>>22312698Paul wasn't "bad" too his pokemon. He's just stern, strict, and doesn't like to express emotion. Being one of Paul's pokemon is like being in bootcamp, and not everyone makes it for a variety of reasons. He probably went overboard with Chimchar, yeah, but he wasn't shown to be that bad to his whole team.
>>22311142As for why they put up with it, pokemon have different personalities. Some of them want to be stronger no matter what, and understand that Paul will do everything he can to bring out the absolute best in them, even if it hurts along the way. Some pokemon don't have that attitude and, like Chimchar or Azumarill, Paul gives them away instead of continually hurting them without making them stronger. None of Paul's brutality is without purpose. He's like AJ with Sandshrew from the first season, only better developed and less emotional.
Paul's Torterra and Electivire are good examples of what I'm talking about. They are some of Paul's oldest pokemon, and both appear extremely strong and well-disciplined. They aren't presented as wounded animals, but battle-hardened veterans, even sharing their wisdom with Ash's pokemon on occasion (Ash's Grotle).
>>22312698Paul demonstrates that he learned from Ash on multiple occasions. That doesn't mean he suddenly becomes a naruto-tier "muh friendship" character like Ash. Paul tells Ash that he respects his training methods after their league battle and also acknowledges Ash's abilities (if in a backhanded manner) after he finds out Ash beat Brandon at the Battle Frontier and gets his ass handed to him when he tries to avenge his brother's honor by beating Brandon himself.
Anyone saying Paul was just a jerk missed the entire point of the rivalry. Paul was meant to show that, even if someone's training methods are vastly different from yours and you find them infuriating, they are not necessarily "wrong".
