>>51699711It's sad that authors shit on Ash's friends when there are numerous villains that could backstab Ash and cause the story to happen.
>Ash is a lonely kid that yearns for a father figure. Giovanni takes advantage of this and grooms Ash to be a Team Rocket Member.>Ash is eventually backstabbed by Giovanni who frames him for a crime Giovanni committed.>Ash is let out of prison years later and is bloodthirsty for vengeance. The black mark on his record bans him from achieving his dream.>Meeting Misty, Brock, and the rest of his friends can show Ash that there's still hope in the world.>Excuse going to different regions could be that Giovanni jumpstarted the Rocket Empire using Team Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, etc.>Adventures don't have to cover the entire region. Ash could go to Hoenn, meet a veteran May and team up with her to save Hoenn from Aqua and Magma.May and Max could control Kyogre and Groudon while Ash get's Rayquaza 