History Characters / PokemonTheSeriesPaul

* AlmightyJanitor: [[spoiler:Despite choosing not to enter the World Coronation Series in ''Journeys'', his battle with Ash (a member of the Masters Eight) shows that he is potentially one of the strongest trainers in the world, nearly managing to defeat him in their three-on-three sparring match ([[DownplayedTrope although it is slightly mitigated since he was offered to become a Gym Leader, meaning he's likely soon to have an official position]]).]]

* HeyYou: Barely acknowledges Ash by name, particularly in the Japanese version.

* TheAce: Downplayed, as while he’s had many victories, he’s had a few losses. But by the Sinnoh League, Paul’s considered by many to be the one to beat (besides Tobias) in the League. In his matches before his battle with Ash, he defeated each of his opponents without losing a single one of his Pokémon, including in his battle with Barry.
** [[spoiler: Journeys takes it further. Out of all the trainers Ash faced up until that point, Paul has given Ash more of a challenge than most of his competition in the PWC tournament up until that point, while simultaneously training/preparing Ash and his Pokémon for the Masters 8, copying the Masters 8’s Pokemon and battle strategies almost flawlessly. Had Paul entered the tournament, he likely would’ve made it into the Masters 8 himself.]]

* BoringButPractical: What makes him so effective, really. He doesn't get caught up in fighting in a suboptimal way to prove something like other characters often do, he just uses generic utility, screens, and prediction to overwhelm his opponents as efficiently as possible. During his battle against Ash by Lake Acuity, Ash's Counter Shield doesn't do much compared to his use of Bulk Up and Light Screen. Similarly, his strategy against Ash in their Conference battle was to use Toxic Spikes to poison Ash's entire team and have an insanely durable Drapion ensure the Toxic has plenty of time to do its work, albeit Ash was able to remove it before his team was too worn down. Even when he had a finally faced Ash again in ''Journeys'' after a long absence, his strategies boiled down to Coil, Keep Away, and Speed Boosting. And while Ash will often use a Pokemon with a bad Type matchup and try to win on sheer willpower, if Paul does that, you can bet he has something up his sleeve that absolutely turns the matchup on its head and he switches it out if it doesn't work quickly.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Downplayed. In addition to complimenting Electivire for a well-fought battle after losing to Ash, he acknowledges that Ash's Infernape is strong, and the two see each other off on good terms, finally ending their bitter rivalry. They're not exactly friends on account of the immense personality clash, but they've come a long way from the borderline [[ArchEnemy arch-enemies]] they were at first.
** [[spoiler: PlayedStraight during his return in Journeys. While Paul does still rib Ash a few times, he actually came to Oak’s lab to support Ash and prepare him from the Masters 8 tournament, and even caught up with him a little bit before their sparring match.]]

* FriendshipHatingAntagonist: His most defining trait of character. He hates and ridicules Ash for his adamant belief in ThePowerOfFriendship, believing that only the strongest Pokémon are worth the effort of training and that bonding with his Pokémon would make them spoiled and weak. After a long journey, a [[CurbStompBattle crushing loss to Brandon]], and finally a loss to Ash himself in the Sinnoh League, he gets better.

** Journeys takes it further. Out of all the trainers Ash faced up until that point, Paul has given Ash more of a challenge than most of his competition in the PWC tournament up until that point, while simultaneously training/preparing Ash and his Pokémon for the Masters 8, copying the Masters 8’s Pokemon and battle strategies almost flawlessly. Had Paul entered the tournament, he likely would’ve made it into the Masters 8 himself.

* AllForNothing: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Paul raised him to prepare Ash for a potential battle against Lance, but Lance is ultimately matched up with Diantha and eliminated in the first round. That said, his coiling strategy proved key in helping Ash overcome Cynthia's Milotic.

'''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' Gerardo García (seasons 10, 11 and 13), Gabriel Ortiz, Eduardo Ramírez and Ricardo Bautista (season 12)\\

* AllForNothing: {{Downplyaed}}. Paul raised him to prepare Ash for a potential battle against Lance, but Lance is ultimately matched up with Diantha and eliminated in the first round. That said, his coiling strategy proved key in helping Ash overcome Cynthia's Milotic.

* AllForNothing: Paul raised him to prepare Ash for a potential battle against Lance, but Lance is ultimately matched up with Leon and eliminated in the first round.

* PreFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Of ''Journeys''. He's the last obstacle in Ash's road to the Masters Eight, and a major test of whether or not Ash has what it takes to compete with the best of the best in the Pokémon world.]]

-->'''Paul:''' A pathetic trainer and his equally pathetic Pokémon.
-->'''Ash:''' What was that?!
-->'''Paul:''' Alright, so where's that faith? If you really think you can with with [[ThePowerOfFriendship faith alone]], then you're no better than any lowlife loser trainer out there, ''because you have no idea how Grotle's changed!''

* SmileOfApproval: Paul, after spending the entire series showing Ash nothing but his [[PerpetualFrowner trademark]] DeathGlare or the occasional PsychoticSmirk, finally gives him a genuine smile at the end of their Sinnoh League battle, symbolizing that their bitter rivalry has finally come to an end. [[spoiler:The same thing happens in ''Journeys'' after they battle once again]].

** He's still got it [[spoiler:in ''Journeys''. He's managed to raise a Gyarados, a Garchomp, and a Metagross that are fight identically to three of the Champions Ash is set to face in the World Coronation Series.]]

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Was this to Ash's Pikachu in ''Diamond and Pearl''. Whatever Pikachu could do, Electivire could do better. Electivire always had the upper hand when they fought because of its Motor Drive ability absorbing Pikachu's electric attacks, and indeed defeated Pikachu during the Lily of the Valley Conference. However, this is probably not the case anymore as Pikachu defeated a different Electivire by overwhelming its Motor Drive, so Pikachu could likely do the same to it now [[spoiler: in addition to being the mon that made Ash the strongest trainer by the end of his run, so Pikachu would probably now be this to Electivire]].

'''Advanced Generation:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Hoenn)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireGymLeadersAndFrontierBrains Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains]]\\

* SecondEpisodeInttroduction: Makes his debut during the second episode of ''DP'', "Two Degrees of Separation".

* BaitAndSwitch: His debut makes him appear as a possible newbie trainer due to possessing a starter Pokémon (Chimchar), a Baby Pokémon (Elekid), and just like Ash catching a Starly. It isn't until after his battle against Cynthia it is fully confirmed that he actually has just as much experience as Ash having already traveled through Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn.

** Perhaps one of Paul's biggest flaws is that for as skilled a battler as he clearly is, he's near instantaneous to judge Pokémon who don't meet his standards as weak and blame them, instead of taking responsibility as a trainer and facing that there are different ways to become strong and his own methods failing to bring out a Pokémon's potential isn't an issue with them. This is one of the main aspects of his CharacterDevelopment and what Ash and Chimchar-Infernape seek to prove.

* NoNonsenseNemesis: At Lake Acuity. Part of the reason he beats Ash so soundly is because he's completely focused on the battle from beginning to end, not allowing himself any distractions by either gloating or responding to Ash's comments.

** Ash's out-of-the-box strategies that generally give him the edge in battles barely work on Paul if they even faze him. In their second battle, one of Ash's old tricks, using a Dig attack's hole against the user, backfires ''hard'' on him when Paul counters the strategy. Even the Counter Shield, Ash's signature strategy in Sinnoh, not only barely gave him some advantage, but Paul learned it and used it against Ash in the league. Soon after, he flat out copied Ash and Infernape's tactics to rid off Toxic Spikes, using it to stop Ash's Gliscor.

'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokémon]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesAntagonists Antagonists]]\\

'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokemon]]\\

* AlmightyJanitor: [[spoiler:Despite choosing not to enter the World Coronation Series in ''Journeys'', his battle with Ash (a member of the Masters Eight) shows that he is potentially one of the strongest trainers in the world, nearly managing to defeat him in their three-on-three sparring match ([[DownplayedTrope although it is slightly mitigated since he was offered to become a Gym Leader, meaning he's likely soon to have an official position]]).

* AlmightyJanitor: [[spoiler: Despite choosing not to enter the World Coronation Series in ''Journeys'', his battle with Ash (a member of the Masters Eight) shows that he is potentially one of the strongest trainers in the world, nearly managing to defeat him in their three-on-three sparring match ([[DownplayedTrope although it is slightly mitigated since he was offered to become a Gym Leader, meaning he's likely soon to have an official position]]).