'Pokémon: To Be A Pokémon Master', Ash Ketchum's Final Episodes, Will Be Released On Netflix On Dub's 25th Anniversary
The announcement came during Pokémon's first ever San Diego Comic-Con panel
It was just four weeks ago that Pokémon anime fans in the United States finally got to witness Ash Ketchum’s World Coronation Series Masters 8 victory legally upon its arrival on Netflix. On Thursday, at the franchise’s first ever panel at San Diego Comic-Con, The Pokémon Company revealed a lot about the fourth and final part of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, Ash’s final episodes, even as they finish up by the end of the month in Canada.
It turns out that the eleven episode arc, known as Pokémon: Mezase Pokémon Master or Aim to Be A Pokémon Master in Japan after their original opening, actually does have a name in the English dub after all: Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master. A version of the opening intro that’s been airing in Canada has used the regular Ultimate Journeys logo in the opening sequence created for the arc, which celebrates Ash’s whole journey set to a truncated version of the original theme. In addition, as TV Passport listed for Cartoon Network Canada, the episode set in the alternate continuity will be included, and will likelier be placed after the other 11, its positioning it will air in next weekend. We also get to hear Gary from his appearance in the finale “The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!” ask what’s next. It’s a very different voice than what we’re used to, even from just a dozen episodes prior. It has only reinforced the possibility that, unfortunately, James Carter Cathcart’s throat cancer was too advanced to allow him to finish the series with these characters he’s played for so long, and his retirement was earlier than originally thought. It was first caught onto from clips of James and Meowth from Canadian airings.
It was revealed that these final 12 episodes of Ash’s journey will arrive on Netflix on September 8, which is a rather significant day in Pokémon’s English dub history. In fact, it makes Ash’s journey a complete 25 years, as “Pokémon - I Choose You!” premiered on that date in 1998. Eight years later, “Fear Factor Phony”, the ninth season premiere, debuted on Cartoon Network, and with it, the Pokémon USA (now The Pokémon Company International) cast we would spend much of the next 17 years with. While The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon had already aired, the version with Sarah Natochenny as Ash would only debut on the DVD released two Tuesdays after the season began, making “Fear Factor Phony” her debut.
In Japan, these episodes aired over January to March, leading to Pokémon Horizons, the dub getting showcased for the first time during the panel. More on that soon. The trailer features clips from most series before transitioning to ones from the arc, with heavy emphasis on the Lapras reunion episode, it ending on another goodbye. Watch the trailer below.
