XY081

Rotom's Wish! (Japanese: 時をかけるサトシ！ロトムの願い！！  Leaps Through Time! Rotom's Wish!!) is the 81st episode of the, and the 880th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on July 9, 2015, in Canada on September 12, 2015 and in the United States on September 19, 2015.

Blurb
At a run-down hotel, a timid desk clerk named Weston shows our heroes to their room. Ash wants to check out the hotel’s public battlefield, where they discover Mantle, the owner, challenging other Trainers to battle...and taking their Pokémon when they lose!

Weston’s Rotom comes out of hiding to reveal that its Trainer was once the owner, but Mantle challenged him to a battle on the hotel’s opening day 10 years ago. When the inexperienced Rotom ran away, Mantle declared himself the winner—of the battle and the hotel! To make amends, Rotom sends our heroes back in time to that fateful battle! This time, Clemont and the others help Weston and Rotom defeat the crook.

When they return to the present, our heroes discover a big change: the hotel is sparkling and clean, Weston is the rightful owner, and Mantle and his goons are working as bellhops. And a framed photo from the hotel’s opening day proves that our heroes really were there!

Plot
On their journey to Anistar City, and  begin making plans to rest for the night as a storm begins brewing. Based on 's directions, they arrive at the Lost Hotel, but are shocked to find the interior in severe disrepair. Approaching the counter, they are introduced to the clerk, Weston. As he brings them to their room, the group passes a flickering light which Weston briefly addresses as, and a picture of the hotel's current owner taken during its opening day: a sneering young man and his.

After the group is shown to their room, Ash decides to have a Pokémon battle at the indoor battlefield he saw in the owner's picture. The group finds their way to it and enter, revealing a battle already taking place between the owner, Mantle, and a guest. The guest's is defeated in short order by Krookodile and subsequently retreated, but to the horror of Ash and his friends, Mantle takes Pangoro's Poké Ball from its owner. The protesting guest is taken away by a pair of Mantle's thugs. points out that the two were betting on the battle with their Pokémon as the stakes. Angered, Ash confronts Mantle about this, but Mantle coolly tells him that the guest had agreed to the terms of the battle, which is how he runs things. Mantle challenges Ash to a battle for his, saying that he'll return the Pangoro if he loses, but Ash will lose Pikachu if he wins. Ash refuses to battle on those terms, to which Mantle and his goons begin taunting him. The group is soon surrounded by Mantle's gang and realize that Ash is being coerced to fight. Just then, a Rotom appears from a rubbish bin and causes a distraction, prompting the group to run after it. Mantle sends his goons after them but they fail to catch up, the group having found a storage room to hide in.

In the storeroom, the group thanks Rotom for its intervention, but wonder what happened to the hotel for it to be in its current state. Rotom, possessing a television set, begins showing them footage of what happened in the past: Weston was the original owner of the hotel, but on its opening day Mantle challenged him for ownership with a Pokémon battle, threatening to battle Weston's guests and take their Pokémon if Weston refused, and calling Weston and his Rotom cowards. Weston agreed, declaring that Mantle and his two friends would leave without trouble if Mantle lost. Mantle released his Krookodile, who scared Rotom with a single roar and sent it fleeing. With Weston's single Pokémon refusing to battle, Mantle declared his victory by default and took over the hotel. Weston was reduced to the position of clerk and never saw Rotom again, as it was hiding out of shame for failing its friend.

The group empathizes with Rotom and Weston's plight, with asking if Clemont can do anything. Clemont points out that they'd need a time machine to change past events. Inspired, Rotom leads the group to an elevator and possesses it after they go inside. Bizarrely, the elevator display reveals a series of basements marked by negative numbers, which Ash is certain weren't there before. The group, save for Bonnie, Pikachu and, freak out from the supernatural phenomenon as Rotom takes them back in time. Leaving the elevator, the group find the arena, discovering that Rotom took them back to the exact moment when Mantle challenged Weston ten years ago. Before Mantle can declare his victory after Rotom flees, Ash confronts Mantle, pointing out that the battle hasn't even taken place. He promises to find Rotom so a proper battle can happen, and the surrounding guests murmur their agreement. Annoyed, Mantle agrees to the conditions.

Ash and company bring Weston to the storeroom Rotom brought them to in the present, convincing a confused Weston that they're on his side, and call out to Rotom. Rotom emerges from its hiding place, and Weston apologizes to it for rashly agreeing to the battle. Weston reveals that neither he nor Rotom have any experience in battling, and Bonnie asks Clemont if he can help. Clemont analyzes that Rotom is at a severe disadvantage since Krookodile's a Ground and Dark-type, while Rotom is an Electric and Ghost-type. However, he catches sight of a washing machine nearby, and figures out a plan.

Back at the battlefield, Mantle is close to running out of patience, but Ash and the group arrive on time to have the battle. Weston begins by ordering, but Krookodile easily shakes it off. Serena realizes that Weston forgot about the battle plan in his panic, and the group reminds him. Weston orders Rotom to fly into a power outlet and escape, which it does; Mantle mocks him for Rotom's apparent cowardice. However, Rotom has actually traveled back to the storeroom to possess the washing machine there, turning into its Wash Forme before going back to the arena, much to the surprise of Mantle and the guests. Per Clemont's advice, Weston has Rotom blast Krookodile with, but Krookodile remains standing after taking significant damage. Mantle complains that Weston is violating the rules of their 1-on-1 battle, but Weston points out that Rotom is still the same Pokémon even though its forme changed. Mantle orders a, which disintegrates the washing machine just as Rotom leaves it.

The group notes how hardy Krookodile is, and Serena calls Weston to go for "Plan B". Weston has Rotom disappear again, and this time it possesses a refrigerator to turn into its Frost Forme. Upon returning, Rotom fires its at Krookodile and freezes it, but Krookodile breaks free at Mantle's command and tears the refrigerator to shreds with its. Weston goes into "Plan C", with Rotom possessing a lawnmower in its Mow Forme, and catches Krookodile in a that finally knocks the Intimidation Pokémon out.

Weston firmly orders Mantle's group to leave, but Mantle simply declares that he'll just take over the hotel by force; his buddies arm themselves, ready to trash the place. Angry that Mantle never had any intention of honoring the deal, Ash teams up with Weston, having both Pikachu and Rotom fry Mantle's gang with a double. Completely defeated, Mantle surrenders to the cheers of the guests, and Weston thanks Ash's group for their help. Shortly after Ash has his picture taken while shaking hands with Weston, Rotom brings them back to the present.

Exiting the elevator, the group is surprised to see the hotel no longer in its dilapidated state, and sounds of cheering rising from the arena. Outside the door, Mantle and his two friends have now put on clerks' uniforms, revealing that they were crooks ten years ago until Weston graciously gave them jobs, and they've been working for him ever since. They welcome Ash's group to the arena, where Weston is hosting a ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of his hotel's opening. Rotom, recognizing them, floats over while Weston goes on with his speech, crediting the mysterious boy and his friends who helped him out of nowhere, without even leaving their names. At the back, the guest who'd lost his Pangoro cheers Weston on, his precious partner by his side.

Entering the lobby, the group comments on the pristine state of the hotel, until Bonnie points out the picture of the hotel's owner from ten years ago - which includes all four of them with Weston! Realizing that they really did travel back in time, the group is happy over the adventure they had, and the episode ends.

Humans

 * Weston
 * Mantle
 * Subordinate A
 * Subordinate B
 * Trainer
 * Referee
 * Subordinate A
 * Subordinate B
 * Trainer
 * Referee

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international) Pokémon Quiz: (Japan)
 * (Mantle's)
 * (Weston's; )
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Weston's; )
 * (Trainer's)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster:
 * There is no Pokémon Holo Caster following this episode, due to it being replaced with a special preview of the first XY series movie and a promotion for the second.
 * On a similar note, this was the last episode to air before Hoopa and the Clash of Ages debuted in Japanese theaters.
 * The English dub was released on iTunes and Amazon Video on September 13, 2015, six days before the episode aired in . The same occurred for all episodes in Volume 3 of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest that aired after Mega Evolution Special III (A Not-So-Flying Start! through A Festival Trade! A Festival Farewell?).
 * The Japanese episode title is a reference to the sci-fi novel .
 * The next episode preview is narrated by, , and.
 * There was no normal preview aired in this episode, a special preview of the seventeenth Pokémon movie and its accompanying short was shown instead.
 * Music from Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade can be heard during the final battle between Mantle's and Weston's.
 * This episode's premise bears some similarities to Celebi and Joy! and Time Warp Heals All Wounds, in which the characters arrive at a place in a state of disarray, go back in time and find a way to fix it so it is not in a state of disarray in their time.
 * This episode has the lowest number of Pokémon species appearing in an episode of the, with only five.
 * Rotom talking in the TV set in the episode resembles the one appearing in in the Old Chateau.
 * Rotom breaks the fourth wall at the end of the episode by winking at the audience.
 * This episode was skipped in the initial rotation on the German Pokémon TV on April 22, 2016.

Errors

 * When the elevator clock reveals its lower half, the minus sign is missing from the number one.
 * The picture shown near the end of the episode has Bonnie simply winking on it at first, but the second time that it is shown, she is also making a.
 * In the dub, Mantle erroneously commands Krookodile to use Dejv (subbed as Dile on Netflix) instead of, which is not even a word.

In other languages
Rotoms Wunsch! EP884 XY081 XY080 XY編第81話 精灵宝可梦 XY 第80集