THE SUNYSHORE SCUTTLEBUTT

For those who may not be aware of the latest tech trend, the Plasma Pokemon Rotom has miraculously bounced from an incredibly rarely seen species to a surprisingly common one, thanks to published studies that brought a modern understanding of their physiology to the populace and greatly reduced scaremongering about their existence. Rotom are capable of entering devices that are powered by electricity and 'take over' the device, using it as a sort of host body while also acting as an incredibly active power source. While it has been known that Rotom can possess existing devices such as fridges and ovens, the first piece of hardware built explicitly to be used by a Rotom was invented by Clemont Citron of Lumiose, that being the aforementioned "Rotom Dex".

The Rotom Dex combined it's hardware and firmware alongside the Rotom's latent abilities to synthesize a new device that offers features previously not thought possible in the form factor of a Pokedex, such as hands-free levitation, voice recognition, and even the ability to converse with the device through a proprietary software that allows the Rotom to supposedly speak our language through digital voice synthesis. Now, a talking Pokedex is nothing new, even the very first electronic models created by Professor Samuel Oak's team back in the '90s had this capability, but they merely read out pre-written lines about Pokemon information and could not carry a conversation.

Following this, the market quickly jumped on the idea, and the Rotom Phone has hit the shelves in a big way since. Though many people are content with their Rotom-less flip phones, many view the new features as an excellent selling point, and their market saturation has skyrocketed to almost 30% in mere months, with projections showing even further growth. With such a lucrative market, more and more people are looking at Rotom like a new Money Miltank and are ready to get their fill of Chateau Romani, so to speak. The Rotom Bike has recently been seen in test markets around Galar, and though many question what purpose a Rotom could add to a completely analog device like a bicycle, the contraption does boast some unique features like gliding over water that seem promising.

Even stranger, though, are the likes of the Rotom Fridge and Rotom TV. While Rotoms have possessed fridges in the past, often to much disdain from their owners, now that same effect is being labelled a 'feature', though the Rotom Fridge seems to offer zero substantial benefits over a normal fridge. Similarly, test audiences of Rotom TVs have complained that the television will often change channels of it's own volition to watch something "less boring". There are even allegations that the Rotom TV will selectively hide certain channels that don't align with the producer's political views, though these are as of yet unfounded.

Of course, all of this has not even touched upon what is by and large the greatest issue many take with the "Roto-Tech" revolution — the dubious state of it's ethics. Any citizen of Sinnoh will tell you that our society is built on the cooperation of people and Pokemon, and at a glance Rotom-powered technology seems to be in line with these ideals, but many have called into question whether this is cooperation or coercion. These Rotoms are being used as personal servants, shackled at all times to a contraption being carried within the user's pocket. While the treatment of these Rotom may not be 'cruel' per se, it is certainly unusual compared to any other partner Pokemon. Concerns have been raised over whether the Rotom truly have free will, as there are as of yet no known instances of a Rotom leaving these devices after insertion. And already some are seeing the objectification of these Rotom, with reports of young trainers excited to receive their "first Pokemon", oblivious to the Rotom that's already at their beck and call.

At this turning point in our technological advancement, it is important to observe the trends at hand and come to your own conclusions about whether they are truly for the betterment of all, or simply the betterment of the makers. Time will tell whether these Rotom devices will be viewed back on as the next step in Human-Pokemon relations, or a dark spot to never be repeated. Until that day comes, we urge our readers to take a critical eye to these products and not be distracted by their flashy advertising campaigns and mass market pushes.