And now, we will ponder this orb.

Hisuian Voltorb:

We thought one of the advantages of axing the Nationaldex was the ability to be a bit more flexible with the setting, with not every game having to take place during the "present day". Understandable to not have Pokemon like Grimer or Trubbish present in a game that takes place just before the Industrial Revolution. So it strikes us as a surprise when Voltorb of all Pokemon got a Hisuian form.

Which like, weirdly confirms Voltorb predates the Pokeball? With a Dex entry suggesting this Pokeball mimic to-be is actually an Apricorn mimic, one of the key ingredients of a Pokeball! It even comes with a new Electric/Grass typing to reflect this. Which nonetheless confirms Voltorb is part plant. Does this mean "modern" Voltorb evolved from a plant of all things? Like Hisuian Voltorb is the "original" Voltorb, and it eventually evolved so much that it stopped being categorizable as a plant and is instead just kind of its own creature? Huh! That, in a stupid Poke-science sense, makes a weird amount of sense actually.

There's a few types of plants that actually distribute seeds by "exploding". The most obvious example being the policeman's hat plant, which has seed pods that bust when touched, spreading seeds everywhere. Could it be possible that this ancestor of Voltorb is just a sentient seed pod, using explosion as its primary method of spreading seeds and growing more Voltorbs around? And that when modern Voltorb explodes, it's doing the same?? Maybe! Admittedly a lot of this falls into headcanon territory, but it's neat to think about anyway!

As for its design itself, we do actually like this a fair bit more than regular Voltorb. It has a much more unique face, with little dot eyes in a set of what looks liked carved eyes, giving it a surprisingly giddy expression. And indeed, its entire thing is that it gets explosively jovial rather than explosively angry. Which is a cute way to make an alternate take of Voltorb!

Personal Score: 7.5/10

Gonna tell children this was the star of The Emoji Movie

Hisuian Electrode:

While Electrode is a bit less of a startling change, it still has a neat design quirk where it has carved eyes that make it look more angry. So it's then amusing that Voltorb and Electrode's Hisuian forms take a role-reversal, where the angry one is now happy and the happy one is now pissed. Wonder if that's a reference on how Electrode is otherwise just an upside-down Voltorb.

While we do like it more than regular Electrode, we do still feel like that mouth is weirdly out of place on an otherwise completely wooden body. Couldn't have made it looked a little more carved out, like the eye-holes? Eh.

In fact, we almost wish they just took the joke of how Electrode is just upside-down Voltorb and ran with it, cause look at this! Doesn't Hisuian Voltorb's brow look like a funny mustache when you turn it upside down?! IT WAS RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSES, GUYS!!!