The protagonists haven't been named after the games since Gen II. Even the Gen II remakes renamed Gold to Ethan.
I think he meant the fandom. It is common for fans just name the MC based on the games. And there's Pokemon Adventure manga.
Mi-Mizuki-san? What are you-...d-do I smell good or something?Uh, um, I can't imagine why...I'm covered in Repel right now, and we've been walking so much that I'm probably sweating a lot too...so could you, maybe, not...aaahh! You're too close!