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Without going too deep into spoiler territory, Ash Ketchum just achieved a major victory in the Pokémon anime. This all happened in the most recent episode that aired in Japan, which means it’ll be quite some time until the series catches up stateside. Nevertheless, it’ll be very interesting to see how this moment plays out when the episode is localized.

Those who already know what happened may be wondering where Ash’s journey will take him next. Well, there’s no other person better to ask than Rica Matsumoto, the voice actor for Ash in Japan. Matsumoto recently shared some comments on Ash’s future, and it seems like there’s still a considerable amount of work to be done.

“Although Satoshi [Ash] has won the title of Strongest Pokemon Trainer, he has still not become the Pokemon Master of his dream. It’s been 15 years since I began playing Satoshi, and he’s worked hard during this battle. The children who watched the first broadcast in 1997 have grown up and I think that some people have moved away from the anime. He’s one step away from becoming the strongest in the world of Pokemon. Kids and adults alike, please support Ash!”

[Rica Matsumoto, Japanese voice actor for Ash Ketchum]

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Comments (4)

riftsilver

1+ y ago

It'd be interesting to see a time jump where Ash is older, maybe 11 years old? No? Too drastic?

I have no problem with him staying 10 forever mind you, but I think at the point the anime is currently at, a time skip would be an interesting shakeup.


chaseruni

1+ y ago

This is inaccurate, unfortunately. Her quote was prior to the broadcast, not after, and was about supporting Satoshi (Ash) in defeating Leon... Not about supporting what comes next.

Your source is citing this article as its source:
https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2256604/full/

And that article explicitly says that Rica Matsumoto made those comments before the broadcast. In addition, they're misquoting her. Her quote was:

「サトシを演じて25年経ちますが、バトル中のサトシは一生懸命。いつも全力なので余裕はないです(笑)97年の初放送当時、見てくれていた子どもたちはもう大人になって、アニメから離れてしまっている人もいると思います。ポケモンバトル世界最強まであと一歩のところまで来たので、子どもたちも大人もみんな、テレビの前でサトシを応援してください!」

Which roughly translates to:

"It's been 25 years since I played Satoshi, but Satoshi is working hard during the battle. The children who watched the first broadcast in 1997 have grown up and I think that some people have moved away from anime. I'm one step away from becoming the strongest in the world of Pokemon Battle. Children and adults alike, please support Satoshi in front of the TV!"


golfdude

1+ y ago

it sucks that netflix controls everything in the US now since the anime is basically a year behind now and the whole ash finally winning isnt gonna see the light of day here until late 2023.. meanwhile it appears theres only 3 episodes left to air in japan for this run.. with no news of a new season at all yet


pc2

1+ y ago

I was always part of the "Ash will never ever leave the show" camp, but after his most recent accomplishment...I mean, where do you even go from here with the character?