached to you. You're not coming with." They reminded, strapping the Pokeball to the belt they had previously prepared. Samantha nodded, allowing the Shinx to return to the ground and sniff at her new master. She handed her boss the backpack - BRIAR eyed the bulky carriage with disdain - containing some supplies they would need. 'I'll get the Pokedex for you.' Without waiting for a nod of approval, Samantha hurried off to the assistant carrying the Pokedexes.

They turned to the Pokemon instead, tilting their head as they examined it. "You need a name." They lowered themselves to the ground and scratched the Shinx's head. "Nothing flower related, though. How about a star instead? Yeah, a star. You look like a Spica."

The Shinx crooned in reply, and the name was settled. They gave it a final pat before returning the Pokemon to its Pokeball. Samantha quickly returned, handing the device to her boss. BRIAR slipped it into their bag and grabbed their camera, pointing it towards Sam. "Right. Say goodbye." They turned it to the Professor after the assistant shyly waved her goodbyes. "You too, Professor."

BRIAR nodded to themself and turned the camera to them. "This is it. The start of an adventure. Don't even dare change the channel, my little stars." They gave the camera a wink and took their leave from the laboratory.