Chapter 23. New Form: Poké Ball Rotom
"We have to stop them!"
Ash and the others were anxious and were just about to throw their Poké Balls when Shoko, behind them, stopped them.
"Wait a second, everyone!"
Shoko called out to them and pointed above the Meowth-head balloon.
Directly overhead, a massive silhouette floated in midair, half its body hidden in shadow.
Inside the Meowth-head balloon, the trio were busy fantasizing about the future.
"This time we picked when that elusive researcher isn't around, so we're sure to succeed, meow!"
"Yes, and for some reason their power just happens to be out. We were going to sabotage the circuit anyway."
"Hahaha, my promotion and fortune are right in front of me!"
Suddenly, Meowth bristled as if he'd sensed something.
"Meowth, what's wrong with you?"
Jessie and James looked at Meowth in confusion as he trembled like a leaf.
"I-I don't know, I'm suddenly really scared, meow.
It's like there's a terrifying Pokémon right over my head, meow!"
Over our heads…
Before the two could react, a low-frequency tremor cut through the roar of the burner, and the hairs at the backs of Jessie and James's necks stood on end.
The mountain-like silhouette suddenly dropped from above the balloon, shrouded in the night so its features couldn't be seen.
They could only make out that it was a Pokémon, and that a human stood on its back.
With each beat of its wings, the balloon began to wobble, and the slowly burning flame grew unstable, as if it might go out at any moment.
James, shaking, operated the searchlight on the gondola, and when the beam swept past, those upturned scarlet eyes narrowed, a cold light flowing in the irises.
"This is—!"
Seeing it clearly, James's eyes widened.
"Dragonite, use Hyper Beam!"
From Dragonite's back, a red-haired figure shouted.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous roar, the hot-air balloon exploded, and three figures shot into the sky, flying who knows where.
"[Dragonite, the Dragon Pokémon.
The evolved form of Dragonair.
It is said that it can circle the globe in just 16 hours.]"
Hearing the Pokédex's voice, Ash grew visibly excited.
"So that's an Elite Four Trainer's Pokémon?
It looks incredibly strong!"
"Yes.
That's Mr. Lance from the League's Dragon-type Elite Four, sent to assist us."
Watching the receding figure of the human and Dragonite, a hint of longing flickered in Shoko's eyes.
Once upon a time, he, too, had wanted to become a powerful Pokémon Trainer.
But now… sigh.
Best not to dwell on things you have no talent for.
"Mr. Shoko, I want to challenge Mr. Lance!"
Ash turned back to Shoko all of a sudden, eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Uh…?" Shoko blinked, but didn't reject Ash.
"How about this: tomorrow I'll mention it to Mr. Lance.
Whether he agrees will be up to him."
"Okay.
Thank you, Mr. Shoko."
After thanking him, Ash looked at the two Pikachu beside him, fired up.
"Pika-god, center-parted, let's do some special training tonight!"
"Pika!"
"Pika-pi!?"
The next day, inside the lab.
"Good, just like that—try to merge into it."
Under Natsume's tense gaze, Rotom slipped out of the Rotom Phone and entered the Poké Ball on the test bench.
Blue circuit lines covered this Poké Ball's surface—wiring Natsume had embedded in advance—and as Rotom flowed in, those blue lines charged up and gradually turned into dazzling gold.
Soon, on the Poké Ball veined with golden lines, a pair of inverted-triangle eyes appeared, and a set of lightning-shaped little wings sprouted from its back.
"Roto!"
With Rotom's shout, the Poké Ball suddenly shattered.
"Failure!" Natsume flinched, but he quickly steadied himself.
Although the Poké Ball had broken, its fragments had split precisely along the golden lines.
Sure enough, as the ball shattered, the chip Natsume had implanted inside was revealed.
Rotom anchored itself to the chip, and countless blue arcs of electricity snapped out, drawing the broken pieces back together.
"Zing!"
After a flash, a Poké Ball Rotom more than ten times larger than before appeared in front of Natsume.
"Rotom, how do you feel?
If anything's uncomfortable, say so."
Natsume beamed at the massively transformed Poké Ball before him.
Rotom now resided in the central chip, golden arcs linking the red-and-white fragments in sequence to form a gigantic "Poké Ball."
The Poké Ball Rotom nodded to Natsume to indicate it was fine.
Seeing this, Natsume finally relaxed completely, then carefully examined Poké Ball Rotom's outward appearance.
"Hmm… about the size and state of a Gastly?"
After a long look, Natsume opened his system interface in his mind.
Only the system could precisely read this unknown form.
"[Rotom (Poké Ball Form), Lv. 50]"
"[Type: Electric/Psychic.]"
"[Base stat total: 520 (HP: 160 / Attack: 20 / Sp. Atk: 40 / Defense: 140 / Sp. Def: 140 / Speed: 20)]"
"[Moves: ??? / ??? / ??? / Protect]"
"[Ability: Poké Ball (exerts a strong suppressive effect on Pokémon).]"
"So it's a super tank?"
Electric/Psychic gives it four weaknesses: Ground, Ghost, Bug, and Dark.
But judging from Poké Ball Rotom's stat distribution, it seemed to be a defensive wall.
"If an ordinary Poké Ball already reaches the 520 base-stat benchmark of those other fusion forms, then switching to a Great Ball, Ultra Ball, or Master Ball would further raise the base stats."
But hitting what the system called "breaking the world's limit" seemed unlikely.
After all, in the movies, Eternatus in its Eternamax state reaches a base stat total of 1125—the highest ever depicted in the Pokémon world.
To break the world's limit, you'd at least have to surpass that.
Natsume could only set his sights on the mecha Rotom he intended to develop in the future.
Of course, today's research was paving the way for that.
Thinking this, Natsume tapped open the three question-marked moves on Poké Ball Rotom:
"[???]: Absorb and seal one opposing Pokémon, then spit it out after three turns.
Rotom may act during this time.
While sealed, the target loses 20% of its max HP each turn, and upon ejection will receive a random status condition.
PP: 2."
"[???]: Absorb one allied Pokémon and spit it out after one turn.
Rotom may act during this time.
The released ally will be cleansed of all negative effects, recover 50% of max HP, and gain a random buff.
PP: 5."
"[???]: Absorb and seal one opposing Pokémon until the battle ends.
Rotom cannot act during this time.
The sealed Pokémon cannot be withdrawn, and any damage Rotom takes is redirected to the sealed target.
PP: 1."
"[Protect]: Completely blocks the opponent's attacks for one turn; consecutive uses will fail."
"[The above effects come from Game Rule Field simulation tests; real-world application is for reference only.]"
"???"
After reading, Natsume's head was filled with question marks.
"???—tomorrow's rising star of stall teams!"
Just seeing the three move descriptions, Natsume automatically thought of those infamous figures from his past life's competitive battles.
He read the hundreds of words of move text over and over, and from between the lines he could see just two words: "Disgusting."
He could guarantee that if Poké Ball Rotom existed in his past life's games, it would top the "most hated to face" charts.
But if it was his Pokémon, then it wasn't infamous—it was "the most reliable back."
"System, how does it compare to a godly Pokémon with a divine role?" Natsume was getting a little full of himself.
"[Out of its depth.]"
Natsume froze.
Long ago, in the course of his research, he'd discovered that many legendary Pokémon in the real world held corresponding divine roles.
Usually the strongest individual of a given species possessed such a role.
In the games and anime of his previous life, such "divine roles" were downplayed or barely present.
But after crossing over, in many papers he'd read, Natsume had found plenty of clues.
An individual with a divine role was on a completely different level from others of its kind—almost a different lifeform.
It's just that relevant studies were scarce, and Natsume had yet to encounter a divine-role legendary in person, so the specifics were unclear.
"Return, Poké Ball Rotom." Natsume decided he still had work to do.
He held out a Poké Ball, but Rotom didn't go inside.
Instead, it gradually shrank and slowly turned into a red-and-white ball with golden triangular eyes and tiny lightning wings.
The little golden ball formed by Rotom fell back into Natsume's hand.
"Whoosh!"
A golden current leapt out of the special Poké Ball and shot back into Natsume's Rotom Phone.
Seeing this, Natsume patted the Rotom Phone and smiled.
"Perfect.
In battle, you enter this special Poké Ball; out of battle, you can stay in the phone."
Saying this, he rubbed his hands together and opened the door.
Natsume wasn't a battle maniac.
But right now, he couldn't wait to see Poké Ball Rotom's reliable back in a real battle.
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts