In a world already teetering on the brink of collapse thanks to climate change, political unrest, and over-priced Nintendo products, the universe decided to kick us while we were down. James Carter Cathcart, the iconic voice behind Pokémon’s Gary Oak, Professor Oak, James, Meowth, and basically half your childhood Saturday mornings, has passed away at the age of 71 following a long and difficult battle with throat cancer.
James Carter Cathcart, the voice of Gary Oak, James, Meowth, Professor Oak, and many more, has passed away.
He is not just a great voice actor; he is also an amazing and kind person who will be remembered for generations to come.
May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/t6KBDFHFim
— Out of Context Pokémon (@OoCPokemon) July 10, 2025
Yes, the man who literally gave a voice to one of animation’s most smugly loveable rivals (smell ya later, Ash) and two-thirds of Team Rocket’s most dysfunctional triangle, passed away on July 8, 2025. It’s cruel irony that the disease took hold of the very tool he used to bring so many unforgettable characters to life: his voice.
Cathcart, who also went by Jimmy Zoppi and Carter Cathcart, had a career that spanned decades. He didn’t just help launch the English dub of Pokémon into global pop culture dominance—he stayed with it through studio changes, network shifts, and more than a few bizarre Pokémon plot twists. While other voice actors came and went (and occasionally got replaced mid-sentence), Cathcart stuck it out, voicing characters like Meowth and James up until 2023, when his health forced him into retirement.
If you ever imitated Meowth’s Brooklyn accent, or shouted “Team Rocket’s blasting off again”, or told someone you’d smell them later—then yeah, you owe a lot to James Carter Cathcart.
There’s no easy way to say goodbye to someone whose voice echoed through the formative years of millions. But if there’s a Pokémon afterlife, we’d like to think Cathcart’s already up there cracking jokes with Arceus and lecturing someone about Pokédex entries. And if we’re lucky, maybe giving death itself a well-earned “smell ya later!”
Rest in peace, legend. You may be gone, but your voices—and your legacy—will never faint.
