Pokémon has been around for decades, and the main characters have experienced so many generations and regions that it’s probably hard to keep track of them all. The English voice of Ash Ketchum, Sarah Natochenny, gave us a surprising answer as to what her favorite was—and I totally understand.
For those who know me, I’m a huge anime fan and have been for some time. Whether it’s the best anime of 2023 or ones from years beyond, it’s a medium I have come to love over my 25 years of living, and Pokémon was always a part of that.
From Team Rocket duo Jesse and James’ most hilarious fails to all the Pokémon seasons and regions that Ash traveled through to even the best Pokémon movies, I have always loved these little battling creatures. I have a specific favorite generation of the franchise—Diamond and Pearl, otherwise known as the Sinnoh region.
Many my age, including my closest friends, all love Sinnoh so much, but I got to speak with Sarah Natochenny about her favorite region. Natochenny was the voice behind Ash Ketchum for 17 years until Pokémon retired the character, and out of every region Ash has traveled to, Natochenny’s answer surprised me – XY and XYZ, otherwise known as the Kalos region. Her reasoning for this was because of the growth that Ash goes through as a character:
Oh, man. XY and XYZ. Those are my favorite seasons. He gets so much drama, man. He really grew up in those seasons. We got to see a different side of him. We always see a different side of him in all the regions. But XY and XYZ he really grew as a person. And that was really fun to play and watch…and his relationship with Greninja, he just got so powerful.
There are many reasons why I love Diamond and Pearl so much. Some of my favorite Pokémon hail from that time (like Buneary, Piplup and more), and of course Dawn is one of my most treasured companions that Ash had.
But I was also a part of the generation that watched XY and XYZ, and I totally understand Natochenny’s response. Serena was a good partner for Ash during that time and really forced him to grow, and with his other companions, as Natochenny remarks, there was “so much drama” that made for compelling television:
There was so much drama…and he actually got into a fight with Serena in one of the episodes. He had an actual fight with another character which was really wonderful to play. It was great to see that side of him.
For those who don’t remember, Ash is just a kid trying to become the champion of the Pokémon League – which he did before his final episodes, and Natochenny opened up about her emotional time in the booth for that moment. But for regions like XY and XYZ, it was rare that we saw Ash change and develop from this happy-go-lucky kid.
Don’t get me wrong – by the time Pokémon confirmed that Ash was exiting the series, he was still very much a kid. But XY and XYZ gave him a lot more room to grow, so much so that we do see a solid change in him over those few seasons.
While I still have a place in my heart for Diamond and Pearl, I will say I’m going to rewatch XY and XYZ to relive it again for the drama – who knows? I might end up liking it more than Diamond and Pearl, all thanks to Sarah Natochenny.
Okay, maybe let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but I think it’s time for a Pokémon rewatch.
