Prepare for a double-dose of Project VOLTAGE this week, starting with Orangestar's Encounter on Friday, at 6:30pm (JST) / 9:30am (UTC) / 1:30am (PST)

Project VOLTAGE, the special art and music collaboration project between Pokémon and the popular Volcaloid character Hatsune Miku, releases its next song tomorrow with the premiere of Encounter by Orangestar. The music video set to premiere on Orangestar's official YouTube channel this Friday, February 16th, at 6:30pm (JST) / 9:30am (UTC) / 1:30am (PST). The final song in this current batch, from marasy (まらしぃ), will release the following day on February 17th.

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Orangestar, also known as MikanseiP, made their debut as a Vocaloid producer back in 2013. Orangestar's songs typically have a strongly expressed summer theme, with poetic, and often sorrowful melodies. Though mostly releasing songs using IA for vocals, they've also dabbled with both Hatsune Miku and ONE. Their songs Asu no Yozora Sensouhan (アスノヨゾラ哨戒班) and DAYBREAK FRONTLINE, both featuring IA, have each accrued more than 50 million views on YouTube.

The day after Encounter premieres will see the release of a song from marasy (まらしぃ), a pianist and composer who made their debut as a Vocaloid Producer in 2010 with the song Yume, Tokidoki... (夢、時々…). Their name was inspired by Quilava's Japanese name, Magmarashi (マグマラシ). marasy's piano performances, both of original songs, and covers of music from anime, games, Vocaloid songs, and J-Pop artists, have been immensly popular, leading to multiple national tours across Japan. This will not the first time we've heard marasy as part of Project VOLTAGE, with them having played the piano parts of JUVENILE by Jin, which released back in December last year.

Project VOLTAGE's first sub-project, "18 Types of Hatsune Miku and Partner Pokémon Illustrations and Settings" (18タイプの初音ミク＆相棒ポケモンのイラスト・設定資料) featured a set of 18 artworks from 6 separate artists based on the theme of "What if Hatsune Miku was an XX-type Pokémon Trainer". This project completed on September 28th, 2023, with the posting of the Dragon-type Hatsune Miku with her partner Pokémon Miraidon, however the past months have seen an additional range of additional bonus illustrations also being released. All illustrations released by the project to date can be found catalogued on Bulbapedia.