Wash Rotom.
This is a special form triggered when a standard Electric/Ghost-type Rotom enters a washing machine.
Its typing shifts to Electric/Water, and its base stats see a significant, formidable boost.
Ever since Kashiwagi learned that Wattson used Rotom as "network administrators" for the city, he had suspected the Gym Leader might slip a few into his challenge roster. When they didn't appear earlier, he thought he'd dodged them.
To think the final opponent would be this one...
Wattson stood tall, hands on his hips, his earlier disappointment over Manectric's defeat completely replaced by boisterous energy.
"Wahahahaha! You've probably never seen this form of Rotom before, have you? This fellow is my secret weapon! Don't look down on it just because it's not my 'Ace'! Hahaha!"
"Wash-wash! Rotom!"
Trainer and Pokémon laughed in perfect, arrogant sync.
This is bad! Kashiwagi thought. Porygon might actually lose its cool!
Looking down at his partner, he saw the "two-wheeled block-car" vibrating like a revving engine. Its gear-like feet were spinning wildly in place, kicking up a miniature sandstorm of gym dust.
"Pa-pory! Pory!"
It let out a series of high-pitched, restless cries.
It had been itching to punch a Rotom since yesterday. But instead of finding its true nemesis, it encountered this damned Zero Unit. Today, finding a Wash Rotom as the final boss of the Gym felt like destiny.
The fact that its wheels were literally smoking and it hadn't charged in yet was a miracle of self-restraint.
This "patience" allowed Kashiwagi to breathe a sigh of relief.
The cold fury in Porygon's heart had largely dissipated, replaced by a much hotter, more constructive fire: pure battle spirit.
Is it... Kashiwagi looked at Porygon.
Is it viewing this Wash Rotom as a "replacement" for the one from yesterday?
Actually, Porygon wasn't thinking about yesterday at all anymore. It just had a singular, burning desire to fight a Rotom in a fair match.
Battle!
It wanted to prove its worth—not through tantrums or self-pity, but by defeating its destined rival with raw strength.
What kind of luck was this?
To fight a Rotom in front of the very man who had once chosen a Porygon and then set it aside?
"Pory!"
Porygon turned its head to its Trainer, eyes pleading.
Don't swap me out.
This fight meant everything to it. While its combat modules were cold and calculating, its emotional core knew that it needed this clash to let its past resentment sublimate into something new.
It needed to be reborn!
Success or failure, victory or total defeat—it had to happen here.
Kashiwagi met Porygon's determined gaze and smiled.
"Something that obvious doesn't need a request..."
"Porygon! Get ready to fight!"
"P-PORY!"
Wattson watched the exchange from across the field and laughed.
"Excellent, excellent! Seeing you two so fired up makes the roster change worth it! Come! The final round begins!"
"Wash-wash!"
The battle for the Dynamo Badge reached its climax. As if a drumroll had begun, both shouted their commands at once.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Dodge it! Conversion 2: Dragon!"
The Wash Rotom raised its water-hose attachment. A brilliant blue torrent erupted, turning into a massive pillar of water that slammed toward Porygon, the air vibrating with a thunderous roar.
To maximize the hit chance, Rotom mimicked Mega Aggron's tactic, sweeping the beam across the field in a spray!
"Pory!"
Porygon sped across the dirt on its spinning gears. The Hydro Pump chased it relentlessly, but since the lightning-fast Manectric was gone, Porygon's relative speed wasn't as high as before.
Fortunately, its reaction time was instantaneous.
A radiant glow erupted from the deep brown parts of its body. A heart-stopping azure light surfaced, accompanied by intricate, digital patterns. A faint, primal roar of an unknown creature seemed to echo in the air.
Kashiwagi's eyebrows shot up. He'd never seen Conversion behave like this before. Something was happening.
The Dragon-type Porygon suddenly braked. Its body skidded forward with inertia, but it stopped with mathematical precision just at the edge of the Hydro Pump's reach!
Splat!
The tail end of the blue water pillar splashed against Porygon. The spray looked impressive, but it didn't budge the digital Pokémon an inch.
"Wash...?"
Rotom looked at the enemy—who had just been a bundle of raw emotion but was now acting like a cold, precise machine—and felt a sudden pang of unease.
Dragon resists both Water and Electric. While Grass would have done the same, Rotom could use the Bug-type move Signal Beam, so Dragon was the safer play.
With the Eviolite boosting its defenses, Porygon was now a tank that Rotom couldn't hope to one-shot.
"Tri Attack!"
"Pory!"
Yellow, light blue, and orange-red orbs materialized around Porygon. They formed a triangle before firing a combined beam of electricity, fire, and ice!
"Use Discharge!" Wattson yelled.
"Wash-wash!"
Rotom let out a sharp cry through its hose, unleashing a massive ring of rampaging electricity that collided head-on with the Tri Attack!
BOOM!
Smoke engulfed both Pokémon.
They quickly retreated to their respective sides, waiting for the haze to clear.
Kashiwagi glanced at Porygon. Its emotional sub-routines were buried deep under its battle modules again. Its octagonal eyes looked dull, but its brain was performing millions of calculations per second to predict Rotom's next move.
This was something Rotom lacked.
While "electronic ghosts" can inhabit devices, they are parasites. Porygon is the device—a living supercomputer that doesn't need to possess anything to function.
The smoke thinned.
Wattson looked at the Porygon's type, which had changed again, and couldn't help but groan.
"That move again! Use Will-O-Wisp!"
In his eyes, Conversion 2 was even more annoying than Protean. Protean requires a matching move, but Conversion 2 allows the user to simply pick a resistance after being hit.
Fortunately, it could only change to one type and not a combination of types; otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to fight a Pokémon like Porygon.
"Wash!"
Rotom shuddered as several ghostly purple flames manifested and began to orbit its body. One by one, they streaked toward Porygon.
They seemed scattered, but they were actually launched to seal off every possible path of evasion.
Kashiwagi let out a confident smile.
"Use Sharpen to dodge!"
"Pory!"
Porygon reacted instantly to its Trainer's voice. Its body blurred as it wove through the incoming purple fireballs, and when one moved too fast to dodge, its frame pulsed with a brilliant white light.
In a split second, its upper torso shifted from its blocky, toy-duck shape into a streamlined, elongated polyhedron. The fireball hissed past, missing it by a hair's breadth!
"It can transform its upper body too!?"
Wattson was genuinely floored. Porygon and Manectric had been locked in a psychological slugfest for so long that he'd almost forgotten this creature was just as much a shape-shifter as Rotom.
No.
In some ways, it surpassed Rotom!
Porygon didn't need a physical medium like an appliance to change its form!
"Charge!" Wattson barked.
He decided he needed a decisive, high-voltage finisher to end this game of cat-and-mouse once and for all.
Kashiwagi saw the opening.
"They're giving us a window! Use Psychic!"
"Pory!"
Porygon's eyes, now positioned at the front of its polyhedral form, flashed.
Invisible ripples of mental force surged toward the sparking Wash Rotom.
But just as the psychic lock-on was achieved and the energy was about to impact, the opponent disassembled!
The "ghost" ejected from the washing machine like a soul leaving a body, reverting to its plasma-sprite form and zigzagging through the air like a bolt of lightning, letting out a series of crackling, high-pitched shrieks.
BAM!
The abandoned washing machine was sent tumbling backward by the psychic blast, clattering loudly against the floor—but it didn't break!
"Hahaha! That's a custom-built chassis! It won't be destroyed that easily!" Wattson roared with laughter, feeling like he'd finally reclaimed the momentum.
"See that? The freedom of Rotom's assembly and disassembly!"
The plasma sprite dove back into the machine. In a flash of light, it was Wash Rotom once more.
The electricity on its surface swelled further, the terrifying energy pooling at a visible rate as it prepared to delete Porygon in one shot!
This kind of unrestrained energy storage was Wattson's specialty as a Gym Leader; a normal Trainer's Pokémon simply couldn't hold that much charge for that long.
Kashiwagi was more impressed than annoyed.
Wattson was actually incorporating form-switching into his active combat dodge-mechanics...
This old man really knows his stuff!
Since form-switching was Rotom's unique trait, it wasn't exactly against the rules, but it made things tricky.
It was as if Rotom had three different typings to juggle. This was becoming a total "Anomaly" showdown.
Kashiwagi narrowed his eyes, remembering a less-used move in Porygon's repertoire. He whispered:
"Lock-On! Target the Rotom entity itself!"
Despite the low volume, Porygon's digital ears caught it perfectly. A faint, holographic red crosshair appeared in its vision, snapping onto Rotom.
A thin red laser shot from Porygon's eyes, sinking into Rotom's core.
"Eh?"
Wattson blinked. His ears were filled with the crackling roar of Rotom's Charge, so he hadn't heard the command.
Based on his experience, he guessed the follow-up would be—
"Shadow Ball!"
"Not good! Rotom, don't disassemble! Stay inside!"
Wattson shouted in a panic, but he was a fraction of a second too late. Facing the incoming orb of ghostly purple energy, Rotom instinctively ejected from the washing machine again to dodge.
But the Shadow Ball didn't hit the machine. It banked sharply mid-air, chasing the sprite!
Startled by the homing projectile and Wattson's conflicting shout, Rotom hesitated for a heartbeat. That was all it took. The Shadow Ball slammed directly into the sparking plasma ghost!
BOOM!
Purple flames and acrid smoke erupted!
"Rotoo—!!"
Rotom let out a pained shriek, falling from the air and scrambling back into the safety of the washing machine.
"Darn it!"
Wattson smacked his forehead. His reaction time was slowing with age; he hadn't recognized the Lock-On until it was too late. Instead of helping, his command had only served to distract and hinder his partner.
Fortunately, Wash Rotom was resilient. It hadn't been knocked out by the non-STAB Shadow Ball, and as it wobbled back into the air, the glow from its Charge hadn't fully dissipated.
It had lost maybe half its stored power, but the Special Defense boost from Charge was enough to keep it in the game.
Wattson's eyes lit up with renewed fire.
"Thunder!"
He knew it was now or never. Stalling any longer would just waste the precious energy Rotom had managed to keep!
Wash Rotom let out a furious, skyward scream.
"WASH!!"
Pain can make a creature weak, but sometimes, it tempers their will into steel!
CRACK-BOOM!
A roaring pillar of lightning shot into the rafters, twisting and branching out like a luminous, electric tree. It reached down toward Porygon with jagged, brilliant branches!
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The dancing silver snakes of current licked the earth, pulverizing the floor into a series of smoking craters. The sheer volume of the sound made eardrums thrum as if they might burst.
What a strike. Even at half-power, it was a titan of an attack.
Even though Porygon had shifted to a Ground type under Kashiwagi's order, it felt a primal chill looking at that massive tree of lightning.
Conversion 2 was the only thing saving it; even a Dragon-type shift wouldn't have survived a direct hit from that much raw voltage.
RUMBLE!!
Lightning pierced the air right next to Porygon. The electrical energy was neutralized, but the shrapnel of stone and concrete sent flying by the impact peppered Porygon's frame, dealing chip damage.
Porygon wove through the falling debris, but it had to acknowledge a cold truth:
Its energy was almost spent.
Two Trick Rooms, plus constant uses of Conversion 2, Sharpen, and various elemental attacks—every single move had been at maximum output.
Its internal reserves were hitting the red line.
Endurance battles are a nightmare for lower-level Pokémon, and a relentless gauntlet of consecutive fights is even more punishing.
Based on its internal calculations, Porygon estimated it only had three... no, perhaps only two moves left in its tank. It relayed this critical status to the Trainer behind it with a quick, rhythmic flick of its tail.
Porygon decided to place everything in Kashiwagi's hands.
It believed, with a certainty hard-coded into its core, that its Trainer would find the path to victory using those final slivers of opportunity.
The massive "Thunder Tree" began to dim as the electricity dissipated.
Wattson, seeing Porygon battered by stone fragments and panting heavily—yet notably failing to use Recover—realized the situation.
"I see. You've hit your limit, haven't you? Want to switch?"
Kashiwagi didn't answer. His brow was furrowed, eyes locked on the field as his mind raced through possibilities.
Seeing the silence, Wattson shouted,
"If you're staying in, then I won't hold back! Rotom, use Hydro Pump!"
Given Porygon's current brownish hue, it was clearly still a Ground-type. It was a sitting duck for Wash Rotom's signature Water move!
One last strike to end it!
"Wash-wash!"
Rotom gripped its drainage hose, but the massive torrent actually erupted from the valve on its chest.
A terrifying, churning jet of blue water spiraled out like a roaring water dragon, surging toward Porygon.
Porygon scrambled to dodge, but the "water dragon" chased it relentlessly as Rotom pivoted its body. The two seemed locked in a desperate stalemate of pursuit.
But at that exact moment, the Trick Room surrounding the field flickered with a sharp CRACK and shattered!
SHATTER!
Countless points of blue light sparkled and faded. The dimension had ended.
The sudden return of normal physics caused Porygon's movements to lag as its perceived speed dropped, while Rotom's speed relative to the room spiked.
In the chaotic transition, Rotom's aim jerked uncontrollably, sending the Hydro Pump soaring harmlessly into the upper rafters.
It missed!
Wattson hadn't anticipated the timing of the collapse, and the sudden shift left Rotom wobbling in the air, struggling to stabilize its floating chassis.
Kashiwagi's eyes lit up.
"Now! Tri Attack—Power-Saving Mode!"
"It's over for them! Rotom, disassemble and hold on!" Wattson countered.
Porygon conjured three small colored orbs and fired a multi-colored beam. To dodge, Rotom ejected from the washing machine, reverting to its nimble plasma-ghost form to let the attack pass through the empty space it had just occupied.
However...
"That was so weak! Are you out of energy?"
Wattson stared in confusion as a beam barely thicker than a thumb passed through the air where Rotom had been. He looked toward Porygon's position—
But Porygon was gone.
"Where did it go!?"
Wattson looked up at the floating Rotom and scanned the arena. Rotom responded with frantic, static-filled chirps, indicating that it had been so focused on dodging that it had completely lost track of the opponent.
There was no sign of it. Had Kashiwagi recalled it?
"Get back in the washing machine, quick!" Wattson shouted. Rotom was always more durable when fused with the appliance.
"Roto-rotom!"
Rotom dove straight down toward the abandoned machine on the floor.
And then.
The top lid of the washing machine suddenly slammed open from the inside.
Wattson's eyes widened in pure shock.
"SHADOW BALL!!"
Kashiwagi's voice rang across the gym. From deep within the drum of the washing machine, a dark purple orb of energy materialized instantly, slamming directly into the descending, wide-eyed Rotom!
KABOOM!
The center of the arena was swallowed by a thick cloud of acrid smoke. Wattson started to shout "Dodge!", but the word died in his throat.
A deathly silence fell over the gym. Watt, the assistant, adjusted his glasses, his hands trembling slightly.
A few seconds later, the ventilation fans pulled the smoke away. The plasma-form Rotom lay on the ground, its eyes turned into cartoonish black spirals.
Inside the washing machine, Porygon—nearly wedged tight in the cramped space—let out a faint, exhausted,
"Pa-pory"
Its energy was gone. Every last drop.
Watt raised his flag with a surge of emotion.
"Rotom is unable to battle! Porygon wins! The winner of this challenge is... the challenger, Kashiwagi!"
His voice echoed through the rafters. It had been years since he'd seen a battle this gripping.
Both Porygon and Rotom had pushed their unique biological and digital limits to the absolute brink for the sake of victory.
Wattson's look of disbelief slowly softened into a resigned, admiring smile.
"Ahahaha... I lost. Completely and utterly outplayed!"
He recalled Rotom into its ball.
"You did great, partner. Losing to a young man like this... well, it's nothing to be ashamed of! I suppose I really am getting old!"
Across the field, Kashiwagi used the Poké Ball to help Porygon out of its metallic "trap," but immediately released it back onto the field.
As its emotional sub-routines returned to full power, Porygon was vibrating with pure joy.
"Pory!"
It looked up at its Trainer, its eyes filled with pride, relief, and a deep, unshakable adoration.
I did it!
Under your command and masterful tactics, an incomplete, battle-worn Porygon had triumphed over a fully-charged Wash Rotom. I had proven, once and for all, that Porygon was the superior entity.
The results were laid bare before you.
Your choice and your trust had been vindicated. You could always believe in Porygon.
Kashiwagi looked at the trembling figure before him. The once cold, static eyes of the digital Pokémon now shimmered with a kaleidoscopic swirl of emotions.
He placed a hand gently on its head and spoke the words it had hungered to hear:
"Great job! I'm so glad I chose you."
"PPORY—!!"
Porygon let out a low-frequency, warbling cry. Tears the size of beans actually welled up in its eyes as it began to spin around Kashiwagi like a remote-controlled car suffering from a joyful virus.
Even when Kashiwagi tried to catch it, the little guy wouldn't stop—until its meager remaining stamina finally gave out. Its eyes turned into spirals, and it fainted right then and there.
"Hahahaha! Was it really that excited to win?"
"It wasn't just about the win" Kashiwagi replied softly as Wattson and Watt approached.
"This match gave it back a lot of things it had once been forced to leave behind."
"Hahahaha! I see you pay a lot of attention to your Pokémon's mental well-being! Good, very good!"
Wattson laughed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a yellow badge shaped like a stylized spark. As it caught the gym lights, a faint cyan luster shimmered across its surface.
"Here! The Dynamo Badge! It's yours!"
"Thank you!" Kashiwagi accepted it with both hands, carefully placing it into his badge case.
Wattson continued,
"It's heartening to see a young Trainer with such a bright future! Though I must admit, I'm a bit stung that I couldn't manage to take down even one of your Pokémon!"
"You're too kind."
"Over-modesty is just another form of pride, young man! Don't mind an old man's rambling, but you should smile more! Laugh! A big laugh brings a thousand blessings! Hahahaha—" Wattson beamed.
Kashiwagi gave a helpless smile.
"Being that flamboyant... it's not really my style."
"Pory!"
The fainted Porygon suddenly jolted awake at his feet, looking up at its Trainer.
"Pory-pory!"
Wattson blinked.
"Oh? It looks like it wants to do something?"
"It's telling me the time has come."
Kashiwagi reached down to comfort Porygon and pulled out his phone, meeting the confused gazes of the two men.
"The time for evolution. Do you happen to have a Trade Machine in the gym? I don't think Porygon will even let me take it to the Pokémon Center until it evolves."
Under the surprised eyes of Wattson and Watt, Porygon dove into the phone, displaying its trust level. A screen filled with near-overflowing hearts appeared.
Seven hearts! A single battle had catapulted Porygon from five hearts to seven.
"Yes, yes! We have a machine!"
Watt shouted, waving his arms to make sure he was noticed.
Wattson turned to him, puzzled.
"Eh? Since when did we have a Trade Machine in the gym?"
"For your Electabuzz to evolve into Electivire! Did you seriously forget?" Watt looked at him in shock.
"Ah! Right!" Wattson rubbed his head sheepishly.
"My memory isn't what it used to be."
.....
After performing some basic first aid on Porygon, the three found the Trade Machine.
Since it wasn't used often, it was covered in a layer of plastic sheeting.
"Let me help you with the transfer!"
Watt offered, holding out his hand for the Poké Ball.
"Sure, thank you."
Kashiwagi nodded. Before recalling the trembling Porygon, he made sure to take back the Eviolite and hand the Pokémon the disk-shaped Up-Grade data.
During the switch, the Poké Ball turned into a ball of data, causing the upgrade data inside to merge with Porygon, resulting in a transformation.
The switch began.
In the anime world, the Poké Balls used to hold Pokémon are a special kind of advanced technology.
In mainstream regions, Poké Balls are subject to a Poké Ball management system, and after a Pokémon is traded, the system refreshes the registrant—the Trainer.
If the registrant and the user don't match, Officer Jenny will question them.
Therefore, people in the Pokémon anime world must use the trading machine to trade Pokémon, even if the other person is standing right in front of them.
The machine sucked in two Poké Balls, traded them, and they landed far away.
Walter pressed the trade button again, and the two Poké Balls were swapped once more.
"Done!" Watt announced.
"The communication evolution was a success!"
"Much appreciated."
Kashiwagi took the Poké Ball containing Porygon and released it.
Pop!
Porygon materialized.
The Up-Grade data it had been holding was gone, replaced by a soft, white glow that began to intensify. Countless blue digital motes swirled around its body in a luminous dance.
Evolution.
Even man-made life could achieve this miracle.
Though it originated from Dr. Akihabara's comprehensive software and hardware overhaul, the "light of evolution" descended upon Porygon all the same—as if the universe itself acknowledged its value as a living soul.
Kashiwagi watched in silence, his phone recording every second.
No matter how many times he saw it, a real-life evolution never failed to move him.
Wattson and Watt stood back, respecting the moment.
Slowly, the light faded.
A smooth, rounded "plastic duck" stood before them. The most striking difference was the lack of sharp angles; where Porygon was all polygons and edges, this new form was made entirely of elegant curves.
It was as if a low-poly 3D model had suddenly been granted a high-resolution subdivision surface.
At first glance, the change seemed subtle, but it was a world apart. Both inside and out.
Porygon2 was born.
"Congratulations, Porygon2!"
"P-pory!"
Porygon2 opened its lively, intelligent eyes and let out a soft, melodious cry.
With the Dynamo Badge in hand and Porygon2 by his side, his journey through Hoenn has reached a new height.