Pokémon Pokopia is coming to Switch 2 tomorrow, and the life sim is introducing a handful of new forms for old monsters. One of these is DJ Rotom, a stereo-like form of the ghost/electric Pokémon that inhabits technology. When Rotom possesses different appliances, its type changes, and this stereo form is the only new character in Pokopia that doesn’t share the same type as its base form, which has a few interesting implications. It also might pour cold water on an ongoing fan theory.

According to Pokopia’s Pokédex, DJ Rotom is an electric/normal-type monster, which is a different combination from any of its previous forms, and this version is specifically called Stereo Rotom. Given that it has a new typing, unlike any of the other new forms in Pokopia, fans are wondering if this means that this form will appear in a future mainline Pokémon game as a catchable monster you can add to your team. But if that’s the case, it means the long-running hope for a new “Sound” Pokémon type might have a faced a new setback. 

Now that stereo Rotom is coming and has been given the normal typing, it’s put a bit of a dent in a years-long fan theory that Pokémon could get a new “Sound” element and that some past monsters would be reworked into it similar to when Fairy, Dark, and Steel were added back in Gens II and VI. There are several Pokémon attacks that manipulate sound waves to do damage and inflict status effects, or are otherwise musical in nature, so there’s some basis for this typing to come in a future game, but as some folks point out, making a stereo Rotom and slapping Normal on it feels like Game Freak and The Pokémon Company doubling down on not adding it. 

As game-changing as it would be to add a new type, Pokémon’s current elemental spread has been in place for over a decade and adding even one new one would put the current meta and balance in a tailspin. Not that I think Game Freak couldn’t do it, I just don’t think it’s worth it when most of these sound-based moves fit neatly into the normal type as is.

We’ll see if Stereo Rotom shows up in Winds and Waves, or even just Pokémon Champions as a recruitable party member, in the coming months. For now, the speaker-sporting little dude will play classic Pokémon music for you in Pokopia when it launches tomorrow.

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