Paul is a major antagonist in the Pokémon franchise. He is one of Ash Ketchum's former rivals.
Upon meeting the latter he didn't like him due to the way he treated his Pokémon. Unlike Ash, Paul is motivated by pure power, seeing his Pokémon as nothing but tools in order to help him become stronger.
He is voiced by Julián Rebolledo in English and Kiyotaka Furushima in Japanese.
Why he isn't heroic or villainous?[]
- Despite redeeming himself later on, he does not do anything heroic as he simply becomes a better trainer and only acts a bit nicer towards Ash.
- While he did treat his Pokemon poorly (especially Chimchar) as he just uses them as tools to win battles, he is mainly presented as a jerk, bully, and cantankerous rival rather than a true villain.
Biography[]
Not much is known about Paul's past other than that his brother Reggie lost to King Brandon, leading to becoming extremely disappointed in Reggie, as well as becoming power hungry so that he does not lose a battle like he did. His dislike for Ash partially stemmed because of this.
Upon meeting Ash, he immediately disliked the latter due to the way he treated his Pokémon, not using them for power like he did as he was only treating them nicely. Unlike Ash, Paul does not care for his Pokémon whatsoever and only sees them as tools to help him win battles, often not caring about them being hurt. One his Pokémon being a Chimchar, whom he would treat poorly. He even tried attacking it using Electrabuzz in order to force him to wake up, but was stopped by Pikachu, leading to Chimchar going to Ash instead.
Paul's hatred for Ash would only grow more by the end of the first season in the Hearthome City battle tournament where the two were forced to team up, even making Chimchar attack Turtwig out of pure spite, calling them both pathetic scums, and when Ash won, he violently threw the bell at him rather than simply handing it over. Throughout the series, Ash and his friends would repeatedly encounter Paul, but he wanted nothing to do with him and kept telling him to stay out of the way.
Paul would later be defeated by Ash in the Sinnoh League. He admits to Ash that Infernape was a very strong Pokémon. Ash wanted a rematch with him someday and Paul accepted his request. Paul would also appear in Pokémon Journeys where he had redeemed himself and is no longer cruel towards his Pokémon, and is also a bit nicer towards Ash.
Personality[]
Throughout the series, Paul is known for being a grumpy, cold-hearted, callous, cantankerous, abusive, power-hungry, heartless, rude, mean and rather arrogant trainer who shows no respect for his rivals or Pokémon, seeing them as nothing but tools to win battles as stated above. He does not care whatsoever if they are injured, usually calling them pathetic in the process. One of his Pokémon being a Chimchar that he would treat very poorly, leading to it going to Ash instead. The main reason for Paul’s bad attitude is because his brother Reggie had lost to King Brandon, resulting in Paul become extremely disappointed in Reggie, as well as becoming power hungry so that he doesn't lose a battle like Reggie did to Brandon.
Occasionally, Paul will lose his temper. An example being during his battle with Brandon where he wasn't able to beat his Pokémon, and at the end of the first season where he violently threw the bell at Ash once he won rather than simply handing it over and forcing Chimchar to attack Turtwig as stated above.
Despite being Ash's rival, Paul never really saw him as one. He for more, saw him as an annoying nuisance whom he would frequently tell to stay out of his way. The way Ash treated his Pokémon and tendency to act like a child led Paul to think he could barely see their rivalry. However, he does not necessarily wish harm on him, even helping him against Team Rocket while they were enemies.
Paul is also shown to have a sense of honor, as he is not blatantly harsh nor cruel to everyone he meets. He didn't seem to have a problem with Ash's friends and didn't think much of them. He can also be polite whenever he wants to authority figures such as Cynthia, Nurse Joy and Professor Rowan. Instead of being a bully, he is only rude towards Ash and sees him as nothing but an inferior trainer.
Paul seemed to have subverted most of these traits in the Journeys series, where he is a bit nicer towards Ash, and in the end, seemed pleased that his training with him had been effective.
Trivia[]
- He does share various similarites to that of Shadow the Hedgehog in terms of personality, both serving as rivals of the main hero.
- It is unknown why Paul did not get his Trainer's license revoked due to the way he treated his Pokémon.