'Pokemon' Announces New Professor Oak Actor

Even in the face of tragedy, the show must go on for the Pokemon franchise. According to a new report, a replacement has been found for Professor Oak following the passing of Unsho Ishizuka.

According to Biglobe, Kenyu Horiuchi has been cast as Professor Oak in Pokemon the Series: Sun & Moon. The actor will take over for Ishizuka who originally voiced the character. The famed voice actor passed away on August 13, 2018 at 67, leaving the Pokemon community to mourn the unexpected loss. (via Moetron)

As for Horiuchi, the voice actor has a lengthy resume of his own. He has worked on all sorts of series, lending his talent to titles like YuYu Hakusho, Captain Tsubasa, Saint Seiya, Naruto, Bleach, Gintama, and more. Recently, the actor took up jobs on Black Clover and Darling in the Franxx. Now, Horiuchi will be adding Pokemon to his impressive resume.

Right now, there is no word on when Horiuchi will make his anime debut in Pokemon. The show has yet to announce which episode will stand as Ishizuka's final outing, so it seems OLM and The Pokemon Company have some backlog episodes in store. For now, the anime is focusing on its impending time change as Pokemon the Series: Sun & Moon is slated to shift its airtime to a Sunday evening slot.

Are you ready for this new phase in Professor Oak's history? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Not caught up on all things Pokemon? You can check out the official synopsis of its 20th season below:

"What starts as a summer vacation in the tropical Alola region turns into the next exciting chapter in Ash Ketchum's quest to become a Pokémon Master! There's plenty for Ash and Pikachu to explore in this sunny new region, with exciting new Pokémon to discover and interesting people to learn from along the way—including the cool Professor Kukui and the fun-loving Samson Oak.

More new faces will help guide Ash's Alolan adventure, in the form of a group of skilled Trainers—Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, and Sophocles—and a mysterious research assistant called Lillie. Frequent foes Team Rocket have also made the trip to Alola, looking to swipe some high-powered new Pokémon. But they have some heavy competition on the villainy front: the ruffians of Team Skull, who delight in causing chaos and may have more sinister intentions..."