Chapter 23: New Form: Pokéball Rotom
"Let's go stop them!"
Ash and the others were about to throw their Pokéballs, but Seymour held them back.
"Wait, everyone!"
Seymour called out, pointing above the Meowth-shaped hot air balloon.
Above the balloon, a massive shadow floated in the air, half hidden in darkness.
Inside the balloon, Team Rocket was discussing their plans.
"This time, that elusive researcher isn't here—we're sure to succeed, Meowth!"
"Yes! And for some reason, the power went out. We were going to sabotage the circuits anyway."
"Hahaha, Jessie, I'm about to get promoted and rich!"
Suddenly, Meowth bristled as if sensing something.
"Meowth, what's wrong?"
Jessie and James looked puzzled as Meowth trembled violently.
"I-I don't know, I suddenly feel scared, Meowth… like there's a terrifying Pokémon above me, Meowth!"
Above them.
Before they could react, a low-frequency vibration cut through the engine roar. Jessie and James's hairs on the back of their necks stood up—a mountain-like figure descended from above the balloon, cloaked in darkness, its form obscured.
Only faintly visible, it was a Pokémon, and a human stood on its back.
As the Pokémon flapped its wings, the hot air balloon wobbled, the flames flickered dangerously, seeming ready to extinguish at any moment.
James trembled while controlling the spotlight on the basket. The Pokémon's scarlet eyes suddenly narrowed, the irises glowing coldly.
"This is—!"
Seeing it clearly, James's eyes widened.
"Dragonite, use Hyper Beam!"
On Dragonite's back, a red-haired figure shouted.
*Boom!*
With a deafening roar, the balloon exploded. Three figures shot upward, disappearing into the sky.
**Dragonite, Dragon-type Pokémon, evolved form of Dragonair. Legend says it can circle the world in 16 hours.**
Hearing the Pokédex, Ash was thrilled.
"That must be the Eliter Four's Pokémon! Looks really strong!"
"Yes, that's the Dragon-type Eliter Four Trainer sent to assist us: Mr. Lance."
Watching the Dragonite and trainer vanish, Seymour's eyes reflected a trace of admiration. He had once dreamed of becoming a strong Pokémon trainer, but now… without talent, it was better not to think about it.
"Mr. Seymour, I want to challenge Mr. Lance!"
Ash suddenly turned to Seymour, his eyes blazing with determination.
"Huh?" Seymour paused but didn't refuse.
"Alright, I'll mention it to Mr. Lance tomorrow. Whether he agrees is up to him."
"Thank you, Mr. Seymour!"
After thanking him, Ash looked at the two Pikachu beside him.
"Pikachu, Midchu, let's have a special training session tonight!"
*Pika!*
*Pika-pi?!*
The next day, inside the laboratory.
"All right, now try to fuse in."
Under Natsume's tense gaze, Rotom detached from the Rotom Phone and merged into the experimental Pokéball.
The Pokéball's surface was covered in blue circuits Natsume had pre-installed. As Rotom entered, the blue patterns began to glow, slowly transforming into a brilliant gold.
Soon, the gold circuitry spread across the Pokéball, forming small inverted-triangle eyes and a pair of tiny lightning-shaped wings on its back.
*Rotom!*
With a shout from Rotom, the Pokéball suddenly shattered.
"Failed!" Natsume exclaimed, but quickly regained his composure.
Although the ball broke, the fragments followed the gold circuitry.
Sure enough, the embedded chip inside remained intact. Rotom, now linked to the chip, released arcs of blue electricity, pulling the shattered pieces back together.
*Whoosh!*
A light flashed, and before Natsume appeared a Pokéball–shaped Rotom, dozens of times larger than before.
"Rotom, how do you feel? Speak up if anything's uncomfortable."
Natsume's face lit with joy as he observed the dramatically transformed Pokéball.
Rotom anchored itself to the central chip, golden arcs connecting the shattered red-and-white fragments into a massive Pokéball.
Pokéball Rotom nodded at Natsume, signaling it was unharmed.
Satisfied, Natsume carefully examined its form.
"Hm, roughly the size and posture of a Gengar?"
After a long observation, Natsume activated the system to analyze this unknown form.
[Rotom (Pokéball Form) (Lv.50)]
[Type] Electric/Psychic [Base Stats (520)] HP:160, Atk:20, Sp. Atk:40, Def:140, Sp. Def:140, Speed:20 [Moves] ???, ???, ???, Protect [Ability] Pokéball: Exerts strong suppression over other Pokémon
"So, a super tank?"
The Electric/Psychic typing creates four weaknesses: Ground, Ghost, Bug, and Dark. Based on its stat distribution, Pokéball Rotom was clearly a tank-oriented Pokémon.
"Even a normal Pokéball can reach the 520 base stat threshold of those fused forms. Upgrading to Great Ball, Ultra Ball, or Master Ball could further increase stats."
But to surpass the world limit described by the system would be almost impossible. In the movies, Arceus after Gigantamax reached 1125—the highest in Pokémon history.
To surpass that, one would need even more. Natsume's focus had to be on his future mecha Rotom. Current research was laying the groundwork.
He then opened the three mystery moves on Pokéball Rotom:
[???]: Captures an opposing Pokémon, sealing it for 3 turns. Rotom may act during this time. Each turn, the sealed Pokémon loses 20% of its max HP. When released, it gains a random negative status. PP:2
[???]: Captures an allied Pokémon, releasing it next turn. During this, Rotom can act. The released Pokémon clears all negative effects, recovers 50% max HP, and gains a random positive effect. PP:5
[???]: Captures and seals an opposing Pokémon until the end of battle. Rotom cannot act during this period. The sealed Pokémon cannot be recalled. Damage dealt to Rotom is transferred to the sealed Pokémon. PP:1
[Protect]: Fully blocks attacks for one turn. Consecutive use fails.
**Effects are simulated under battle rules; for reference only.**
*???*
Reading these, Natsume's mind filled with question marks.
*These moves… They're competitive nightmares!*
Just reading the descriptions, Natsume was instantly reminded of those infamous stall Pokémons from his past life's games.
After scanning through hundreds of words of skill descriptions, Natsume squinted at the text and finally picked out one word that summed it all up: *toxic*.
He was certain that, in the previous world, if Pokéball Rotom existed in-game, it would dominate the competitive rankings.
But if it was his Pokémon, this wasn't a notorious figure—it was the most reliable ally.
"System, how does it compare to Legendary Pokémon with divine roles?" Natsume felt a surge of pride.
**Unable to match.**
Natsume froze.
Long ago, he had discovered that in the real world, many Legendaries had corresponding divine roles, typically held by the strongest individual of their species.
Though in past games and the anime divine roles were weak or barely noticeable, Natsume's research into various texts after transmigrating revealed several clues.
A Legendary with a divine role was in a completely different strength tier—practically a different species.
But such research was scarce. Natsume hadn't encountered a divine-role Legendary yet, so the concept remained unclear.
"Back, Pokéball Rotom." Natsume felt he still had much to learn.
He reached for a Pokéball. Rotom didn't enter; instead, it gradually shrank, finally returning to its red-and-white form with golden triangular eyes and tiny lightning-shaped wings.
The golden Pokéball Rotom landed gently in Natsume's hand.
*Whoosh!*
A streak of golden electricity shot out from the custom red-and-white Pokéball, diving straight into Natsume's Rotom in his phone.
Seeing this, Natsume patted his phone's Rotom and said with a smile,
"Perfect. During battles, you'll enter this special Pokéball. When not in combat, just stay in the phone."
As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together and pushed the door open.
Natsume wasn't exactly a battle fanatic, but now he couldn't wait to see Pokéball Rotom's dependable form in action through a real battle.
You can read more (around 50+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.