Sarah Natochenny was just 18 years old when she landed her first major role as a voice actor. She had previously acted on screen in student films, but her next role was much bigger—the voice of Ash Ketchum, the beloved lead of the Pokémon franchise. 

For 18 years, Natochenny voiced the character in the English dubs of the Pokémon films, as well as 30 other characters in the world of Pokémon. 

As the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, fans in Toronto will get a chance to enjoy all kinds of Pokémon-related fun at FAN EXPO Canada this weekend. Natochenny will be taking part in a Pokémon pack battle and trivia day on August 28, where fans in the audience will have the chance to win rare cards. Pokémon fans can also enjoy cosplay meetups, an interactive trivia panel, and learn-to-play sessions at the convention, running from August 27-30.

We sat down with Natochenny just ahead of FAN EXPO Canada to hear more about her impressive career as a voice actor, what she loves most about Ash, and her favourite Pokémon characters to voice.

Take us back to when you first got the opportunity to voice Ash—what was your reaction when you found out you got the role?

I was 18 years old, so this was a bit of a while ago. I was in shock. I remember just being like, “What’s happening? Why are they picking me?” I had no voice acting experience, but I was an actor. I started studying acting when I was 12 in New York, and when I was 16, I got an agent. Two years later, I was doing student films, and then I did an indie film, and things were going okay. But I was in high school while I was doing this, so it was shocking to even get the audition. 

What do you like most about Ash? 

He’s tenacious. He’s good to his friends. He’s kind. He’s funny. He falls into crevasses and comes back out. Everybody can relate to Ash Ketchum in some way. He’s brilliantly written, brilliantly designed. He’s a great character.

18 years is a long time to spend with a character! How has your relationship to Ash evolved since you started voicing him in 2006?

Oh man! So in my 20s, I was kind of a recluse. I wasn’t going out. I wasn’t going to the bars or anything like that. He taught me that I actually am very adventurous, and I do want to be out all the time. So now I’m doing conventions all the time, and I’m travelling the world, and I’m having such a good time doing it. I can’t even imagine being in one place for more than two weeks.

What has the experience of attending conventions like FAN EXPO Canada and meeting fans given to you?

It’s everything. It’s so great to hear how people have used Pokémon to get through really difficult times—through illness, through military service. It’s different every time. People are like, “Oh, do you get sick of it?” How can you get sick of people telling you that the work you did for so long in a booth with no audience meant something to them and actually helped them through really significant moments in their lives? That’s made everything worth it. 

What does the world of Pokémon mean to you?

I was 10 years old when Pokémon came out, and I loved it then. And then to start working on it at 18, it was my entire adult life. And I’m still on the show [Pokémon Horizons: The Series on Netflix], so this is a huge part of my life that I never anticipated. You don’t expect to be talking about Pokémon necessarily way into your life, but here I am, and I’ll always be talking about it, and it’ll always mean so much to me.

You also voice 30 other characters in the English dubs of Pokémon—who are some of your favourite?

Well, Ash Ketchum, of course—obvious reasons. His mom is really incredibly sweet. I love voicing Buneary, that’s my favourite Pokémon to voice. And then Tinkatink is a more recent one. I love voicing Tinkatink. Chansey, I love Chansey too. I love them all. They’re my babies.

What do you do to take care of your voice?

If I know I’m going to be working a lot, I do straw phonation. That’s very helpful. You do exercises, blowing into a straw into a cup full of water, and it releases everything. It’s amazing. Suddenly you have a voice. Drink a lot of water. Those are the two main things that I focus on. 

Is there something people might be surprised to know about the realities of being a voice actor?

How hard it is! It’s really hard. It’s really, really competitive, especially now since the pandemic. A lot of people got home studios. You can work from home. You can work from Oklahoma. It doesn’t matter where you are. So a lot more people are entering the field, and there’s a lot less work because everything is consolidating. There are some signs of the industry kind of coming back and more things being produced. But for the last few years, it’s been dead. Even the biggest people that you see at conventions, some of us are just like, “Will we ever work again?” And it’s not because of where we are in our careers—literally because there’s no work. So yeah, tough times.

Any advice for aspiring voice actors?

Study acting. You have to know how to break down a scene. You have to know how to approach a character. It’s art, it’s not a science, but there are techniques that you should learn to be able to do this. 

See Sarah Natochenny at FAN EXPO Canada, running from August 27-30.