>>53527328The main character is an avatar of (You), and you can play as him/her if you like but can compose a team where he is not present. Basically, you act like the team manager and you "Scout" or recruit characters in the story for free or in scout banners that costs gems, but can also fight alongside them in a team.
Red is from game canon, meanwhile Ash came from somewhere else (possibly due to Hoopa to teleported him into the setting of the game). The game solves the "paradox" by never having them meet in any story (but you can still form a team with both of them though still don't have lines of dialog acknowledging each other), and the story where Ash appears, only playable characters he has never met in the anime get to see him. For example, game Serena and Dawn doesn't see Ash in the event but Calem and Lucas does instead. Indeed in the story event he pretty much only interacts with game-exclusive/original characters like the main character/(You) and the prince of the island and his lackeys.
