It’s always hard to say goodbye to someone, especially after they’ve been a part of your life for such a long time. In the anime world, Ash Ketchum has been synonymous with the Pokemon franchise for over 25 years. We’ve seen him go from the “young boy from Pallet Town” into a Pokemon League champion and now, the world champion via the latest episodes of the series. It was announced last year that his time in the spotlight would end, and in Japan, they even dropped a final epilogue miniseries to send Ash off in style. Now, it’s time to do that in English.
There have only been two voice actors for Ash Ketchum over the years. The initial one was Veronica Taylor, who helmed Ash for many years and movies. Then, she was replaced by Sarah Natochenny, who has been the voice ever since. On Twitter, she made a post that was both revealing and sad. First, she noted that she had begun production of her final episode as Ash and then noted that the English teacher who helped get her a manager, which led to her being cast as Ash, had passed away:
It’s a sad moment, yet it’s one worthy of reflection because it shows how even the smallest of interactions can lead to changes in one’s life.
As for when we’ll see the last of Ash’s episodes, that won’t be for a while. The latest series, Pokemon Ultimate Journeys, still has some episodes to debut on Netflix. After that, we’ll get the epilogue series that hasn’t been fully named in the West yet.
No matter what, fans are going to be emotional watching these episodes. The first is that Ash will stand on top of the world’s stage and say that he is its champion, which fans waited a long time to say. Then, there will be the sendoff episodes where Ash will reconnect with numerous people from his journey, including longtime fan favorites like Brock and Misty, and get to say goodbye to fans one last time.
That doesn’t mean the franchise’s anime is over because it’s not. In Japan, the new Pokemon Horizons series has begun and seems to be off to a great start. It features new characters, the new Pokemon from the Paldea region, and new mysteries to help drive everything forward.
So while Ash may be gone, his legacy lives on, and fans will still want to catch ’em all.
