James Carter Cathcart, the English voice actor of James and Meowth and others in the Pokémon anime series, retires after 25 years due to cancer. His work on the show will end at the end of season 25 of the show, called Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Serieshis wife Martha Jacobi said Monday.
Cathcart was first diagnosed with cancer at the end of January. According to his wife’s description, the cancer started at the base of his tongue and later spread to both sides of his tongue and the lymph nodes in his neck. on April 17 Jacobi said on CaringBridge that his tumors were not responding to the chemotherapy as expected and that more aggressive treatment was needed. In addition, he would end his work on the show.
“Jimmy has decided to stop adapting scripts and dubbing voices for Pokémon USA, effective at the end of Season 25. He has been with the series since the first episode, so it is a timely decision as the series transitions to new characters and a new story. lines,” Jacobi said on CaringBridge.
Cathcart’s voice is a familiar comfort to many who grew up watching the Pokémon series. Since the series’ inception, he has played the recurring roles of two members of Team Rocket, the flamboyant James and the special-talking Meowth, alongside characters such as Professor Oak and other Pokémon. Although he played the role of two “bad guys” from the series, both James and Meowth are regulars in the franchise and have become beloved characters as fans watch their antics over the years.
Cathcart’s departure from the show comes in a transition period for the Pokémon series. In Japan, where the television series is progressing, the long-running protagonists Ash and Pikachu have already been retired and replaced by two new protagonists: Liko and Roy. Although Ash hung up his hat, Team Rocket’s future remained somewhat uncertain. We saw Team Rocket blast off for what we thought would be the last time, but then the team made one final return in Ash’s final episode. We don’t have confirmation, but for now it seems like a group called the Explorers could be the next new villain.