Uh yeah, Richie is easily one of the most despised characters in the anime. He started the trend of "Hey! We're gonna be best league buddies but I'll end up defeating you and tossing you out of the league!" type of rival, he basically wasn't his own character but was a clone of Ash except he was perfect IE Ash without any of the flaws that make Ash an interesting and unique character. He even shared many of the same Pokemon that Ash had captured throughout Kanto.