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4. I think the aforementioned scene of him snapping when he couldn't answer Brandon's question would be my ultimate favorite. It was the first time in the series that we saw the normally aloof and reserved Paul get absolutely furious and practically lose whatever traces of common sense he had left going into that battle. And the voice acting, both for the Japanese AND English versions, really made the scene an eye-opener all the more. All that unbridled rage petered out into being utterly broken and speechless afterwards when he lost (with that fantastic piano background music to go along with it) really did a lot for Paul's character, and it was amazing how different it was from Paul being squashed by Cynthia in front of a bunch of kids when both scenarios were pretty similar on the outside. But on the inside, there was a lot more going on in Paul's battle with Brandon, so I pretty much adored the whole episode, but especially the latter part of that battle. It was powerful for me both in terms of personal entertainment and creative inspiration.
And though I called it long before it was officially canon, I would've liked to see more blatant comparisons of Ash and Reggie, since that turned out to be one of the biggest reasons why Paul was turned off from Ash in the first place and inclined to be hostile towards him.
Lastly, I was a bit disappointed that we never got answer to the question Brandon asked Paul: why he battles. Given that it was around this time that Paul snapped and didn't give an answer before resuming their battle, I strongly believe this was telling us that outside of his motivations for revenge and spite, Paul has no idea why he is a Pokemon Trainer, which has to be a mind-breaking thing to come across when you consider Paul has been traveling as much as Ash has and only then realized after three regions and leagues' worth of traveling, battling, and training, that he has no idea why he's even doing it. I was hoping Paul would've had an answer to that question by the time the League rolled around, but it was never brought up again. At least he seems to have his priorities straightened out since his encounter with Brandon, but I still would've loved a full explanation on how Paul overcame what must have been a burdensome hurdle.
3. They could have made it canon that Brandon is his father. His Pokemon first come to mind. His Elekid/Electabuzz/Electivire was whored out way too much for a Pokemon that already had plenty of limelight in series prior to DP, and I think a rivalry between Infernape and Paul's Torterra would have been a much more powerful story that could've been told, especially since it would be another way to capitalize on Ash and Paul's opposite natures. It would've been a great way to see two sides of the same coin: Paul failed to make Chimchar work out because they were incompatible (because IMO the Chimchar species isn't tank-y enough to suit Paul's style of battling), and while Ash promised to help his Grotle adapt to a more defensive style of battling to suit the massive weight it put on after evolving from its speedy Turtwig form, his Torterra was ultimately one of Ash's weakest Sinnoh teammates. I believe that to be the case because Ash works better with speed-demon glass cannons, and instead of actually working on Torterra's defensive capabilities, it seemed more like he tried to cheese the lacking-speed factor of Torterra by having it cruise around like crazy with Rock Climb. Meanwhile, Paul's Torterra was very well-raised and was the epitome of Paul's battling preference: strong, defensive, bulky Pokemon that could take hits as well as they dish them. I noticed Paul's Weavile was also one of the few Pokemon of Paul's that never really got to shine well, which makes sense given the line of logic I have going here. So I would've liked to see this explored more.
Also: would've loved to see some expansion on how Paul's Torterra learned Frenzy Plant - a move learned by starter Pokemon that like you a lot in the games - when Paul emphasized utilizing as little affection and friendliness as possible in his training techniques and seemingly abhors the concept of bonding with his Pokemon.
Sorry for the delay. The second question was actually not something I could think of an answer for right away and this week has been utter hell (plus this site's been cut off from my work computer so there'll be no quips from me during the day until the site's been unblocked, IF that happens at all).
1. I think Paul is actually, genuinely a 10 in my book. Granted, if I like any character from any fandom enough to write fanfiction about them, then they have to be very special to me. In Paul's case, I think he's unique among my menagerie of favorite characters from other series, as I've been writing fanfiction for 12-13 years and I've followed the Pokemon anime several years before Paul even made his debut. Yet despite being one of my few long-term fandoms, I was never once compelled to write a Pokemon story until Paul came into the picture. For all the relentless study I've done on his character over the years, I'd say a 10 rating is very accurate; no other Pokemon character has been as thought-provoking for me as he was.
2. Paul has been a very large part of renewing my interest and faith in the Pokemon anime. He was a character that seemed so out-of-place in a happy-go-lucky borderline-utopian world, yet still felt like a perfectly natural fixture to the show thanks to the abundance of effort I see that the writers put into his character. No one else in the show has intrigued me like Paul has; unlike most characters (especially in Best Wishes), my inquiries for Paul have never been out of exasperation or disappointment and the fact that each appearance left me wanting to see and know more has inspired me creatively in ways no other character has.
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