History Main / ConservationOfCompetence

* Sinterklaas (a variant of SantaClaus) is traditionally accompanied by an assistant named Zwarte Piet. In older stories, Piet is a BumblingSidekick while Sinterklaas is competent; in modern stories, perhaps to counteract the [[UnfortunateImplications controversies]] about Piet's race, he[[note]][[DecompositeCharacter or they]], as there's sometimes a whole team with specialized tasks[[/note]] is a HypercompetentSidekick to a kindly but absent-minded boss.

* In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Thorin and later Bilbo were the only ones who had enough sense and wits to not get immediately jumped by trolls, having a weapon out in a forest and thinking of a plan to escape Mirkwood. The rest of the dwarves may or may not get a moment before a major battle.

* Companies employing ThePeterPrinciple can end up this way, especially technically-oriented companies in which good engineers are promoted into bad managers.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' (and especially ''Platinum'') give us the rather intimidating Cyrus at the head of Team Galactic. His low-level flunkies don't have the slightest idea what the Big Evil Plan even ''is'' because [[spoiler: it would result in said grunts, and everything else in the Universe, ceasing to exist]]. Cyrus is also a [[RankScalesWithAsskicking far better trainer than the average grunts.]] The final fight with him in Platinum is easily one of the hardest battles of the game. In general, the low-level grunts of evil organizations in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' tend to be rather harmless and incapable of doing anything more complicated than [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] on their own.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' (and especially ''Platinum'') give us the rather intimidating Cyrus at the head of Team Galactic. His low-level flunkies don't have the slightest idea what the Big Evil Plan even ''is'' because [[spoiler: it would result in said grunts, and everything else in the Universe, ceasing to exist]]. Cyrus is also a [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking far better trainer than the average grunts.]] The final fight with him in Platinum is easily [[ThatOneBoss one of the hardest battles of the game.]]
** This isn't just true of Team Galactic, but in any game in the series, the low-level grunts tend to be rather harmless and incapable of doing anything more complicated than [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] on their own.

* Startlingly averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}},'' where both Shan Yu ''and'' his lieutenants are smart and scary.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'': Prince John is dumb, the Sheriff of Nottingham and even more so Sir Hiss are smart.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'s'' Sakuya Izayoi, NinjaMaid extraordinaire, has to use her time manipulation to turn the Scarlet Devil Mansion BiggerOnTheInside, and then single-handedly guard and ''clean'' said mansion because, in spite of having a virtually inexaustable army of guards and other maids, they are so universally lazy and incompetent that they are as likely to cause harm as good. Her boss, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] {{Ojou}} Remilia is capable of being competent most of the time but, being [[NotAllowedToGrowUp permanently a child]], both physically and emotionally, she would rather just play (and force Sakuya to set up those games for her). During ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'', Sakuya even turns into TheDeterminator, fighting three conseuctive {{BossBattle}}s (two were mid-boss battles) in defense of her mistress. What is she ''paid'' for this kind of work? She gets a room in the mansion and she gets to keep the outfit. It ain't easy being {{Meido}}.

*** If you think about it though, this trope applies when looking at every game in itself. In the aforementioned example with with members of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, you have [[UsefulNotes/{{Baka}} Cirno]], "Daiyousei" and [[TheDitz Rumia]] to offset the competence of the others.

* Played with in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. Father is smart, but his minions the homunculi have varying degrees of intelligence -- for instance, Lust is smart, Gluttony is an idiot, and Envy and Wrath are mostly smart but [[WhatAnIdiot sometimes make bad decisions]] and Sloth can't be bothered to use whatever intelligence he might have because thinking for himself would involve exerting himself.

*** If you think about it though, this trope applies when looking at every game in itself. In the aforementioned example with with members of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, you have [[UsefulNotes/{{Baka}} Cirno]], [[FanNickname Daiyousei]] and [[TheDitz Rumia]] to offset the competence of the others.

* Competent leaders: ReasonableAuthorityFigure, BenevolentBoss, DiabolicalMastermind.

* Incompetent supporters: MinionWithAnFInEvil, CowardlySidekick, GoldfishPoopGang, SurroundedByIdiots, VileVillainLaughableLackey, BeleagueredBoss, OverzealousUnderling, UnderlingWithAnFInPR.

* Incompetent supporters: MinionWithAnFInEvil, CowardlySidekick, GoldfishPoopGang, SurroundedByIdiots, VileVillainLaughableLackey.

* Competent supporters: BeleagueredAssistant, HypercompetentSidekick, OnlySaneEmployee, SidekickExMachina, DragonInChief.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective''. [[MagnificentBastard Professor Ratigan]] is a genius and his henchmen are surprisingly good at what they do (Even ''Fidget'', who manages to ambush the main characters twice). The trouble is Basil of Baker Street is just so ''good at what he does'' that he evokes this trope in the villains purely by comparison.

* Most missions in ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' were fronted by Sonic, Sally and Antoine. Sally was physically vulnerable, but usually much more strategically competent than [[DumbMuscle the powerful but childish and reckless]] [[LeeroyJenkins Sonic]], while Antoine was [[TheLoad a useless imbecile]] that usually hindered stealth operations with his clumsiness or cowardice.

* Most missions in ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAm'' were fronted by Sonic, Sally and Antoine. Sally was physically vulnerable, but usually much more strategically competent than [[DumbMuscle the powerful but childish and reckless]] [[LeeroyJenkins Sonic]], while Antoine was [[TheLoad a useless imbecile]] that usually hindered stealth operations with his clumsiness or cowardice.

* Notably averted in the ''VideoGame/KisekiSeries''. With the exception of second string member Gilbert, who is an incompetent ButtMonkey, and one instance of Weismann holding the VillainBall too long and falling into a trap that was set in the expectation of him being unable to resist the temptation to KickTheDog, everyone in the Society of Ouroboros is extremely competent (if quirky), which results in them being a constant threat in a series that has been going for nine games in and counting as of 2019. Thankfully, this also applies to the organizations opposing them, with the [[HeroesRUs Bracer Guild]] and the [[SaintlyChurch Septian Church]], for example, employing many highly competent people.