Consider This from NPR - Pokémon Says Goodbye To Ash and Pikachu

Episode Date: April 1, 2023

In the twenty-five years since the Japanese media franchise Pokémon launched in the US, it has become a staple of American culture — from trading cards to t-shirts, from action figures to videogames, from Oreo cookies to McDonald's Happy Meals. And of course, the animated series.Since the launch of that series the biggest stars have undoubtedly been aspiring Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum and his adorable pocket monster sidekick Pikachu. But now fans must say goodbye to these iconic heroes as the series moves on without them. Host Scott Detrow talks to Izzie Ramirez, culture writer for Vox Media, about the legacy of the show and the future of the Pokémon franchise after Ash and Pikachu. And we hear reactions from fans and from Sarah Natochenny, who has voiced Ash since 2006.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This message comes from Indiana University. Indiana University performs breakthrough research every year, making discoveries that improve human health, combat climate change, and move society forward. More at iu.edu forward. Even if you have no idea where that music is from, you've probably heard of Pokemon, the cute little pocket monster characters that have wedged their way into millions and millions of people's lives. Ever since Pokemon was introduced in the U.S. 25 years ago,

the Japanese media franchise has become a huge part of American culture. I don't know who created Pokemon Go, but I'm trying to figure out how we get them to have Pokemon go to the polls. Yes, that is Hillary Clinton with a slightly cringy reference from the 2016 presidential campaign. A generation of kids grew up trading Pokemon cards at recess, playing it on Nintendo, munching on Pokemon cereal while cuddling a Pokemon plushie in their favorite Pokemon t-shirt, and then later, as Hillary Clinton referenced, playing Pokemon Go, and of course all the while watching the beloved anime TV series. Yes, I am Ash. Ash Ketchum is a boy from Pallet Town. And now that I'm 10, I can finally get my Pokemon license.

And for a lot of people, the stars and the heart of that TV series are 10-year-old Ash Ketchum and his loyal and adorable electrified Pokemon sidekick, Pikachu. Pikachu, ready? Pikachu! And up next is Pikachu! Pikachu, quick attack? Pikachu! And up next is Pikachu! Pikachu, quick attack! Pikachu! Now follow up with Iron Tail! Quick, Mightyena!

Crunch! The series follows their adventures as Ash acquires and trains Pokemon for battles on his quest to become a Pokemon master. It's a journey that really resonates with young fans. I was, I want to say eight or nine at the time when it first started airing. Like it hooked its claws in me. It's been a love affair ever since then. Lucas Egan grew up with the show and says he felt transported into its world. Just to see this kid go out on this grand adventure by himself, no less, which I think is every kid's dream at some point to leave home and just have this epic fantasy adventure there.

And then the whole mechanic of catching and raising Pokemon and battling with it, it was like the idea of having a pet but taking it to that next level. I just became so smitten with the world, just wishing I could be a part of that. 27-year-old Avinash Viragav says Ash provided him with an approach to life that he aspired to. I found that one big thing for Ash is he finds a way to be optimistic, to be encouraging, even when the situation looks bleak. And he always finds a way to learn, even though he's become, say, a master trainer now. And while the fanverse celebrated Ash finally fulfilling his destiny

in becoming a Pokemon master, they were rocked to learn that with his quest completed, Ash and his bestie Pikachu would no longer be part of the show. Social media exploded. All right, guys, I don't know if you've ever cried in your life, but you might want to start now. I never foresaw Pokemon letting go of their beloved Ash Ketchum. I cannot believe this.

It's a bittersweet moment for Abby Richards, who started watching the show with her father when she was in kindergarten. Now she and her husband watch with their four-year-old daughter. It's just been a nice treasure to pass down to her. I hope that she'll take away this sense of love and respect for adventure. Richard says she'll definitely miss Ash and Pikachu, but she's excited about what the future of Pokemon holds for her daughter and other young fans. I hope everyone gives the new generation of Pokemon a chance.

You see all kinds of mixed messages out there. And it's just, you know what? We all gave Pokemon a chance when we first started watching it or playing it or collecting the cards with our friends. And, you know, who knows? It's a different set of characters,

but the spirit of Pokemon is still going to be there. Consider this. The final episode featuring the beloved characters of Pikachu and Ash means the end of an era. And while there are still plenty of Pokemon out there to catch, can the show be as wildly successful without them? Also, we'll hear what it's been like to play Ash for the past 17 years.

It's surreal. Look, the time really flew. That's coming up. From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow. It's Saturday, April 1st. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the WISE app today or visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply. My parents only bought me one pack of cards. They were like, you're not getting into this. We're not spending money on this. Sarah Nadeceni has been voicing

Ash Kachem in the English dub of Pokemon since 2006. So she got deeper into Pokemon than her parents could have ever imagined. She told NPRs it's been a minute that her parents partially led her on the path. I was a rhythmic gymnast. I won a bronze medal at the Junior Olympics. And my parents were like, you're not going to sit around doing nothing. I was 12, 13 years old. So they put me in acting school and it was such a natural fit. I absolutely loved it. She got an agent, auditioned for Ash and got the part.

And today the character feels inseparable from her own life. She already misses him. This kid has been with me for 17 years. It's like to not have him be a part of my week anymore. It's definitely very jarring and very strange. I'm weeks out of this now, so I've gotten used to it, but I was crying a lot. It helps to think about the fans. Natachetti hopes Ash will continue to resonate as a positive role model for the fans, old and new.

His tenacity, his, you know, his can-do spirit, his love for his Pokemon, his love for his competitors. I think these are all wonderful lessons for people of all ages to learn. And she let the fans know just how she felt in her farewell video on YouTube. Thank you all for being on this incredible journey. I'll cherish it for the rest of my life, and I hope to meet you all in person someday. The journey continues. Coming up, Pokemon after Ash and Pikachu. That's when we return. Yeah, I just feel very protective about Ash, and it's been really moving for me.

Izzy Ramirez is a culture writer at Vox. Pokemon has been around for longer than she's been alive, and she says it's hard to think about a time when Ash and Pikachu were not part of her world, from the clothing that she wore to the toys she had as a kid to the cards in video games and, of course, the animated series. But it wasn't until the pandemic that she really got into the show. You know, I watched all of the episodes. We'd wake up and make breakfast or we'd go get like an iced latte or whatever once, you know, things started opening back up. And we just like sit and watch, you know, Saturday morning cartoons, except it was like every single day. And it was

just kind of like, okay, I'll write down in my planner. I'll see what Ash is up to. And it was just like this nice routine that I had. I asked her why it's such a big deal for fans that Ash and Pikachu are leaving the show. You know, the show premiered like 1997, I believe, like maybe a year or two before I was born. And Ash has been the main character for like 25, 26 years. Like he has been the guy. And the thing about Ash is when you start out watching the show, he's kind of, you know, prickly.

He's a sore loser. He wants to be the very best, as the iconic Pokemon theme song goes. I hope you play it. It's a bop. You just gave us a great cue right there. I want to be the very best Like no one ever was To catch them is my real test

To train them is my real test To train them is my cause And, you know, you see him kind of struggle with these, like, Pokemon that, you know, are just kind of like the standard Route 1 Pokemon you get in the game, right? Like, they're not, like, you know, the super awesome creations or whatever you see later as you get better in the game. But you're just like, he's, the super awesome creations or whatever you see in like later as you get better

in the game, but you're just like, he's just a kid and he's starting out on his Pokemon journey. And then throughout the years, like you see him get better and better. But what's incredible about his journey is like, he was always someone who wanted to grow and to learn. And you see that over the course of, you know know all the different seasons that have happened since uh i think it's like what 1200 plus episodes um and he finally does win a championship league so usually he'd get closer he'd get closer and then he'd lose and it'd just be like very frustrating or like sad we're like all right time to do it. And so his first win was really moving. And then this year, or I guess last year, he won like the equivalent of like world champion. And to see like a 10 year

old achieve his, like a version of his dreams, I think very moving in a very pure and positive way. I don't think there's a lot of like television that allows characters, like, at least at that young age, to, like, grow in that capacity, in that depth. And a lot of us have grown up since. So, it's, like, nice to see, like, your pal from, like, when you were a kid succeed in the same way that, like, if you had a friend growing up from childhood, you know, you spend some time apart and you're like, oh, wait, like, this is really cool that you're doing, like awesome, that you're achieving your goals. It's really satisfying to see. So do you think the show can work without him, though?

That's such a hard question. I think this is a really good point for them, too, for the Pokemon company to do so. I'm really curious to see what they'll do. I believe their first new season or new version of the show is going to be in April in Japan. I'm excited in the sense that they're kind of doing this thing,

and I speak about this in my piece a little bit, where the games are doing this expanding world moment. I think it's going to be really interesting and fun to see new characters and see new worlds. I think every Pokemon player or watcher is really interested in like the immersive world of Pokemon. We always want to see new creatures and new stories, but I think in terms of like the point of the show,

I think is to get new viewers and watchers like the kids today. Like I don't think it's going to be a show geared towards people like me or even older who are, you know, really emotionally tethered to Ash. You know, when I was reporting out this piece, I wrote it before, you know, the season finale. And, you know, I spoke with one of my sources, Nicholas, and we were just like, you know, of course I'd want to see Ash grow up and do all the, like, you know, get married, have kids, and, like, be a part of this, like, larger world and see what that looks like in the Pokemon universe. But, you know, it's, you know, it's time for them to do something new, and I'm excited to see whether or not it lands. I mean, there's been Japanese anime on US TV for so long. You've got Speed Racer and Astro Boy in the 60s,

Sailor Moon in the 90s. What do you think it was about Pokemon that made it so long-lasting and made those connections so personal? I mean, the type of sentiment you just told me about, that's not something that you get from most cartoons. Right. I think first is just like, again, the premise, like these are just like little creatures. I think we all have a soft spot for fantasy and fun little guys who are just like who are cute or and if not cute like super cool and do like fun moves I think it's just like really satisfying from like a conceptual sense like you know I think there's like a nerdy element to thinking of like oh my gosh like if I were a Pokemon trainer this is what my team would be.

Right? I think it's a little bit of that. I think, and of course, crucially is, you know, seeing Ash and Pikachu's relationship. Like, they didn't like each other at first, and Ash was like not a great trainer. Pikachu, are you going to be like this the whole way? Is it because you don't like me? Well, I like you a lot. And since you're the Pokemon I'm training, don't you think you could be a little nicer and just open your mouth and tell me what's wrong?

He's not great at Pokemon battles, really. And the satisfaction of just seeing that over such a long time. And the thing about Ash, he's someone who just radiates this energy of just seeing that over such a long time. And the thing about Ash, you know, he's someone who just, like, radiates this energy of always wanting to learn more and, like, be an advocate for Pokemon. And it's just, like, really nice to see someone who is so ambitious but isn't, like, cutthroat about it,

who lifts other people up and who really values his relationships. And, you know, in any interaction that he has, whether it be with like random people he's never met or with his companions or with his like Pokemon party. So I think that's who Ash is, like, at least in my mind, just like this really ambitious but generous kid who's trying to do everything he can to become a Pokemon master, which by the end of the last episode, he says, you know, it's to be friends with all Pokemon. So it's not even the way that we all thought it was going to be, you know, to be a winner. It's to just understand these little creatures.

That was Izzy Ramirez. She's a culture writer for Vox Media and the deputy editor of the Future Perfect section. And as you can hear, she's a big fan of Pokemon. It's Consider This from NPR, where we've got to consider them all. I'm Scott Detrow. Support for NPR and the following message Thank you.