Do you agree with our choices? Which Masters 8 Trainers do you think Paul beats? 👀👑

Another thing about diantha you forgot to mention about diantha is that her battle style changes with each and every Pokémon she uses, making her highly unpredictable hence why her unpredictability stat is so high

I always hated the idea of Leon allegedly being the "greatest trainer in the world." The writers tried so hard to force that idea down our throats, and it felt disrespectful to the likes of Cynthia, Steven, and Diantha. Cynthia doesn't need any explanation, but in the anime, Steven's Metagross wrestled with the likes of Mega Rayquaza and Primal Groudon, and Diantha's Gardevoir was putting in work against Zygarde. That's without mentioning the sheer disrespect to Alain, whose Charizard has fought primals, legendaries, and so much more. It's hard for me to accept that Leon is just that far ahead of them. Leon's opponents took dives for money, and Ash was the only one who couldn't be bribed.

Another thing about diantha is that she can immediately take control of the field if she wants even Cynthia herself acknowledged that in her battle against lance.

We need to realise that Diantha and Gardevoir is the best trainer Pokémon combination. They communicate with their eyes and seemingly control each others emotions. It’s the undisputed best communication of all trainers with Iris Haxorus and Ash Pikachu being behind her

For Ash let's not forget that his pikachu is on another level compared to diamond and pearl. Ash pikachu was a menace in masters 8 and that was the reason Cynthia wanted to get rid of him early. Pikachu just has some amazing feats

If he could hold his own against one of them, he could definitely beat a majority of them. Plus (Brandon had a point when he battled Ash before. If Ash was struggling against evil Paul so much, there was absolutely a way he would win the tournament. Heck, he probably would be able to beat Iris or Alain, much less anybody else with how much he was being pushed against the ropes or lines. Eljoindo user is still half wrong.

No, he loses easily to any of the competitors lmao

I guess what comes down to it would be depending on Paul's members of who he would end up using against the champs'. Pokemon Mezastar could sorta help in showing all the champs' teams as it actually did hint on other pokemon members before the tourney eps happened (biggest ex. was Leon's Mr. Rime), so they might've been factual. And I think it's fine if some pokemon are repeated as another name for the Masters 8 could be called the Tournament to End All Dragonites. As well as Journeys made a lot of game reference parallels for the Masters 8 from both pokemon selection & movepool. So for the champs' teams (minus ash's since we already know): - For starters like Iris we only know she has 5 pokemon, so her 6th could actually be a Hydreigon (Mezastar); in which I wish they did so that Journeys could show some form of Champion Iris (I know a lot of people were fans of champ iris happening, but honestly the way they portrayed her return made iris still feel like the same BW Iris who the anime made her lean towards becoming gym leader. I mean in the tourney iris literally bet everything on Horn Drill. Everything else after the battle & then against ash only made her shine in her growth was thanks to Haxorus; which was obvious from the start because it's her Partner Pokemon, Her Ace; so of course it'd be OP) - For Alain's team it might've done better if they didn't give him Malamar as it got swept so easily as at least Chesnaught & Charizard did good. I will forever hate how Journeys portrayed Alain to the end now; they should've just gotten another trainer to lose to Leon that would've done the same effect & we would've been fine with losing... Like Tobias!!!!! - Since they made Lance be Champ of Kanto & Johto, the very least they could've done was give him a Johto Pokemon to his dragon army like Kingdra. As for the other members I would've suggested Aerodactyl as that's also staple in most of his team & Mezastar also hinted him with a Lapras which could be under the same pretense too. And I never realized this but I forgot that Hyper Beam is Lance's signature move for most of his pokemon throughout all game version appearances of him - Steven's team has Metagross, Aggron, & Cradily (technically 4 with his Aron), but I can imagine the rest of his team with Skarmory, Armaldo, & Claydol since Steven has official art with his Full Team (although Mezastar also shows him with an Aerodactyl) - I'm fine with Diantha's team, but I curse those 2 little kids that made us miss half of her full battle against Leon. I'm betting with her Hawlucha she utilized its dance attacks like Swords Dance or Feather Dance, and then Diantha would go heavy power battling with Tyrantrum (esp. since Tyrantrum beat Leon's Dragapult) - I'm also fine with Cynthia's team; although it would've been cool to see her fight with Kommo-o And would be awesome to see a Champion-level Eeveelution battle with her Glaceon - The anime did portray Leon to being similar to our protagonist, and what's more like Ash Ketchum than having all 3 Starter Pokemon of said current region (albeit Leon one-upped him by doing better than Ash by fully evolving his starters)

No not at all he is getting stopped at Cynthia or Steven But in Journeys a lot of the champions were nerfed. Cynthia didn't have Sandstorm, or brick break for some reason They forgot Diantha doesn't need to communicate verbally with her Gardivor And Alain was just done super dirty they just forgot Mega Zard X was the strongest Mega in terms of stats and isn't a legendary

I personally think diantha destroys both paul and alain

Paul is and will always be the undisputed GOAT

I have to disgree The battle with Paul gave Lucario a stab priority move which was definitely better to have on him than steel beam (shame Cynthia did use Max Mindstorm cos Togekiss was getting clapped by a bullet punch) Dragonite actually tried out a new use of Draco Meteor that really paid off against Leon and gave her or him some much-needed redemption Plus Gengar having will-o-wisp really helped out against Steven or Leon.

Back when ash greninja wasn’t mastered, the battle with diantha was when it was at its strongest, with clement stating, “these are the strongest yet”. The waves were so strong it got the water shuriken on its back. In ash’s second battle against Alain the waves weren’t nearly as strong and greninja knocked down charizard,and charizard didn’t seem to be getting up either.

Paul breaks the screens with Brick Break in round 4

or it could be type evil nor, diverse.

Paul would not compete without a special ability and with that Paul would be DANGEROUS like VERY dangerous

It would be wild if Paul had an ursaluna. Ash could even ask how he has a Pokémon like that, and he blows him off, and then they show a small flash back of idda ring evolving in hisui. Of course arceus would pick Paul to save the world, he even has other Pokémon from that region

If he could hold his own against one of them, he could definitely beat a majority of them. Plus (Brandon had a point when he battled Ash before. If Ash was struggling against Paul so much, there was absolutely a way he would win the tournament. Heck, he probably would be able to beat Iris or Alain, much less anybody else with how much he was being pushed against the ropes or lines. Eljoindo user is still half wrong and literally a pathetic narrow-minded freak!!!

My bro! Fantastic discussion in this video! I loved the points you made and I can definitely agree that Paul doesn’t beat Ash & Leon but can beat Cynthia if he really wants it

24:28 Paul in the sinnoh league took down Ash’s Gliscor by having Electivire use thunder on the field to make a pseudo rock slide. If that is not using the field and on the fly thinking, then I don’t know what is.

f he could hold his own against one of them, he could definitely beat a majority of them Plus he does;t have a point when he battled Ash before. If Ash was struggling against evil evil Paul is so much, there was absolutely way he would win the tournament. Heck, he probably would be able to beat Iris or Alain, much less anybody else with how much he was being pushed against the lines or ropes/

Pre-vid thoughts: No. Absolutely not. All we know is that Paul can keep up with Base Lucario, Dragonite, and Base Gengar. His mons probably get washed by Mega Lucario and GMax Gengar. I can see him possibly beating Iris and Alain and that's about it. I need him to demonstrate a gimmick or at least more concrete feats. All of his Gen 4 pokemon are featless in Journeys, and so I can't say how strong his Electivire is other than it's stronger than his Garchomp and thus stronger than Ash's Dragonite. Yeah, Electivire scales to Ash's Infernape, but Ash's Infernape is also kinda featless in Journeys; it didn't KO a notable mon, only contending with and losing to Moltres Vid live reactions: HOLD UP, ALAIN IS A TOUGHER OPPONENT THAN STEVEN OR DIANTHA? I pride myself in being an Alain-tard, but I wouldn't go that far! Steven's Metagross is crazy I can see Lance leaving himself very open, but I'm not sure if Paul has the power to properly take advantage of the opening. I only see Electivire and Garchomp leaving a noticeable dent in them I agree with the Iris takes. Hmmm, I'm still unconvinced on the Steven take. I just don't see Paul being able to keep up with someone who felt comfortable 1v1ing a Primal Kyogre I think Paul could outsmart Steven, but I don't believe Paul has the power to decidedly win. The strongest feat Paul has is beating Ash's Dragonite, which a lot of other mons have done too Love the Mega Gardevoir respect. The silent dodging and use of Pyschic goes crazy. A battle of tactics between Paul and Diantha would be amazing. I disagree that Diantha wouldn't be able to knock a single mon before Mega Gardevoir tho; Diantha wouldn't let herself get outsmarted and countered by weaker pokemon that badly I agree, Alain's team sucks. Oi, Alain's dealt with the status of poison before, from Mega Venusaur! Ngl, I don't think Paralysis would slow down Mega Zard that much. Alain's used to fighting as an underdog: against Siebold, against Steven, and against Primal Groudon Ok, so I can see Paul demolishing maybe half of Alain's team. But I don't see Paul easily getting past Malamar, Chestnaught or Mega Zard. Malamar was able to dodge and counter some of the attacks from the world's strongest Charizard Chestnaught was able to contend with GMax Rillaboom, a mon who was able to KO 4 of Diantha's pokemon in BASE. And Mega Zard's power and endurance speak for themselves I agree with the Cynthia takes. Paul would be at his absolute strongest against Cynthia; he would've prepared for that battle like his and Reggie's lives depended on it I honestly don't know if Paul with 1 gimmick can beat Cynthia. Cynthia's got way more experience than him, and she handled Ash with 1 gimmick pretty well Give Paul 3 or 4 gimmicks, and he can probably beat Leon. Paul is certainly smarter than Leon No gimmicks, I can see Paul beating 2 or 3 mons Ash with no gimmicks could narrowly lose. Ash with 1 gimmick could narrowly beat Paul. Ash with 3 or 4 gimmicks overwhelms Paul. Need I remind everyone of how many attacks Ash's Pikachu tanked from the world's strongest Charizard and Cinderace? I just don't think Paul has the power to definitively KO Pikachu Post-vid thoughts: VeeVolt, I love your content. But I am going to throw hands with you over your "Alain is mid" takes /j

Dope discussion, I think there is tons of options here of how things can play out. I wonder how a Paul would really fair if he was in the Masters 8! Good video bro, this was a dope idea!

Judging from the fact that Paul plays Pokémon like most competitive players today, there should be no reason why he’s not at the top echelon of trainers. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does EV training too. Paul disregards weak Pokémon’s and look for Pokémon with the highest stats abilities and performances, nothing less. Unlike Ash would with most of his Pokémon Paul, make sure everyone of his Pokémon are fully evolved, and fully capable of whatever he needs them for. Paul is extremely intelligent in the world of Pokémon, making sure to always be at a type advantage, and use a strategy to win.

In XYZ charizard nearly lost to greninja when the ash greninja bond phenomenon waves weren’t, back shuriken levels, while gardivoir got up almost immediately after getting hit the giant water shuriken

if ash was going to face Leon, he HAD to win. Ejorndio user is suck and with bad insult people too.

If he could hold his own against one of them, he can definitely beat a majority of them. Plus (Brandon had a point when he battled Ash before. If Ash was struggling against Paul so much, there was absolutely a way he would win the tournament. Heck, he probably would be able to beat Iris or Alain, much less anybody else with how much he was being pushed against the ropes or lines. Eljoindo user is still half worn he is pathetic narrow mimed mainc.

Paul doesnt beat Steven confidently, unless he gets ash's plot armor

Paul's best team imo: -electivire -torterra -drapion -metagross -garchomp -gyarados (I picked the 3 I thought were strongest from sinnoh, along with the 3 mew ones he revealed in journeys since they were on par with ash's strongest team ever) Honorable mentions: -ursaring -aggron

Alain's the weakest in masters eight, even Iris was able to held her own against Cynthia without mechanic. Theres no way Alain is stronger then all the 8-5 champions

Great video! This is/was amazing! I love to see you do a video of underrated Pokemon bard, Nando next. Poor Nando is so very underrated, and the writers really did my favorite bard very dirty pinning him against Ash in the 1st round of the Sinnoh League- I'm still pretty salty about that, honestly! Here are some Pokemon Nando videos I'd love to see ( and this are just suggestions, but you can definitely use them if you wanna ): 1. New Pokemon for Nando ( NEW Potential Pokemon Teams for Nando ) 2. Nando's BIG comeback! If Nando returned for Pokemon Journeys, or Pokemon Horizons 3. Nando's Journey AFTER the Sinnoh League/Grand Festival ( Where has he been all this time?! ) 4. If Nando didn't face Ash TOO EARLY in the Sinnoh League ( plus, if Tobias NEVER Entered ) 5. If Nando WON the Grand Festival 6. Nando's Backstory ( Why did he struggle choosing Gym Battles or Contests? )

Also Ash never nearly defeat Diantha, Diantha was just testing his skills as she was using light screen and teleports but not moonblast, the moment gardevoir almost got down the next frame it was up. If Paul switches Diantha can just use reflect to resist both types of moves

When I first saw the masters 8 line up I was sad Paul wasn't there But after watching the masters 8 I'm glad he wasn't

Omg my bro protecting Alain's power. Same! I totally believe Alain Vs Paul will be a such an epic battle, and solely believe Alain would win. In fairness Paul is shown studying other trainers but we kinda all forget Alain was a research assistant. As long as he falls back to being more analytical he can truly learn to battle with more than just brute strength.

You could've added the teams that Paul would've used for each battle.

Aside from the chosen Champions; Shinji beats Lance, Iris, and Diantha. Alain and Ash would be the mid tier buffer, those two are similar in demeanor when it comes to spontaneous strategies. These are two that are great at a back and forth battle. More of a 50/50 with these two. "Easily" beat Alain is one thing I'd never thought I'd hear someone say. I usually chock it up to that person not seeing the Mega-Evo special. Throw in the bad writing of the M8 battles, Alain was shafted. I do like, how Alain got beat by Leon and everyone just craps on him for being a "weak" trainer henceforth. Steven, Cynthia, and Leon would most likely dog walk Shinji. I think all of the M8 challengers should have been given a D-Max band.

bad show you guys! Although I have to say, I do kind of disagree when it comes to comparing power-scaling the trainers. Because while Paul hasn’t shown/showcased an onscreen gimmick mechanic like a Z move, Mega Evolution, or Dynamax, his Pokémon’s base power is still very powerful. He was able to overwhelm Ash with a few moves without even trying to win their battle at Oak’s Lab, and even before Paul was anywhere close to that level, Paul’s Torterra managed to Giga Drain Cynthia’s Garchomp close to where it might’ve fainted. Yes, Garchomp was vulnerable after using Giga Impact, but the damage and strain that momentarily brought it to its knees was all from Torterra’s Giga Drain. Even members of the Elite 4 struggle to even budge Cynthia’s Garchomp, or her other Pokémon for that matter. Cynthia even said it herself that she was especially impressed with Paul’s Torterra, implying even among some of the strongest trainers she’s faced, not many have pushed her Garchomp to that extent. That was before Paul was around champion level as well. While Paul’s base power without special mechanics might not be quite as powerful as some of the Masters 8 with their mechanics, I think Paul’s base power should be around at least some of theirs. Plus, since EVIL Paul didn’t enter the tournament, we didn’t see whether or not he had those mechanics. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he honestly had them. Also, while many probably don’t see Paul with Z moves, I can honestly see him with them! If Paul kept up with Ash’s progress, including his Leagues, I wouldn’t be surprised if Paul visited the regions of the Leagues Ash competed in, after the Leagues were finished. don' imagine evil Paul would want to use Z-moves with his Tortora against Cynthia’s Gar chomp, especially grass type moves.

No lie, I feel like a lot of the Champions were artificially nerfed to make Leon look stronger. Getting down to brass tax, I just don’t think his team is all that impressive.

One thing I didn't like about the Masters 8 is how standard and ordinary their battle formulas were. During the Sinnoh series, Paul was such a wall to overcome. He had so many strategies and it felt like Ash was slowly getting choked by overwhelming force. But the masters 8 are too easily defeated and the way they battle seems too straightforward for literal champions. By the way do we remember how powerful mega evolutions were? When Alain battled a mega Absol and they left cataclysms in their clash. Why is everything so rushed?

40 minutes of peak. Amazing video.

Paul could cut it close with any of them because Paul is 99.3% compared to Ash's 99.5%. It all comes down to chess pieces.

All ash managed to do in his fight with diantha was knock it down and it immediately got back up, and diantha was not aiming to win like ash she was aiming to observe and learn more about ash her ninja which was why she kept on stalling out the battle with ineffective shadow balls. I mean the title of the episode is championing a RESEARCH battle for Pete sake

Paul is like the only pokemon trainer in the anime that knows what IVs and EVs are 💀

I honestly think he won't even stand a chance. The champions doesn't just have pokemon way above Paul's league but he also had no recorded gimmicks to back it up. Plus the champions can match up to Paul's strategies since they have so many feats backing up their biq. And i cant take this seriously since u put alain above everyone else spcially steven and diantha.

cynthia he would never beat. ash wouldn't either actually.

The Lance disrespect is crazy he fought against the same charizard who 2 shotted Alain

“Bro Cynthia literally ten times the trainer Paul is, more experienced, and have Mega Evolution and Dynamax on her side. I don’t think Paul is winning this one” “I hear you bro, and I understand that…..Buuuuuuuut Im telling you bro, PAUL WOULD REALLY WANNA TO WIN.” Bro must think Paul is Ash Ketchum💀

No way he could beat Cynthia

Paul isn’t getting past Diantha nor Cynthia

I personally don’t think Aggron could defeat gardivoir just because of type advantage, dianthas gardivoir beat wikstroms mega scizor with a 4x ineffective moonblast.

Yeah, Paul is extremely cut throat when it comes to battling, and is probably the best strategist in the entire series. He can also quickly analyze other trainer’s battle styles and improve on them as well. Unless you just straight up overpower him, or do unconventional shit like Ash does regularly, you are completely screwed.

paul diffs alain absolutely hard. alain is the only non-champ there, and paul could keep up with lucario and gengar - arguably ash's two aces of journeys. in the order you guys put up, i think he'd get to diantha and lose. diantha is able to change the pace of the battle at her own command, due to her own unpredictability. she could throw him off with trick-or-treat, the screens, maybe even refrigerate on her aurorus. paul simply won't be able to keep up with diantha's pace.

I think Paul gets past Iris and Lance easily but starting at Steven and Diantha is where he probably losses the rest of the battles

No way paul is beating alain. paul cannot use mega evolution because he does not connects with his pokemon like that. He does not have that bond that gives a pokemon an extra edge despite being in a tight situation. He has less outplay potential against an ace pokemon. paul is an elite pokemon trainer who trains strong pokemons. but any champion on this list trains their pokemon to become stronger. there is that difference. In my opinion paul may only beat lance, diantha or maybe iris. but he is not beating anyone else without a gimmick. mega evolution is not for paul because he does not have that close of a bond with a pokemon and even if he had it with electivire, it cant mega evolve. the only gimmick he can use is dynamax and he can somehow beat steven using dynamax but beating alain is a different story. You guys are thinking alain is weak because the writer made him lose badly to leon. but if it was not leon then alain would have bodied that trainer otherwise. Remember alains mega charizard x beaten ash greninja thrice and is on a mega evolution winning streak. His charizard beaten xy pikachu without mega evolving( not that pikachu was exhausted beating 2 psudo legendaries but that win should still count) and his charizard was the strongest ace pokemon beside cynthia's garchomp untill leon came into the picture. Leon's pokemons are simply over experienced and over leveled but alain got a very close bond with his charizard. if paul even manages to beat all of alains pokemon and put him into a corner, alain can sweep paul using his mega charizard x

As much as I like Paul, Cynthia would anihilated him. Even Ash won just because of his strong aura conection and his unpredictibality. But as you said Paul isn’t the best at battles that are too unpredictibal and Cynthia is just a big mystery box, you never know what she is about to do. Plus her team is pure GOAT (maybe except for Gastrodon and even that thing is at least super bulky).

Steven and daiantha easier then Alain?

Bad show or least show you at least guys! Although I have to say, I do kind of disagree when it comes to comparing power-scaling the trainers. Because while Paul hasn’t shown/showcased an onscreen gimmick mechanic like a Z movie, Mega Evolution, or Dynamax, his Pokémon’s base power is still very powerful. He was able to overwhelm Ash with a few moves without even trying to win their battle at Oak’s Lab, and even before Paul was anywhere close to that level, evil Paul’s Tortora DID NOT manage to Giga Drain Cynthia’s Garchomp close to where it might’ve fainted. evil PAUL STILL HAS FLAW. Yes, Gar chomp was vulnerable after using Giga Impact, but the damage and strain that momentarily brought it to its knees was all from Tortora’s Giga Drain. Even members of the Elite 4 struggle to even budge Cynthia’s Garchomp, or her other Pokémon for that matter. Cynthia even said it herself that she was especially impressed with Paul’s Tortora, implying even among some of the strongest trainers she’s faced, not many have pushed her Garchomp to that extent. That was before Paul was around champion level as well. While Paul’s base power without special mechanics might not be quite as powerful as some of the master's 8 with their mechanics, I think evil Paul’s flaw power should be around at worst not least some of theirs. Plus, since EVIL Paul didn’t enter the tournament, we didn’t see whether or not he had those mechanics. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he honestly had them. Also, while many probably don’t see Paul with Z moves, I can honestly see him with them! If Paul kept up with Ash’s progress, including his Leagues, I wouldn’t be surprised if Paul visited the regions of the Leagues Ash competed in, after the Leagues were finished. don't imagine evil Paul would want to use Z-moves with his Tortora against Cynthia’s Gar chomp, especially grass type moves. eljorindo7646 user and his sick troll grass-typesidkick. @jackandracter9930

Paul doesn’t get past rillaboom

Yo Aura great video, however today is my birthday so I'd love you to wish me happy birthday

alain is and will always be the undisputed GOAT

Paul would only beat Lance, Alain and Iris😂😂 Steven is a strong champion and can easily defeat Paul, Diantha is great at strategy and a mastermind while Paul is brute force. Theres no way Paul can sweep ANY of the masters eight.

Paul abbandona l'ultima evoluzione gible

I know you spent a while on this but that's goofy alt how he beats Alain and diantha

I think that even with mechanics Paul would never beat Cynthia, not even close

Honestly, Ash wins through LOTS of plot armor. If Paul had those gimmicks, he would win.

Elekid is my favorite Pokémon since gen 2 and when I saw that Paul had one I started liking him ❤️

paul is basically a competitive battler

1:lance is too low, he should be higher, steven and diantha are stronger than alain, and steven BY FAR NOT EVEN CLOSE, was wining against him with only not very effective moves, paul doesnt beat cynthia ash and keon not even on his dreams or on their wrost days or with cynthia garchomp trash moveset, cynthia loses 2-3 pokemon at max, leon 1-2 and ash 1-2

Paul abbandona azumarill

Leon, Paul, Steven, Cynthia, Allan are Ash's best and strongest rivals. I don't know about Nemona yet of how strong will she be in the anime comparing to games.

He got destroyed by just garchomp

Alain after Diantha makes no sense, Alain was never able to defeat her or he would be the champion. We know he is able to defeat at least 3/4 elite fours and prob sieblod too so theres no way hes ranked 4 My rankings: 8.Alain 7.Lance 6.Iris 5.Steven 4.Diantha 3.Cynthia 2.Leon 1.Ash

Strongest rival of Ash's- When it comes to pushing you to work hard, challenging your values, Paul, hands down is the strongest rival. When it comes to battling skill alone, Alain. Paul had already pushed Ash to become who he was in Kalos and Ash wasn't questioning his training methods and bonds with his pokemon anymore, like in Sinnoh. So as to being the best rival, I'm team Paul.

Paul is strong but he's not beating any of the Masters 8 but might be close.

MOST INSANE BATTLE WOULD BE PAUL VS SAWYER BOTH ARE MOST TACTICAL THAT WE GOT

Thank you Aura for this video Paul is my favorite Ash rival. Love this debate on which M8 Champion trainers Paul can beat. I say he beats Iris, Alain, Diantha, and Lance. Steven, Cynthia and Leon would be his difficult opponents. Paul owns every single type of pokemon except a fairy pokemon. Come on Aura "Lack of overwhemling strength in his Pokemon line up" for Paul. Paul has shown he uses powerful movesets for his Multiple Powerhouses of pokemon he owns. It's not a problem in Journeys since he added like more powerhouses to his big roster of mons. It's a strength for Paul having a balanced team of pokemon that each member packs power. It's like Paul does not want a weak link on his team. It would have been interesting to have seen Paul have a full team of six powerhouses for a battle. Paul has many pokemon that can counter any of the champion trainers teams. Making any team he want's from his huge roster. Paul has power to contend with the champions having a pokemon you can call on standing in to defeat a champions ace. I'll say he would have three if he has a gimmick either Mega or Dynamax we know one of his ace is Electivire. Paul's Torterra to me was like elite four level in DP. it's knows powerful attacks having Hyper beam, Leaf storm, Frenzy plant and Stone edge. Torterra showed off it's power in the Hearthome city tag battle competition single handedly defeating two pokemon using hyper beam on Holly's Farfetch'd and Leaf storm on Brock's Croagunk. Also it's Paul's first pokemon It had to be champion level in Journeys. It was able to bring down Cynthia's Garchomp down to her knees the first strongest champion level pokemon introduced into DP anime at the time. . Aura I'm putting Alain round 3. Steven is stronger than him the battle they had during Alain's mega evolution specials. Alain's MCX couldn't land any damaging attacks on Steven's Mega Metagross evading many of them also it looked to me MCX was about to be defeated by Mega Metagross but Lysander's Pyroar interrupted their battle ending it. Diantha will beat Alain he's similar to Lance they both use raw power and I think Alain will use his power to break Diantha defensives similar to Lance. This is how I see the Alain vs Paul battle playing out. I see Alain having to counter against Paul more than what Paul has to do against Alain. Paul will use trainers strategies against them and can make their counters backfire. Paul has many ways to slow down MCX with all his pokemon combined efforts could he take the approach of going 1v1 against MCX yes. Knowing Paul uses type advantages greatly to his benefits I see him either bringing his Aggron or Garchomp since they have a great typing advantages over MCX. Their battle is a mirror of Lance vs Diantha Power vs Strategy with some similarities and differences. Paul excels in both better than Alain in my opinion. Power is like equal to me but Alain has a small given edge. Tactics goes to Paul not a debate excels way past Alain in this field. Alain overwhelms his opponents with his power and Paul overwhelms his opponents with his Tactics. I see many similarities between Paul and Alain both have intensity, hard work, and drive wanting to get stronger no matter what challenges they face.

An amazing video. I have some thoughts: Firstly Steven would be in Round 4 and Alain will be in round 6. Paul can outsmart Lance raw brute strength with his tactics like using ninjask, froslass, electivire and even newer mons. He has simply more experience than iris and can handle her monstrous haxorus with his heart bonded with iris by employing unconventional tactics. Now one thing to note is that Paul would definitely have a battle mechanic, judging by his battling style, dynamax seems more fitting but he can also employ mega evolution (just like Cynthia who was like an end goal for him). Against Alain, Paul could use mega Gyarados against Alain's mega charizard X, or any other mega pokemon from his arsenal. He has the tactics and strength to go toe to toe with MCX, and at the end it'd take Paul's 2 pokemon to take down Alain's MCX (a mega pokemon and his electivire) Now for Diantha, it'd be the most challenging and toughest match for Paul regarding strategies because Diantha herself has a lot of tricks up her sleeve and this match I imagine them both saying "checkmate" just like Ash used acounter against Counter (Lycanroc battle). Paul would win narrowly. Using Torterra and his other ace. Now comes the beastly champions, the ones who are on another level, Firstly Steven (he'd use Aggron, cradily, claydol, Diancie, another Fossil, Mega metagross), Paul would have to use every kind of tactic against Steven to take down his behemoths who have a lower attack but insane stamina and defense, he'd to employ thunder wave, thunder punch, will o wisp, flame body etc to further limit Steven's assaults and finally use Ash's techniques using fiery rings, Torterra's frenzy plant vines or thunderbolt rings to contain mega metagross to finally land a finishing blow. Now comes Cynthia, the champion Paul looks up to. It'd be the most challenging for Paul , not battle wise but emotionally, Paul would have to use tactics and a cool demeanor, I imagine Cynthia giving him the eye opening reality touch during the battle, Paul would use all his underlying strength and stamina along with his prior knowledge to stand up to Cynthia, understanding the bond between him and his pokemon, his pokemon refusing to give up even when Paul trying to recall them and thinking they can't battle further which will be the most emotional moment for him as he finally gets to understand Ash and his battle style and finally after a long battle, using 2-3 pokemon (Torterra,Electivire and gyarados) to finally take down garchomp. (Imagining dynamax togekiss vs mega aggron). Then comes Leon, it may be a bit controversial but I'd tune Leon a little bit, he'd also be able to use mega evolution and dynamax and his pokemon wouldn't be as busted as in the anime which is poor writing nothing more. Leon has raw strength+clever moves+strong bond, with his pokemon, so you can say he's like an amalgam of all of the past champions, so Leon would have a great arsenal of varying moves that Paul would find difficult to comprehend, but his rilaboom would be in a power level similar to Cynthia's togekiss, and his charizard would be stronger than her garchomp by a narrow margin instead of being a total menace like in the anime that it's laughable (since the last opponent is Ash Ketchum now). After a draw with Torterra vs Rilaboom, And after a long battle, Paul would lose 6-5 with Leon's dynamax charizard beating dynamax Electivire. If and only if he gets to battle Ash, by miraculously defeating Leon, Paul would lose to Ash in a similar manner but this battle will be the one where Paul gives his all emotionally like truly motivating his pokemon, praising them, enjoying the battles, employing the tactics and when they backfire, instead of panicking, complementing Ash and having a healthy competition. After losing to Ash by 6-5 ir 6-4, it'd be a wrap up for Paul and these battle will finally make him understand the real meaning of pokemon battle that is much more than winning.

I think Alain should’ve been contestant number one. Steven after Diantha, and Lance after Iris. There. I said it lol. No other complaint hahaha

Sorry but paul has no chance against diantha....

12:40 I don't think that Metagross' strategy comes from Steven. I think it comes from the literal 4 brained supercomputer of a Pokemon that is Metagross. Also even if Paul were to use his Metagross to analyze the strategy I don't think Paul would realize that Metagross' Mega Evolution not only amplifies it's power but also links its Brains to Stevens which allows it to communicate during the battle. So no I think Steven would win that one.

It’s kinda funny how Iris is SO downplayed. She is a new champion and has a lot to learn and a lot to overcome. Her Haxorous was really great and stood toe to toe with Cynthia’s Garchomp. She also connects with the opponents Pokémon as well (idk if it’s dragons only or not..).

I don't know how I feel personally. I think Iris would be shifted to Round 5. Iris has the same thing going for her that Leon and Ash have. That immense unpredictability, and the series has shown Paul likes to prepare and use previous experience and knowledge to battle his opponents. Paul could have an immensely easier time against Alain, Lance, and Steven. Alain has the weakest showing and feats from the Masters 8. Alain is a bit of jabroni, and probably moves to round 1. Lance and Steven we know Paul has studied. Diantha has a very diverse team and we don't know if Paul has any information for him to go off of. Cynthia doesn't have anything to worry about. She probably wipes Paul because she also understands threats. For me? Round 1: Alain Low Diff Round 2: Lance Low Diff Round 3: Steven Mid-High Diff Round 4: Diantha Mid-High Diff Round 5: Iris High-Extreme Diff Round 6: Cynthia Extreme Diff (High Diff if Cynthia wins) Round 7: Ash (if rules apply)/Leon [Extreme Diff if it's Ash/Loses to Leon] Round 8: Leon (if rules apply/Ash with all gimmicks) [No shot he wins. Unless we give Paul all 3 Gimmicks? He loses.]

He may be able to come out the plans but the argument should be it's his Pokemon strong enough to combat there's

Paul doesn’t stand a chance against anyone. He himself says to Ash that if he struggles against Paul he won’t have any chance in Masters 8 tournament. Paul himself considers these trainers are above him. Plus just think if he was really that powerful why wouldn’t the writers add Paul too in it. They are the 8 strongest trainer in the entire world. Paul is good but he won’t win

I don't think Paul could, Yes he's tough but Pual but just having Cythia there her gardchomp wipe his entire team.

Also for Ash vs Cynthia, the main reason Ash didn’t turn it around faster was due to Pikachu getting taken out by Destiny Bond, but good job to Sirfetch’d and Lucario carrying

Cynthia could beat Leon. She's just as versatile as he is and unlike Leon, she didn't have bullshit plot armour. When she crushed Paul in Top Down Training, he was coming at her with a non-Prankster Murkrow and a Chimchar, so of course he had no chance. We saw Flint's Infernape go toe to toe with Garchomp at the end of Diamond and Pearl despite fighting 2 Pokemon beforehand, so the writers made sure that Cynthia had limits and could be realistically beaten. The only reason Leon is so tough is because the writers completely fucked up the power scaling. They had to put other characters and Pokemon down in order to build him up instead of making Leon strong on his own merits. They somewhat redeemed this when he battled Ash and at least they showed Sonia beating him rather than pulling the bullshit claim that Leon had literally NEVER lost a battle like the games did. However, they also destroyed Alain and Diantha and made them look pathetic, making it clear that Leon's power was just a result of the writers disrespecting the strength of other characters.

Bro what r u saying? Paul vs Brandon was straight and forward, he had 3 pokemon weak to fighting, Paul couldn't capitalize that, he can't do anything to any of the M8 except for Iris, Lance's dragonite alone would sweep Paul's entire team unless he has a fairy, did u forget how easily he took down Arorus while getting hit by rock slide and blizzard. Lance, Cynthia, Steven, Dianrha and Leon r so much stronger for Paul to even have a chance against. The only chance he has is against Iris and Alain and they r pretty much stronger too. Paul was never shown as a champion lvl trainer

yall give give him too much credit lol

He’s calm until someone throws him off his game Steve’s Metagross almost Solos

100 percent beat the masters 8 Leon would be tough for him, that's it. Also, he could have a Mega chomp vs. Cynthia mega chomp.

I dont think paul can beat anyone besides iris.... Alan's mega charazard is really powerful....

i disagree cynthia can beat leon if leon suggest that they all use their gimmicks!

Cynthia actually beat Paul in the anime in season 4

Hey. This would be my team for Paul’s team. Alola ninetales, g-max toxtricity, Salamance, Samurott, Mienshaou and Mega Diance.

I don’t think Ash would of won if he didn’t get Paul's help

Paul vs Iris with her anime team is a potential mid to high diff. Paul vs Iris with her game team which includes, Salamence, Aggron, and Lapras instead of Dragonite, Excadril, and Druddigon is an extreme diff if she doesnt straight wall him. Shes literally the only champ who not only didnt have a gimmick but was forced to use her non canon team. Despite this being the perfect time to show it off in the anime.

15:52 toxic spikes with Drapion The DP battles were definitely savage, shown clearly with Cynthia I think Alan relies too much on mega evolution. If that was taken away, he definitely can’t beat Paul Sorry, this might be a hot take but without Mega Zard X, I think he goes down to Iris’s level. 28:26 I totally agree. In some ways I think Paul’s adaptability might surpass ash in some ways. He definitely can’t beat ash or Leon. But he sometimes doesn’t even use moves for his strategies. A classic is how electivire always raps pikachu with his wires to prevent it from moving or starapter being slammed into the ground to get the poison effects of the toxic spikes. Paul is definitely as scary as Cynthia if he wants to be! I actually think Dinamax perfectly fit Paul’s battle style. He would be able to utilise moves like Max Nicole, Max Air streem, or even Max Guard as stat boosting moves and protection

Paul is literally a competitive player in the anime and he's my favorite rival.