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Pokemon fans around the world witnessed the end of a decades-long era as anime protagonist Ash Ketchum and his beloved Pikachu said goodbye and headed home after a World Coronation Series victory. The story that began in 1997 came full circle, with Ash and Pikachu becoming world champions. However, Ash's English voice actor, Sarah Natochenny, had her own goodbye as well.
Natochenny has provided her voice talents to the character of Ash Ketchum since 2006, and she shared her final moments recording his voice in a recent tweet. She posted a video recording of herself in the audio booth tearfully smiling before ending the video.
In the tweet's text, Natochenny expressed that she hoped Pokemon fans were enjoying Ash's final season, which has since been made available in English on Netflix.
Pokemon fans react to Sarah Natochenny's heartfelt farewell to Ash Ketchum
It didn't take long for legions of Pokemon fans to respond. Many of them were introduced to Ash through Natochenny's work in 2006 (Ash was originally voiced by Veronica Taylor from 1997 to 2005). Viewers agreed that it was difficult not to be just as emotional as Natochenny herself, as her final moments in the booth signified just as much of a conclusion to Ash's storied history.
Although the Pokemon anime series has already continued on with the Horizons show, Ash returning home signifies a generational turning point among the animation's long-running fanbase. They may continue to watch Horizons when it receives its English dub in the future, but Ash and the voice talent behind him won't be the primary focus.
Although Ash's story may be effectively finished, it's highly unlikely that his final moments on-screen will be his final appearance. His character is synonymous with the Pokemon franchise as a whole, and it may only be a matter of time before the world champion trainer emerges on-screen once more. Whether this will occur on a show or a new movie property has yet to be determined.
Perhaps the heroes of Pokemon Horizons could encounter Ash on their travels. Maybe TPC International has some plans in store when it comes to the character on the silver screen. Whatever the case might be, Ash's story may be finished for now, but he is still expected to have a presence in the franchise.
For Sarah Natochenny, there will likely be more projects in the future. Even if she's not voicing Ash Ketchum, she's provided countless English dub voices for characters and Pocket Monsters throughout the franchise's animated works. With Horizons receiving a dubbed anime in the future, she may just receive a few calls to put her voice talent back to use.
Even so, her message adds another endpoint to the conclusion of Ash Ketchum's long and momentous tale. If seeing the protagonist's final moments on-screen didn't evoke any strong emotions, then seeing the voice behind the animated face may very well just do the job. Wherever Natochenny goes next, she'll know that countless fans will follow her.
