Thread: What did you think of Paul/Shinji's role on the show and should he appear again?

Really I don't think a cameo would hurt, or at least a mention...considering how much of an influence he was on Ash as a character.

His role? Basically what will motivate Ash to get his awesome on again.

While it would be interesting to see him again, I don't see how he would really benefit BW. His and Ash's relationship was based on the fact that Ash didn't like his training methods. Something Ash had ironically said he wouldn't interfere in in the episode Thinning the Hoard, one of the last few episodes of AG.

I love Paul's role on the show as he really motivated Ash to do his best. Ash had something to prove to Paul, which you don't really get with Trip.

I think it would be nice if Paul were at least mentioned. It might be kind of strange to bring back Paul, now that we have Trip.

Paul was an ovverated douche who got a massive whammy of writer's favoritism. The only things good that came from him was the regis got a chance to shine and the writers respected him enough to give ash the most evolved and strongest moveset team to win.

He should not get another cameo unless its a humiliating 6-0 loss to boost trip's strength.

Originally Posted by pokemonsquared

Paul was an ovverated douche who got a massive whammy of writer's favoritism. The only things good that came from him was the regis got a chance to shine and the writers respected him enough to give ash the most evolved and strongest moveset team to win.

He should not get another cameo unless its a humiliating 6-0 loss to boost trip's strength.

o.o

I also prefer Shooti but come on.... :| If that happened, Ash would look even worse considering he barely scraped by Paul with Infernape's Blaze.

Let's have our good friend Shooti annihilate someone else.

Originally Posted by U-missed-a-spot

Originally Posted by pokemonsquared

Paul was an ovverated douche who got a massive whammy of writer's favoritism. The only things good that came from him was the regis got a chance to shine and the writers respected him enough to give ash the most evolved and strongest moveset team to win.

He should not get another cameo unless its a humiliating 6-0 loss to boost trip's strength.

o.o

I also prefer Shooti but come on.... :| If that happened, Ash would look even worse considering he barely scraped by Paul with Infernape's Blaze.

Let's have our good friend Shooti annihilate someone else.

I believe Paul should be waiting at Pallet town for Ash's return. This is only to show off as a new Frontier Brain; something that Ash had turned down in order to keep traveling. Paul's journey is basically over since he has nothing to fight for, nothing left to represent. Perhaps he'll even meet Misty. Sorry Tracey.

He was a great character but I honestly never want to see him again. He'll either be downgraded or handled horribly if he reappears, especially in BW, so its best to just let him go.

Sometimes its better to let characters go out on a high note than see them dragged through the mud and become shadows of their former selves...like some other characters I could mention.

Personally i would like to see Paul again. He was excellent rival which managed to add more depth to Ash story, provided unique vibe with his reserved and cold heart attitude and pushed Ash to grow forward bringing in question his whole strategy and methodology of friendship between trainer and pokemon being "only right way"he was sticking to for years.

Considering how with different approach Paul achieved same, if not even more successful results.

It would be nice to get coverage on his rematch against Brandon , come to contribute to villain plot like Team Plasma and even have duel against Ash for old time sake.
After all if Gary could reappear after rivalry with Ash concluded, there is no reason why Paul couldn't as well.

Now i know some will say "but his story ended, he don't have reason". Reason can always be created, and there always exists room to be done more with someone journey(story) never needing to stop.

Originally Posted by The Fighting Misty

He was a great character but I honestly never want to see him again. He'll either be downgraded or handled horribly if he reappears, especially in BW, so its best to just let him go.

Sometimes its better to let characters go out on a high note than see them dragged through the mud and become shadows of their former selves...like some other characters I could mention.

Honestly every time new character is introduced its unknown if he will be handled great or horrible until he appears on screen, with same thing applying to previous ones(in this case Paul).

Sometimes you need to fall to learn to get up and acknowledge previous mistakes to react better next time.
Even if character gets dragged down he can be restored through penitentiary test, developing again appeal which attracted viewers in first place.

Going by logic how someone who left on high note should be treated as relic never showed again to avoid risk only deprives us from excitement, chance to get update, more development, learn new things and also denies creativity writers may develop to make something meaningful out of him.

Risk is always present, but way i see it sometimes you need to bite that risk to allow that something is developed forward making foundation on which you can build pleasant and exciting plot. Otherwise looking back in retrospection we would never get such great rival like Paul in first place missing on all excitement and good story he provided to series.

Paul was a terrible rival, no idea what people see in him.

No, I don't think he should appear again. Not even because I don't like him, but because he already got his "redemption", so what is the point of having him? He'd just be a generic stoic character.

Originally Posted by Nyula

Paul was a terrible rival, no idea what people see in him.

I see a determined trainer in him. Although he treated his Pokemon badly, he actually trained them very well.
He also have the heart of learning, he learned Counter Shield from Ash, I have never seen a rival that learns from Ash other than him.
He also admit defeat after he lose to Ash in the league, admitting that he didn't see Infernape's potential and also he acknoledges that he is not good enough, he decided to train more before rechallenging Brendan.
He is a well-written rival.

What do other rivals do? You say that BW is better than DP in the other thread, can you tell me what Shooti, Bel, Kenyan or Virgil or Kotetsu does?
(Yes, they do something, Shooti does well in being mild, Bel does well in bumping Ash into water, Kenyan did well with his name variations, and Virgil and Kotetsu did well in advertising the Eeveelutions and regress Ash in the league respectively)
But all these, any Pokemon fans will not take it as well-written rivals.

Originally Posted by Mareepy

Originally Posted by Nyula

Paul was a terrible rival, no idea what people see in him.

I see a determined trainer in him. Although he treated his Pokemon badly, he actually trained them very well.

And no one did a thing about it.

He also have the heart of learning, he learned Counter Shield from Ash, I have never seen a rival that learns from Ash other than him.

That makes him a good character?

He also admit defeat after he lose to Ash in the league, admitting that he didn't see Infernape's potential and also he acknoledges that he is not good enough, he decided to train more before rechallenging Brendan.

Yes, and it was really unsatisfying, it was obvious that they didn't want Paul to lose his "dignity", he remained the same stoic character that he was from Day 1 (I heard Paul was the head writer's favorite character back in DP, which might explain some things, but he still should have been treated normally).

He is a well-written rival.

To you. All I see is a one-dimensional, emotionless drone.

What do other rivals do? You say that BW is better than DP in the other thread,

Yes, but I never mentioned rivals.

can you tell me what Shooti, Bel, Kenyan or Virgil or Kotetsu does?

Moving on!

(Yes, they do something, Shooti does well in being mild, Bel does well in bumping Ash into water, Kenyan did well with his name variations, and Virgil and Kotetsu did well in advertising the Eeveelutions and regress Ash in the league respectively)
But all these, any Pokemon fans will not take it as well-written rivals.

You can't speak for everyone.

Well... I really liked Paul as a character, because he was a great contrast compared to the "everybody friends and happy" logo of the anime and also because he really pushed Ash to his limits. He forced Ash to develop as a character and their resolution of the rivalry was brilliant in my opinion, since they both fully recognized the strength of the other.

But even if I like him, I think is better that he stays away from the series. There is no need to reopen a story that has basically ended. Better to focus on the current and incoming characters.

While I liked his role and want him to appear again in the future, I really hope it isn't during the BW series. Dawn got screwed over so badly there...

I've studied Pokemon and the anime for years and so far, I think Shinji had the most impact on Satoshi in a developmental and personal way. I've read in articles that the DP is the most dramatic and violent series so far as well the most positive in the recipients of the audience and viewers. One writer from bulbapedia as sighted that Shinji and Satoshi's rivalry were one of the most memorable times so far in the entire pokemon series.
I think there's a good reason for Shinji to reappear in the anime. For one, in the previous saga, the chemistry between Satoshi, him, and Shirona are large and important to this era. At the end of the series, she's looking forward to seeing them both at the champion league which is possibly the final step to becoming a pokemon master. This could mean that he could play an important role to the final season's of the anime.
In the episode where he and Jindai battle one another, Shinji revealed that he didn't have a clear goal of what he wanted to do with his life besides surpassing his brother. It's unclear of what Shinji has decided to do and probably having a rematch with Jindai may unveil his ideal goal. Yes, Shinji does say to Satoshi that he would battle the final frontier brain of kanto but no one has seen whether he has accomplished that or not.
The final and IMO the most crucial part of Shinji for having a reason for returning to the anime is what Reiji has said to Satoshi. "Shinji has always had a cruel streak," were the words that were left unexplained. Why did Shinji have a cruel streak in the first place and why would his older brother briefly point that out onscreen to the protagonist? Was there a cause in the past that has made him who he was before meeting Satoshi? Would trying to surpass his older brother mean anything to that? When Jindai ordered him to control his emotions in battle, did he have emotional problems? How was he raised to gain such a character?
The bottom line is, Shinji is more mysterious than what was already presented in the DP series. There are more unanswered questions to make a unique character like his to be of interest yet to discover somewhere in the future. As for the BW series, I don't think it's a good idea that he makes an appearance. Maybe in the series' to come, there could be special episodes featuring him along with meeting with Satoshi again. In conclusion, Shinji has some good reasons to reappear in the anime.