Paul

Paul (Japanese: シンジ Shinji) is a rival of in the. He is from Veilstone City in Sinnoh. He was first seen at the end of Two Degrees of Separation, though his full introduction was in When Pokémon Worlds Collide!. He is 's first and main rival.

History
At the beginning it was assumed that Paul was a Trainer just starting out. However, this was proven false in Top-Down Training where he revealed that he had already traveled through Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, participating in their respective s but didn't win anything before returning to Sinnoh. In A Pyramiding Rage!, it was revealed that Kanto was the very first region he traveled through.

A Pyramiding Rage! revealed much about Paul's motivation as a Pokémon Trainer and more about his character. When Reggie was a roaming Pokémon Trainer, he had lost to. Reggie's loss to Brandon is what caused Paul to be so adamant about strength in battle. This single loss is also what caused Paul to become the callous person he was, and that was because of how his brother handled the loss. Instead of bearing the shame of his loss to Brandon, Reggie moved on with his life and put the loss behind him. Paul found this to be unacceptable, and he became disappointed of his brother. He challenged Brandon to a full battle in hopes that he would be able to do what his brother never could. However, Paul lost to Brandon without being able to knock out any of Brandon's Pokémon. Brandon says that this loss was because Paul was unable to control his emotions.

Following Reggie's suggestion in A Pyramiding Rage!, Paul battled in a full battle in Pedal to the Mettle! and Evolving Strategies!. Here, he shows his true colors in battle and, despite Ash's evolving into  and three of Ash's Pokémon using the Counter Shield strategy, Paul won the match easily with only at a loss of two Pokémon overall, where  defeated half of Ash's team nearly single-handedly. He had his Pokémon use a broad variety of strategies, which he kept up his sleeve until this battle, such as tempting Ash to send his up against his  so he could attack it with,  using  to aid its comrades, using his Ursaring against Ash's Pikachu so as to activate its  Ability, and his  using  to protect itself against Water-type attacks. As a result, his strategy of completely overwhelming and outsmarting Ash with his more powerful Pokémon team succeeded. In Double-Time Battle Training!, it was revealed that Paul had earned the from Canalave Gym and, by doing so, had collected the eight Badges he required to enter the Sinnoh League.

Paul reappeared in Fighting Ire with Fire!, encountering Ash for the first time since their full battle. He also met his admirer for the first time; however, Paul wasn't impressed by him and refused his offer for a battle, suggesting he battle Ash instead. He later watched the battle between Ash's Monferno and Barry's Empoleon and when, and Empoleon were nearly crushed by one of 's damaged mechas, he saved the three with the help of his. He then witnessed Monferno evolving into, who then saved Electabuzz and the other Pokémon from getting crushed. Paul was impressed by Infernape, and gained a little respect for Ash at how well he had raised it. When asked by Ash if they could have another full battle, Paul confirmed they would in the Sinnoh League, and that Reggie was looking forward to seeing it.

In An Old Family Blend!, he was shown in the stadium along with all the other competitors. In League Unleashed!, he passed the preliminary round. In Casting a Paul on Barry!, with his superior tactics and the superior power of his Pokémon, he defeated in the third round. His next battle was against his rival Ash in Familiarity Breeds Strategy!, continuing into A Real Rival Rouser! and Battling a Thaw in Relations!. After a fierce battle, Paul was finally defeated, and he and Ash parted on good terms, Ash having earned Paul's respect. It also seems Paul may have decided to change somewhat, as when Electivire is defeated, he thanks it for a job well done, something that, up until that point, Paul never did, even if his Pokémon won. Afterwards, Paul states that his next intention is to return to Snowpoint City and re-challenge Brandon. He briefly appears in The Semi-Final Frontier!, seeing Ash lose to Tobias.

Privately commenting to Brock and Dawn on the battle between Ash and Paul, Cynthia predicts that they would both be entering the Champion League soon. Paul makes a cameo appearance during the credits of Zoroark: Master of Illusions, where he is seen visiting a ruin with statues of and.

Personality and training
Paul's only concern in his is of their strength in. He strongly dislikes weak Pokémon and has a habit of them if they do not meet his high expectations. To this effect, Paul always checks new with his Pokédex to learn what moves they know and  the Pokémon he keeps harshly to make them strong. He feels that bonding with Pokémon would only turn them into slackers. He also has a habit of scolding his Pokémon for losing to opponents he feels they could have beaten, especially Chimchar. He has also demonstrated similar behavior to, and. As a person, he is very callous at times and even brutal, especially in and as a result, he has been shown to display very little emotion other than an occasional rough smile.

Sometimes, he gives some of his Pokémon to his brother, Reggie, for temporary training and caretaking, as revealed in Lost Leader Strategy!. Paul also disagrees with his brother for giving up on being a Pokémon Trainer after failing to get the Brave Symbol. He feels his brother's approach and view on this to be wrong. Reggie cares about his brother and ultimately loves him as brother but has no illusions about Paul's character. He openly admits sadly that Paul has always had a cruel streak.

Paul has been shown to have a certain degree of athleticism. In Different Strokes for Different Blokes, he and were seen to be able to downwardly scale a cliff of a waterfall near Bewilder Forest by swinging and leaping from rocks and branches. This could indicate that Paul physically trains himself and not just his Pokémon.

Paul originally felt that Ash was a weak Trainer and could easily bring on his anger by stating it. Ash's very different attitude towards being friends with Pokémon also provided much fuel to their rivalry. Despite that, Paul barely recognized their rivalry and Ash as a Trainer and ignored his speeches about loving his Pokémon. However Paul's first hint of respect for Ash was in A Pyramiding Rage! when he was very surprised to hear that Ash had beaten Brandon in a Pokémon battle.

Although Paul found most of the Pokémon in Ash's party at the time to be weak, he had shown a particular interest in his, as shown in A Gruff Act To Follow!, after Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Roark's Cranidos. Paul is also angered by how Ash "contradicts" himself by criticizing Paul's methods and then uses similar ones, such as entering the Wallace Cup, despite Ash's motivations being clearly different than Paul's.

Paul appears to feel indifference to, showing that he didn't even bother to remember her name in A Gruff Act to Follow. However he talks to her about Ash in Familiarity Breeds Strategy!. Paul confesses his main problem with Ash is his talk about bringing out a Pokémon's inner strength and how any Pokémon has the potential to be strong reminds him a lot of Reggie. Paul shows mild respect as well as distaste towards, probably because Brock supports Ash's view on Pokémon. Paul does show respect for his elders, such as Professor Rowan, Cynthia, Nurse Joy and. However it should be noted that keeping with his views of strong Pokémon and strong Trainers that he only respects actual Trainers with strong Pokémon. While he respects Professor Rowan and Nurse Joy for their wisdom and positions, he only respects Cynthia and Brandon for their abilities as Trainers. He is shown to have no respect for Gym Leaders who he feels are weak. While he was shown to respect Roark who he judged to be in the end a worthy opponent, he was openly rude and mean to Maylene.

Paul was impressed by Infernape, and gained a little respect for Ash at how well he had raised it. When asked by Ash if they could have another full battle, Paul confirmed they would in the Sinnoh League and that Reggie was looking forward to seeing it.

After a fierce battle in the Sinnoh League Tournament, Paul was finally defeated and he and Ash parted on good terms, Ash having earned Paul's respect. It also seems Paul may have decided to change somewhat, as when Electivire is defeated, he thanks it for a job well done, something that, up until that point, Paul never did, even if his Pokémon won.

Pokémon
As a result of Paul's selective team creation, his active team is composed of Pokémon that he deems to be powerful. Whilst the captures of Ursaring and Gliscor were shown in Different Strokes for Different Blokes and Riding the Winds of Change! respectively, and Ninjask's was revealed in a flashback during Glory Blaze!, his team has for the most part been captured off-screen. Several other Pokémon in his possession were captured on screen but later released.

This listing is of Paul's Pokémon as of the most recent Japanese episode and the ones used for the last full battle against Ash:

With Reggie
In Veilstone City, Reggie told Ash that Paul's "other Pokémon are here too" which may include his reserves. In Glory Blaze!, Paul mentions that he wanted to become the most powerful out of all his  Pokémon. This could mean he has other Pokémon besides Magmortar.

Released
It is implied that Paul has caught and released many more Pokémon than what has been shown on-screen.

Sinnoh League

 * (Shapes of Things to Come!)
 * (prior to Lost Leader Strategy!)
 * (prior to Aiding the Enemy)
 * (prior to Pedal to the Mettle!)
 * Three Unknown Badges (prior to Double-Time Battle Training!)
 * (prior to Double-Time Battle Training!)

It can be assumed, if not confirmed, that Paul also has at least eight Badges each from Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, as he has entered all three of their league conferences.

Pokémon League
Paul has competed in the following Pokémon League competitions:
 * Ever Grande Conference (off-screen)
 * Indigo League Conference (off-screen)
 * Silver Conference (off-screen)
 * Lily of the Valley Conference (Top 8)

Pokémon competitions

 * Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition (Champion - with ) (Smells Like Team Spirit!)
 * PokéRinger (Runner-up) (Pursuing a Lofty Goal!)

Trivia

 * Paul was first revealed to the fandom through a CoroCoro scan that showed him alongside Ash and Dawn commanding a . However, his name and role was not revealed until the following week and so he received the fan name "Nugai" (a pun derived from "new guy") during that time.
 * Three of 's Pokémon have evolved while battling against Paul: Turtwig into, Staravia into , and Chimchar into . Both Turtwig and Staravia evolved while battling.
 * Furthermore, Paul is the first rival to see all the two stages of evolution of one of Ash's Pokémon, when Monferno into Infernape.
 * Paul is the first regular rival seen capturing a Pokémon on screen.
 * Paul has been defeated onscreen three times, and each time three of his Pokémon debuted.
 * Paul shares his Japanese name with that of Lake Verity.
 * Paul has three Pokémon in common with Ash's original rival, Gary Oak:, and.
 * Paul has used a Pokémon of every type except for the and the.