Just to clear something up, withered are from a lack of magic and wretched are formed by too much and a loss of control. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum really.
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I think this is simply because the Sunwell is nowhere near as powerful as the original Well of Eternity. If it had been more potent, it may have reverted them to their old forms, possibly.
But as I see it the wells (or any source of magic powerful enough) are the batteries that keep elves from devolving/withering/whatever you want to call it.
I believe this cultural change was more out of mockery for the night elves that banished them. That and maybe they had come to appreciate the sun after living in the harsh conditions/winters they did before founding Quelâthalas.
Now I remember why I got confused about the Wretched.
I donât understand how the high elves of that quelâdorei lodge in the Plaguelands became Wretched. Being starved of magical resource was understandable, but overindulging on it isnât really something I see them doing.
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Wretched_Hive_of_Scum_and_Villainy
⌠please, I ask your help.
Somethingâs happened to my people. Our commander, Ranger Lord Hawkspear, came upon an item of magical energy, and my friends, my family⌠they succumbed to its seductive power.
Theyâre corrupted, . All of them.
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NOOOOO NOT POSSIBLE HIGH ELVES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE NOBLE GOOD GUYS they would NEVER DO THAT!!! 
Turns out if you willingly starve yourself and then some dude turns up with a gourmet super meal for you, you might overindulge and hurt yourself. Who knew?
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The blood elves knewđ
Simpler answer: it was Cataclysm, when the writers couldnât be bothered to think of such details.
âWeâre updating this zone and have trouble coming up with ideas for NPCs in this building, what do we do?â â âEh, turn them all into quest mobs.â
But your explanation has merit, too.
somewhere in the very far distance is a voice
it is the voice of a betrayer
he says: youâre welcome.
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Yeah. I unironically think Illidan saved the night elves without anyone realising it. Not even himself.
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I have always view him as someone who saved them, they may not have liked it but it all turned out pretty good after the fact and he was never thanked for it.
I mean they were gifted immortality by the dragons who did that thing to the new well he had made, and how do they thank him? off to the gulag with you.
Well, seeing as he did join the Legion for some time and the fact he attacked several night elves (among which the then commander of all night elven forces, Jarod Shadowsong) I think some form of punishment was justified.
Now that heâs more demon than night elf, he doesnât deserve any praise at all.
That said, the night elvesâ fear that the Second Well would draw the Legion to Azeroth again was totally misplaced and wrong. They wouldâve come anyway.
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To be fair Illidan have been playing a lot of 4d chess, all things taken into consideration.
his whole plan of taking the legions power to fight them with, creating a new well, taking over outland and pretend to work under kilâjaden.
anyone without the full foresight and entire picture could easily make the mistake and think he was a legion lacky
but I still wonder why he wasnât set free after 5000 years or more, I mean no demons came as they had thought, they gained a great boon, probably lived a pretty chill life, and they have the gull to just kind of forget not only illidan but the ones jailing him as well.
I doubt anyone had given a single thought to anyone in that prison until they just kind of stumbled over it back in warcraft 3
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I think that, despite the things he did do good, Illidan is a fundamentally selfish character. Yeah, he did want the Legion to be destroyed, but he wanted it to be him thatâd do it. He is very arrogant about all these things, going as far as to not inform anyone else of his plans (see the introduction of Argus, the greater part of TBC) at the cost of everything if it has to be so.
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Malfurion visited him when able to try and redeem him from his path; but since he would never abonden his current path, he would stay imprisoned
Pretty much the definition of an antihero, yep. On the side of the heroes, but displays non-heroic personality traits (such as selfishness).
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By that logic, the Nightwell wouldnât be as powerful either, but the Nightborne look pretty much like Night Elves still.
Besides, if Elves came from trolls, then reverting/devolving wouldnât give them pink skin and smaller bodies. I could actually see the well being weaker being the reason theyâre less buff and tall than Night Elves, but it doesnât explain the pink skin.
Possibly, but wouldnât the Sunwell be sunny before the culture change, or regardless of it? It would be a weird coincidence if they turned into sun-worshippers and then just happened to get a well to align with that.
Thatâs funny coming from the arcanist with the black eyesâŚ
I assume that is book lore?
i never read any of them, and much of illidans character is in those pages.
It should be noted, though, that the NIghtwell isnât an offspring of the Well of Eternity, but rather made through the Eye of Amanâthul. I think itâs fair to say the properties donât perfectly allign.
Next to that, the night elves of Suramar were never cut off a magical source for a substantial amount of time, unlike the Exiled Highborne.
Apparently it did, though. They shrank and grew paler. I think diminishing is maybe a better word than devolving.
https:// i.gyazo. com /563e576017a4b8d234690c6e4f849a9e .png
Could be. I donât know, really. It could be coincidence, or they made sure it got a golden colour. I donât think itâs stated anywhere.
Is he though? I mean itâs a common comparison but Sargeras was on âthe side of the heroesâ against the void. Heâs not an antihero though.