In the main series
Major appearances
Voltorb first appeared in The Ninja Poké-Showdown. Koga kept a bunch of these in his Gym as booby traps.
Voltorb also appeared in So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd. Team Rocket received them from the Backpack-switching thief, thinking they were Poké Balls with rare Pokémon in them, as well as their Arbok, Lickitung and Weezing. When Team Rocket found out they were not, the Voltorb started to explode in their balloon. They dumped most of the Voltorb on the thief, prompting him to quit his crime spree, but a single Voltorb sent them blasting off.
A sole Voltorb lived amongst the Electrode in The Underground Round Up. Although Misty was terrified of it, the Electric-type befriended her Togepi, and the baby Pokémon was sad when it had to leave.
In Love, Pokémon Style, three Voltorb were the cause of Ash's Kingler's injury. They rolled down a hill but were caught by Kingler, shocking it in the process.
Wattson used a Voltorb in his Gym battle with Ash in Watt's with Wattson?. It was easily defeated by Ash's Pikachu, which had become super-charged during an incident at the Mauville Gym.
In Bucking the Treasure Trend, several Voltorb attacked Ash and his friends.
A Voltorb appeared in the Hoopa's Surprise Ring Adventures short Ball Pickup.
Minor appearances
Ash is shown to have a clock that is shaped like a Voltorb in Pokémon - I Choose You!. The clock can open up across the middle, showing the time and making a Pidgey pops out of it.
In Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, Voltorb comes on stage in Duplica's flashback as her Ditto tries to transform into one.
A painted Voltorb can be barely seen in Pokémon Fashion Flash.
In A Chansey Operation, a Voltorb was stuck in a Weepinbell's mouth which Misty and Jessie had to pull out from.
A Voltorb made an appearance in The Breeding Center Secret.
Multiple Voltorb were among the Pokémon seen at Professor Oak's Laboratory in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral.
Voltorb also appeared in Pallet Party Panic, at a party among other Pokémon.
A Voltorb belonging to an unnamed Trainer, was brought to the Pokémon Center in The Lost Lapras.
A Voltorb was among the Pokémon controlled by Cassidy and Butch in Pikachu Re-Volts.
Voltorb also appeared in The Power of One.
A Voltorb was one of the Pokémon seen at the Pokémon Swap Meet in Tricks of the Trade.
A Voltorb was one of the Pokémon stolen by Butch and Cassidy in The Fortune Hunters.
Several Voltorb were among the Electric Pokémon that were lured by the "Miracle Crystal" that Attila and Hun were using in The Legend of Thunder!.
Voltorb is one of the Electric-type Pokémon that was seen in the lake with crystal in As Clear As Crystal.
A Voltorb also appeared in Celebi: Voice of the Forest and Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias.
A Voltorb was seen training alongside its Trainer in You're a Star, Larvitar!.
A Voltorb was used by one of the students of the Pokémon Trainer's School in Gonna Rule The School!.
A Voltorb made a small appearance in Pearls are a Spoink's Best Friend. Spoink mistook it for a pearl.
Multiple Voltorb appeared in Destiny Deoxys.
In May's Egg-Cellent Adventure, two Voltorb attack May as they are trained to do so when anyone steps foot on Nicolette's property.
A Voltorb disguised as a watermelon appeared in the credits of Arceus and the Jewel of Life. It exploded when Jessie and James picked it up after falling for its disguise.
A Voltorb appeared in A Campus Reunion!.
Seven Voltorb appeared in The Future Is Now, Thanks to Determination! where they were among the Electric-type Pokémon being controlled by Team Rocket.
Pokédex entries
Original series entries continue below.
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In Pokémon Origins
A Voltorb appeared in File 3: Giovanni under the ownership of a Trainer Red defeated in a battle.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Voltorb debuted in the Red, Green & Blue arc in its own round, Danger: High Voltorb. Here, Red tries to touch one aboard the S.S. Anne thinking that it is only a Poké Ball, but is zapped by it.
Multiple Voltorb were seen under the ownership of Lt. Surge in Go for the Golbat where they were used in conjunction with multiple of their evolved form, Electrode, to shock Red and as projectiles.
In The Coming of Slowpoke (Eventually), Ken of the Team Rocket Elite Trio used a Voltorb along with its evolved form, Electrode, to battle against Yellow.
Wattson's Voltorb was only seen in Plugging Past Electrike I, inside the Power Plant located in New Mauville.
A Trainer's Voltorb appeared in Clobbering Claydol.
Jet owns a Voltorb that he uses in the Pokéathlon Speed Course in Out-Odding Oddish.
Multiple Voltorb were among the Electric-type Pokémon that charges the Prism Tower during a blackout in Pangoro Poses a Problem.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Lt. Surge's Voltorb battled against Clefairy and evolved in the same match in Great Success in the Mountains or the Seas!?.
Green caught a Voltorb before participating in the sports meet in Pokémon Sports Meet!!.
Blaine has many Voltorb that were used in the first part of the Pokémon Quiz Battle in Fierce Competition at the Pokémon Quiz Battle!!.
Giovanni sends out Voltorb to prevent Red from interfering with his plans on creating Mewtwo in Bring Down the Strongest Pokémon!!.
A Voltorb is seen with Red during the curry cooking competition that went on in Curry Showdown! Which is the Most Delicious?.
- In the English and European versions of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a game called Voltorb Flip is introduced in place of slot machines. The game is similar to Minesweeper, and largely focuses on flipping over cards to multiply the coins currently earned. Some cards, however, have Voltorb on them which will cause the player to lose coins when flipped.
- Voltorb has the lowest base Attack stat of all Electric-type Pokémon.
Origin
It seems to be based upon the concept of a living Poké Ball (with its Shiny coloration possibly being based on a Great Ball). The design concept may be inheritance from the time when the franchise was known as Capsule Monsters, as early artworks show Poké Balls without the button in the middle.
The idea of them being mistaken for the standard Item Balls is similar to a mimic, a monster archetype commonly found in RPGs.
Given its tendency to explode, it could also be based on a bomb. Its unpredictable tendency to explode, as well as its shape and name, may be a reference to ball lightning.
Name origin
Voltorb is a combination of volt and orb.
Biriridama may be a combination of ビリビリ biribiri (sound of electric shock) and 玉 tama (sphere).