That’s great thanks a lot. I won’t mess with butts and just get straight spokes. This Alfine 8 hub on the website it says spike size 13/14. Does that mean I can only use 13 or 14?
https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/alfine-s7000s700/SG-S7001-8.html
That means the holes are meant to take between 13 and 14g
without putting too much stress on the spoke elbow, using something smaller will put undue stress on that joint because the spoke just can't sit firmly in the middle of the bed on the hub, it just doesn't distribute the force evenly over that head and forces it to bend out which weakens it (and you'll have to adjust the spokes more while they stretch out, but that's just more uneven stress.)
What it really means is you should only use one of the 2 to help ensure you don't break a spoke, you can use very small brass washers on spokes that are undersized to help prevent that problem if you choose to go smaller.
This dynamo hub I got just says 14
But since you said 14 gauge would be smaller than 12 gauge. Than could the hub spoke holes be drilled out? Maybe that’s a common practice I haven’t learned about. Lol this is the first wheel I’ve had built like this. I’m not doing the work myself I’m actually looking for a shop near me that can do it.
https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/shimano/DH-3D37-QR.html
14 is smaller than 12 yes, and I am sure it can be drilled out, but I'm not sure if it's a smart thing to do. I have punched holes in a hub to take larger spokes by putting a standard punch with a tapered shaft that got bigger to match the handle diameter, basically I just used it to swedge the holes larger, that just means I hit it with a hammer until the wedge shape of the punch expanded the hole a bit, once it was bit enough to take the new spoke I stopped. I choose swedging because it is low risk to create points that could lead to stress fractures, drilling can leave sharp edges and nicks can make stress risers that could crack a hub flange. I've drilled rims before without problems, only steel however.
It is not common practice to modify hub by drilling, it's probably vehemently advised against by just about everyone, including me, the flange on a hub is usually bare minimum, most material will be like that on a bicycle, the idea is to cut weight (and costs) down as much as possible so there isn't a lot of play in those parts, it's how it is.
You should just pick up the largest matching gauge for the hub you use, generally speaking you won't need to maintain wheel true as often and you risk least damage to both hub and rim since the larger the spoke the more surface area the tension is spread across on both parts. You don't need to worry about weight and air resistance when you have a motor and in reality the motor will be harder on smaller spokes just because that's how it works, getting heavier spokes will benefit motored bikes out of nature.