Paul (Japanese: シンジ Shinji) is a rival of Ash in the anime from Veilstone City in Sinnoh. He was first seen at the end of Two Degrees of Separation, though his full introduction was in When Pokémon Worlds Collide. He is voiced by 小島清孝 Kiyotaka Furushima in Japanese, Julián Rebolledo in English and Gabriel Noya in the Brazilian dub.

Paul always checks new captures with his Pokédex to learn what attacks they know. He strongly dislikes weak Pokémon and has a habit of releasing them if they do not meet up to his high expectations.

Paul feels that Ash is a weak trainer and can easily bring on Ash's anger by stating it. He appears to feel indifference to Brock and Dawn, showing that he didn't even know Dawn's name in A Gruff Act to Follow, though Paul seems to be interested in Dawn since he is not as annoyed by her as he is with Ash and Brock. However, Paul has shown respect for some characters, in particular Professor Rowan, Roark, and Cynthia.

For a while, many believed that Paul was a trainer just starting out. However this was proven untrue in DP040 when he revealed that he had already traveled through Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. This has caused many fans to wonder if Paul had already gone through Sinnoh once before since he actually lives in the region, or if he visited one of the other regions first.

Pokémon

This listing is of Paul's Pokémon as of the most recent Japanese episode:

On hand

→ → Turtwig → Grotle → Torterra

Elekid

Murkrow

Weavile

Ursaring

Released

Starly ×3

Stantler

Azumarill

Chimchar

Unknown fate

Shedinja

Badges obtained

• Coal Badge

Trivia

• His Japanese name, Shinji, can be taken to be 信二, which literally means faithful second (son). He may be named for 宮崎慎二 Shinji Miyazaki, who is the composer of the music of the Pokémon anime. Paul appears to reference Pokémon Pearl as Dawn references Pokémon Diamond. This can also be applied to his Japanese name--the Japanese word for "pearl" is shinju (真珠), though there is no link to Dawn's Japanese name. The name Paul, meanwhile, is a reference to Paul Baron, a staff member at The Pokémon Company as well as the Pearl version, in contrast to Dawn representing the Diamond Version.
• File:SugimoriSilverSketch.jpg

  Sugimori's sketch of Silver
  Several similarities have been noted between Paul and another rival, Silver. Their personalities are especially similar. Another interesting similarity is that the pose used in Paul's stock art is the same as the pose in a picture of Silver drawn by Ken Sugimori, right down to the angle and position of the hands and feet. Paul has similar taste in Pokémon to the Silver portrayed in Pokémon Special. Both have an Ursaring and a Murkrow, and assuming Paul caught his Weavile as a Sneasel, both have owned a Sneasel at one point.
• Paul was first revealed to the fandom through a CoroCoro scan that showed him alongside Ash and Dawn. However, his name and role was not revealed until the following week and so he received the fan name "Nugai", coined by Pie as a play on the phrase "new guy". The first scan showed him commanding a Chimchar.
• Paul's hometown is Veilstone City, which happens to be the home of the main headquarters of Team Galactic. Whether or not this is a merely coincidence is unknown.
• Paul is the only rival to have had two starter Pokémon in his team, but eventually releases one.

External links

• Shinji's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
• Shinji's Pokémon on Pokeani (Japanese)

Paul's Pokémon
On hand:	Electivire	Gyarados	Garchomp	Metagross
At home:	Ursaring	Weavile	Honchkrow	Torterra	Ninjask	Gliscor
	Magmortar	Hariyama	Nidoking	Aggron	Gastrodon	Drapion
	Froslass
Released:	Starly (×3)	Stantler	Chimchar
Given away:	Azumarill