AdvancedGenGenesect
Well-Known Member
So you don't like the way Paul treated Chimchar,his other pokemon were fine with Paul's system.I don't see what everything Paul did throughout DP as predictable at all,the guy wanted capture the strongest pokemon in the wild,scanned their moveset with his pokedex,then decide to either keep em or release em.After that he'd put them through rigorous training and then use them in battle,if Paul doesn't feel like they met his expectations he released them.
None of Ash's rivals before or after DP were doing what Paul was doing,he also had a reputation for being a smart competitive battler like switching during battles,using status moves,taking advantage of abilities,and planning ahead.
I find none of this predictable,the only reason you find it predictable is because he's looked as the bad guy and will eventually get what's coming to him.Well for one he isn't the main character and if he was he would have won a league already.If the guy came to the Unova region the same time as Ash he's easily winning the whole damn thing.
Here's the thing, Paul was doing something different, but compared to Gary his purpose was minimal.
Gary first acted as the first rival for ash, he was someone for Ash to compete with and was a reason for ash to improve. Later in Johto he started bonding with ash, they got to know each other more and he became less of a Jerk, serving both as a friend and a rival. Later when he battled ash in pallet town he showed ash that he wasn't perfect, and ultimately motivated him to go to Sinnoh. Ultimately he was a very important and balanced character, and for his time he was completely original like Paul.
Paul on the other hand also was a big rival for ash, but because he bet ash every single time and then lost, it basically did nothing to Ash as a character or the whole scheme of things. Paul also stayed the same for the most part and only somehow changed right at the end, which was a very unsatisfactory ending. Like you said, the only thing that was learned from the end was that the plot was absolute bs but also predictable. If they wanted to end the plot the way they did then ash also should've been more of a challenger for Paul, It could've started out with Paul winning, but then ash would've started gaining momentum so that paul would take him more seriously.
Overall I'd just say they handled him poorly, but I wouldn't say that he's the greatest.