It’s been a month since the Pokémon series featuring Ash Ketchum ended, and the series’ original voice actress, Veronica Taylor, has now shared her thoughts about Ash’s journey coming to an end. According to Taylor, Ash’s departure felt similar to when her Pokémon journey came to an end.
During Taylor’s Q&A panel at SUPANOVA Comic Con & Gaming convention in Melbourne, Australia, the voice actress shared how it’s great to see Ash’s journey coming to an end but felt like it’s so weird to see this era come to a close. She also reminisced about her final time working on the Pokémon anime and how hearing the news of the end of Ash’s story reminded her of her final days as the official voice actor for the iconic 10-year-old.
“What’s weird is like back in 2006, when we were finishing the 8th season we were told by Pokémon USA that they didn’t need us anymore and they were replacing us. So that was incredibly depressing to just lose a job and see it go on without you. And now I’m kinda having PTSD by just hearing about it. It’s so weird.
“It’s so great to see Ash to have gotten by a point that he and Pikachu can do whatever they want and I think I’m happy for them. But wow, it’s weird to think of a world without new episodes of Pokemon as we know it coming out.”
Just like the rest of us, Taylor also heard the news on social media. And despite how emotional people got when they heard it was the end of Ash and Pikachu, she believed that things will settle soon, but it would be hard to forget the 25-year journey we had with this Pokémon trainer.
“I found out on Twitter. So, you know, I was like “What?!” I should have known but I was just shocked. And now, there’s been such an outpouring as we all think back to these amazing memories we’d had being on a journey with Ash and it’s been an incredible time. So emotional. And I think it would probably settle down in a while, but we’re all so deeply connected to the journey, I would say.”
The new Pokémon series, titled Pokémon Horizons: The Series, is a show that takes place in Paldea and has introduced a new cast of characters. While viewers are introduced to new Pokémon that were featured in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, a brand new variant of Pikachu made its way to the show, known as Captain Pikachu. Sure, it’s not the same one as Ash’s Pikachu, but its series debut managed to electrify the hearts of fans.
Ash’s final story takes place in the show’s 25th season, titled Pokémon Ultimate Journeys, and new episodes of the show’s English dub are available to stream weekly on Netflix.