"Bing," Arc said. "You have a new message. Reading message: Professor Oak would like your help. He is on Torom Island, which we are approaching."

"I wonder if that's coincidence or really good planning," Ash said, then shrugged. "Well, I guess we can help Professor Oak out! I wonder what he wants?"

"He would like your help in catching a Rotom," Arc informed them. "And in a general plan to make Rotom Phones available to the wider public, as part of a new project."

"That sounds interesting," Cilan admitted. "A Rotom Phone isn't for me, I think, but there must be some trainers who would benefit from having a phone."

"Yeah, it helped me out a lot once I had help from Ibid, and then it's helped more now I have Arc as well," Ash said. "I guess Arc's a lot more capable than most other Pokémon phones… and it'd also be a great way for someone to have a friend who can speak, right?"

He frowned slightly. "Actually, now I think about it, I guess Rotom Phones could do translations for people who can't understand Pokémon."

"Can Rotom talk in a way that humans can understand?" Iris asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds like something they'd be able to learn!" Ash said. "And if they're living in phones, then once one of them has learned they could just pass it on to the others, right? Or use a text to speech thing."

"Which are kind of slow and fiddly, normally, right," Pikachu agreed. "What do you think about it, Zygarde?"

Zygarde made a sort of blissed-out dragon noise.

"I think it is very sunny," they said. "And that you should ask Porygon about networked data intelligences."

"Oh, yeah, Team Rocket has a Porygon," Ash agreed, then looked up. "Hey, hold on – Team Rocket! What are you doing here?"

"We're still on holiday!" Meowth called back. "Dis is a cruise liner! We just keep endin' up on holiday the same place you are!"

"You should really try the gym," James advised. "They've got a great rowing machine!"

"A… rowing machine?" Iris repeated. "Do you mean a rowing machine?"

"We were arguing for hours about how to do it properly," Jessie said. "And James didn't listen!"

"I don't care how many times we had to pedal the submarine, you row with your arms!" James shot back.

"Surreptitious comment: just get your Mew to help them," Porygon advised, as what sounded like an already-in-progress argument resumed with gusto.

"Ah, Ash," Professor Oak said. "It's lovely to see you. How was Unova?"

"It was really interesting!" Ash replied. "Did you hear from Dragonite about how many of the Dragonites got part-time work as gym leaders?"

"Yes, they may have mentioned it," Professor Oak replied. "Cilan, Iris. Are you the sort who go around trying to cope with him, or are you the sort who enable and encourage him?"

"I think I'm the first, Professor," Iris replied. "Though… I'm a part-time Zoroark who has a quantum superposition of dragons and is starting to feel good about being a dragon master, so maybe not?"

Cilan waved. "I'm working on having my Crustle do bonsai tsunami!"

Oak considered that, then nodded slightly.

"That about answers my question, I suppose," he said. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to meet me here."

The friends looked at the collection of old electrical junk.

"Hmm," Ash began. "Maybe it's because this is the sort of place Rotom like to hang out, so you can meet one here, and then you can ask for translation help? But that might mean you could get by with Lokoko's help… is she on a date?"

"Actually, it's not just that," Oak replied. "I've decided to see if I can make some of your… you-ness… actually work for me. Can you get Ho-Oh?"

"Of course, Professor," Ibid said, vanishing, then reappeared a few seconds later with Ho-Oh's Timer Ball.

The Rainbow Pokémon emerged in a flash.

"I'm here," he said. "Is there a problem? Do I need to resurrect someone?"

After a moment's thought, the Fire-type landed. "Actually, no, you'd get Xerneas for that…"

"Actually, you're not far off!" Professor Oak said. "Ho-Oh, here's a big pile of clapped out electrical equipment. What I'd like is for you to try reincarnating it!"

Ho-Oh tilted his head.

"Really?" he asked. "Are you sure? Because, I'll level with you – I am not sure I can actually do that. I reincarnate things that have died, or that are almost dead, and I don't think that applies in this case."

"That's okay, I've got a solution to that!" Ash told him. "I can just get Yveltal! Then he can kill something, and you can revive it!"

"This is a much more scientific approach than they took back when they tried this sort of thing in Kalos," Zygarde stated. "There they just jumped straight to trying to do it to the entire country at once, and I had to bark at them a lot."

They sat down on their haunches. "I will bark if I think you should stop."

"Experiment seven," Professor Oak wrote down. "Initial subject: washing machine. Subject was killed by Yveltal, then Ho-Oh used his revivication technique. Result: Rotom-compatible electronic paper E-book reader. With Rotom."

He compared the Rotom E-Reader with the Rotom Phone and the Rotom Drone they'd got so far, then shook his head. "Well, I've got no idea how to judge if a given piece of equipment is going to work or not, or how it's going to end up, but I've got three Rotom so far so I think that counts as an overall success."

On their voyage to the next island, the cruise ship was attacked and raided by a gang of Pokémon Pirates.

In what was quite a departure from most gangs with Pokémon in the name, this gang wasn't out to steal Pokémon but instead was made up of Pokémon and out to steal food.

"Huh," Ash said, once they'd heard the whole story. "So… you guys are kind of used to stealing, as a habit, but is it because it's the only thing you know how to do, or is it because it's something you can do and you're worried about messing it up? Or do you genuinely like stealing?"

"It's not like we've got other options," said the Octillery. "Our trainers kicked us out, so it's revenge!"

"Yeah!" the Croconaw agreed, clapping one fist into her other paw. "My trainer abandoned me for evolving!"

"My trainer abandoned me for not evolving," the Ducklett said.

"That's terrible!" Ash said. "Really it is – people shouldn't be Pokémon trainers at all if they're not willing to commit to respecting the wishes of their Pokémon! And that includes being able to gracefully say goodbye if it's not working out, no matter what way that turns out to mean."

"Well, it's not like that kind of speech is going to make us stop," Azumarill sniffed. "We've got to eat, you know."

"I guess, yeah," Ash said. "Do any of you have applicable skills, though?"

That led to blank looks.

"What's one of those?" the Croconaw said. "I've not heard of that ability."

"I will explain, if you please," Servine requested, sending herself out. "An applicable skill is when you have a talent that is useful to do something, and in this case specifically it is useful to do something else. Clearly we have seen you are good at teamwork and sailing, which is an excellent start."

She did a twirl. "Of course, I am an excellent example of how you can learn entirely new skills. I started out merely being capable and looking fabulous, and now I can summon the power of the moon! Observe!"

Servine used Lunar Blessing, and Cresselia came out of her Pokéball.

"Admittedly, it is usually less… direct," Servine added. "You had something to say?"

Cresselia shook her head. "Not in this conversation," she replied. "Ibid, any chance I can get another book? I finished this one."

"On it," Ibid stated.

"Hey, Pikachu, didn't Misty's Wartortle work with that gang of troublesome Pokémon?" Ash asked. "They were all Water-types, too, and they ended up becoming the local fire brigade… we should ask what kinds of problems they have here and whether a team of Pokémon could help out?"

Croconaw snorted. "Like that's going to work," she said. "Who'd agree to a team of Pokémon Pirates helping them out?"

"Colour me surprised," Croconaw said, later that afternoon, as she adjusted her new uniform. "I didn't even know this town had a lifeboat station, let alone that it'd have one despite not having anyone able to run it."

"Well, you're all set now!" Ash smiled. "Oh, and if it doesn't work out, you could ask my friend May's Manaphy if he needs some crew on the Temple of the Sea!"

"I still think you should have let me recruit them as a royal navy," Aten grumbled quietly.

"This place is amazing!" Cilan said, on Wayfarer Island. "It's a perfect example of an island that gives a taster platter for Pokémon habitats – down near the sea you've got sandy beaches, there's grass, woods, and up at the summit of the mountain you've got a rocky section!"

"I wonder if I should grow some very small trees," Crustle pondered.

"I think I remember hearing about Wayfarer Island, once," Iris said, thinking to herself. "It's a stop-off on migration by some Bug-type Pokémon, like Butterfree, and those migrations also get larger here because Butterfree join them en route."

"Hold on, I need to check something," Sandile requested.

He went back in his Strange Ball, then came out again with a sheaf of notes.

"Let's see…" he said, then flipped back and forth. "UFO? Huh, I could swear we'd done that one already… no, it's a different UFO. Well, only so many plots you can do… ah, here we are. A Butterfree migration that needs protecting."

"I think we've done that one as well, though there's no reason it couldn't happen again," Pikachu told Sandile.

"Oh, right," Sandile nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Right… right… Dunsparce? No, that's the next one… aha! Here we go. Something about a Caterpie who wants to join the migration."

He rolled up the notes and put them in his pocket, which was odd because he didn't have one, then set off. "This way."

"What exactly is Sandile doing when he does that?" Iris asked. "I've never found the right moment to ask."

"Future Sight, possibly?" Ash suggested. "But it'd be kind of interesting to talk to a Caterpie who isn't Mew."

Sandile did indeed lead them to a Caterpie who was upset at not being able to join the other migrating Butterfree, and after listening to his plight Ash clenched his fist.

"Then I'll help out!" he said. "I'll make sure you can join the migration! And what that means is you need to learn to fly!"

"Don't you mean that Caterpie needs to evolve to Butterfree?" Pikachu checked. "Bug types do evolve quickly."

"Well, that'd make it simpler, but it's not necessary," Ash shrugged. "I mean, you can fly, right? And you're not a Butterfree."

"I… um, okay, I want to object to that but I don't actually think I can," Pikachu said. "How are you thinking of having Caterpie fly, though?"

"Well, Leavanny could teach him how to weave wings out of String Shot," Ash suggested. "That would be a good start. How does that sound, Caterpie?"

"I have no idea how that would work," Caterpie admitted.

"Well, of course you don't!" Ash replied. "Because if you knew how, you'd already be able to do it!"

Ibid swapped out another Pokéball for Leavanny's, and Ash sent her out. "Now, let's see if it works!"

Iris glanced at Cilan. "Should we remind him that it's possible to know how something is done, without being able to do it?"

"Forget it," Cilan advised. "He's picked up too much momentum by now. Besides, after Skyla's gym I think he could train-"

He stopped himself. "I'm not going to give an example, because if I do it'd turn out that they already could, or Ash would get distracted, or something."

"Oh, hang on," Ash said, drawing their attention again. "I guess a lot of Butterfree do know Flamethrower, so we'll have to teach you something to protect the wings from fire too… have you ever met a Burmy?"

About noon the next day, far out over the ocean, a golden ring appeared.

"Hoopa says that is some Butterfree!" came through the ring, which startled the flight of Butterfree winging their way over the sea. "Close enough!"

"Okay, here goes!" a human added, and then a Metapod dropped through the golden ring at about the same flight speed the Butterfree were managing.

He twitched slightly, and a pair of glittery wings flapped open to support him.

"Thanks!" he called.

"What on earth-" the nearest Butterfree said, rolling over on her side as the golden portal closed. "What just happened?"

"I wanted to join the migration!" Metapod explained. "And I got help from a human trainer and his Leavanny. They were nice."

He twitched again, making the wings flap. "It's controlled by Electroweb. I don't get the science behind it, but I use the move and it lets me flap the wings, and everything else is mostly gliding… the glitter is so they don't catch fire."

"You know you could have just waited for the next migration, right?" another Butterfree asked. "Or been dropped off where we're going, if you were going to get teleportation help."

"Honestly, if this hadn't worked the human trainer was going to teach me Fly," Metapod answered. "Or possibly Bounce, he hadn't decided."

"Well, it's nice to have you, I suppose," the first Butterfree told him. "If we land somewhere, can you make them again?"

"Yes, but I need to be going at a certain speed for them to work," Metapod replied. "Fortunately, I also learned Flamethrower so I can sort that out myself."

One of the older Bug-types grumbled something about how in his day Butterfree hadn't been famous for breathing fire.

"Oh, hush, you," the second Butterfree said. "Why should Larvesta get all the fun?"

AN:

So that's where all the calculators go.