Cedric Juniper: The Field Researcher Behind Unova's Legend

You first see him in a photo, without knowing who he is. Cedric Juniper is the father of Professor Juniper, and a researcher just like her: where his daughter studies when species first appeared, he devotes himself to their geographic distribution and biology. Unova's storyline turns him into a field investigator, called in every time the regional legend crosses paths with the plot.

Contents

• A Professor Who Works Outdoors, Not in the Lab
• Dragonspiral Tower, the Museum and the Stone
• Two Years Later: A Much Smaller Role
• In the Anime: The Archaeologist Who Speaks in Fragments
• A Name Borrowed from Botany, and a Late Card
• Cedric Juniper at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Professor Who Works Outdoors, Not in the Lab

The player sees his portrait, hanging in his daughter's lab, long before meeting him. Until introductions have been made, the game refuses to name him and simply refers to a smiling man; the photo's caption changes once you've actually met.

His daughter then mentions him in Chargestone Cave: he asked her to lend a hand with his research on Klink. That joint effort is what leads to his first appearance, just past the cave's exit, in Mistralton City.

He recognizes the player, asks for their Pokédex on the spot, finds the entry for the species he's been studying, and takes the opportunity to add form viewing and a search function. He then introduces Skyla, and insists that she fly him to other regions, even though the Gym Leader's plane only carries cargo. Once he's gone, she remarks that his carefree attitude hasn't stopped him from earning worldwide renown.

Dragonspiral Tower, the Museum and the Stone

When Team Plasma breaks into Dragonspiral Tower, he's the one you find outside. He explains the situation to Bianca and the player, briefly recounts the building's legend, lets Bianca appoint herself bodyguard, then sends the player up to the top with an Old Gateau in their pocket.

After N has been recognized by the dragon, everyone regroups outside, and Cedric is glad to be reunited with Alder, whose fears he confirms. The roles are then split up by location: Relic Castle for the others, Dragonspiral Tower for him, with the idea of once again asking his daughter to date its construction.

This division of labor produces the decisive result. In front of the Nacrene City museum, father and daughter announce that the round stone taken from Relic Castle and displayed there is none other than the dragon's stone, dating from the same period as the tower's materials. The two professors immediately head back to the lab to figure out how to awaken Reshiram or Zekrom, depending on the version.

🔥 The two dragons he spent his career tracking have their own section: check out the Legendaries.

Two Years Later: A Much Smaller Role

In the sequels, you have to wait until you enter the Hall of Fame to see him appear. Before that, a single mention keeps him in the picture: Drayden offers to tell the legend of Unova's origins, at the request of old Juniper's daughter.

Once the Hall of Fame is behind you, he visits the player and their mother, whom he already knows, upgrades the player's Pokédex to the National Pokédex, and encourages the player to keep traveling. It's Bianca who then sums up his field: Pokémon distribution and biology.

You run into him again outside Dragonspiral Tower, with dialogue that adapts to your progress: without the stone, he brings up N and the events of two years earlier to steer the player toward N's Castle; with it, he sends them to the top floor and gives them an Old Gateau. The absent-minded professor finally makes up for his oversight at the Nuvema Town lab, where he hands over the Super Rod he never gave out in Aspertia City.

In the Anime: The Archaeologist Who Speaks in Fragments

His anime debut is hardly a scholar's grand entrance: he stumbles out of Chargestone Cave and faints from hunger. His daughter gets him back on his feet in the next episode and explains to Ash and his friends that he has studied the origins of Legendary Pokémon such as Reshiram and Zekrom.

The character hinges on a verbal quirk: he breaks off in the middle of his sentences, which consistently muddles what he's trying to say. His "never," taken as a refusal to bring the kids to the ruins, was only the first word of a sentence he hadn't finished.

His rigor then gives way to his curiosity. He declares that the Dark Stone found at the center of the ruins must stay where it is, then pockets it while no one is looking — a theft that gets the group led by Cofagrigus to the deepest part of the site, exactly what he was hoping for. There he recognizes the spot where the Black Hero communicated with Zekrom, finds the way out, puts the stone back and stays behind to continue his research.

The series brings him back later: he phones his daughter to announce discoveries about the White Ruins near Icirrus City, then gets his hands on the Light Stone without suspecting that Team Plasma is watching. Two more episodes carry the storyline further.

A Name Borrowed from Botany, and a Late Card

The family is named after plants in every language: Araragi in Japanese, Juniper in English, Esche in German, Aralia in Italian, Encina in Spanish. The French surname itself, Keteleeria, refers to a genus of conifers, which places father and daughter in the long tradition of professors named after a tree or plant.

Not every language distinguishes him from his daughter as clearly. Japanese gives them both the same title, Dr. Araragi, with no given name to tell the two researchers apart, whereas French, English, German, Italian and Spanish each give the father a first name of his own.

On the trading card side, he kept fans waiting. His first card only arrived with the Black & White—Legendary Treasures expansion, released on November 6, 2013, in the United States, well after the generation that introduced him.

Cedric Juniper at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Cedric Juniper?
  A Pokémon Professor from Unova and the father of Professor Juniper. He studies the geographic distribution and biology of species, while his daughter studies when they first appeared.
• Where do you meet Cedric Juniper in Pokémon Black and White?
  In Mistralton City, right after leaving Chargestone Cave. He checks the player's Pokédex, adds form viewing and the search function, then introduces them to Skyla.
• What is his role in the story of Unova's dragons?
  Together with his daughter, he establishes that the round stone from Relic Castle displayed at the Nacrene City museum is the dragon's stone, dating from the same period as the materials of Dragonspiral Tower. The two professors then return to the lab to figure out how to awaken the dragon.
• Does Cedric Juniper have a Pokémon team?
  No team is attributed to him, and he never battles the player. His role is that of a field researcher: he hands out information, items and Pokédex upgrades, not battles.
• What does he do in the anime?
  He debuts by fainting from hunger outside Chargestone Cave, then takes Ash and his friends to the ruins of the Black Hero, where he briefly swipes the Dark Stone. He reappears later at the White Ruins near Icirrus City, where he finds the Light Stone under Team Plasma's watchful eye.

In short

Cedric Juniper has no Gym, no team and no battles to his name: he exists in the story only through what he brings to others, a Pokédex feature, a date, a legend told at just the right moment. Yet it's his deduction about the museum's stone that links Dragonspiral Tower to the dragon's stone and makes the rest of the plot possible. The absent-minded father is also the one who provides the key, and the anime goes so far as to have him steal the very stone he came to protect.