>In the 1997 "Pocket Monsters Official Fan Book," Game Freak teased the supposed appearances of Red, Professor Oak, and Giovanni in the upcoming Pokémon Gold and Silver games. They called Red "Satoshi", the Japanese name of his anime counterpart Ash, which is also the namesake of the creator of the franchise and one of his default names, indicating that this is what they originally intended to call him before settling on the name "Red", one of the two original color versions of the games.
I wonder what made Game Freak call him Red instead. After all, Red's front sprites in Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal are both a mix of his official Generation I artwork and Ash's original design.