Tattoo artist aiming to ink 151 Pokémon characters

A tattoo artist has set himself the challenge of tattooing all 151 of the original Pokémon characters on fellow fans to raise money for charity.

William Langford, 30, from Stowmarket, came up with the idea after it was announced main character Ash Ketchum was leaving the series after 25 years.

The tattooist, who has his own studio in the Suffolk town, said his customers could choose their design from the first generation of the show.

All proceeds will go to the Blue Cross animal welfare charity.

Mr Langford, who has been tattooing for about 12 years, said he wanted to "spend the year doing something good for people/animals".

"It's been a strange time for everyone since Covid and now the cost of living has gone up.

"I’m aware many animals got rehomed or given away during the lockdowns and it always happens around Christmas time too, so I chose to raise money for the Blue Cross," he said.

Since launching the fundraiser, he has so far tattooed eight of the 151 characters with another 10 booked in at his Zen Tattoo Art studio.

He said he combined the fundraiser with his love of Pokémon as he liked the "nostalgia" of the original characters.

"They were very popular when I was little so they’ve always been an interest of mine." he added.

The artist hopes to raise £4,000 for Blue Cross and plans to do another long-running fundraiser in 2024.

The Japanese anime show, which has also spawned several movies, has followed Ash in his quest to become a Pokemon master trainer since 1997, when the character met electric mouse creature Pikachu on his 10th birthday.

In October, he finally completed his quest when he won the Pokemon World Championship.

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