>>53597283This is a paradox question. There is no definitive answer to it.
Both Paul and Iris are from the Gen 1-6 era where powerscaling was set up in a way that showed that Regional Champions are a high tier above the rest, Gods of Pokemon battling, in that context Iris would always win since Paul never came close to winning a post gym league tournament whereas Iris apparently did, as well as beating the Unova E4 and regional Champion...uh yeah that sounds like bullshit but its canon.
The problem with Iris isn't that she was shown as a weak trainer - that is possible to overcome with enough training and determination.
The problem with her is that she NEVER showed ANY interest or ambition in the Pokemon battling world. If they showed her at the end of BW swearing to be a Pokemaster like Ash, I COULD have bought it.
If the just showed her participating in the Unova regional league tournament, I COULD have bought it.
League competition is a tedious and time consuming hobby that requires actual day to day training, dedication, at least like Ash with his constant Gym attempts.
Iris NEVER, NEVER EVER even tried to go for the league crown or showed any hints of her wanting to try it out during BW.
I don't like how the writers at OLM did it.
And in the JN anime, they portrayed Champions as low tier post gym League tournament jobbers that even low tier shitters like Ash with sone random jobbermons can defeat. In this context, Paul wins easily.
Who wins? Nobody
