Natochenny, a Junior Olympic bronze medalist in rhythmic gymnastics turned voice actress, by no means envisioned herself so dedicated to voice appearing. After attending appearing faculty at age 12, she tried her hand at indie movies and appearing on digicam. But she was a giant Pokémon fan on the peak of the primary video games’ recognition within the late ’90s and early 2000s, and was intently acquainted with the anime sequence. The attract of voicing the present’s fundamental character was simply too robust to disregard.
“It was really nerve-racking,” Natochenny mentioned. “I never thought about this as something that would define my career.”
Natochenny, who changed Ash Ketchum’s authentic voice actress Veronica Taylor from Season 9 onward, would bodily go into the recording studio for one other 17 years to voice the character — even through the pandemic — as showrunners feared that scripts could also be leaked if despatched exterior their places of work. The present at all times recorded the Japanese dub a number of episodes forward of the English dub. Natochenny would enter the sales space, and look concurrently at her script and a display screen displaying the episode she was recording for. At first, her purpose was merely to emulate her predecessor to the very best of her capacity whereas guaranteeing the timing of her strains matched the period of time the character’s mouth was transferring. Eventually, she turned snug sufficient within the function to make the character her personal.
Natochenny would go on to voice different roles too. On Pokémon, she additionally performed Ash’s mother, Delia Ketchum, in addition to a number of Pokémon, together with Chansey, Misdreavus and Buneary. Her profession grew exterior of the present as nicely. She voiced Marian in “Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood,” Aura in “Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V,” and Igor in “44 Cats,” to call just some roles.
On Nov. 11, 2022, Natochenny discovered similtaneously the remainder of the world that the character she portrayed for virtually 20 years had lastly received his first World Championship. She was attending Grand Rapids Comic-Con when the episode aired in Japan, and he or she noticed tweets celebrating Ash’s win exploded throughout her feed.
“I made a video saying like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing!’” Natochenny mentioned. “And then, over the course of the day, everyone started messaging me, ‘Hey, what do you think’s going to happen?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean what’s gonna happen? He’s going to make another season!’
“It didn’t occur to me that this was the end.”
It’s been a rare privilege to have been the English voice of Ash Ketchum for what can be 17 years. No matter what lies past his last chapter, he’ll reside perpetually within the hearts of many generations to come back. I’ll maintain him current for all of us in each method I can. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/UZxPO4xD6E
— Sarah Natochenny (@sarahnatochenny) December 16, 2022
A month later, the present introduced that the series would move away from Ash Ketchum and star a brand new protagonist. The announcement was an emotional one for Natochenny, however now, she’s trying to the longer term.
“Voice acting kind of consumed my career,” she mentioned. “I have projects that I’ve wanted to do that I haven’t really been able to hit the gas on because I’ve been comfortable in this role.”
Among these initiatives is “Unicorn Boy,” a movie starring Patton Oswalt that’s set to premiere on the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Natochenny performs Prince Purpleton within the movie). She’s additionally engaged on an animated sequence primarily based on characters her mom — a Broadway violinist — sketched through the pandemic.
Natochenny additionally desires to get into writing, penning a live-action function that follows a voice actress as she tanks her life after dropping her job. “It’s going to be very dark and very funny,” she mentioned. “It’s not what I’m going to do, but if I did [tank my life], this is what it would look like.”
Natochenny believes voice appearing will at all times play some half in her profession, although, and he or she’s keen on her time as Ash Ketchum. If it had been as much as her, she admitted, she would like to proceed engaged on the present.
“I would love to stick with Pokémon if they’ll have me in other roles,” she mentioned. (*17*)
Will Pokémon be capable of attain the identical heights of recognition it used to take pleasure in with Ash on the helm? That stays to be seen. But for Natochenny, her outlook on her future stays optimistic, largely attributable to a well-recognized quote.
“My message to the fans? ‘Be the very best like no one ever was.’ And when you’re in doubt, ask yourself: ‘What would Ash Ketchum do?’”