Summary

Many fans of thePokémonanime would agree that of all Ash ’s challenger throughout the series , the one who really pushed him to his demarcation line washis Sinnoh - earned run average rival , Paul . With a profound dissonance in their philosophy towards Pokémon , Ash and Paul had a vicious competition that climax in Ash finally overcome him , using a Pokémon that Paul once abandoned for being too weak . This shook Paul ’s worldly concern , but sports fan would n’t determine out to what extent for age to come .

InPokémon Journeys , Paul have a surprising reappearance in " Friends , Rivals , Lend Me Your Spirit ! " , an installment set just before Ash begins to recruit the Masters ' Eight tournament . Paul admits that he ’s not participating in the tourney , but offers only a light self-justification as to why he ’s near Professor Oak ’s lab .

Ash , of course of instruction , ca n’t aid but challenge his erstwhile rival to a battle , and Paul agrees to fight him - but only using Pokémon that will be employed by Ash ’s opponents in the Masters ' Eight tournament .

Pikachu

No Pokémon Rival’s Growth Can Match Paul’s

Pokémon Journeysepisode #114, “Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!”

Ash and Paul conflict it out , beginning with Ash ’s Lucario versus Paul ’s Gyarados . Despite having the typewrite disadvantage , Ash manages to rive out a victory by ingest Lucario use a new move , Bullet Punch . Their battle move on to Ash ’s Dragonite versus Paul ’s Garchomp , but this time it ’s Paul who manage to eke out the win . Their last match comes down to Ash ’s Gengar versus Paul ’s Metagross , with both Pokémon weak to the other ’s typewriting . Ash ’s Gengar hire its fresh - teach Will - o'-Wisp to burn Metagross , sabotage its approach and allow it to win , claiming the match for Ash .

Paul leaves , on the face of it pleased with the outcome despite his red ink . It seems Paul ’s purpose all along was to help Ash , by using Pokémon and strategies that his potential future opponent in the Masters ' Eight would use . While Ash did n’t terminate up battling Lance ’s Gyarados , he did battle Steven ’s Metagross and Cynthia ’s Garchomp , and the practice he clear from breeding with Paul here help to give him an boundary . This is a monumental change from the Paul fan knew in Sinnoh , who only care about win at any price .

Pokémon JourneysProvides The Perfect Epilogue to Paul’s Arc

While Paul ’s character arc had progress to its end by the metre Ash left Sinnoh , this sequence allowed Paul to come back and demonstrate how his encounters with Ash helped him to grow , arguably more so than any other rival of Ash ’s , except perhaps Gary . The old Paul would never have helped Ash , much less gone so far out of his way of life to do so . Paul even gets a minute with Ash ’s Infernape , the Pokémon that he had abandoned as a Chimchar , to help signal that his position towards Pokémon has changed for the best .

Paul had n’t appeared in over 500 episodes before this , so this was intended to please long - time fans , and please them it did . In just one coming into court , Paul manage to solidify just how much he had alter as a result of Ash , help Ash out with his upcoming challenges , and finally make some peace with Infernape . By bringing Paul back , Pokémon Journeysdidn’t just treat long - time fans , but helped to prompt Ash how far he ’d fare , and gave him that piffling push that just might ’ve made the difference in the tourney .

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Nezuko and Tanjiro from Demon Slayer

span over twenty - five year , Pokemon , known as Pocket Monsters in Japan , is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo , Game Freak , and Creatures . Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in tie-up with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda , Pokemon is put in fabricated human race where people live together with tamable brute sleep together as Pokemon . Humans who get , ascent , and combat the brute are screw as Pokemon Trainers . They head out on across-the-board journeying across their continent to lift their Pokemon with the ultimate destination of contend in tournaments to become the champion . Pokemon span several massive dimension , from a long - run animize serial to a successful trading add-in secret plan , to the spiritualist that begin it all , video games . In plus , Pokemon set about the " two - secret plan " trend where two versions of a game would liberate and include unlike Pokemon / features between the versions , encouraging histrion to satisfy up with others and craft so they could " catch ‘em all . "

Feature Image for Retro Anime Starring Revolutionary Girl Utena, Ghost in the Shell, Witch Hunter Robin

Pokemon: Paul and Ash in front of Wyndon Stadium.

Pokemon: Ash vs Paul in Journeys

Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the “two-game” trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could “catch ‘em all."

Pokemon: Ash and Paul after their match.

The Pokemon Anime’s Ash Vs Paul

Pokemon Franchise Image

Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the “two-game” trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could “catch ‘em all."

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