>>47236269He's not the MC in those games. Pikachu not being around is just a technical choice on the side of the developers. It's only 4 levels higher than the Kanto trio on his team, it's not like it's 20 levels above them. It's symbolic obviously, to show that it's the main Pokemon, just how it is for nearly every trainer throughout all the games. Red is always shown with his Pikachu, it's not just some random Pokemon he caught, it's his main Pokemon.
