The Voice of Ash Ketchum Plays Pokemon Go Too

For nearly twenty years, Ash Ketchum has explored the various regions of the Pokemon world alongside his faithful Pikachu. With Pokemon invading the real world thanks to Pokemon Go, it only makes sense for Ash to follow. Sarah Natochenny, the current voice of Ash Ketchum in the English version of the anime, admitted to The Guardian that she’s a big fan of the new Pokemon game. “It’s perfect when I’m in a rideshare,” she told the paper. “You can get a lot of Pokéwork done in traffic.”

Natochenny has been the voice of Ketchum since 2006, replacing Ash’s original voice actress Veronica Taylor. She has voiced the character since she was 19 years old, as Ash explored his home Kanto region for a second time and then travelled to the Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos regions.

Like the character she voices, Natochenny picked Pikachu as her starter Pokemon in Pokemon Go and has focused on building a small, but strong team. She and her castmates are all members of Team Mystic, presumably to help keep peace in the voice recording studio.She also doesn’t believe that the game will fade away anytime soon. “You’re investing in characters and going out in the actual world and socializing with actual people and that’s got staying power, especially in a world where people are afraid of each other.”

Pokemon Go is available in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and select European countries.

(via The Guardian)