Paul
- This article is about the character from the Diamond & Pearl series. For the English voice actor credited as Ed Paul, see Ted Lewis.
| Paul シンジ Shinji | |
| File:ShinjiDP.png Paul | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Eye color | Black |
| Hair color | Purple |
| Hometown | Veilstone City |
| Region | Sinnoh |
| Relatives | Reggie (brother) |
| Trainer class | Trainer |
| Anime debut | Two Degrees of Separation |
| English voice actor | Julián Rebolledo |
| Japanese voice actor | Kiyotaka Furushima |
Paul (Japanese: シンジ Shinji) is a rival of Ash in the anime. 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 Ash's first and main Diamond and Pearl series rival; his next rival would be Barry.
Personality and training
Paul's only concern in his Pokémon is of their strength in battle. He strongly dislikes weak Pokémon and has a habit of releasing them if they do not meet his high expectations. To this effect, Paul always checks new captures with his Pokédex to learn what moves they know and trains 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, and this was a recurring trait when he owned Chimchar. As a person, he is very callous and even at times brutal, especially in battle; and as a result, he has been shown to have 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, but has no illusions about Paul's character. He openly admits that Paul has always had a cruel streak.
A Pyramiding Rage! was an important episode that 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 Brandon. 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.
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 Leagues 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.
Paul feels that Ash is a weak trainer and can easily bring on Ash's anger by stating it. Ash's very different attitude towards being friends with Pokémon also provides much fuel to their rivalry. Out of all the rivals that Ash has, Paul seems to be the most harsh towards him and his Pokémon. Despite that, Paul barely recognizes their rivalry and Ash as a trainer and ignores Ash's speeches about loving his Pokémon. Ash on the other hand has a hatred of Paul that flares up at Paul's indifference to his Pokémon. However Ash accepts that Paul is a strong trainer but considers himself on the same par as him. Paul's only 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 before.
Although Paul finds most of Ash's Pokémon weak, he has shown a particular interest in his Pikachu. Paul is also angered by how Ash contradicts himself by criticizing Paul's training 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 Dawn, showing that he didn't even know her name in A Gruff Act to Follow. Paul shows mild respect as well as distaste towards Brock, probably because Brock supports Ash's view on Pokémon. Paul does show respect for his elders, such as Professor Rowan, Cynthia, Nurse Joy and Brandon .
Following Reggie's suggestion in A Pyramiding Rage!, Paul battled Ash in a full battle in Pedal to the Mettle! and Evolving Strategies!. Here, he shows his true colors in battle and, despite Ash's Chimchar evolving into Monferno 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 one 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 Staraptor up against his Torterra so he could attack it with Stone Edge, Electabuzz using Light Screen to aid its comrades, using his Ursaring against Ash's Pikachu so as to activate its Guts ability, and his Magmortar using Rock Tomb 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 Mine Badge from Canalave Gym and, by doing so, had collected the eight badges he required to enter the Sinnoh League.
Paul reappeared in DP163, encountering Ash for the first time since their full battle. He also met his admirer Barry 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 Pikachu, Piplup and Empoleon were nearly crushed by one of Team Rocket's damaged mechas, he saved the three with the help of his Electabuzz. He then witnessed Monferno evolving into Infernape, 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.
Pokémon
As a result of Paul's selective team creation, his active team is composed of Pokémon that he deems to be powerful. While the captures of Ursaring and Gliscor were shown in Different Strokes for Different Blokes and Riding the Winds of Change! respectively, the rest were obtained off-screen.
This listing is of Paul's Pokémon as of the most recent Japanese episode:
On hand
| Debut | Top-Down Training! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Billy Beach |
- Main article: Paul's Torterra
| Debut | When Pokémon Worlds Collide! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Kenta Miyake |
| English | Kenta Miyake |
- Main article: Paul's Electabuzz
Electabuzz was the first of Paul's revealed Pokémon. Paul used it as an Elekid during his first appearance in When Pokémon Worlds Collide! in a battle against Ash and his Pikachu. After a fierce battle, both Pokémon fainted and the battle ended up in a draw.
In Smells Like Team Spirit!, Elekid evolved into Electabuzz during a tag battle where it was fighting alongside Ash's Chimchar. It was revealed in Lost Leader Strategy! that Paul had left Electabuzz with his brother, Reggie, for training. Electabuzz rejoined Paul after the events of Enter Galactic!.
It attempted to save Ash's Pikachu, Dawn's Piplup and Barry's Empoleon in DP163, but Electabuzz itself then had to be saved by Ash's newly evolved Infernape.
| Debut | Top-Down Training! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Shin'ichirō Miki |
| English | Bill Rogers |
- Main article: Paul's Honchkrow
Honchkrow's first official appearance was in Top-Down Training!, as a Murkrow, where Paul used it in battle against Cynthia's Garchomp. It evolved off-screen between Riding the Winds of Change! and Lost Leader Strategy!.
| Debut | Top-Down Training! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Chinami Nishimura |
| English | Bill Rogers |
Weavile made its first appearance in Top-Down Training!. It was used in a battle against Cynthia's Garchomp. Despite having a type-advantage, Weavile lost easily to Garchomp. It was also revealed in this episode that Paul caught Weavile while journeying through Hoenn, Johto and Kanto.
It was not seen again until Riding the Winds of Change! where Paul used it and Electabuzz to capture Gliscor, and again until Aiding the Enemy, where it was seen training with Torterra. It appeared again in Pedal to the Mettle!, where it was one of the battlers in Ash and Paul's full battle. It lost to Ash's Staraptor.
Weavile's known moves are Blizzard, Ice Beam, Ice Shard, Swords Dance and Metal Claw.
| Debut | Different Strokes for Different Blokes |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Unshō Ishizuka |
- Main article: Paul's Ursaring
Paul caught Ursaring in Different Strokes for Different Blokes with the help of his Chimchar. Ursaring was seen several times since, often battling with Chimchar.
| Debut | Lost Leader Strategy! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Yuji Ueda |
| English | Bill Rogers |
- Main article: Paul's Magmortar
Paul chose Magmortar to replace his Chimchar after he released it. It first debuted in Lost Leader Strategy! as a Magmar where it appeared in a flashback. It made its first real appearance in Aiding the Enemy!, sleeping with Paul's other Pokémon.
Magmar's evolution was revealed in Pedal to the Mettle! when Paul chose Magmortar to battle Ash's Pikachu.
Released
It is implied that Paul has caught and released many more Pokémon than has been shown on-screen.
| Debut | When Pokémon Worlds Collide! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Kiyotaka Furushima |
| English | Sarah Natochenny |
Paul caught three Starly in When Pokémon Worlds Collide!. Two of them were released as soon as he checked them on his Pokédex. The final Starly was kept due to its knowledge of Aerial Ace and used against Ash's Starly in their first battle. Despite Paul's Starly winning, Paul decided it was not up to his standards and so it was released after the battle.
Two first Starly's known moves were Tackle and Sand-Attack.
The final Starly's known moves were Aerial Ace and Double Team.
| Debut | Different Strokes for Different Blokes |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Katsuyuki Konishi |
| English | Katsuyuki Konishi |
Paul caught Stantler in Different Strokes for Different Blokes, but released it as soon as he checked it on his Pokédex, due to the fact that its only move was Tackle.
| Debut | When Pokémon Worlds Collide! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English | Bill Rogers |
- Main article: Ash's Infernape
When Paul first saw Chimchar, it was being chased by a group of Zangoose. Paul was impressed with it and added it to his regular team. However, this first impression did not match up to Chimchar's normal abilities and so Paul regularly criticized it for being weak. After losing to Cynthia's Garchomp in Top-Down Training, Paul realized that Chimchar was not fulfilling his expectations. This culminated in the tag battle tournament arc where he was forced to battle alongside Ash. During a battle against a Zangoose and a Metagross, Chimchar was too scared to make any attack when caught in Zangoose's claws. After the battle, Paul released Chimchar in front of Ash, who then invited it to join him.
Given away
| Debut | Shapes of Things to Come |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Tomoko Kawakami |
| English | Kayzie Rogers |
Paul caught Azumarill for his battle with Roark in Shapes of Things to Come, attempting to use the type advantage over the Template:Type2 Pokémon. However, Roark's Geodude had little trouble in defeating the Water Pokémon. After such a loss, Paul gave Azumarill away to a little boy during A Gruff Act to Follow.
Azumarill's known moves are Water Gun and Hydro Pump.
Status unknown
In Veilstone City, Reggie told Ash that Paul's "other Pokémon are here too" which may include his reserves.
| Debut | Riding the Winds of Change! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Yuji Ueda |
| English | Marc Thompson |
- Main article: Paul's Gliscor
Gliscor was accidentally blown into a city from a forest by strong winds, and was soon terrorizing the town with a flock of Gligar it had drawn to the city until it was captured by Paul in Riding the Winds of Change!. Gliscor's next appearance was in Chim - Charred! where it easily defeated Ash's Gligar. It then made a brief cameo in Aiding the Enemy and has not been seen since.
| Debut | Glory Blaze! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | |
| English | Billy Beach |
Paul's Ninjask was caught shortly before Paul met Chimchar, as shown in a flashback in Glory Blaze!. It is unknown if Paul still has Ninjask.
| Debut | A Pyramiding Rage! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Bill Rogers |
Paul's Hariyama has only appeared in A Pyramiding Rage!. It fought against Brandon's Regirock and lost. It is unknown if Paul still has Hariyama.
Hariyama's known moves are Arm Thrust, Protect and Force Palm.
| Debut | A Pyramiding Rage! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Katsuyuki Konishi |
| English | Katsuyuki Konishi |
Paul's Nidoking has only appeared in A Pyramiding Rage!. He fought against Brandon's Registeel. Despite managing to hit Registeel directly with all of its attacks, the Drill Pokémon didn't manage to cause much damage to the Iron Pokémon and was defeated. It is unknown if Paul still has Nidoking.
Nidoking's known moves are Earth Power, Double Kick and Thunderbolt
| Debut | A Pyramiding Rage! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | |
| English | Bill Rogers |
Paul's Lairon has only appeared in A Pyramiding Rage!. It fought against Brandon's Regice and lost in a matter of seconds. It is unknown if Paul still has Lairon.
Lairon's only known move is Iron Defense.
Known badges obtained
Sinnoh League
- Coal Badge (Shapes of Things to Come!)
- Cobble Badge (prior to Lost Leader Strategy!)
- Relic Badge (prior to Aiding the Enemy)
- Unknown Badge (prior to DP155)
- Unknown Badge (prior to DP155)
- Unknown Badge (prior to DP155)
- Beacon Badge (prior to DP155)
- Mine Badge (prior to DP155)
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 (off-screen) in the following Pokémon League competitions:
Pokémon competitions
- Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition (Champion - with Ash) (Smells Like Team Spirit!)
- PokéRinger (Runner-up) (Pursuing a Lofty Goal!)
Voice actors
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Trivia
- Paul was first revealed to the fandom through a CoroCoro scan that showed him alongside Ash and Dawn commanding a Chimchar. However, his name and role was not revealed until the following week and so he received the fan name "Nugai" during that time, coined by Bulbagarden admin Pie as a play on the phrase "new guy".
- His Japanese name, Shinji, can be taken to be 信二, which literally means faithful second (son). This fits, as he has an older brother, Reggie. He may be named for 宮崎慎二 Shinji Miyazaki, who is the composer of the music of the Pokémon anime. The name Paul, meanwhile, is a reference to Paul Baron, a staff member at The Pokémon Company, as well as Pokémon Pearl, in contrast to Dawn referencing Pokémon Diamond. This can also be applied to his Japanese name— the Japanese word for "pearl" is shinju (真珠), though there is no such link for Dawn's Japanese name. There is, however, a link in Dawn's own rival, Kenny, whose Japanese name of ケンゴ Kengo is similar to the Japanese 金剛 kongo. His Japanese name also shares the Japanese name of Lake Verity.
- Several similarities have been noted between Paul and a game rival, Silver. Their personalities are especially similar in that they both are rather cold towards not only the people around them, but also to their Pokémon. Another interesting similarity is that the pose used in Paul's stock art is the same as the pose in a picture of Silver drawn by Ken Sugimori, right down to the angle and position of the hands and feet. Paul has similar taste in Pokémon to the Silver portrayed in Pokémon Adventures. Both have an Ursaring and a Weavile. Both have also owned a Murkrow at one point and furthermore, when Silver had a cameo in the original Japanese opening of The Legend of Thunder!, he was seen with a Nidoking, another Pokémon that Paul has.
- Furthermore, both have challenged, been defeated easily by, and been advised about raising their Pokémon properly i.e with love and care, by their respective regional Champions, Lance and Cynthia respectively. However, while Lance's words were the catalyst for Silver becoming a better person, it is unknown yet if Cynthia's words have really affected Paul in any way.
- The majority of the Pokémon that Paul has on his team are part of an evolution family related to Generation II.
- Ursaring was introduced in Generation II.
- Honchkrow, Weavile and Gliscor are Generation IV Pokémon, but evolve from Generation II Pokémon (Murkrow, Sneasel and Gligar, respectively).
- Electabuzz and Magmar were introduced in Generation I, but evolve from Generation II Pokémon (Elekid and Magby, respectively).
- Some of Paul's Pokémon are based off Pokémon owned by other rivals of Ash and his friends. There are also some traits he shares with Ash's main rival, Gary:
- Paul's Torterra is similar to Gary's Blastoise, as in that they are turtle-based starter Pokémon.
- Paul's Electabuzz is in the same evolution family as Gary's Electivire.
- Gary's Magmar is in the same evolution family as Paul's Magmortar.
- Both trainers own a Nidoking.
- Paul often acts rudely to Ash, much like Gary did until the end of the Johto saga.
- Three of Ash's Pokémon have evolved while battling against Paul: Turtwig into Grotle, Staravia into Staraptor, and Chimchar into Monferno.
- However, four have evolved in the presence of Paul: the three mentioned above, and Monferno evolving into Infernape.
- Paul is the first regular rival seen capturing a Pokémon on screen.
- Paul's Nidoking is so far the only Pokémon that Paul has to have a confirmed and known gender, due to its species.
- Paul has been known to have conflicting views on his own training strategies. In one battle he claims the Trainer is at fault for all losses, yet whenever one of Paul's Pokémon has lost, Paul blames them.
- Paul has been defeated very easily twice in the series.
- In Top-Down Training!, Paul loses to Cynthia, without knocking out any of her Pokémon, hardly damaging her Garchomp, and ultimately lost - and gave up after using 4 of the 6 Pokémon in his party.
- In A Pyramiding Rage!, Paul loses to Brandon, hardly injuring his Regirock, Registeel and Regice, all six of his Pokémon being defeated in the process.
- Both of these trainers spoke to him after their victory; Cynthia told Paul to raise his Pokémon with love and respect, and Brandon told him that he lost because he can't control his emotions.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | シンジ Shinji | Possibly from 真珠 shinju (pearl) |
| English, French, German | Paul | Possibly from pearl |
| Spanish | Polo | Spanish adaptation of Paul |
| Korean | 진철 Jincheol | |
| Chinese | 真司 Zhēnsī | From the name 真司 Shinji. |
External links
- Shinji's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
- Shinji's Pokémon on Pokeani (Japanese)
| Paul's Pokémon | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On hand: | |||||||
| At home: | |||||||
| Released: | |||||||
| Given away: | |||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
