Project Voltage’s first musical track has been released.
Project Voltage is a superstar collaboration between two Japanese IP giants, virtual idol Hatsune Miku and the Pokemon franchise. This collaboration is based on the premise of what if Hatsune Miku was a Pokemon trainer?
The first track coming out of this collaboration is called Volt Tackle, named after Pikachu’s move that was introduced in Generation III. This track was created by DECO*27, one of many Vocaloid producers who are bound to release more music based on Miku’s crossover with Pokemon.
So, since the composer is an original Vocaloid producer, Volt Tackle fittingly enough sounds like every bit the quintessential Vocaloid track, with Miku’s propensity for flourishes. Of course, it’s also layered with many Pokemon references. In particular, most fans will definitely catch when DECO*27 mixed in the Battle Theme from Pokemon Yellow.
The lyrics are also typical Vocaloid, simultaneously cute and reflecting a romantic attraction. There’s also a lot of Pokemon references and puns as well. As Miku sings:
“Aiming my Volt Tackle to the middle of your heart
It’s not very effective… Why not!? Come on!!”
Project Voltage will have eighteen tracks in total, and will also come with eighteen different artworks showing Miku with her different Pokemon. In the coming months, each track producer will be releasing the single they produced for this project on their official YouTube and other music channels. As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the artworks are now all available to view alongside production art, on the official Project Voltage Twitter account.
But perhaps the big question that this collaboration raises is if we could see these Hatsune Mike Pokemon trainers in a real Pokemon game in the future. While Pokemon has greenlit non video game collaborations many times before, this certainly looks like a mega crossover worthy of an exception.
Hatsune Mike could appear as DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Or, she could be in the next upcoming Pokemon mainline game, for Nintendo’s next console. They could just as well make these tracks as DLC for Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Megamix, the Vocaloid themed music game that is already on the Nintendo Switch.
In any case, this is the latest of Pokemon’s crazy forays into crossovers. For those who don’t remember, that includes some creepy Pokemon stories by mangaka Junji Ito, and a reggaeton song featuring Slowpoke.
You can watch Project Voltage track 1 Volt Tackle below.
