Prior to leaving Cerulean City, Aeris got a notification on his Pokedex from Professor Oak who messaged him to call him as soon as possible.

Because of this, Aeris had to dial a call from the phone booth in the Pokemon Center.

"Ah. Aeris. It's delightful to see you again after so long. And that includes you too, little Pikachu."

"Pika pi."

"So, um, Professor, why'd you want to talk to me?"

"Ah. Yeah. You see, I have a favor to ask of you. A former student of mine, whose name is Bill, lives very near from Cerulean City. I was hoping you could deliver this pokemon to him."

While saying so, the Professor was holding a pokeball in his hand.

"Ah. Yeah, sure."

"Thank you very much. I would've asked Gary for this, but he's already gone ahead to Vermilion City. In any case, take care Aeris."

"Yeah, you too Professor."

The monitor turned black.

"Ah. Damn. So, Gary's already at Vermilion Ciry, huh? That guy's always a step ahead of me."

"Pika pi..."

"But, well, let's forget that and go to this Bill guy's place, Pikachu. I feel like we might be able to know something interesting."

"Pika Pi!"

Bill's house was a three day journey away from Cerulean City. Since it was located on his path towards Vermilion City, Aeris wasn't troubled much by Professor Oak's request.

"So, this is the place, huh?"

Aeris checked the adress. It matched with the one the Professor sent him.

After knocking on the door a few times, Aeris received no reply. He knocked a few more times but still received no reply.

Maybe, he was out?

Even so, just to check, Aeris held the doorknob and found out that the door was open.

"O-Okay...?"

He stepped inside and once again called out to see if anyone was there.

The entrance was connected to a large room that had pretty much everything needed for a person that lived alone. And there, he saw a Raticate on the ground.

"Uh... What? Why is there a Raticate inside the house?"

He thought that it probably beling to Bill, however, he was greatly mistaken.

"Oh! Finally, someone came!"

"W-What? T-Talking! This pokemon is t-talking."

Even Pikachu backed down a bit out of fear. It has never seen or heard of a talking pokemon before.

"Oh, no. I'm not a pokemon. I'm actually a human. My name is Bill, and I'm a researcher. I got stuck here while trying to find out how a Raticate feels inside its fur.

"Wait, you're Bill?"

"Yeah, I am. And if you can, could you please press that switch on the table? My hands are too small so I can't reach there."

"Ah... Sure."

After pressing the red button, Bill's suit flashed brightly before it slowly started to come off. It was in fact a rubber suit.

"Hello there. Once again, I'm Bill the researcher."

"I'm Aeris. Aeris Blackwood. From Pallet Town. And Professor Oak asked me to give you this?"

Aeris handed Bill a pokeball.

"Oh, finally, it arrived. I was waiting for this for so long."

"Uh... I see."

"If you're interested in Pokemon, then this might be to your liking. Do you want to see my research?"

Aeris and Pikachu's eyes started sparkling.

"Yes, sure!"

"Then come on here."

Bill guided them towards his computer. He pressed a few keys on the keyboard before a screen popped up showing a small fox pokemon with arrows pointing to three other pokemons that looked fairly similar.

"Um, what is this?"

"The pokemon I'm researching right now is called an Eevee," Bill informed and pressed a button on the pokeball Aeris gave him. The white fox pokemon on Bill's screen came out.

"Eeeeeveeee."

"An Eevee?"

"Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. A Normal type.

Thanks to its unstable genetic makeup, it conceals many different evolutions of different types."

"Different evolutions?"

"Yup, Eevee is a pokemon that can evolve into many different pokemons depending on the evolution stone it is exposed to, or the environment they live in. Eevee is one of the most interesting pokemons to research on. Just in the Kanto region, there are three different pokemons that Eevee can evolve into. They are-"

Bill moved aside to show Aeris the picture of the other three pokemon.

"Vaporeon- the water type. Flareon- a fire type. And Jolteon- the electric type. Eevee evolves into any one of them when it is exposed to a water stone, a fire stone, or a thunder stone, reslectively. My main topic of research is why Eevee is capable to evolving into so many different forms."

"I-I see. That certainly is quite mysterious."

"Right? In any case, you've helped me a lot by coming here today. Looking at you, I can say that you're a pokemon trainer. Do you have any Pokemons that can evolve by using an evolution stone?"

"Yeah, I actually do have one."

Aeris took out Nidorino's pokeball and revealed the pokemon to Bill.

"Whoa. A Nidorino. If you use a Moon Stone on it, then it will evolve into a Nidoking."

"A Moon Stone? You mean this?"

Aeris also revealed to Bill the Moon Stone he received from Misty.

"That's amazing. You even have a Moon Stone. If you let Nidorino hold it, then it will evolve."

"I see."

"However, if you evolve it right now, I'm afraid it might not be as powerful as you want it too. Although it's important for pokemons to evolve, what's more important is the timing at which they evolve. A pokemon that evolves too early might not be able to control its power while a pokemon that evolves too late will not generate as much power as expected. Therefore, it's always important to ascertain the right time and then evolve a pokemon. That being said, you should train your Nidorino a litte longer and then go for the evolution."

"I understand."

He puts the Moon Stone back in his backpack and also returns Nidorino.

"Thanks for the advice. That was really helpful."

"No worries. I might be a Pokemon Researcher, but I was once a Pokemon Trainer like you at one time. I know how difficult it is to raise a pokemon the proper way. However, once you get it, the happiness you get from it has no bounds."

"I know that feeling," Aeris confessed, caressing Pikachu's cheeks in the meantime. "At first, you're always unsure if you're gonna get it right or not, but when you do, and your pokemon becomes stronger than before, it's one of the most delightful feelings ever."

"Ha-ha. That's a nice way of putting it. Anyways Aeris, if you're planning to go to Vermilion City then I can give you a little ride on my car."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yup. I was planning to go there anyway, and since you've taken the liberty to come here and deliver me this pokemon, I feel obliged to help you."

"Then, I'll accept that. Thanks, Bill."

"No worries."

It took only a few hours for them to reach Vermilion City. The port city was huge, and the sea was very near from here. At the port, there were numerous ships aligned together.

"Here we are, Aeris."

"Thank you, Bill. I'm very grateful that you've taken me here."

"No worries, Aeris. I'll be going then. If you need help, remember that you can always give me a call."

"I'll be sure to remember that."

Amd with that, Bill and Aeris waved goodbye before the former drove further away from them.

"Why don't we go and check on the Pokemon Center then, Pikachu? I'm sure you're tired, right?"

"Pika pikachu..."

It was needless to say that the car ride was exhausting. The road was also rocky and the car shook each time it went over a rock or any other obstacle.

After entering the Pokemon Center, Aeris handed Nurse Joy his Pikachu and the other pokeballs on a tray before deciding to take a drink from the vending machine and rest on the lounge.

To his surprise, there was a very familiar face present there.

"Gary..."

"Well, what do you know, Aerisy-boy. What a coincidence meeting you here."

"You too. Here taking a break?"

"Yup. I've already beat the Gym Leader so I'm just chilling right now."

To prove his statement, Gary showed Aeris his badge case, displaying the sparkling badge from the Vermilion City Gym.

"Damn. That's amazing. You're way too fast."

"He-he. That's me alright," he says while rubbing his nose with a smug smile on his face. "So, did you do what gramps asked you to?"

"Yeah. In fact, I just came from here. Bill gave me a ride."

"Seriously? That guy's driving is horrendous."

"Wait, you know Bill?"

"Well, yeah, of course. He's a student of gramps so he stops by often."

"I w-wasn't aware of that."

Well, Gary is Professor Oak's grandson after all. It wouldn't be unusual of him to have already known Bill, therefore.

"Anyways, Aeris, do ya have some time before you're gonna challenge the Gym?"

"Uh... Yeah, I do. Why?"

Aeris wasn't in a particular hurry to challenge the Gym. The Vermilion City Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, uses electric type pokemons. And since Aeris doesn't have a Pokemon that has the advantage against electric types, he was planning to roam around and train his pokemons for a while instead.

"Lookie here."

Gary searched his bag before revealing a pair of tickets to Aeris.

"Eh? What's that?"

"This is a ticket for the party that's going to be held on the luxurious cruise ship, S.S. Anne."

"Wha! S.S. Anne? Isn't that way too expensive? How did you even get them?"

The S.S. Anne was one of the most expensive and luxurious ships in Kanto. It was built specifically for rich customers, and the inside was nothing short of a hotel. Only few fortunate people ever get their hands on a ticket.

"Chill dude, do I look like someone that can buy these? Gramps gave em to me. He was invited on board but since he's busy with his research he gave em to me. However, he gave me two of them, so I have an extra. Wanna go with me, Aerisy-boy?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

There's no way in hell anyone would ever miss a chance to board the S.S. Anne. Something like this is a once in a lifetime chance. There's no way Aeris would have refused.

"Good, then. Get ready by tomorrow evening and sleep beforehand. It's a night party, so we'll be staying awake the whole time."