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Pokémon voice actor Rica Matsumoto has addressed rumours that the popular anime ended because of a rift between its leading stars.
Matsumoto, played the voice of Ash Ketchum, a young boy who pursues his dream of becoming the best at the monster based battle game.
Accompanied by his sidekick and beloved Pikachu, voiced by actor Ikue Otani, Ketchum goes on a series of adventures that have spanned over 1,300 episodes. The popular show first aired in 1997, and came to an end last year.
Last week, Game Freak, one of the co-owners of the Pokémon franchise, was subject to a huge data breach, leading to the details of thousands of employees being leaked.
Among the information was a leaked transcript that is alleged to point to “strained relations” between Matsumoto and Otani.
According to Dexerto, the leaks claimed that the company had considered recasting Matsumoto due to the tension between her and Otani impacting the morale of the team.
Matsumoto responded to the claims saying “someone is making this up”.
In a post on X/Twitter, she wrote: “Don’t worry, nothing like this has happened. I’ve been friends with Iku-chan since she was a newbie, and she even came as a guest on Rika’s fan club tour.
“For those of you who don’t know me, I wonder if you enjoy writing something like this. No one is happy about it. I think it’s in poor taste and childish.”
Fans posted their support in the comments as one wrote, “That’s right. Rika Matsumoto and Ikue Otani have always been the two of them as Satoshi and Pikachu, so the bond between Satoshi and Pikachu will never be broken!”
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Another added: “I am so happy that you and Ōtani-san are still good friends. I have ignored (and will continue to ignore) these supposed leaks, and I am glad that you have too.”
The post that purported to reveal the leaks has since been deleted. However, the anime community have continued to speculate that there may be some truth to the suggestions with Otani reprising her role as Pikachu in Pokemon Horizons, while Matsumoto does not appear to be returning.
