Bill

Bill in Pokémon: Gold and Silver Versions.
Bill
Species	Human
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Relatives	Grandfather Father, Mother Brother, Sister
Debut	Pokémon: Red/Green Versions

This article is about the Pokémon character. For the Star Fox character, see Bill Grey.

Bill is a Pokémon researcher, more commonly referred to as a Pokémaniac, who appears in several games of the Pokémon series. He is notable as the creator of the Pokémon Storage System, which allows the player to keep more than the six Pokémon that they can carry on them.

Background

Bill was born and raised in Goldenrod City in Johto. He was the son of a Pokémanic and a Kimono Girl. His family also included grandfather, a brother and a younger sister. Ever since he was a child, he liked collecting things, which led to his later affinity for Pokémon. He ended up following in his father's footsteps as a Pokémaniac, although as an adult he was annoyed by his father's apparent laziness. He later lived in a Sea Cottage located on Route 25 of Kanto. There, he developed the Pokémon Storage System, his most well-known invention which was used to store the extra Pokémon of various trainers through PCs. He originally developed it for Kanto and Johto, and he also helped Lanette and Bebe to set up their own systems in Hoenn and Sinnoh, respectively. He also sent Cassius to run the system in Kalos. He apparently had a large collection of Pokémon and loved rare Pokémon. At the same time, he did not have any skill for battling and was not known to be very outgoing.

First Generation

For his original appearance in the first generation games (Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Yellow, as well as the remakes FireRed and LeafGreen), there was an accident with the testing of a teleporter device which caused him to accidentally get his body fused with that of a Pokémon (specifically a Clefairy in FireRed/LeafGreen). Red later arrived and was able to help him by operating the teleporter to restore him to normal. Bill thanked Red by giving him an S.S. Ticket, which he did not want anyway, due to his dislike for fancy parties. In FireRed and LeafGreen, he later met Red again at Cinnabar Island and invited Red to accompany him on a trip to the Sevii Islands, to help his friend Celio set up a machine connecting the PC systems of Kanto and Hoenn. Red was able to find the Ruby and Sapphire needed to power the machine, and Bill rewarded Red for his efforts with a Tri-Pass and a meteorite.

In the Let's Go! games, Bill's role was largely the same as in the original first generation games. Instead of the Pokémon Storage System connected to PCs, this game had a Box that was accessed through the player's Bag for storing extra Pokémon. Bill was still behind its creation, but that fact was only mentioned by his brother at Fuchsia City. Bill had also created the GO Park complex with the help of a professor from another region (presumably Professor WIllow). Bill also had several reports that could be read on his computer, which recalled his attempts to search for Kanto's three legendary birds (Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres). In this version, he was fused with a Nidorino instead of a Clefairy, and he gave the player two S.S. Tickets instead of one.

Second Generation

Three years later, Bill had returned to his family's home in Goldenrod in the second generation games (Pokémon: Gold, Silver and Crystal Versions, as well as the remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions|HeartGold and SoulSilver). In the original version of the games, the player first met him at the Pokémon Center in Ecruteak City just as he had finished adjusting the Time Capsule, which made trading Pokémon with the past (ie the first generation games) possible. He found an Eevee from the Time Capsule and did not think he could raise it due to all the time he spent indoors, so he instead gave it to the player character when they visited his home in Goldenrod. He later mused upon making an upgrade to his teleportation system.

In HeartGold and SoulSilver (which omits the Time Capsule), he instead mentioned his work with Lanette and that it made his storage system easier to use, and the Eevee he gave to Ethan/Lyra was instead one that he had used to prepare the Wi-Fi Network.

Later Generations

Although Bill has not made any physical appearances since, an e-mail to Lanette from him was seen in Pokémon: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Versions as well as Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. He also gave Bebe an Eevee that was later passed down to Dawn or Lucas in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions.

In Sun and Moon, after the main storyline, Lillie brought Lusamine to Kanto in hopes that Bill's experience with being fused and then separated from a Pokémon would be helpful in separating the last of Nihilego's toxins from Lusamine's system, as a result of her own fusion with the Ultra Beast. The results of this trip are unknown.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Bill appeared in one episode of the Pokémon anime series, where he lived in a lighthouse. Instead of being fused with a Pokémon, he was trapped in a Kabuto costume until freed by Ash, Misty and Brock. During the episode he tells them about Pokémon and the possibilty of more than 150 Pokémon existing, as well as involving them in his project to find the mysterious Dragonite, although Team Rocket's attack later scares it away.
• Bill appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga, as a supporting character in several arcs. First in Red/Green/Blue, he is specifically fused with a Rattata, but is restored to normal after Red saved him from a Fearow. Bill forms a strong friendship with Red, often contacting him with tips and occasionally traveling with him. In the Yellow arc he winds up becoming Yellow's primary traveling companion, but not by choice, as he winds up on the run from the Elite Four. He accompanies them to Cerise Island and is paired off with Lt. Surge against Bruno, and though they do not win, the odd couple is able to hold him off until Red's arrival. He appears throughout the Gold/Silver/Crystal arc, where he protests for more thorough examination of gym leaders due to some being tied to Team Rocket and is otherwise occupied by trying to get Johto's teleportation system working. With Daisy's help, he is finally able to fix it at the end of the arc in time to teleport nearly every trainers' Pokémon to Ilex Forest for the final battle against the Mask of Ice, after which he is shown to grow much closer to her. He continues to appear in later arcs, with a mix of supporting and minor roles.
• He was featured in an chapter of the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, where he showed Ash and Professor Oak to a colony of Clefairy at Mt. Moon that he had discovered, and they helped the Pokémon with their evolution ceremony.

Trivia

• Bill is most likely named after Bill Gates, the famous real-life computer designer, in the English localization. In Japan, he has a full name of Masaki Sonezaki, with 'masaki' being the Japanese word for a type of Japanese spindle and possibly referring to the Japanese word for a cape, in reference to where he lives.
• His first Pokémon was an Abra.
• Bill's favorite Pokémon is indicated as Eevee in Red and Blue, although in FireRed and LeafGreen, Celio instead says that as a Pokémaniac every kind of Pokémon was his favorite. In the first generation games, he has files on Eevee and all three of its known evolutions at the time (Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon) on his PC. Bebe also mentions that Bill seems to raise a lot of Eevee after giving one to the player.
• In the Let's Go! games, Bill's files on Eevee and its evolutions are replaced by files about the three legendary birds. This change was likely due to Eevee's role as the starter Pokémon for one of the games
• One Pokémaniac appearing in Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal, Brent, is an avid fan of Bill. After collecting his number and calling him, Brent will often list various trivia about Bill.
• Bill apparently is lactose intolerant. This piece of trivia is recited by both Pokémaniac Brent in Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver as well as Celio in FireRed and LeafGreen.
• He was rumored to have a crush on the daughter of the owner of the Goldenrod Flower Shop.
• Bill's younger sister cannot wink, and his grandfather is not a Pokémaniac.
• In Pokémon: Black and White Versions, Bill is mentioned in a book at Amanita's house as the developer of the PC system.