With its combination of high Speed, good coverage, and useful utility moves, Voltorb can succeed at disrupting and destroying popular leads. Defensively weak leads get hit by a STAB Thunderbolt from Voltorb's decent Special Attack stat. Hidden Power Ice is used for near perfect coverage alongside Thunderbolt, and gives Voltorb a chance against Gligar and Diglett leads (though in order to beat Diglett, Sucker Punch must be used), although Phanpy will barely be scratched by it. Taunt stops weather and Stealth Rock leads from fulfilling their objectives, but watch out as many Stealth Rock leads carry Earthquake. Protect and Sucker Punch beat the common Fake Out leads, such as Meowth and Chimchar, by avoiding their Fake Out or breaking their Focus Sash, respectively. Finally, when Voltorb's usefulness comes to an end, Explosion is devastatingly powerful even from only 10 Attack, often knocking a Pokemon out along with it.
Protect may seem like the best option against Meowth as Fake Out will do far more damage than Voltorb's Sucker Punch. However, Thunderbolt will never OHKO Meowth, so with Protect, Meowth will get a chance to use one of its stronger attacks or U-turn. Sucker Punch will break Meowth's Focus Sash first turn and force Meowth to switch or get knocked out next turn. The same goes for Chimchar, although you have to watch out for a priority move of its own.
Lead Voltorb functions best with Pokemon that can comfortably switch into Ground-type leads, which Voltorb has the most problems with. Aqua Tail Gligar can switch into Onix, Hippopotas, and, as a bonus, Choice Scarf Machop without much problem, though by switching, you give the Ground-type Pokemon a turn to set up Stealth Rock.
Voltorb can usually do its task by itself, so it has relatively little need for team support. However, the ones that can support Voltorb will greatly help it. Flying-type Pokemon are great teammates, being able to switch in to Ground-type attacks, which Voltorb attracts. In return, Voltorb has access to a fast Taunt, which will prevent all leads bar Diglett from setting up Stealth Rock. Good choices for Flying-type teammates include Mantyke, which can wreak havoc without losing one-fourth of its health from switching in.
