Appliance Corner

Overview

When Rotom hops into other appliances than the TV you find it in, it gains a single new move as well as a new type over its Ghost typing (Water, Fire, Grass, Ice and Flying, respectively). On top of this, it gains new stats and a higher BST, losing 5 Speed and gaining 15 Attack, 30 in each defense, and 10 Special Attack. In general these appliances make Rotom better since they have more bulk and just more stats overall, though their newly gained moves aren't all equally good. However, these forms share a lot of similarities so for the sake of not repeating it for every Rotom here's some common pros and cons to the appliance forms.

Positives
Bulk - Even with 50 base health, 107 is solid defense and makes these forms of Rotom ideal pivots; there's a reason Wash Rotom has been an OU staple for a while. This on top of their unique typings helps Rotom excel through most formats of standard play, including Battle Spot and some Doubles formats.
Powerful STAB options - While Rotom-Fan gets the short end of the stick with Air Slash, the other forms all get very strong STAB moves to take advantage of their typing with Hydro Pump, Overheat, Leaf Storm, and Blizzard respectively. Blizzard does suffer from shaky accuracy though.

Negatives
Lack of Recovery - While Rotom is quite bulky, it lacks a form of reliable recovery such as Recover or Slack Off, leaving it dependent on Leftovers or Pain Split. While the latter can be nice for halving the health of a full HP Pokemon and healing close to full, it's not reliable. Meanwhile Leftovers is vulnerable to being hit with Knock Off or Trick.
Low HP - As with regular Rotom, the low base HP still really limits the reliability of the appliance Rotoms as defensive support Pokemon. They may have better bulk to take advantage of their defensive typings, but they can still be overwhelmed by stronger wallbreakers.

Fan Rotom

Overview

Fan Rotom is a Pokemon that gets made fun of frequently due to it being a Flying type with Levitate. This is actually a huge issue though as Leviate is literally useless so you're playing a Pokemon with no ability. Its special STAB move is also Air Slash which is significantly weaker than the equivalent moves that other Rotom formes get, and it's additionally not a very strong STAB in general. This Rotom forme also faces more competition than the other formes, competing with Zapdos and both Thundurus formes in standard formats. However, Flying/Electric is still a strong defensive typing in general, and lets Fan Rotom have a niche of checking Fighting-types in lower tiers, so it's not all bad news for the fan.

Positives
Typing - Electric/Flying is a good typing, just look at the success of Zapdos. Unfortunately this is really the only notable trait Fan Rotom has going for it. That said it's still quite the strong typing and gives Fan Rotom some use.

Negatives
No Ability - Levitate is useless on Fan Rotom since it's already immune to Ground-type moves, and basically makes it so you're playing a Pokemon with no ability which is a massive disadvantage.

Movesets

Defensive

-Volt Switch
-Air Slash
-Will-O-Wisp
-Defog / Pain Split
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature

Volt Switch is a key move as it allows Fan Rotom to pivot through the match and gain momentum. Air Slash is nice as Rotom can fish for a flinch and stall, though it's not overly powerful. Will-O-Wisp is nice to help Fan Rotom check physical walls and it adds to its overall durability. Defog is a nice last move for hazard control but the weakness to Stealth Rock hurts it in the long run. Pain Split is generally better due to Rotom not having good recovery and wanting any tool it can get to maintain its longevity.

The given EV spread with a Bold nature makes Fan Rotom as physically bulky as possible while allowing it to outspeed invested neutral base 60 Pokemon. Leftovers is the ideal item to give Fan Rotom as much longevity as possible, and is the only form of recovery it will get if you don't use Pain Split.

Other Options & Partners

Substitute - A subpar option, Substitute can be used to safely attempt to cripple threats that normally force Fan Rotom out, such as Rhydon, and burn them with Will-O-Wisp or spread paralysis with Thunder Wave.

Checks and Counters

Steelix - Steelix can't do much to Fan Rotom but the same can be said back as Steelix is immune to one STAB and has resistance to the other. This means that Steelix can just throw up Stealth Rock and phase Fan Rotom with Roar or Dragon Tail without fearing anything except a burn.
Rhydon - Like Steelix, Rhydon resists one STAB and is immune to the other, but Rhydon can just kills Fan Rotom with STAB Stone Edge if it wants. Likewise Rhydon can also just set up Stealth Rock only fearing a burn. Both Golem and Graveler can do the same thing as well.

Frost Rotom

Overview

One of the weaker incarnations of Rotom, Frost Rotom trades its Ghost typing for Ice and gains access to Blizzard. While Blizzard has terrible accuracy, this is STAB BoltBeam coverage which means Frost Rotom has neutral STAB coverage on just about everything which is nothing to scoff at. However with Ice just being a bad type in general and adding a Stealth Rock weakness onto a Pokemon that wants to spam Volt Switch, Frost Rotom ends up sitting in the lower tiers with some niche offensive utility due to its coverage.

Positives
Coverage - STAB BoltBeam coverage is a huge thing and allows this more subpar Rotom form to be a threat several tiers up as it pressures Pokemon such as Nidoqueen and Nidoking. This offensive utility with Defog access allows Frost Rotom to pressure out most Stealth Rock setters and either Defog immediately or throw out a STAB move and chunk whatever comes in.

Negatives
Typing - Ice typing is bad defensively and giving up Ghost for it hurts even if it gives good coverage. The added weakness to common types in lower tiers such as Fighting-types while no longer being immune to Normal makes it much harder for Frost Rotom to get in unlike its normal form. Additionally with a weakness to Stealth Rock, it is limited on how often it can try to Defog for control or Volt Switch to scout.

Movesets

Offensive Support

-Defog
-Blizzard
-Volt Switch
-Thunderbolt
Item Attached: Icium Z / Mago Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature

Defog allows Frost Rotom to remove hazards if it comes in and they get set as its ability to pressure Stealth Rock setters bar Mega Steelix/Steelix is strong. Blizzard is a powerful STAB but with 70% accuracy don't count on it hitting a lot, so Thunderbolt is generally the preferred spammable STAB. Icium Z helps patch this weakness once and lets Frost Rotom blow up something weak to Ice though, provided you have the Z-Move slot on the team. Finally Volt Switch is to scout and create momentum.

Frost Rotom isn't the greatest defensively so it's best to just invest in its offense and speed, with a Timid nature being taken to capitalize on this offensive pressure. If you can't make room for Icium Z on the team, a pinch berry like Iapapa Berry is still effective so that Frost Rotom can at least fill its role as a Defogger a bit more effectively.

Other Options & Partners

Choiced - Choice Specs go well with Frost Rotom as its does hit hard already with Blizzard and can act as a surprise to some walls, especially if you can afford to run Abomasnow or Aurorus with it. Choice Scarf is equally viable to revenge kill threats such as Choice Scarf Braviary, though both sets don't want to be caught locked into a bad move.

Checks and Counters

Stealth Rock - Losing 25% health switching into Stealth Rock means Frost Rotom can't switch in easily with rocks up, which makes it harder for Rotom to do its job. This also compromises its decent bulk further which makes for a strong option to check it as it puts Rotom into easy KO range.
Incineroar - With an Assault Vest and resistance to Blizzard, Incineroar is a strong answer to Frost Rotom. Frost Rotom lacks much answer to Incineroar as well and either has to Volt Switch or manually switch making it vulnerable to Stealth Rock again later.

Heat Rotom

Overview

Heat Rotom is one of the strongest Rotom formes with access to Overheat for its appliance move. Electric/Fire is fantastic offensive coverage, being resisted only by the Dragon-type and hitting many others for super-effective damage. However, this typing also means that Heat Rotom is weak to Stealth Rock, making it harder for Rotom to get into the field safely. Despite this, Heat Rotom still boasts the largest list of resistances among the Rotom formes, making it a very solid check to a large range of threats. Heat Rotom is ultimately still a strong offensive pivot with its ability and answer most hazard setters and apply offensive pressure, so you should never be too quick to write it off.

Positives
Utility - With access to Defog as a Fire type, Heat Rotom has a niche as an aggressive Defogger, being able to switch into common hazard setters such as Mega Aggron and Chesnaught with ease. This gives Heat Rotom a nice edge over other Defoggers with its bulk while also having offensive pressure, unlike Hydreigon who is just offensive and can't really switch to well into stuff like Klefki.
Offensive Coverage - Electric/Fire is a nasty offensive combination, being very difficult to switch into for most non-Dragons which often have to worry about Hidden Power Ice anyway. Heat Rotom is generally the best of the Rotom formes offensively, so handling it defensively can be tricky sometimes.

Negatives
Competition - There are a lot of good Fire types that Heat Rotom has to compete with for a slot on teams in most upper levels of play. Offensively there's Infernape who is a powerful mixed wall breaker as well as better revenge killer with its 108 base Speed, and it's also neutral to Stealth Rock. Defensively there's Arcanine who has access to 2 great defensive abilities with Intimidate or Flash Fire, as well as access to a better recovery in Morning Sun compared to Pain Split. This issue only become larger when factoring in the likes of Blaziken and Heatran.

Movesets

Offensive Support

-Pain Split / Defog
-Volt Switch
-Overheat
-Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
Item Attached: Leftovers / Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature

Volt Switch and Overheat are the damaging moves of the set, Overheat being the main nuke option of the set at the cost of a nasty SpA drop. Overheat is also a key move as it allows Heat Rotom to take chunks out of Mega Aggron and Chesnaught. Meanwhile Volt Switch allows Heat Rotom to scout and get out of unfavorable situations while dealing meaningful chip damage. Pain Split is an option as it's Heat Rotom's only form of recovery, while Defog is a major selling point of Heat Rotom among Fire-types. Last slot is open to Will-O-Wisp to cripple a lot of threats that can look to switch into Heat Rotom without concern, such as Haxorus and Hydreigon. Toxic can also be used instead as it allows Heat Rotom to beat walls such as Milotic and Hippowdon that it struggles with otherwise, and helps handle Chesnaught better than Will-O-Wisp.

The given EV spread with a Timid nature maximizes Heat Rotom's bulk while making it as fast as possible. However, this can be adjusted heavily depending on the format and team, with 252 HP / 252 SpD and a Calm or Modest being preferred in Battle Spot to take advantage of its resistances better. Leftovers is listed as the item for the most consistent recovery, though Iapapa Berry or other similar berries tend to be more useful in the long run for something without reliable recovery.

Other Options & Partners

Firium Z - Heat Rotom with Firium Z tends to be the optimal set in Battle Spot, taking full advantage of its fantastic offensive coverage with its STABs and Hidden Power Ice. These sets can work effectively with both offensive and defensive EV spreads, it solely depends on what you want Heat Rotom to accomplish.
Choiced - With Choice Specs or Choice Scarf, Heat Rotom can be a decent offensive check to a lot of Pokemon. However the competition in middle tier formats is tight for Fires as Infernape is around and is probably one of the best Fire types to use a Choice Scarf. A Choice set can work in tandem with Infernape for a decent Volt Turn core, but this can be done with the pivot set. Choice Specs can be fun to just destroy a Chesnaught or remove Mega Aggron with its raw power, but this has to compete with Choice Band Arcanine and Darmanitan.

VGC & Double Battle Options

While the Rotom formes as a whole are fairly different from each other in utility, every Rotom ends up being roughly the same in Doubles except base Rotom which you will just never see used at all. For simplicity Wash Rotom and Heat Rotom are the only particularly relevant ones, but the premise behind any Rotom in Doubles is mostly the same: take advantage of being a floating Electric-type with unique STAB moves and support the team with Will-O-Wisp or Electroweb. Recently Rotom has been struggling in Doubles even more than in Singles, though Wash Rotom and Heat saw plenty of relevant usage in past gens, notably including Cybertron's infamous blind Wash Rotom. However, powercreep has been catching up to Rotoms very fast, with the Tapus giving them some tough competition and the general power levels of the 2019 format being too much for them to keep up. That being said, Rotom is far from unusable in Doubles these days, just don't expect to see it too much.

Type H

- Overheat
- Thunderbolt / Volt Switch
- Electroweb
- Protect / Ally Switch
Item Attached: Firium Z / Wiki Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature

ZWash Rotom is the most effective of the Rotom formes in Doubles, so it naturally gets the first spotlight here. The Electric/Water typing is still the most balanced and effective, and despite its shaky accuracy Hydro Pump is very powerful. However, Heat Rotom can accomplish effectively the same things offensively with Overheat and a Firium Z, hence the two near identical sets being listed. Thunderbolt is the most reliable Electric STAB here and doesn't force you to make positioning adjustments, though Volt Switch can be used if the pivoting utility is more valuable. Electroweb is an Electric-type Icy Wind, providing useful speed control while dealing decent chip damage thanks to the STAB boost. Will-O-Wisp can be useful to spread burns to some of the floating Pokemon such as Landorus-T, though the presence of Misty Terrain in the meta makes it less favorable. Protect is the most reliable defensive utility option for any Pokemon, though Rotom is one of the few Pokemon to make effective use of Ally Switch defensively so it can also be recommended, albeit with extreme caution.

The given EV spread maximizes overall bulk while also making Rotom as strong as possible, with a Modest nature being ideal if using a Z-Move. However, these EV spreads can be tuned towards more specific benchmarks depending on your needs and how comfortable you may be with these changes. The Z-Move is typically recommended since it gives Rotom some reliability with its offensive options, and also leaves it less vulnerable to the occasional Knock Off. However, a bulkier spread will likely prefer a Wiki Berry or other punch berry to maximize longevity.

Other Options

- Assault Vest is a surprisingly effective option if you wish to take full advantage of Rotom's defensive traits and lets you get away with running both Thunderbolt and Volt Switch. However, this does give up some defensive utility that Protect or Ally Switch may provide
- Mow Rotom can function the same way as the aforementioned formes with its respective Z-Move, though this is generally not very useful unless you specifically need a rain check that doesn't lose to Kartana. It's difficult to recommend in general.
- Frost Rotom with Snow Warning support can make use of accurate Blizzards, but Hail is usually not very good in Doubles and especially not great when stacking too many Ice-types.
- Don't bother with Fan Rotom, Air Slash is sad. Also don't use regular Rotom.

Checks and Counters

Stealth Rock - If Stealth Rock is up, Heat Rotom loses ź of its maximum health which hurts a lot when its job it often to clear hazards. This is the second reason why Pain Split is an option so you can just run Defog on another Pokemon, but Heat Rotom definitely does not like Stealth Rock regardless.
Dragon-types - While Heat Rotom can threaten a number of Dragon-types with Hidden Power Ice, those that aren't 4x weak to it tend to be a problem. Hydreigon and Kommo-o are stand-out options in this regard as they don't fear a burn in most cases aside from physical sets on the latter. Haxorus is by far the best option here though due to its ability. With Mold Breaker, Haxorus negates Levitate and can smack Heat Rotom for a 4x Earthquake, and as a Lum Berry is a common item with Haxorus, the first burn won't be an issue either.

Mow Rotom

Overview

One of the 3 best Rotom appliances, Mow Rotom, also known Rotom Cut, has been a staple in middle tier formats for a long time, boasting good resistances with its Electric/Grass typing and access to the powerful Leaf Storm. This combined with Volt Switch and Defog makes Mow Rotom a strong offensive Defogger and pivot, which allow it to function as a unique addition to FWG cores. However, as with most Grass-types, Mow Rotom's typing does suffer from some annoying weaknesses to Fire-, Ice-, Poison-, and Bug-types, which are all relatively annoying weaknesses in the current metagame. Rotom's Speed range is also awkward for the role it wants to take, wishing it was just a bit faster to take advantage of that unique offensive typing, though this is a flaw shared by all the Rotom variants.

Positives
Efficient Hazard Control - Unlike Frost or Fan, Mow Rotom is able to beat most Stealth Rock users one on one and Defog on them which is huge for teams that want control of hazards. Most importantly, it's also not weak to Stealth Rock itself. This in combination with Will-O-Wisp and the ability to run Toxic to check walls makes Mow Rotom a very good Pokemon to control the mid game.
Unique Typing - Mow Rotom is still the only Grass/Electric typing, which gives it a very unique niche over other Electric-types and Grass-types respectively. If you're looking for an Electric-type that resists Water, is immune to Ground, and not weak to Grass, Mow Rotom is probably what you're looking for.

Negatives
Coverage - Mow Rotom has awkward overlapping coverage that leaves it very vulnerable some types, losing completely to other Grass types, especially with ones that have a secondary Poison typing.
Slightly Outclassed - While Mow Rotom is one of a kind, its role is somewhat overshadowed by Wash Rotom. Unless you specifically need the Grass and Electric resistances, Wash Rotom is typically a better pick.

Movesets

Offensive

-Volt Switch
-Leaf Storm
-Defog
-Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
Item Attached: Grassium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature

Volt Switch is great for Mow Rotom to chip and pivot around to create momentum. Leaf Storm is a powerful STAB and can be paired with Grassium Z for Bloom Doom to nuke threats such as Mega Steelix without suffering the SpA drop. Defog is a key move as Mow Rotom beats most Stealth Rock setters making it a good choice for hazard control. Finally Will-O-Wisp is a strong option to handle physical attackers and further dissuade Stealth Rock users from staying in. However, Toxic can be used instead to walls such as Porygon 2 and Cresselia.

Mow Rotom prefers a purely offensive EV spread with Timid nature to outspeed as many foes as possible. Grassium Z allows Mow Rotom to nuke something but if the Z-Move slot is taken then a pinch berry such as Iapapa Berry can be used for some extra longevity. Leftovers can also be used for this role, though not optimal on a more offensive spread like the one given.

Other Options & Partners

Choice items - Choice Specs with Mow Rotom can take chunks out of walls with its powerful Leaf Storms or chip threats with Volt Switch for solid damage. Choice Scarf is also a good option due to the power of Leaf Storm. However, these options make it slightly more awkward to take advantage of Mow Rotom's Defog potential.

Checks and Counters

Grass-types - With the inability to beat Grass types, most can easily pivot into Mow Rotom without concern, especially ones with Poison typing such as Roserade as all they can take is burn. Roserade in particular can also simply cure itself from the burn if running Natural Cure.
Fire-types - Resisting Leaf Storm and being faster in most cases, most Fire types can easily beat Mow Rotom. Salazzle is one of the best as it quad resists Leaf Storm and can either boost or just throw out damage.
Dragon-types - As with Grass-types, Mow Rotom is unable to deal with most Dragon-types with either of its STABS. In particular, specially offensive Dragon-types such as Kommo-o and Mega Altaria resist both of its STABs and usually don't mind a burn too much. Physical Dragon-types ideally want to avoid a burn, though otherwise can scare Mow Rotom out.

Wash Rotom

Overview

The Rotom form with the best success historically, Wash Rotom has the rare Water/Electric typing with Levitate, meaning it's only weak to Grass-type moves. This in combo with its bulk and decent Special Attack and access to Hydro Pump has kept it up as a very meta relevant threat since its release in Platinum. However, Wash Rotom has been slowly power crept and new bulky waters such as Tapu Fini and Toxapex have recently appeared, so Wash Rotom is having a harder time keeping itself up. In Battle Spot Wash Rotom has even lost out its title of best Rotom forme to Heat Rotom, so the times are definitely catching up to everyone's favorite washing machine. That doesn't mean Wash Rotom isn't still a very solid Pokemon, but times have definitely gotten tougher for it.

Positives
Typing - Wash Rotom's typing is fantastic, being a bulky Electric allows it to answer a plethora of major threats such as Tornadus Therian, Mega Pinsir, Gyarados, and Salamence. The Water typing also allows it to also answer a number of Water-type threats such as Tapu Fini and Pelipper, as well as and Fire-types such as Heatran and Charizard X, though it faces heavy competition from other Water-types such as Tapu Fini in this role.

Negatives
Health/Lack of Recovery - While a lack of recovery is an issue to all the appliance forms, Wash Rotom suffers from it the most due to the metagame it lives in. OU has a lot of heavy hitters and not being able to sponge hits for a while is a big problem, and this is even bigger issue in Battle Spot. Wash Rotom also struggles with status, namely Toxic as it cripples its small healthpool and further prevents it from being a wall, all of which Tapu Fini doesn't struggle with.

Movesets

Defensive

-Will-O-Wisp
-Pain Split / Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
Item Attached: Leftovers / Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature

Will-O-Wisp is very important to the set as it allows Wash Rotom to answer threats that want to look for a way in on it, such as Garchomp or Mega Gyarados that it otherwise has to run from or use unreliable moves. Pain Split is now almost mandatory in OU as Rotom really needs a way to stay around, otherwise if you want to use Defog over it just run Tapu Fini. In Battle Spot Pain Split offers very little use though, so Thunderbolt or even Hidden Power Ice can be used instead here for more consistent offensive options. Volt Switch allows Wash Rotom to check Gyarados while scouting and creating momentum, and will often be its only Electric-type move. Hydro Pump is nice for damage but is unreliable in terms of accuracy, though it's all you get for Water-type moves so there's no reason not to run it.

The given EV spread with a Bold nature maximizes Wash Rotom's physical bulk, while allowing it to outspeed a few nearby threats such as Suicune, Tapu Fini and even Adamant Tyranitar. Do note though, Wash Rotom actually needs 60 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Tyranitar at level 50. Leftovers is the most consistent recovery option, though Iapapa Berry and other similar berries tend to be optimal for Wash Rotom in Battle Spot due to the shorter battles.

Other Options & Partners

Toxic - Toxic can be used over Will-O-Wisp or Pain Split as Tapu Fini can't spread status due to Misty Terrain, which is a huge advantage it has over Tapu Fini. Losing out on Will-O-Wisp or Pain Split is up to the player and how they build their team though.
Rest - This solves a lot of Wash Rotom's problems once as it gives a full heal, and with a Chesto Berry it's basically a free full heal that cleanses status. This option is however overall weaker than Leftovers or a pinch berry due to it being burst recovery, meaning you have to get the move off to get the heal, which is easier said than done sometimes.

VGC & Double Battle Options

While the Rotom formes as a whole are fairly different from each other in utility, every Rotom ends up being roughly the same in Doubles except base Rotom which you will just never see used at all. For simplicity Wash Rotom and Heat Rotom are the only particularly relevant ones, but the premise behind any Rotom in Doubles is mostly the same: take advantage of being a floating Electric-type with unique STAB moves and support the team with Will-O-Wisp or Electroweb. Recently Rotom has been struggling in Doubles even more than in Singles, though Wash Rotom and Heat saw plenty of relevant usage in past gens, notably including Cybertron's infamous blind Wash Rotom. However, powercreep has been catching up to Rotoms very fast, with the Tapus giving them some tough competition and the general power levels of the 2019 format being too much for them to keep up. That being said, Rotom is far from unusable in Doubles these days, just don't expect to see it too much.

Type W

- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt / Volt Switch
- Electroweb
- Protect / Ally Switch
Item Attached: Waterium Z / Wiki Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature

Wash Rotom is the most effective of the Rotom formes in Doubles, so it naturally gets the first spotlight here. The Electric/Water typing is still the most balanced and effective, and despite its shaky accuracy Hydro Pump is very powerful. However, Heat Rotom can accomplish effectively the same things offensively with Overheat and a Firium Z, hence the two near identical sets being listed. Thunderbolt is the most reliable Electric STAB here and doesn't force you to make positioning adjustments, though Volt Switch can be used if the pivoting utility is more valuable. Electroweb is an Electric-type Icy Wind, providing useful speed control while dealing decent chip damage thanks to the STAB boost. Will-O-Wisp can be useful to spread burns to some of the floating Pokemon such as Landorus-T, though the presence of Misty Terrain in the meta makes it less favorable. Protect is the most reliable defensive utility option for any Pokemon, though Rotom is one of the few Pokemon to make effective use of Ally Switch defensively so it can also be recommended, albeit with extreme caution.

The given EV spread maximizes overall bulk while also making Rotom as strong as possible, with a Modest nature being ideal if using a Z-Move. However, these EV spreads can be tuned towards more specific benchmarks depending on your needs and how comfortable you may be with these changes. The Z-Move is typically recommended since it gives Rotom some reliability with its offensive options, and also leaves it less vulnerable to the occasional Knock Off. However, a bulkier spread will likely prefer a Wiki Berry or other punch berry to maximize longevity.

Other Options

- Assault Vest is a surprisingly effective option if you wish to take full advantage of Rotom's defensive traits and lets you get away with running both Thunderbolt and Volt Switch. However, this does give up some defensive utility that Protect or Ally Switch may provide
- Mow Rotom can function the same way as the aforementioned formes with its respective Z-Move, though this is generally not very useful unless you specifically need a rain check that doesn't lose to Kartana. It's difficult to recommend in general.
- Frost Rotom with Snow Warning support can make use of accurate Blizzards, but Hail is usually not very good in Doubles and especially not great when stacking too many Ice-types.
- Don't bother with Fan Rotom, Air Slash is sad. Also don't use regular Rotom.

Checks and Counters

Mega Gyarados - While normal Gyarados is terrified of Wash Rotom, Mega Gyarados can just boost on it as Volt Switch does some damage but not enough to be really concerned. Mega Gyarados also has access to Mold Breaker, allowing it to hit Wash Rotom with Earthquake. This and only being concerned with Will-O-Wisp means that Mega Gyarados isn't really concerned about much Wash Rotom can throw at it, especially if it can set a Substitute to block the burn.
Mega Charizard - Both forms fall in this area but Mega Charizard X is a more consistent check than Y. With its new Dragon typing and Tough Claws, Mega Charizard X resist Volt Switch, takes neutral from Hydro Pump, and is immune to Will-O-Wisp. Combined with a bulky set, Mega Charizard X can just set up on Wash Rotom quite easily. Mega Charizard Y on the other hand gets neutrality to Hydro Pump due to Drought and can just KO Wash Rotom back with Solarbeam. While Mega Charizard Y has to be wary of Volt Switch, the risk is often to higher for the Rotom player.

Locations in Games

Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game

Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game

Colosseum/XD:
Not in game

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Old Chateau

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Trade from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum

Black/White:
Trade in Route 15

Black 2/White 2:
Trade in Route 15

X/Y:
Lost Hotel

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y

Sun/Moon:
Trade from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon

Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Poni Gauntlet

Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game