Ash Ketchum's twenty-two-year long journey might be ending soon, as he recently became the first Champion of the Alola region in the most recent episode of the Pokémon anime that has aired in Japan. Ash's victory has been celebrated by Veronica Taylor on Twitter, who provided the voice of the character for many years, and has recorded a new message as Ash to celebrate his victory.
The first episode of the Pokémon anime debuted in Japan in 1997, with a character named Satoshi going on a journey to become a Pokémon Master in the Kanto region. The Pokémon anime made its way overseas the following year, with Satoshi being renamed Ash Ketchum. The exploding popularity of the Pokémon anime meant that Ash's journey continued into every new region that was introduced in the mainline Pokémon video games. The journey might be ending soon, as Ash has finally achieved his dream in the Alola region.
There has been an outpouring of messages online concerning Ash's recent victory in the Alola Pokémon League, and a familiar voice from the past has congratulated him on social media. Veronica Taylor uploaded a video to Twitter with a message to Ash from his own past self.
Taylor voiced Ash Ketchum from the first episode of the Pokémon anime until the 145th episode of the Advanced Generation series, as well as in the first eight movies. The reason she left the role was due to 4Kids Entertainment being outbid on the adaptation rights for the series by TAJ Productions, which led to almost all of the voice roles being recast. Ash Ketchum has been voiced by Sarah Natochenny since 2006.
The kids who grew up with the first series of Pokémon are now adults, while Ash Ketchum has remained a child and been on a journey that seemed to never end. The fact that Ash has finally achieved his dream after all of this time is a cathartic feeling to many longtime Pokémon fans and it's a shame that Veronica Taylor and the other original voice actors are no longer on the show to bring the story to its conclusion. The congratulation message from Ash's original voice is the closure that the fans need after rooting for him for so long.