Pokémon Actor Retires After 25 Years Voicing Iconic Character

Another huge change is coming to the Pokémon anime series at the end of its current season – actor James Carter Cathcart is retiring. The 69-year-old voice-over star was diagnosed with cancer in January, and in an extensive post on CaringBridge, his wife Martha Jacobi announced that he will be retiring to focus on his health. Cathcart is best known for voicing Meowth and James of Team Rocket, along with other characters on the iconic show.

Cathcart’s voice will continue to grace the Pokémon franchise until the end of the current season, which is called Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series in the U.S., or simply Pokémon Season 25. That will mark a huge turning point in the series regardless, since the show will transition to focus on new characters and, from the sound of it, Cathcart’s roles may not need to be recast at all. His wife said: “He has been with the series since the 1st episode, so it is a timely decision as the series transitions to new characters and storylines.”

James Carter Cathcart, the Pokémon voice actor behind Professor Oak, James, Meowth, Gary, and many more, is retiring to focus on battling an advanced form of throat cancer https://t.co/OU9SdJVUqR pic.twitter.com/Z524igCvXh

— Nintendeal (@Nintendeal) April 19, 2023

Cathcart’s cancer was first detected on his tongue and quickly spread to the lymph glands on his neck. His wife explained that the tumors have not responded to chemotherapy, and his doctors are now planning a more “aggressive treatment.”

Fans are spending their well-wishes to Cathcart on social media, hoping for a complete and speedy recovery. After 25 years on the Pokémon anime, they are sad to see Cathcart go but not disappointed in his extensive body of work.
In addition to voicing two out of the three members of Team Rocket on the series, Cathcart also played the role of Professor Oak, the Pokémon researcher who sent Ash Ketchum on his journey in the first place. Cathcart also provided the voice of many of the Pokémon themselves, as much of the cast did over the years.

After a quarter-century, the Pokémon anime will switch its focus away from Ash, Pikachu and their friends for the first time. It’s a little harder to tell if Team Rocket is gone for good, but Jacobi’s statement seemed to imply that they are. The show is now focused on two protagonists named Liko and Roy, and a group called the Explorers seems to represent the main villains in the new show.

Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series has quite a way to go before it is over for English-language viewers, but in Japan the finale aired last month. The new series, Pokémon Horizons: The Series premiered earlier this month in Japan. There is no word yet on when the English-language dub might be available in the U.S.