After arriving at the far-side cliffside rest stop, Hikaru took a short break.

Because the previous day had been so packed, he hadn’t entered the Dream World and ended up waking earlier than everyone else. He set off at dawn ahead of the others.

His goal was to deal with the Rotom trio.

Sparks crackled as the three Rotom were released from their Odd Balls. The morning mist was thick, blocked in by towering buildings that trapped the sea’s humidity—making the area look like a black mountain range.

In the games, both gates near Black City and White Forest were also known for their heavy fog.

“Roto-roto~! Heeheeheehee~!”

The three Rotom were released by Hikaru, and they were definitely feeling the power of the Odd Ball. Two of them looked displeased, lips curled into frowns, while the third one was still smiling gleefully.

“They’ve got different natures. The grumpy ones… one’s Proud, and the other’s Naughty. The cheerful one… must be Jolly.”

Naturally, Proud and Naughty types wouldn’t be happy having their mischief blocked. But Jolly ones? They’d just shrug it off, or even get curious about what stopped them in the first place. Although this Rotom didn’t have the Curious nature, it might as well have.

Always poking and tinkering with things.

Hikaru warned them sternly:

“You better be careful or someone might catch you! Is running off from the spirit world really that fun?! When you break elevators, everyone suffers!”

“Heeheeheehee~!” the Jolly Rotom continued laughing carefreely, circling around Hikaru curiously.

The other two glanced at each other, but were soon laughing along as well.

Nobody knew what they were laughing about—just laughing for the heck of it.

“You were probably drawn here by the spiritual waves and that ghost girl, huh? Well, she’s gone back now, and the spirit world’s energy is fading. You should too—hey! Get out of my backpack!”

Hikaru waved the Odd Ball threateningly at the Naughty Rotom, who instantly stopped smiling.

That terrifying green orb again!

How could it seal their powers like that? Even the spiritual energy they brought from the ghost world was suppressed!

If we can’t cause mischief, what’s the point of living?!

Oh wait, we’re already ghosts, so we can’t die!

You’re no fun, human!

The three Rotom had no intention of returning to the spirit world. It was boring over there. The real world was way more exciting—especially the elevators on Marvelous Bridge. Plus, they used to sneak visits to the ghost girl, though she never played with them. She was always too sad…

Let us go! We want to prank people!

Hikaru sighed helplessly as he listened to their chatter.

The ghost girl was waiting for Cresselia. She wasn’t about to go around causing chaos with you. Her partner is a Psychic-type Abra, after all.

These electric ghosts were completely childlike in mind. If not for the Odd Ball, even Professor Oak would have trouble handling them.

No wonder Cyrus remembered them so fondly.

After all, Cyrus had been an introverted child. Having a jolly Rotom at his side during those years must’ve been a happy time.

But being too hyperactive wasn’t good either. These three Rotom were technically his own captures.

Hikaru planned to keep one to assist him. As for the other two—if they weren’t willing to return, he couldn’t just release them either. They’d bolt right back to the elevators.

He’d send them to Professor Juniper.

Though… would the Odd Ball be compatible with the PC transfer system? It worked in the game, but in the real world—

“Heeheeheehee~!”

The Jolly Rotom suddenly perched on Hikaru’s head and began performing a goofy routine. The other two, annoyed at first, soon cracked up and joined in, twitching and circling above him.

Hikaru: “…”

In the games, the Rotom who caused elevator failures were supposedly sent to Route 15.

There, a researcher named Yui would trade Rotom for Ditto. Even though the ones she traded had unique nicknames, based on her dialogue via the transceiver, she’d been doing this for quite a while—possibly from Black & White to Black 2 & White 2.

And where was Hikaru now? Route 15!

Yui even once said that while she had traded away many Rotom for Ditto, she still preferred Ditto herself.

Riding his Aegislash through the sky, Hikaru headed toward Route 15. The three Rotom twitched excitedly in midair beside him, clearly enjoying the ride. Before long, he spotted a heavily modified RV parked by the roadside, clearly being used for research.

Not far from the RV stood the Transport Lab—visible even from a distance atop the nearby highlands. Below the lab lay a wide valley, where Pokémon roamed. Hikaru also saw several Rangers and martial artists training.

Wait, that’s a lot of Rangers! Way more than in the original story!

“Heeheeheehee~!”

The Rotom trio suddenly grew excited, pointing toward the RV. Apparently, something inside had caught their attention—probably electrical.

From their voices, Hikaru could tell there was another Rotom inside.

So the exchange had already happened. The researcher Yui was keeping a Rotom inside the vehicle for study.

At this point in time, even Team Galactic’s Cyrus and Professor Rowan hadn’t fully identified what kind of Pokémon Rotom was. Researchers in Unova were likely encountering it for the first time too, leading to a burst of curiosity and experimentation.

Which meant… if he did transfer these Rotom, they’d likely end up with her.

“Heeheehee~”

The Rotom trio wanted to go play. But as Hikaru narrowed his eyes and tapped the dreaded green orb, two of them shrank back in disgust. Only the Jolly one floated over to him cheerfully, asking to go say hi.

“Roto~ heeheehee! (No mischief, I promise!)”

“All right. But don’t mess with any machines. Even if you get inside one, I will get you out.”

He raised his hands like a scary ghost: “I’m a spirit medium! Ghosts like you have no idea what I can do!”

“Uuuhhh…”

The Proud and Naughty Rotom nodded rapidly. They could feel the powerful spiritual aura radiating from Hikaru—he could stir up spiritual energy with sheer emotion, a power unlike typical mediums or spirits!

This guy’s terrifying!

We don’t wanna play with him anymore!

They muttered to each other, emitting a bit of static.

Meanwhile, the Jolly Rotom zipped inside the RV!

Wait! Wait for us!

The other two chased after it.

Moments later—

“KYAAAH!” came a shriek from inside the RV.

It wasn’t fear, but joy.

“Wow! Electric ghosts out of nowhere—three of them! Capture! Capture!”

“…Huh? Why won’t the balls work?!”

Whatever happened inside, Hikaru approached quickly—only to see the three Rotom return with peculiar expressions.

The Proud one was angry. That woman actually threw Poké Balls at them the moment she saw them!

The Naughty one had a blast! It zapped one of the balls mid-air—so fun!

The Jolly one? It had a ball clamped in electricity, presenting it to Hikaru.

“Wait, I don’t need this! You’re not a Murkrow collecting coins!”

“Heeheeheehee~” giggled the Jolly Rotom.

Then the researcher—Yui—came out, joined by her gentle Rotom.

Seeing the three Rotom circling Hikaru, she was stunned!

“Three?! These electric ghosts are yours?!”

“Ah, sorry! We only just discovered this Pokémon! It doesn’t have an official name yet! Where did you find them?!”

Yui was thrilled, and Hikaru replied:

“They already have a name. It’s Rotom. It’s ‘motor’ spelled backward.”

In Generation IV, the name “Rotom” was officially derived from English letters—seen in Cyrus’s diary. But from Gen V onward, the Pokémon world switched to a unique script, making English just a hidden easter egg.

Still, if you rearranged things, you’d reach the same conclusion.

Yui: “Huh?! Someone already figured it out?! I thought I was the first! I traded my Ditto for this electric ghost. I named it Ko-Yui. It’s very gentle and helps me with so many things!”

“Electric ghosts can enter machines and make them operate. It’s amazing!”

Yui went on and on, excitedly sharing her Rotom research.

Though she hadn’t been studying for long, running into another Rotom trainer felt like hitting the jackpot. And Hikaru, in turn, received a trove of her research—though most of it he already knew.

[Acquired: Rotom Research Knowledge]

Description: “This is Yui’s research on Rotom! Made of plasma, Rotom’s body flows like electricity. It can enter and possess certain machines for mischief!”

[Bonus Acquired: Electromancy]

Wait, what?

Hikaru hadn’t expected a bonus reward. Though Rotom applications were widespread across games, manga, and anime, the technical methods weren’t always known—and Yui couldn’t explain them all.

It seemed the people who truly implemented cloned Rotom in daily life… were Nemona’s parents in Paldea?

[Electromancy: Gather static from natural environments and direct it to specific areas. Use psychic power to control the flow of electricity across distances.]

Can be evolved into “Magnetomancy” through special channels. Electromagnetism has strong connections to time-space.

Compatible Items: Thunder Stone, Electric Gem.

Whoa!

Hikaru nearly shouted.

There was a Pokémon move called “Magnet Rise,” and in the Pokémon world, the ultimate magnetic master was—Metagross!

A super Pokémon that uses magnetism in place of blood flow!

Magnetic torque: 990,000 horsepower! Meteor Mash!

Speaking of which, the communication tech he’d gotten from Professor Fennel allowed him to make Link Cables!

Link Cables were used to evolve trade-evolution Pokémon without actual trading. Their core function? Stimulating special magnetic or signal-based changes in a Pokémon’s state.

Still, not all Pokémon could evolve through them—typically just four types, or five if you count variants.

Some Pokémon that normally evolved via trading could evolve at Mount Coronet in Sinnoh thanks to its powerful magnetic field.

So to evolve into a “Magnetic Master,” he might have to visit Mount Coronet eventually…

Well, wasn’t he planning to head to Sinnoh anyway?

“Hey! You came from Marvelous Bridge, right? Is it fixed?”

A female Ranger approached and greeted Hikaru, then turned to Yui:

“Miss Yui, why are you such a mess—wait, electric ghost?! You let it out again?”

“Huh? There’s more than one?!”

Yui’s commotion caught the attention of the other Rangers. Another woman approached, her expression turning to shock upon seeing the three Rotom floating around.

Yui quickly explained: “Ah! Miss Sherry, these actually aren’t mine.”

Once Hikaru explained the Marvelous Bridge breakdowns were caused by these Rotom, Sherry chuckled wryly.

“No wonder it breaks every few days—it was the electric ghosts!”

Hikaru was curious. “Aren’t Rangers usually more spread out? Why so many gathered here?”

“Ah, well…” Sherry looked toward the nearby Transport Lab. “It’s because some Pokémon escaped from there. They aren’t native to Unova, and might mess with the local ecology.”

“The machines in the lab malfunctioned again. But I don’t think it was the electric ghosts—Yui’s Rotom already helped out before.”

“Roto~” Yui’s gentle Rotom giggled.

Sherry continued: “The head researcher is Dr. Andrew Park. He’s working on a massive project, but the system keeps malfunctioning. Sometimes, unexpected Pokémon appear. We’re here to pacify and recapture them.”

“Apparently the machine requires a powerful trainer to activate it properly… but even test runs go haywire. It’s quite a mess.”

This piqued Hikaru’s interest.

The Transport Lab—in the games, it allowed one-way transfers of Gen IV Pokémon into Gen V. The professor? Andrew Park.

Too bad he’s not Peter Parker, or Hikaru would’ve asked if he could shoot webs.

“I wonder what kind of transport they’re attempting now. Global transfer? Or just to Sinnoh?”

“Honestly, Pokémon storage and transport is amazing. Turning them into data for remote transmission—this is Digimon territory.”

Though regions couldn’t usually send Pokémon too far, most trainers just stored them with local professors.

When Ash traveled to new regions, he typically left his Pokémon with that region’s professor—only calling them back during major tournaments.

Hikaru: “Why would transferred Pokémon run away? Don’t they have owners?”

“Ah,” said Sherry, spreading her hands,

“They’re from other region systems—either with local professors or active trainers.”

“Some are newly caught or meant for research.”

“They’re not wild, but they’re sensitive to new environments. And since the people here are unfamiliar… well, Pokémon are emotional creatures. Plus, Dr. Park’s jumpy behavior sometimes scares them.”

“The system keeps misrouting transfers too.”

Yui raised a finger excitedly: “Dr. Park’s goal is to create a system capable of transferring Pokémon across vast distances in real time! But it still can’t handle held items.”

Just then, strange electromagnetic pulses surged from the Transport Lab.

The signal didn’t harm Pokémon—but for the Rotom, it was incredibly enticing! All four nearby began twitching and circling—yes, even Yui’s Rotom!

Sherry: “Haha, they look so happy. But… why are they dancing on your head?”

Hikaru: “Well, it started with one… and now they all do it.”

In any case—time to visit the lab and check out the transfer system!

That was Hikaru’s plan, until—

Suddenly, he felt something strange stir in his chest. The environment flickered for an instant.

[Event Triggered: Time Distortion!]

Description: “Rotom can manipulate electric clocks and digital time. Under specific conditions, they may even reverse time, likely due to their spiritual world connections.”

Note: “Many events occur only at specific times. Pokémon may appear or evolve differently depending on the time—this is the real-world time system.”

Effect: “Special events happen at specific times. Time may distort. You possess unique knowledge of Shining Time and are immune to distortions.”

Note: “The Transport Lab is experimenting with time-space tech. Exploring it may reveal more… From the moment you entered Route 15, time here has been strange.”

Bzzzzz—

The Miracle Diamond on Hikaru’s body gleamed faintly.

A strange sound echoed from the lab. The doors burst open, smoke billowing out. Then—

A gigantic beam of destruction blasted from the lab entrance!

“Ah! The transfer malfunctioned again! I’ve got to help!” shouted Sherry, slapping her forehead.

Dr. Park must’ve hit the wrong button again. What kind of Pokémon appeared this time?

The first one stepped out, armored in rage and clad in emerald plates!

From Johto—it was Tyranitar!

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep