"…I can give this Rotom to you," Professor Oak said with a smile.
"Really?!" Ash's eyes sparkled with joy the moment he heard those words.
"I only need Rotom to help manage the flood of trivial tasks for the online skill shop. I'm not planning to raise it for battle, so I'm not picky about its potential," Ash explained excitedly. "And I really need one as soon as possible. If you've already got one at the lab, then that's perfect!"
"Alright then," Professor Oak nodded. "I'll give you the Rotom from the lab."
Turning away, Oak walked toward the storage room where Poké Balls were kept. Moments later, he returned holding a familiar-looking Poké Ball—one with a golden lightning bolt etched on the surface, just like the one Pikachu had in the original timeline.
"Here, open it. See if it's to your liking," he said, handing it to Ash.
"Alright!"
Pop!
"Zzz-heehee!"
With a burst of light, a small, lively Pokémon popped out of the Poké Ball, giggling with glee as it zipped through the air.
It was Rotom—the Electric/Ghost-type Pokémon known among Trainers as a truly special entity.
Rotom's body was made of ionized plasma. Its orange core floated within a semi-transparent blue electric field that acted like its hands. Not only could it travel through power cables as pure electricity, but it also had the rare ability to possess electronic appliances and take on various alternate forms—like the Rotom Phone, Rotom Drone, and Rotom Laptop.
However, only when it possessed one of five household appliances—a microwave, washing machine, refrigerator, fan, or lawnmower—could Rotom undergo a transformation akin to evolution, significantly boosting its base stats and changing its type.
Ash had been deeply envious when he saw a Rotom Drone featured on the Saffron TV channel during summer camp. He had long dreamed of owning a Rotom himself. It was just too versatile.
Now, with one gifted directly by Professor Oak, Ash couldn't hide his happiness.
"System, scan Rotom's data," Ash commanded mentally.
[Pokémon: Rotom]
Level: LV.20
Type: Electric / Ghost
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Levitate
Potential: Green (Standard)
Skills (Copyable):
[Skilled]: Astonish, Thunder Shock, Charge, Electro Ball
[Novice]: Double Team, Confuse Ray
Just as Oak said, this Rotom only had Green potential, which might disappoint most Trainers.
But for Ash?
This was absolutely not a problem.
With his current mastery of the Viridian Blessing, he could easily raise Rotom's potential to Red (Elite) in just over four months, and push it to Blue (Perfect) within half a year.
Besides, as Ash had already explained, he wasn't raising Rotom for combat. It was a "utility partner"—a vital assistant for his online store.
In fact, the moment he saw that this Rotom was already at LV.20, he was even more pleasantly surprised. His strongest Pokémon so far—Frogadier, who had just evolved today—was also LV.20. This Rotom was starting out at the same level!
"System, copy Rotom's skills."
[Copying Skills… 37%… 71%… 100% Complete!]
While Ash was reading through the data, Rotom floated nearby, curiously examining the human boy who had summoned it.
Although they had just met, Rotom felt an inexplicable warmth and ease from Ash. It instantly liked him.
"Rotom, my name is Ash. From now on, we'll be partners. I'm counting on you!" Ash said, radiating goodwill as he smiled at the floating little ghost.
"Zzz-heeheehee!" Rotom zipped excitedly around Ash in two happy circles. It didn't resist in the slightest—in fact, it seemed thrilled to be joining Ash's team.
"Well, well… looks like Rotom really likes you, Ash." Oak chuckled. "You know, back when it helped me film educational videos, this naughty little fellow kept zapping me during shooting. Turned the whole thing into a comedy show!"
He shook his head with a helpless expression.
"Haha! But didn't that just make the kids love the show even more?" Ash laughed.
"Oh, right, Professor—do you have any extra Pokémon food? I wasn't prepared today. The shop's opening was too hectic, and I've already received 20 customer Pokémon. I haven't even sorted out their meals yet."
"No problem," Oak waved him off. "Take whatever you need from the lab first. Then make a proper supply run in Viridian later."
Having solved the food issue for the 20 Pokémon and successfully acquired a Rotom, Ash chatted briefly with the Professor before heading home—his arms full of food packs and his brand-new partner, Rotom, floating excitedly beside him.
—
"Rotom, let me walk you through everything about the online store. From now on, you'll handle customer support and respond to fan questions from our store's groups on PokéPlus and TrainerNet, alright?"
After returning from the lab, Ash—who had been dreaming of becoming a hands-off boss—wasted no time training Rotom for its new job.
True to its nature as the "appliance companion," Rotom quickly fused into a computer. As Ash explained the functions of the shop's backend, dashboards, and customer flow processes, Rotom absorbed everything lightning fast.
Most of the questions from customers in the fan groups and DMs were simple:
"Can my [X Pokémon] learn [Y Move]?"
"Can your shop help my [Z Pokémon] master [Y Move]?"
Ash taught Rotom the basics of move learning mechanics—like which moves could be naturally learned via leveling, and which could be learned through TMs.
Once it understood that, Rotom just needed to open the League's official Pokédex site while fused with the computer, and it could instantly find accurate answers for every inquiry.
In truth, Ash's Ascension Trainer System could do far more than the shop officially advertised.
Thanks to its [Skill Copy] module, the system could allow Pokémon to learn:
Moves with high proficiency values
Any move they could learn via leveling or TMs
Moves they could inherit through breeding
Moves that matched their elemental affinity
Even Normal-types could learn any other elemental moves, and Pokémon of other types could learn any Normal-type moves.
Although the system was damaged when Ash transmigrated—thanks to a hostile attack from the World's Will—it still retained these three core functions. And those alone were incredibly powerful.
Until he became strong enough to protect his secrets, Ash had no intention of revealing this trump card to anyone. Not even his closest friends.
Not now, not ever.
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T/N:
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