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 Version/Pokémon: Green Version |
Bill is a Pokémon researcher, more commonly referred to as a Pokémaniac, who appears in several games of the Pokémon series.
Background
Bill was born and raised in Goldenrod City in Johto, being the son of a Pokémanic and a Kimono Girl. He had a somewhat extensive family including a grandfather, a brother and a younger sister in addition to his parents. Ever since he was a child he liked collecting things, which led to his later affinity for Pokémon and his following in his father's footsteps, although as an adult he was annoyed by his father's 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. He originally developed it for Kanto and Johto, and he also inspired Lanette and Bebe, who set up their own systems in Hoenn and Sinnoh. He apparently had a large collection of Pokémon and loved rare Pokémon. However, at the same time he was not good at battling and was not very outgoing.
He was first seen in Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen, where an accident with a teleporter caused him to accidentally get his body fused with that of a Pokémon. Red later arrived and was able to help him by operating the teleporter to restore him to normal. He then thanked Red by giving him an S.S. Ticket, saying he did not really care about fancy parties. In FireRed and LeafGreen, he later met Red again at Cinnabar Island and invited to let Red 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 awarded Red for his efforts with a Tri-Pass and a meteorite.
Bill then returned to his family's home in Goldenrod in Pokémon: Gold, Silver,, Crystal Versions, HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions. Gold 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. However, he also found an Eevee from the Time Capsule and did not think he could raise it due to not getting out much so he instead gave it to Gold when he visited his home in Goldenrod. He later muses 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 Gold was instead one that he had used to prepare the Wi-Fi Network.
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. He also gave Bebe an Eevee that was later passed down to Dawn or Lucas in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions.
Other Appearances
- 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 also plays a supporting role in the FireRed/LeafGreen arc.
Trivia
- Bill is most likely named after Bill Gates, the famous real-life computer designer.
- 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.
- 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 and Crystal as well as Celio in FireRed and LeafGreen.
- Bill's younger sister cannot wink, and his grandfather is not a Pokémaniac.
- Bill is the only character to appear or be mentioned in every generation of the Pokémon games (surpassing Professor Oak, who is completely absent from the fifth generation), although he only makes physical appearances in the first two generations while in the latter three he is only mentioned by name or seen in emails (although he could be said to appear in the third generation as well if FireRed and LeafGreen are counted).
- In Pokémon: Black and White Versions, Bill is mentioned in a book at Amanita's house as the developer of the PC system.