Many fans of the Pokémon anime would agree that of all Ash’s rivals throughout the series, the one who really pushed him to his limits was his Sinnoh-era rival, Paul. With a fundamental disagreement in their philosophies towards Pokémon, Ash and Paul had a vicious rivalry that culminated in Ash finally defeating him, using a Pokémon that Paul once abandoned for being too weak. This shook Paul’s world, but fans wouldn’t find out to what extent for years to come.
In Pokémon Journeys, Paul makes a surprising reappearance in “Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!”, an episode set just before Ash begins to enter the Masters’ Eight tournament. Paul admits that he’s not participating in the tournament, but offers only a weak excuse as to why he’s near Professor Oak’s lab.
Ash, of course, can’t help but challenge his old 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.
No Pokémon Rival’s Growth Can Match Paul’s
Pokémon Journeys episode #114, “Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!”
Ash and Paul battle it out, beginning with Ash’s Lucario versus Paul’s Gyarados. Despite having the typing disadvantage, Ash manages to pull out a victory by having Lucario use a new move, Bullet Punch. Their battle moves on to Ash’s Dragonite versus Paul’s Garchomp, but this time it’s Paul who manages to eke out the win. Their final match comes down to Ash’s Gengar versus Paul’s Metagross, with both Pokémon weak to the other’s typing. Ash’s Gengar employs its newly-learned Will-o’-Wisp to burn Metagross, weakening its attacks and allowing it to win, claiming the match for Ash.
Paul leaves, seemingly pleased with the outcome despite his loss. It seems Paul’s intention all along was to help Ash, by using Pokémon and strategies that his potential future opponents in the Masters’ Eight would use. While Ash didn’t end up battling Lance’s Gyarados, he did battle Steven’s Metagross and Cynthia’s Garchomp, and the practice he gained from training with Paul here helped to give him an edge. This is a massive change from the Paul fans knew in Sinnoh, who only cared about winning at any cost.
Pokémon Journeys Provides The Perfect Epilogue to Paul’s Arc
While Paul’s character arc had reached its end by the time Ash left Sinnoh, this episode 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 to do so. Paul even gets a moment with Ash’s Infernape, the Pokémon that he had abandoned as a Chimchar, to help signal that his attitude towards Pokémon has changed for the better.
Paul hadn’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 appearance, Paul managed to solidify just how much he had changed as a result of Ash, help Ash out with his upcoming challenges, and finally make some peace with Infernape. By bringing Paul back, Pokémon Journeys didn’t just treat long-time fans, but helped to remind Ash how far he’d come, and gave him that little push that just might’ve made the difference in the tournament.
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