I hate him. IMO the worst aspect of the games. He's not the "ultimate" anything; his team is horribly weak. His only claim to fame (which others have mentioned, and according to GF's logic) is that he was the first protagonist and they chose to cram him in the next set of games. Doesn't change the fact that I'm sick of him getting preferential treatment because of that. His fifteen minutes of fame (shame?) should've been up long ago, but GF continues to string him along and, like it or not, gamers have to play along. I know I'd be perfectly fine if he never reared his ugly head again.
But at least the other protagonists aren't suffering defeat after crushing defeat like he is. So in that sense, maybe it's better that the others don't show up.
tl;dr: He's there because he's the first (but hardly the best), I don't like it, but that's out of our hands and in GF's hands.
Oh, and there was a female protagonist in FR/LG too. Just sayin'. Of course if the assumption is that none of the others' journeys resulted in the championship title either, it's a moot point, but still...
Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion ; still there's no reason to hate on him cause he appears in every generation to this date , and his looks/team don't meet up to your standards .
Every trainer/person has their capabilities and skills , each and every one of them has a role in life , and everyone of them are best at something they do ; Ash/Red is probably one of the most skilled people to become a champion and one of the best . The way he treats his pokemon with kindness and encouragement to the max is rare in a trainer on a journey to be a champion .
How do you think he won so many battles? His natural bonding with pokemon and battle skills gets him that far .
Take pokemon conquest for instance , you play as a young warlord who just started off with no kingdoms , he/she eventually became top warlord who defeated nobunaga's army and restored peace to the ransei region .
Red is just one of the people that stand out as a role model , his play in the field gets him where he's at , others do the same .
Also to cover up why he gets so much attention...
the main pokemon games are Pokemon Red > to Pokemon B&W2
Which was the first pokemon game to come out with the main character of the game? RED! Which will get remembered and treasured as the best trainer first? RED!! And finally , Which trainer was "Born to be a Winner" first? RED!!!
OMG IT'S SO SIMPLE! :D
And btw you think his team sucks when he defeats almost every trainer with most of his stage 1 pokes :)
~ Jay