Rotom's basic body looks similar to Castform, but Rotom has no real relation to any other species, since it doesn't have any evolutions or pre-evolutions. Rotom has a body of plasma. It also has teeth, which are often seen. Rotom also have unique eyes that have a dividing line across them. Rotom themselves are shaped like lightning rods, while the blue aura of electricity around them takes the appearance of lightning.
They are based on a microwave oven (Heat Rotom), washing machine (Wash Rotom), refrigerator (Frost Rotom), rotary fan (Fan Rotom), and a lawn mower (Mow Rotom). Prior to Generation V, they were all Electric/Ghost-type. Rotom's eyes and aura of electricity will change colors when it changes form, but the aura remains the same color if it is Shiny. In contrast, their base stats are far higher than those of the original Rotom.
Gender differences
Rotom is a genderless species.
Special abilities
Rotom can creep into machines and appliances and infiltrate them. It may also possess and take the form of them if it wishes. However, only five alternate forms have been discovered so far.
Rotom are mischievous, apparently wreaking havoc on electrical appliances just for the fun of it. They like to pull pranks on others, or just shock them. When not possessing any object or when possessing a fan, it levitates when moving. On the other hand, when possessing a refrigerator or an oven, it bounces. When possessing a lawn mower, it rolls around on its wheels.
Rotom, the Plasma Pokémon. Rotom plays practical jokes, which it carries out by embedding its plasma body in electronic devices.
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Heat Rotom in the manga
In Pokémon Adventures, Rotom appeared at the Old Chateau where it caused havoc for Diamond and Pearl until Diamond eventually caught it by when it was hiding in the television. The same Rotom made another appearance when Diamond and Pearl returned to the Old Chateau to collect information on it, like its previous appearance it caused havoc for them and ran away to the Galactic Eterna Building where it transformed into its 5 forms and attacked them. Eventually Diamond found out it was just trying to play with them and bonded with it after which they bid their farewells and left.
Rotom will not appear in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time until a rescue mission involving it has been completed. This task can be completed by using the following Wonder Mail code:
8HTR MY9+ K6+@
NT=M 9Q6R 38@5
Objective: Escort Rotom to floor 4 of Tiny Meadow.
When Rotom is encountered, the music is the same as legendary encounters, although it is not classified as one. Rotom is, to date, the only non-legendary Pokémon to do this. Latios, Latias, Cresselia, Shaymin, Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno and Mewtwo do the opposite, being the only legendaries encountered in Generation IV for which the normal wild battle music plays.
It is the only Generation IV Pokémon not in the original Sinnoh Pokédex that is neither legendary nor an evolution of a Pokémon from previous generations.
No other Pokémon has the same typecombination as Normal, Heat, Frost, and Mow Rotom.
With the exception of Unown and Spinda, Rotom has the most forms of any non-legendary Pokémon, with six in total.
Rotom has the most interchangeable forms of any non-legendary Pokémon.
When Rotom transforms, it learns a new move in the same way that other Pokémon may learn new moves upon evolving. The move is replaced by another if Rotom possesses another object, and is deleted when Rotom transforms back to its normal form. If the only move that Rotom knows right before reverting to its original form is exclusive to its alternate form, then that move will be replaced with ThunderShock.
Rotom is the only Pokémon with the ability to change its form by will that must possess another object in order to do so. Castform, Deoxys, Giratina, and Shaymin actually transform their bodies. However, Burmy is similar to Rotom in that it merely changes its surrounding cover.
While some other Pokémon with alternate forms have different base stat distributions in their other forms, Rotom is the only Pokémon whose alternate forms have a different base stat total than that of the original form.
Fan Rotom's Air Slash is the only special move whose base power isn't over 100. It's also the only special move with more than 5 PP, and is the most accurate of the five.
Rotom's alternate forms, along with Arceus's formes, were the only alternate forms of a Pokémon not featured in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. However, despite being introduced a year before the game was released like Rotom, Shaymin and Giratina's alternate forms made an appearance in the game.
Rotom is only the third Pokémon to have its types changed, after Magnemite and Magneton: its alternate forms, while sharing the Electric/Ghost typing with normal Rotom in Generation IV, have their Ghost-type exchanged for the type of move they learn from Generation V onward, with Heat Rotom being Electric/Fire, Wash Rotom being Electric/Water, Fan Rotom being Electric/Flying, Frost Rotom being Electric/Ice, and Mow Rotom being Electric/Grass.
Coincidentally, like Magnemite and Magneton, Rotom is Electric-type.
Fan Rotom is the only Flying-type Pokémon with the ability Levitate.*
Fan Rotom's Flying-type in Generation V makes its Levitate ability redundant, as Levitate gives a Pokémon every advantage of being immune to Ground-type moves.
All of Rotom's appliance forms except Mow Rotom are tied for, or have the least weaknesses of all Pokémon of their secondary types.
Coincidentally, all three of the Rotom specified are uniquely typed appliance forms of Rotom.
Origin
Rotom appears to be based onPulseman, who was actually designed by Pokémon designer Ken Sugimori, although it may also be inspired by the unexplained phenomenon of ball lightning. Its Pokédex entry brings to mind gremlins. Its possession of other objects may be based on poltergeists or tsukumogami.
Name origin
In Platinum Version, it is revealed that Charon discovered and named the first known Rotom. It appeared out of his toy robot, and Charon named it Rotom due to its origin. Rotom is the word motor backwards; this may refer to the fact that motors make many appliances function, while Rotom makes them fail.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
