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So, regardless of hat you think of the animé, do you think we'd have seen Red in Pokemon gold/Silver if not for the animé making Ash so prominent? His in-game team was based on Yellow, which is the only time the Pokemon animé has affected the games in any significant way. And Red's lasting appeal is the fact that he returned in Gen II. While we do see a few returning characters in the games, the player character or his friends/rivals aren't as prominent in games outside of their own.
