Arven was about two seconds away from going completely silent, so Carl stepped in quickly. "Nemona, when did you get here?"
Nemona tilted her head. She didn't know why Carl had suddenly switched to that formal tone, but she answered anyway. "Right when Arven started asking how you don't have a Rotom Phone."
"So it really is possible to bring your own Rotom and have it put into a phone?" Arven was still stuck on that point.
"Technically, yes." Nemona paused, then added a correction: "Though 'put in' isn't quite right. The Rotom inside a Rotom Phone can actually leave the device on its own -- it's just that the ones used in phones go through special training, so they almost never do."
"So as long as you have a Rotom Phone without a Rotom already in it," she continued, "your Rotom could theoretically move in."
"That's it?" Arven said, reflexively.
In a way, it really was that simple -- Rotom were composed of plasma and had always been able to inhabit appliances fitted with special motors, taking on different forms depending on the machine. The challenge was miniaturizing those motors enough to fit inside a slim phone. That was far from trivial.
"You don't think building a phone small enough for a Rotom to inhabit is simple work, do you?" Carl lightly knocked Arven on the head, then looked over at Nemona. "And the 'special training' -- that's basically security, right? To stop people from hacking into the phone through the Rotom?"
"Exactly." Nemona nodded, then started to add something. "But if it's you, Carl, I could probably--"
"No need," Carl cut her off. He knew perfectly well that if Nemona asked, her father would almost certainly set him up with a blank Rotom Phone as a favor. But at the moment, the price of a Rotom Phone was less than what Gholdengo ran through in food costs in a single day. No need to owe anyone a favor over that. "I was just joking around with Arven."
Nemona blinked. If it was just a regular one, Carl probably wouldn't say no to that, right?
Carl, completely unaware of the small scheme forming behind those amber eyes, looked at both of them. "Anyway -- first things first. Let me use the PC to transfer the Pokémon I left with someone else. We can talk about the rest after."
"Sure."
"Sure!"
Arven glanced sideways at Nemona. His expression said: what are you doing.
Nemona, apparently not noticing this at all, fell into step right behind Carl as they headed back into the Pokémon Center.
Arven breathed in slowly and let it out. "Does this girl have Own Tempo as her personal Ability or something?"
Standing in front of the Pokémon Center's somewhat dated transfer terminal, Carl didn't turn it on straight away. He pulled out his phone and dialed Professor Rowan's personal number.
There was an eight-hour time difference between Paldea and Sinnoh, which meant that when Carl called at two in the afternoon local time, it was already close to ten at night back in Sinnoh.
Under half a minute passed before Professor Rowan's voice came through. "Hello, Carl. You've arrived in Paldea safely?"
"Yes, Professor." Something about that familiar voice made Carl exhale without meaning to. He gave a quick rundown of the farm's current state, then got to the point: he wanted all of the Pokémon he'd left at the lab transferred over.
"Ahem. Carl, the others I can do without question, but..." Professor Rowan's voice took on an awkward edge.
Carl caught it immediately. "Zapdos can stay at the lab for now if you need to continue the research. Just make sure you're wearing your protective gear whenever you run a health check on him."
Yes, Carl had a Zapdos.
He wasn't sure if it was the same one from the abandoned power plant in the anime, but it was definitely a Kanto Zapdos, caught during his time there.
The story of how it happened was less dramatic than it sounded. The first time Carl crossed paths with Zapdos, he battled it and left without catching it. At the time, Zapdos was wild and proud, but its technique and control over its moves were a step below any of Carl's main Pokémon. After the battle, a roughed-up Zapdos simply flew off with no indication it wanted to follow anyone.
Carl, who had always quietly wanted a legendary on his team, was genuinely disappointed. But he wasn't the type to force a Poké Ball onto a Pokémon that didn't want to come with him.
What followed was that Zapdos kept showing up to challenge him. Again, and again, and again. After the seventh time Carl knocked it out, Zapdos finally lowered its proud head and accepted a place on his team.
That said, old habits died hard. Zapdos's deep-seated arrogance meant that whenever anyone other than Carl tried to touch it, it involuntarily discharged electricity on par with a Thunderbolt. That was why Carl's reminder to Professor Rowan was so pointed. Professor Rowan was a Pokémon researcher, not a battle-hardened trainer built like a tank the way Professor Oak famously was. One accidental "shock treatment" from Zapdos could go very badly.
With his concerns addressed, Professor Rowan's voice warmed noticeably. "Understood. I'll start the transfers now. As for Zapdos, I expect to finish collecting all the data I need within the month. I'll contact you when it's ready."
"Sounds good. And Professor -- please take care of yourself. Don't skip meals over the research."
Professor Rowan was, to outside observers, a strict and highly disciplined man. In reality, he was warm-natured and perfectly capable of forgetting to eat when he was absorbed in his work. If the opportunity ever came, Carl made a mental note to get him to Opelucid City and talk to Mayor Shaga -- maybe a dose of that old champion's discipline was what the Professor needed.
Carl kept the reminder short, hung up before Professor Rowan's patience visibly started running out, and activated the transfer terminal.
A few minutes later, he pulled the last Poké Ball from the slot. That was all of them -- the five Pokémon he'd been keeping at Professor Rowan's lab were back in his hands, minus Zapdos.
He put the balls away and turned to Arven. "Have you made up your mind? Coming to help clean the place up? There's a good dinner in it for you tonight."
Arven glanced sideways at Nemona, who was already wearing an expectant expression, then looked back at Carl. "I mean -- it's not like I've got anything going on at home," he said, which came out a bit grudging but clearly meant yes.
"I'm coming too, I'm coming too!" Nemona looked at Carl with barely-contained energy. "More hands make lighter work! And if there's maybe a battle in it after we finish cleaning, that would make it even better!"
"I asked Arven because he's family and I have no guilt about putting him to work," Carl said, slinging an arm around Arven's shoulder. He looked over at Nemona. "As for you, I think you should probably call home before you decide."
Nemona looked at Carl, then at Arven, and seemed to put something together. "Give me a minute." She stepped aside with her phone.
About thirty seconds later, she was back with a thumbs up. Carl glanced at Arven, whose expression had a faint edge of envy to it, and ruffled his hair once. "Alright then, Operation Poco Town Market -- let's move out!"
Arven laughed at the phrasing before he could stop himself. "Aye, Captain!"
Half an hour later, shopping done, Carl loaded both of them onto Corviknight and made his way back to the farm on the edge of Cabo Poco. Once Serperior had guided the two safely to the ground, Carl tossed out every Poké Ball he had on him. Five Pokémon of varying sizes materialized in the farm clearing, one after another.