Pokémon Voice Actress Rachael Lillis Dies at 55

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Voice actress Rachael Lillis, known to millions for providing the English voices of Misty and Jessie in the Pokémon anime series, has died at the age of 55.

Lillis died Saturday in Los Angeles, The New York Times reported, after being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.

Tributes have poured in from voice actors and fans, including her Pokémon colleagues Veronica Taylor, who voiced Ash, and Eric Stuart, who voiced Brock and James.

“I was fortunate enough to know Rachael as a friend,” Taylor wrote on X. “She had boundless kindness and compassion, even to the very end. She had a great sense of humor, was wonderful to be around, was incredibly intelligent, and had such a memory. She was hard working and cared deeply.”

“If you met her, you wouldn’t know it was that natural to her,” Stuart told The New York Times. “Rachael in real life was quite low-key, quite quiet and sweet. The moment she walked into that booth, it was like a whole other energy came out.”

Lillis voiced Misty from the first episode of the anime in 1998 until 2006, when the series changed its voice cast after being localized directly by Pokémon USA. It was a role she also reprised in numerous Pokémon animated films, as well as providing the voices of various Pokémon species.

One such species was the singing puffball Jigglypuff, and in the video game world, it was a character that Lillis could also be heard talking about in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Outside of Pokémon, Lillis has been a prolific voice actress in dozens of other anime and animated series, including Genshikken, Hunter x Hunter, Winx Club, and Chaotic, though it is for her roles in Pokémon that she will probably be most remembered.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Rachael Lillis,” The Pokémon Company wrote in a statement posted to X. “Her performance in the Pokémon animated series will be cherished by the many fans who grew up with the characters she brought to life with her special talent.

“She will be remembered for generations to come and we will always hold her close to our hearts. Our thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends.”

Rachael Lillis as Misty and Jessie.Watch on YouTube

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