The Pokémon anime is in for some big changes, and the series' current lead, Ash, will no longer be the protagonist of the series. Ash's voice actress, Sarah Natochenny, reacted to the news on Twitter, in response to the official Pokémon account's reveal of the news.Sarah Natochenny has voiced Ash since 2006, when the entire cast of the 4Kids version of the dub was replaced by The Pokémon Company, who began dubbing the series themselves. Natochenny has always been enthusiastic about her role, and celebrated along with fans when Ash finally won the Alola Championships a few years ago, and then Pokémon's World Coronation Series just last month. While there has been much speculation about what may become of Ash now that he's won, the English dub's voice actors aren't really anymore in the know than the fans are.In her Tweet reply, Natochenny is grateful for having had the opportunity to voice such an iconic anime character for so long and acknowledges what Ash's journey has meant to fans. She goes on to end the tweet with well-wishes for the next chapter of the anime. Read the original tweet below:
Ash's original voice actress, Veronica Taylor, also joined in, a bit shocked to see that Ash would be retiring:
Will Ash Have a Role to Play in the New Series?
The English dub of Pokémon has quite a few episodes to get through before it's caught up to where the Japanese release is, so fans still have those episodes to look forward to if they're already missing Natochenny's Ash. It was also announced that next year would see an 11-episode final arc for Ash and Pikachu, which will also presumably be dubbed by Natochenny at some point. Beyond that, though, it's unknown what will happen to Ash Ketchum, or if the new anime series will even take place in the same world as Ash. Having achieved his goals, Ash is a good candidate for a mentor-type character, perhaps taking on a role like that of the Professor's assistants. It's likely that even if this does turn out to be the case, it may be a while before fans see Ash again, so as to allow the audience time to grow acclimated to the new cast. There's also the possibility of future Pokémon movies to consider, as the last three have been set in an alternate continuity where Ash hasn't yet achieved his dream.
While many fans are sad to see Ash go, there's really been no better point at which to end his story, a fact that Natochenny seems to appreciate. After 17 years of voicing Pokémon's most famed trainer, the time really has come to say goodbye. Surely, every Pokémon fan is just as grateful to have seen Ash's journey along with her.