People might know ‘Ash Ketchum,’ the main male protagonist in the Pokémon franchise, but it may come as a shock that the beloved character was played by a female voice actress.
Sarah Natochenny voiced Ketchum in the English dubbed version of the Pokémon anime series from Season 9 to Season 25, according to a 2023 Washington Post article.
Natochenny went on to play the character for a combined 17 years across the Pokémon series and movies.
Natochenny, an actress with a Russian-American background, originally from New York, said she began acting when she was 12-years-old.
“I was always doing impressions and making up languages as a kid and I was memorizing Russian,” Natochenny said. “It’s my first language.”
Natochenny said she studied acting at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute for four years and received the role of Ketchum at 18-years-old.
“I started doing improv, I pounded the pavement, got an agent, and that’s how I got into voice acting,” Natochenny said. “I was doing short films, some theater, and randomly got the audition for Pokémon, and happened to book it.”
Natochenny made an appearance at Galaxycon last weekend at the San José McEnery Convention Center along with other actors, comic book artists, and television and film writers.
Some notable celebrity guests at Galaxycon were Jodi Benson who voiced Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” (1989) and Rachael Leigh Cook who played Laney Boggs from “She’s All That (1999).”
Galaxycon is a three-day convention that celebrates a variety of fan groups with meet and greet opportunities and autograph signings according to its official webpage.
At Galaxycon, Natochenny was a featured panelist on the Video Game Stage and she played the video game Pokémon Snap while answering questions from fans in the audience on Saturday.
Pokémon Snap is a video game game exclusive to the Nintendo Switch system where players take a photograph every time they encounter live Pokémon, according to the Nintendo store website.
Besides voicing Ketchum, Natochenny also played Ash Ketchum’s mom, Delia Ketchum, and even Pokémon like Chansey, Misdreavus, and Buneary according to the same 2023 Washington Post article.
Fans at the convention formed a line at a microphone stand to ask Natochenny her favorite lines and sounds from all the characters she played.
Justin Burkhardt, public relations manager at Galaxycon, said this was the first convention ever on the west coast.
He said meeting celebrities will always be a big part of any convention, but fans can get closer to them at Galaxycon than anywhere else.
“While getting an autograph or selfie will always be a very memorable experience, fans (and) get the chance to tell these celebrities what their work means to them,” Burkhardt said. “Some of the stories I've heard will bring a tear to your eye.”
This includes upgraded event packages, live Q&A sessions with featured celebrities, and video gaming panels.
Jennifer Ortiz, a counseling and guidance graduate student at San José State, said she enjoyed her experience at Galaxycon because of the variety of panels and special events.
“As someone who grew up in San Jose, it’s nice to see events like these that allow [fans] to geek out over our favorite T.V. casts, art from artists, and comic book writers all in one collaborative space,” Ortiz said.
She said it was an amazing time and she’s super excited to go back next year and looks forward to seeing who will be involved.
Apart from her role in the Pokémon franchise, Natochenny lended her voice to another animation project where she played Yuzuha in Tokyo Revengers and Ringmaster Scarr in Fortnite.
Natochenny is currently voicing the character Alya in the English dub of the anime series Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian.
“[The series] is doing really well, and I love doing it,” Natochenny said. “Our director is Shawn Gann, and he is just a delight to work with.”
Natochenny said it feels like an honor to have voiced Ketchum for 17 years.
“I got to inspire people all over the world by playing a character that resonates with them,” Natochenny said “You can always ask for more but that’s all I can ask for at this time.”
