Was Paul meant to represent us? (the viewer)

[Doormat]

Originally I thought Paul was loosely based off the character Silver from the generation 2 games. However the more I started taking note of Paul's characteristics and viewpoints, the more I started to notice that his character actually reflects many of the complaints and criticisms we the viewers often have about Ash and the series as a whole. For example the way Paul berated Ash for his inept battling skills and weak Pokemon more or less mirrored the sentiments a lot of us had/have about the character and the focus of the show.

And before you say that you're not like Paul at all, well I hate to break it to ya but if you play any of the Pokemon games then chances are you share many similarities with Paul, at least on paper. Think about it. What's the difference between the way Paul neglects his Pokemon while training them in the anime and way you do in the games? I mean do you honestly make a conscious effort to heal your Pokemon EVERY single time they fall low on HP? Do you avoid using abilities, items and moves such as Blaze, Toxic Orb and Explosion that can be useful in battle even though by all means they are hurting your Pokemon? Do you really care about that Charmeleon that you're grinding in order to have your very own Charizard at your disposal? Would you have any qualms with releasing a Pokemon you just caught or hatched in favor of a stronger Pokemon with better IV's? Probably not, which is fine because it's not necessary to be sentimental towards a bunch of sprites that you're ultimately just using to aid you in your conquest in a fictional world. Don't get me wrong I doubt that the writers were trying to shame us by having Paul represent us. I merely think they were trying to show us what a trainer would be like if they had the mindset of your typical Pokemon gamer. Even more so if you're into the competitive scene.

Ash on the other hand is pretty much on the polar opposite to Paul in every aspect. Which is why I think the writers and the audience were having an indirect conversation whenever these two lashed out against each other about their opposing viewpoints and personalities. Anyway perhaps I'm over-analyzing a children's anime show, but this is just a theory that popped up in my head recently. Hope you enjoyed :loopy:

 

[Lugia trainer]

Dude I doubt that Paul was made to represent us. And I would just like to say that I do care about my pokemon I don't rely on abilities such as blaze nor do I rely on moves such as explosion in fact I can't remember ever using a move like that. I will admit however that after evolving a pokemon I will swap it out for another pokemon in the pc but that's probably because I have over 100 pokemon but I still care about them. Also when my pokemon hp is in the red I heal them right away so long as I have items with which to do so. I just wanted you to know all that.

 

[Norzan]

Well unlike Paul, well at least me, i care about my pokemon regardless if they are weak or strong and everytime i lose a battle i don't blame my pokemon, either i lost because of my miscaluclations or because the opponent had a better strategy than mine and not because my pokemon are weak. IV breeding is more for gameplay purposes and not something you would actualy do in real life if Pokemon existed, also i see releasing pokemon with imperfect IVs as repopulating an area wich means other trainers can catch them, well this doesn't actualy happen ingame but i like to see as such.

 

[Life]

It is indeed a very interesting theory, and while the viewers and Paul do share many similarities, I don't think it was the writers goal use Paul as a symbol for our issues with Ash. I think Paul was more of Ash's foil, if anything. Like you said, they were complete opposites, and I think that was really all there is to it.

As viewers, we don't really want Ash to get crushed and beaten, we want to see him win. He did in the end, but nonetheless, Paul stomped him quite a bit. If anything, I think Paul represents the more competitive players because of how he's always looking for stronger Pokémon, strategies, moves, and abilities, while Ash represents the more casual player because of how he only uses the Pokémon he befriends/wants.

Ash's rivals in the previous sagas weren't opposite at all, so I also think that the writers just wanted to mix things up a bit. If we had gotten another friendly rival that was similar to Ash, it (in my opinion) would have been boring. Not that there's anything wrong with friendly trainers, but the same thing can easily get stale.

 

[Legacy]

Very interesting take on Paul! I don't think he was purposefully designed to represent the fandom, but it is a good observation.

 

[Nicolas721]

First of all, not all viewers are players and not all players are competitive players.

While the competitive side of Pokemon has always existed, I don't think it was nowhere as big as it is now. Paul was created in 2006, when the most recent game was Emerald, and It was almost impossible to control IVs, EVs and natures, some people didn't even knew they existed.

Sure, there were people that released their Pokemon based only in battle results, but I don't think that was seen as an usual trait of Pokemon players.

To me, Paul is a rival meant to be similar to tons of anime rivals, that are calm, quiet, presumptuous, over-confident, a challenge to the protagonist and that show some villany traits but are actually good.

Also, the idea of almost EVERY show, program or movie is that you can relate yourself to the protagonist, not the villains. If they would have created Paul with the "this is how the viewers are" mentality, then they have made him the hero, but no, he got defeated by Ash.

 

[Muur]

Damn good post with good arguments, +1. I don't think they did it to represent us but it's a well thought out idea .

 

[EvilChameleon]

I mean do you honestly make a conscious effort to heal your Pokemon EVERY single time they fall low on HP? Do you avoid using abilities, items and moves such as Blaze, Toxic Orb and Explosion that can be useful in battle even though by all means they are hurting your Pokemon? Do you really care about that Charmeleon that you're grinding in order to have your very own Charizard at your disposal? Would you have any qualms with releasing a Pokemon you just caught or hatched in favor of a stronger Pokemon with better IV's?

To answer your questions in order...

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

 

[Alpha71689]

Last time I checked, I have my own conscience, and I can think for myself.

 

[Alolan Coconut]

I recall a scene where Paul was catching Starly's to check which moves they got and he released two/three of them because they didn't had the correct moves he wanted. I remember watching it and I could only think "hey,thats pretty smart, thats probably what a lot of players would do"

 

[pokemanv]

nope he is a guy who makes fun of ash just like gary and trip

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

Considering the writers don't know jack shit about the games sometimes, I say they are oblivious to the metagame.

 

[JacobYBM]

I recall a scene where Paul was catching Starly's to check which moves they got and he released two/three of them because they didn't had the correct moves he wanted. I remember watching it and I could only think "hey,thats pretty smart, thats probably what a lot of players would do"

That was in Episode #3, written by Tomioka Atsuhiro. Tomioka took over the role of Series Organization beginning with Pocket Monster: Diamond & Pearl. The role is essentially that of head writer or story editor, but he does not have final creative influence. Notice how in his history with the franchise, which goes all the way back to Pocket Monster Episode #3 (15 April 1997) he has done his best to write intelligent scripts. Tomioka wrote Pocket Monster Episode #59 (30 July 1998), which featured Satoshi trying to pass an exam to enter the Pokemon League without badges. This episode relied heavily on knowledge from the games. Flashforward to Diamond & Pearl where Tomioka now has even greater influence than just being a freelance scribe. Now that he is helping to at least develop some of the overarching plot his first instinct is to introduce Shinji. Nearly all of the episodes with Shinji and Satoshi battling each other (or Shinji battling in general) are written by Tomioka Atsuhiro. Tomioka wrote fourteen of twenty episodes with Shinji in them, all of them being arguably the best episodes of the series.

If anything I think Shinji is Tomioka Atsuhiro.

EDIT: Notice how Episode #140 of Pocket Monster has a prototype Shinji (purple hair, uses a computer to help him win battles). Notice that Tomioka Atsuhiro wrote that episode.

 

[Pokemaster97]

I think this is a really interesting theory that I haven't really thought about before. I do see the similarities between typical gameplay and Paul as a character. I think all of us to an extent, has opted to swap out one Pokemon for another if we think it would help us progress further or benefit us in anyway. While maybe that wasn't their main intent, I definitely wouldn't be surprise if they used elements from the games themselves to expand upon his character.

 

[Neo Blaze]

While it's an interesting theory, I heavily doubt the writers sat down and thought to represent Paul as a reflection of the average player. They just wanted to create a polar opposite to Ash, which isn't necessarily a reflection of the player of the games, but just a complete reversal of Ash's personality. Which brings me to another point; I think you're heavily generalizing the average Pokémon player. Most players I know (including myself) actually do care about almost every single of their Pokémon. I guess you have a point when you illustrate competitive players as not caring for all of their Pokémon, but then again you'd be generalizing them too.

 

[Shinneth]

Honestly, I've interpreted Paul as the anime equivalent of a metagamer for years. Yes, when it comes down to it he's really just a foil and a polar opposite to Ash in every way possible. And... actually, compared to real metagamers, Paul would be a joke. A Weavile with Blizzard instead of Ice Punch? A Ninjask with Agility when it already has Speed Boost as an ability? That's just downright asinine in the metagamer community and they'd eat Paul for breakfast. So I guess I sorta see Paul as something of a parody of a metagamer, in a way. That's probably me overthinking this, but I did notice around the DP era of the anime that the show's mechanics were notably resembling the mechanics of the games more so than in previous series; for example, they were pretty consistent in implementing the four-move limit from this point on. On numerous occasions (especially during Paul battles) there were instances of certain attacks being listed as "special" or "physical", so I always believed it was around this point that the anime staff actually paid attention to how things worked in the games and translated that better into the anime adaptation. And I might be mistaken, but isn't this the first series where they explicitly called shiny Pokemon... well, shiny?

I think my point is, the anime staff did at least pay better attention to how the games worked than they did previously, and Paul's attitude, especially early on, really does resemble that of a typical Gen IV-era metagamer. Only thing he lacked was having Stealth Rock in any iteration of his party. You know, beyond REALLY having a team that's up to metagamer standards, but I totally buy Paul as a dude who uses words like "strength" and "power" as codenames for EVs and IVs. XD So no, I don't think Paul was exactly representative of US as a whole, as many of us are just casual players, but Paul's super-strict zero-tolerance MO is a lot like metagamers who'll go through droves of Pokemon before settling for the one that has 31 IVs in all the right areas.

So it's entirely possible that this was intentional on the staff's end, I believe. I just like to take the interpretation further along than they probably ever imagined, as do most others, I imagine.

 

[Ampharos King]

I think Paul's training methods resemble the type of player who just wants to get past the main story as quickly as possible.

Look at what Paul did in DP:

- He released two Starly in his near-debut episode because they couldn't use Aerial Ace; he released the one that could use Aerial Ace because "there were a million Starly as strong as that one." Many trainers wouldn't keep their first flying-type pokemon around, because those pokemon are very common and there are much stronger flying-types later in the game. And when you get down to it, there are an infinite number of Starly available in DP.

- Paul released a Stantler that only knew Hypnosis (no attacking moves). Players who want to clear the game have no patience for pokemon without damaging moves.

- Paul gave away an Azumarill that lost to a Geodude. That's nearly the same as a player putting a weaker pokemon in a Box because they have come across an even stronger pokemon of that type to use.

- Paul caught an Ursaring that was strong enough to resist Ash's pokemon's attacks. Paul kept it on his team because it had a lot of potential, even though Ursaring has lost SEVERAL times in the series (twice to Ash's Chimchar). Many trainers have the tendency to keep using a pokemon that they caught early on their journeys if that pokemon was strong enough. I kept using my Sawk in Black for that reason.

- After Paul released Chimchar, he didn't release any pokemon on-screen, even if he used pokemon that ended up losing in battles. At some point, Paul felt that he needed to keep those pokemon since he invested so much time in their development. Many trainers who clear the game may firmly establish their final walkthrough team once they have access to powerful and desirable pokemon, even if those pokemon end up losing.

But there are a few differences between Paul and an average player:
- Paul mostly uses pokemon that he caught in the wild, whereas real-life players understand the importance of breeding pokemon for IVs.
- Although Paul releases pokemon that are "unsatisfactory," many players wouldn't release a great but not perfect IV bred pokemon. Many generous people trade their IV bred pokemon (with egg moves) to other players. Yes, Paul gave away the Azumarill to another trainer, but he didn't do it to help that kid out.
- Paul uses a random assortment of pokemon in battles with very little synergy between them. Most players form a team around a specific strategy or Pokemon (i.e. weather), or they create an all-around team of powerful pokemon that cover each others' weaknesses.
- Paul teaches his Pokemon moves that not even the average trainer would bother using. His Froslass had Ice Shard, Hail, and Blizzard. His Ursaring had Bulk Up, Focus Blast, Hammer Arm, and Slash. His Electivire had Thunderpunch, Brick Break, Thunder, and Protect. Many anime trainers tend to have their Pokemon use two or more damaging moves from the same type, even though many real-life players may view that moveset as inefficient.

 

[Alola]

If we're going to compare Paul to anything real world, I believe he closely resembles competitive players.

The fact that we go through so many Pokemon in order to get the right one (the one with the right nature, IVs, gender, moves, shininess) and promptly disregard the ones we don't need, fits to a T. Like Paul, we only want strong Pokemon that we know will be useful and threatening to opposing trainers. Any Pokemon that can't do that we either release (like Paul did with Starly, Chimchar, etc) or we give/trade away, usually to someone else who will appreciate it (like Paul did with Azumarill). It might sound cold and heartless, but it is the honest truth. Then, the Pokemon that do stay with us and what we deem strong, etc etc grow to love us anyway through all the training, battles and whatever personal treats we offer them (like Paul's Torterra, Electrivire, etc). So for all the VGC, Smogon and competitive players, yes we all have a little Paul in us.

I don't think he resembles people who play the games with a strict in-game philosophy, where natures, IVs, and what may be important to a competitive players do not matter.

What a very interesting and stimulating thread. Kudos to the OP.

 

[Jukain]

We've been saying Paul is sort of a Take That! to the competitive circuit since the beginning, although I will agree there are some elements that could go to the game in general, though. Not all of us are like him, though. There are many ways to play the game and still fulfill it's requirements. If it were a real world, I would still say the same thing. There is no one way to train pokemon, if you even want to train them at all. There is a large gameplay and story segregation in which I will agree that a lot of the things we do in game would not be fair to the pokemon. (or anyone else) I do not entirely believe this is what Paul represented, since his pokemon still were faithful and liked being with him. No, I do not believe it involved some kind of Stockholm Effect, or some kind of brainwashing. They just sort of share his ideals. This is the only way I can justify a lot of things in Pokemon, is if the pokemon have a similar mindset, and agree with what it is you want to do. The game is just a game. To treat Pokemon as a realistic world, you will have to abandon some of it's concepts.

 

[Yoshi1001]

If Pokemon training in the games was closer to what we see in the show, I'd probably find my behavior nearer to Ash's than Paul's.

I think Paul was an attempt by the writers to introduce a different, disruptive character into the show that would generate more interest than some of Ash's other rivals.