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With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to think that Pokémon was always the massive pop culture force that it is today. However, in the early days of the anime, it wasn’t as clear just how big it would become. Even the actors playing the characters were caught off guard and recently shared the moment they knew that Pokémon was bigger than they ever expected. 

During the Pokémon Cast Reunion panel at Florida Supercon 2025, three voice actors from the anime were asked how they knew that Pokémon was going to be more than they expected. Veronica Taylor, who played Ash Ketchum in the first eight seasons of the show, said, “I remember at Thanksgiving of… when did the first movie come out? At that Thanksgiving, there was a big billboard in Times Square, and I took a photo with my daughter, who was really tiny at that point so that was a year in, and I was like, ‘My God! We made it! We got a billboard in Times Square!’”

Megan Hollingshead, the voice behind Nurse Joy, added, “Right? And at that point, that felt like that would be enough. We’ve made it. We’ve done it. And then who knew that it would continue in this beautiful way. Mine was at the opening of the first movie, and there was a crowd outside the theater. And people were just so excited. And that was my moment of… this is a thing, for lack of a better word.”

You can get more great insight into the making of Pokémon by checking out the full Florida Supercon 2025 panel here.

Want to Catch 'em All but don't know where to start? Check out our complete Pokémon watch order to start your journey to be the very best.