Summary
A little over a week ago, GAME FREAK made a public announcement that ithad suffered a data leak back in August. A lot of unverified information has been spread on various social media sites, especially regarding thePokemonfranchise. One piece of information that has been circulating the internet makes a strong claim that there was an unreleased reason for thePokemonanime series finally letting Ash become the Pokemon Champion back in 2022, one that was connected to personal drama rather than just the natural progression of the story.
According to the “leaked” document post, the Japanese voice actresses for Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in the Japanese version of the anime) and Pikachu were having problems working together. However, earlier this week Rica Matsumoto, the voice of Ash in Japanese, posted on her personal X (formerlyTwitter) account denying any truth to the claims. Currently, both the supposedly leaked information and Matsumoto’s response have not had any other official acknowledgment.
The GAME FREAK Data Leak
What Happened at GAME FREAK
GAME FREAK did admit that they experienced a data leak back in August of this year, and revealed that the names and email addresses of 2,606 employees were shared online. That was the only thing that was officially confirmed by the company, but not the end of the leak online. Across social media platforms, other information that was supposedly leaked was also shared, includingspeculated information on upcoming projectsin thePokemonfranchise, and unreleased details from past works.
Amongst those was the information regarding the relationship between Rica Matsumoto (Ash Ketchum/Satoshi) and Ikue Ōtani (Pikachu). The information claimed that the two voice actresses had “strained relations” between them, and that was one of the reasons that thePokemonanime decided to allow Ash to become the Pokemon World Champion two years ago. The character had been vying for the title for more than 25 years in the anime series, andthe world celebrated his winback in 2022.
Did Ash and Pikachu’s VA Have a Fight?
According to Matsumoto, No
On October 14th, 2024, Rica Matsumoto posted on her X page (translated from Japanese):
LOL…someone is making this up. Please rest assured that nothing like this has ever happened to me. I’ve known Iku-chan since she was a newcomer, and she has been a guest at Rika’s fan club tours. It’s in bad taste and childish.
In under a week, the post gained over 1,000 likes, as well as over 400 reposts and several comments. Both Japanese fans and international ones posted relief on hearing that there were not any real problems between Matsumoto and Ōtani. The whole incident serves as a good reminder to not believe everything you read on the internet, andhow dangerous social media can bewhen sources are not verified. After all, voice actors are also real people, and spreading false information about them can be damaging for not only their image, but the poster’s as well.
While other parts of the leak from GAME FREAK were real, including, unfortunately, the names and email addresses of employees, other leaked information has not currently been acknowledged by the company. Anything else that has been shared should be taken with a grain of salt unless otherwise stated by GAME FREAK for the Pokemon Company. The leak at GAME FREAK and what has been revealed aboutPokemonwill continue to be a developing story.
Sources:AnimeNewsNetwork,X
Pokemon
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
