Ash Ketchum voice actor Rica Matsumoto addressed rumors circulating online that the original Pokemon anime ended due to tension between herself and Pikachu voice actor Ikue Otani.
Ash Ketchum’s journey in the Pokemon anime ended in 2023, with fans of the beloved franchise forced to say goodbye to Ash and Pikachu after 25 years of gracing their screens.
Across the weekend of October 12, 2024, Game Freak, one of the co-owners of the Pokemon franchise, was breached and, consequently, the subject of a massive leak.
As well as thousands of employees having their personal information shared online, a transcript from the leaked data alluded to one of the leading reasons that Ash’s journey finally came to an end was due to reported “strained relations” between Rica Matsumoto (who voiced Ash Ketchum) and Ikue Otani (the voice of Pikachu).
The leaks further claimed that Game Freak was considering recasting Matsumoto if they decided to continue with Ash’s story, given that the alleged tension between her and Otani was impacting morale of the whole cast.
笑笑誰かがでっちあげてるね。いっさいこのような事はないから安心してください。育ちゃんとはもぉ新人の頃からだし、梨香のファンクラブツアーにもゲストにきてくれていますょ😊✨知らない人、こんな事書いて楽しいのかな、誰も嬉しくないよ。悪趣味だし幼稚だと思うな。 https://t.co/7B5MOCNbW5
— 🌈✨松本梨香✨🌈 (@rica_matsumoto3) October 14, 2024
On October 14, 2024, Matsumoto took to X (formerly Twitter) to shut down these rumors. In her post, the Japanese voice actress wrote that “someone is making this up” and assured Pokemon fans that “nothing like this has happened.”
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Matsumoto added that she had been “friends with Ikue since [they] were rookies” and that “[Ikue] even came as a guest on [her] tour.”
Furthermore, the Ash voice actor slammed these rumors for being “in poor taste and childish” and finally added that “no one is happy” that people are alleging that there was bad blood between herself and Otani.
While the post that revealed these leaks has now been deleted, this has not stopped the wider Pokemon anime community from sharing and discussing the rumors that Ash’s exit from the anime series was due to cast drama.
Moreover, these rumors have only been fueled further, given that Otani has reprised her role as Pikachu in Pokemon Horizons while Matsumoto has yet to be called back in any capacity.
In addition to the notion that Ash’s exit from the Pokemon anime resulted from cast tensions, this massive Pokemon leak also revealed Switch 2 details, source code information, Generation 10 details, and more.