Rotom is a ghost and steel type Pokemon that was first introduced in Generation IV, and altered significantly in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Pokemon Sun and Moon altered the form of Rotom as well by allowing it to become a Rotom Pokedex and thus serve as the Pokedex tool with the Generation VII games and this feature has carried on into subsequent games with the use of the Rotom Phone. Rotom has the ability to possess the motors of certain appliances with this becoming more important in Pokemon Sword and Shield, with these form changes altering the type and stats of Rotom. There are five alternate Rotom forms usable in battle which all have stat boosts from the original Rotom: Heat Rotom (fire and electric-type), Wash Rotom (water and electric-type), Frost Rotom (ice and electric-type), Fan Rotom (flying and electric-type), and Mow Rotom (grass and electric-type).
About Rotom
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Diamond and Pearl |
| First appearance in game | Diamond and Pearl |
| Region | Sinnoh |
| Evolution | N/A |
| 1st Evo level | N/A |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | Rotom: One boy's invention led to the development of many different machines that take advantage of Rotom's unique capabilities. With a body made of plasma, it can inhabit all sorts of machines. It loves to surprise others. Heat Rotom: This Rotom has possessed a convection microwave oven that uses a special motor. It also has a flair for manipulating flames. This form of Rotom enjoys making mischief by turning up the heat. It will gleefully burn your favorite outfit. Wash Rotom: This form of Rotom enjoys coming up with water-based pranks. Be careful with it if you don't want your room flooded. This Rotom has possessed a washing machine that uses a special motor. It blasts out water to get enemies to back down. Frost Rotom: Rotom assumes this form when it takes over a refrigerator powered by a special motor. It battles by spewing cold air. When it's like this, Rotom likes to play pranks that are freezing cold. You may find it's turned the bath you just filled to solid ice! Fan Rotom: In this form, Rotom applies its new power over wind to its love of pranks. It will happily blow away any important documents it can find. This Rotom has taken over a fan that has a special motor. Its gusts of wind blow its opponents away! Mow Rotom: This is Rotom after it's seized control of a lawn mower that has a special motor. As it mows down grass, it scatters the clippings everywhere. In this form, Rotom focuses its antics on plants. Any flowers you were growing are going to get mowed down. |
Rotom Base stats
Rotom:
| HP | 50 |
| ATTACK | 50 |
| DEFENCE | 77 |
| SP. ATTACK | 95 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 77 |
| SPEED | 91 |
| TOTAL | 440 |
Other Forms:
| HP | 50 |
| ATTACK | 65 |
| DEFENCE | 107 |
| SP. ATTACK | 105 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 107 |
| SPEED | 86 |
| TOTAL | 520 |
Appearance
In its base form Rotom has a body made up of plasma and shaped like a lightning rod with a whitish blue aura of electricity surrounding it that forms its appendages. Notably, Rotom has blue eyes divided by a horizontal line and teeth visible when it smiles. The color of both Rotom’s eyes and aura alter depending on its form with the original form of Rotom being said to have possessed a light bulb.
Behavior
Rotom is capable of entering and controlling appliances, as well being capable of time travel within the Pokemon anime. Rotoms are known to make mischief although some Rotom use their ability to inhabit electronics with the intent of helping others, notably within the Alola and Galar regions. The Rotom Pokedex is an important Rotom-based tool, found in Alola, while the Rotom Phones, Rotomi, and Drone Rotoms can all be found in the Galar region. These forms are not used for combat within the games but they do serve multiple purposes within the Alola and Galar regions specifically. That also allows Rotom to be one of the few Pokemon species capable of human languages within some of these forms.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Rotom has high base special attack and speed stats but relatively low HP and attack stats. It has a stat change when its form changes which causes all of its stats to be raised, with the exception of its HP stat which does not change, and its speed stat, which is lowered when it changes its form. Within its original form, Rotom is weak to ghost and dark-types, immune to normal, fighting, and ground-types, and resistant to flying, poison, bug, steel, and electric-types.
In its Heat Rotom form, it is weak to rock and water-types, immune to ground-types and resistant to flying, bug, steel, fire, grass, electric, ice, and fairy-types. In its Wash Rotom form, it is weak to grass-types, immune to ground-types and resistant to flying, steel, fire, water and ice-types. In its Frost Rotom form, it is weak fighting, rock, and fire-types, immune to ground-types, and resistant to flying, electric, and ice-types.
In its Fan Rotom form, it is weak to rock and ice-types, immune to ground-types, and resistant to fighting, flying, bug, steel, and grass-types. Finally, in its Mow Rotom form, it is weak to poison, bug, fire, and ice-types, immune to ground-types, and resistant to steel, water, grass, and electric-types.
Shiny Rotom
Shiny Rotom is a version of Rotom that is red instead of orange but other than aesthetically, Shiny Rotom is no different than a normal Rotom. The main way to get a Shiny Rotom is luck or breeding with a Ditto.
Rotom Forms
Within Pokemon Sword and Shield, Rotom can use possessed appliances in battle in order to create separate Rotom forms which are based on a microwave oven (Heat Rotom), a washing machine (Wash Rotom), a refrigerator (Frost Rotom), an electric fan (Fan Rotom), and a lawnmower (Mow Rotom). In each of this different form, its eyes and electric aura change colors and it develops appendage features that go alongside its new appliance.
Specifically Rotom becomes red with oven mitts as Heat Rotom, blue with an aura resembling clothespins as Wash Rotom, purple with lightning bolt shaped appendages as Frost Rotom, yellow with swirls representing air flow as Fan Rotom, and green with what resembles a ripped strip of grass as Mow Rotom. These five alternate Rotom forms all have stat boosts and type changes when compared to the original Rotom: Heat Rotom is fire and electric-type, Wash Rotom is a water and electric-type, Frost Rotom is a ice and electric-type,
Fan Rotom is a flying and electric-type and Mow Rotom is a grass and electric-type.
These forms can be changed at will in different areas depending on the game Rotom is found in: in Rotom's Room in the Team Galactic Eterna Building, Rotom's Room in Silph Co., the storeroom in Shopping Mall Nine, on the second floor of Professor Sycamore's Lab in Lumiose City, in Professor Birch's Lab in Littleroot Town, in the basement of the Pokemon Research Lab on Alola's Route 1, or with a Rotom Catalog in Galar. Rotom changes back to its normal form when taken into the Union Room or Wi-Fi Club, or when deposited in the DayCare in Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
Best Moveset
A good moveset for Rotom emphasizes its ability to serve as a support Pokemon due to its movepool and ability to pressure common entry hazard setters. Most usefully, Rotom can serve as a defogger due to it finding multiple opportunities per game to switch in via moves like Volt Switch and remove entry hazards. The third move is dependent on the form Rotom is in and serves as a STAB (same-type attack bonus) move.
| Defog | Volt Switch |
| Air Slash/ Blizzard/ Overheat/ Leaf Storm/ Hydro Pump/ Shadow Ball | Thunder |
How to catch Rotom in Pokemon Go?
Rotom is only available in its Wash rotom form in Pokemon Go after its introduction in Pokemon Go Fest 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Erm134mHhk
Trivia
- When Rotom is encountered in the Old Chateau in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, it is the only non Legendary Pokemon to have the battle music Battle! (Legendary Pokemon)
- Rotom's and Arceus’ alternate forms were the only alternative Pokemon forms not featured in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
- Rotom and Tynamo are tied as the lightest electric-type Pokemon
- Rotom and its alternate forms were each designed by different designers: Rotom's base form was designed by Ken Sugimori, Heat Rotom was designed by Lee HyunJung, Wash Rotom was designed by Hiroki Fuchino, Frost Rotom was designed by Hironobu Yoshida, Fan Rotom was designed by Motofumi Fujiwara, and Mow Rotom was designed by Yusuke Ohmura
- Within the Pokemon anime, Rotom was the first Pokemon mentioned to have an unknown gender
- Rotom is the only Pokemon to have its type changed to a type that was not newly introduced (due to its type change in Generation V) with no other Pokemon having the same type combination as Rotom's base form, Heat Rotom, or Mow Rotom
- All of Rotom's appliance forms except for Mow Rotom are tied for or have the fewest type weaknesses of all Pokemon of their secondary types
- All of Rotom's appliance forms are the lightest Pokemon of their secondary types
- Despite becoming part flying-type, Fan Rotom retains the ability Levitate, being the only flying-type Pokemon with this Ability. Its ability is effectively useless under normal conditions due to this type change
- Rotom appears to be based on Pulseman, a character who was previously designed by Pokemon designer Ken Sugimori
- Rotom resembles the unexplained phenomenon of ball lightning as well as gremlins, poltergeists, or tsukumogami
- Rotom is motor backwards: motors make many appliances function, while Rotom often makes them fail
- Rotom resembles electronic "magic smoke"as well as electrical energy, and its general shape seems to be based on that of a light bulb
- An old notebook in Rotom's Room of Pokemon Platinum describes the discovery and naming of the first known Rotom when it appeared out of a lawn mower's motor
FAQs
How many forms of Rotoms are there?
There are five Rotom forms: Heat Rotom, Wash Rotom, Frost Rotom, Fan Rotom, and Mow Rotom.
How do I evolve Rotom?
Rotom does not evolve but it can have its form altered in various locations depending on the game it is in (in Rotom's Room in the Team Galactic Eterna Building, Rotom's Room in Silph Co., the storeroom in Shopping Mall Nine, on the second floor of Professor Sycamore's Lab in Lumiose City, in Professor Birch's Lab in Littleroot Town, in the basement of the Pokemon Research Lab on Alola's Route 1, or with a Rotom Catalog in Galar). In the most recent game, a Rotom Catalog can be found in an orange house Wyndon.
Which Rotom form is the best?
Heat Rotom is the best Rotom in terms of type advantages since while it has a heavy weakness to ground type moves and a neutral weakness to Rock and Water, it comes with useful resistances.
Can you breed Rotom with Ditto?
Rotom can only be bred with Ditto due to Rotom being genderless.
Was Rotom a legendary?
While it bears similarities to many legendary Pokemon, Rotom is not actually a legendary Pokemon.
Conclusion
While not a legendary Pokemon, Rotom bears many similarities to legendaries which has made it a popular Pokemon. With its ability to become a Rotom Pokedex, and thus serve as the Pokedex tool in the Generation VII games and in the subsequent games that continues with the Rotom Phone as it allows Rotom to serve as the Pokedex in Pokemon Sword and Shield. The ability of Rotom to change forms allows it to have a wide variety of forms and uses that can make Rotom a useful Pokemon on a wide variety of teams. All of Rotom's appliance forms except for Mow Rotom are tied for or have the fewest type weaknesses of all Pokemon of their secondary types, with the unique typing of its form serving Rotom’s usefulness.
