@AbysmalDemonNewer players don't have to go the traditional starting route...
Newer players could start in another town / city and have their own backstories and lives within those city's where they are aspiring pokemon trainers, or coordinators, or breeders, etc.
They could start anywhere that is populated at the moment and just hop right in the story!
(If they wanna be a pokemon trainer, they could just aspire to be a pokemon trainer and become friends with all of the OC's until Professor Cedar meets them to officially give them a PokeNav)