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For many people, Pokémon became their first introduction to the wide world of anime. The adventures of Ash, Brock, and Misty as they travelled from region to region were their first taste of the medium and, as luck would have it, became the perfect gateway to Yu-Gi-Oh just a few years later. According to some of the voice actors from both shows, the fact that Pokémon fans quickly became Yu-Gi-Oh fans doesn’t feel that surprising.

During the Pokémon Cast Reunion panel at Florida Supercon 2025, Nurse Joy and Mai Valentine voice actor Megan Hollingshead said that she was initially surprised when Yu-Gi-Oh seemed to replicate the success of Pokémon. “It felt like, ‘Wow, we had such an awesome, well-received show in Pokémon. Surely this Yu-Gi-Oh won’t be a thing. How can lightning strike twice?’”

However, Veronica Taylor, who played Ash in the Pokémon dub, had a simple explanation. “[Yu-Gi-Oh] was like the next step up. You were kind of a little kid who watched Pokémon, and you became a bigger kid who got into Yu-Gi-Oh. It was cool to be a part of both.”

Those two shows probably did more to bring fans into the anime fandom than anything else at the time. Starting with Pokémon and then “graduating” to Yu-Gi-Oh shortly after, fans in the late 90s quickly became hooked on anime, which eventually led to anime becoming one of the fastest-growing forces in pop culture today.

You can see more behind-the-scenes stories from Pokémon by watching the full Florida Supercon panel here. 

 Want to Catch 'em All for yourself? We've got a complete Pokémon watch order to help you do it.