It made its physical debut inAiding the Enemy!, resting with Paul's other Pokémon.
InA Pyramiding Rage!, Magmar was the first Pokémon chosen by Paul during his match againstPyramid King Brandon. He quicklyrecalled it after he saw Brandon choseRegirock to battle it. He sent it out again to battleRegisteel. Registeel was able to shrug off Flamethrower with little difficulty and struck withIron Head, not causing much damage but making Magmarflinch and unable to use Will-O-Wisp. Paul recalled Magmar, but after all of Paul's other Pokémon were defeated, Paul sent out Magmar to once again battle Regirock, who easily tanked a Flamethrower attack and took Magmar out withShock Wave.
InPedal to the Mettle!, Magmar was revealed to have evolved into Magmortar when Paul chose it as his fifth Pokémon to battleAsh's Pikachu. They began the battle inEvolving Strategies!, where Pikachu got badlyburned because of Magmortar'sFlame Body. Magmortar's powerful Flamethrower blocked Pikachu'sThunderbolt, and then cleverly usedRock Tomb to damage Pikachu during hisVolt Tackle. Magmortar usedSmog in an attempt to choke Pikachu but this was blocked byCounter Shield. However, Pikachu's attempt to follow up withIron Tail did not cause nearly enough damage to Magmortar, and Ash recalled him forBuizel.
Despite the type disadvantage, Magmortar was able to hold its own, managing to carry on after a direct hit fromAqua Jet. It used a wall of Rock Tombs to blockWater Pulse, which turned out to be a distraction; while Buizel blasted through easily, Magmortar had vanished. It was revealed to have jumped into the air, landing a hit with Smog and poisoning Buizel. While Buizel choked, Paul recalled Magmortar. It wasn't used for the rest of the battle, but the burn it inflicted on Pikachu continued to affect him during a later battle againstUrsaring.
Magmortar is considered to be one of Paul's trusted Pokémon in terms of strategies for his battles. Beginning inEvolving Strategies!, it had the ability to take in any attacks that was delivered including the ones that would have been super effective against Magmortar.
