History Main / DistressBall

This is especially [[WallBanger grating]] if the one given the ball is a female character otherwise shown to be [[ActionGirl competent and talented]], or {{Badass}}. If it happens once too often, it may lead to {{Chickification}}. Of course, there are also chances that after they dropped the ball, they come back to the routine of ass-kicking. If the Distress Ball pickup did not happen near the end of the story, she will most likely drop it, and it doesn't necessarily mean she will take part in a bigger plot in the future; she still tags along but proves that once the ball is dropped, she can still kick ass instead of being forced into the sidelines, cheering. Unless Chickification is already on full throttle, or they are [[FauxActionGirl Faux Action People]]. On the other hand, tossing the distress ball back and forth between both sides of a BattleCouple allows for all the cuteness of a RescueRomance without the weakness.

* Kazooie picks up the DistressBall in the early stages of ''BanjoKazooie: Grunty's Revenge,'' where she's kidnapped by Gruntilda. Sort of. It's actually the result of time travel. [[TimeyWimeyBall Mostly...]]

* This happened a lot to Allan Quartermain in the first volume of ''{{League of Extraordinary Gentlemen}}''. Usually Mina, Nemo, or Griffin had to save him, in a bit of a gender inversion.

* Gender inverted in {{Farscape}} a couple of times, generally involving John storming off the ship in his module for one reason or another and getting stranded.

[[quoteright:350:[[{{Digimon}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MattandSora-1.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sora forgot how to run away again...]]

* In "Metroid: Other M", when Samus encounters Ridley, she becomes terrified and unable to fight back. Ridley easily grabs her, leaving one of her allies to begin the offensive in her stead. There are arguments over whether or not she had the distress ball at the time, since she had traumatic childhood memories regarding Ridley, but has also faced and defeated him numerous times in the past without an emotional breakdown.

Compare DamselScrappy. This trope is when someone "normal" acts like a DamselScrappy for no reason other than that she picks up the Distress Ball. See also [=~The President's Daughter~=].

** Parodied and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the episode "John Quixote" when John finds [[ActionGirl Aeryn]] dressed as a [[DistressedDamsel princess on the top of a castle ]] and says "Now I know somebody is messing with us".

* Pictured above: Sora Takenouchi got hit upside the head with one of these during the Christmas episodes of ''{{Digimon 02}}'', by panicking when debris started falling around her and having to be pulled away by Matt; the other characters (including Sora's [[BondCreatures Bond Creature]]) ''ran away.'' {{Chickification}}, FanDumb screamed. Even when Sora actually recovered and joined Miyako/Yolei in the World Tour arc, leading the Russian Digidestined. Unfortunately, that mission didn't go too well either; the girls nearly froze to death and had to be rescued there as well.

* Erza Scarlet, usually the most competent of the main ''FariyTail'' cast, is quite happy to paint a target over herself whenever Jellal in any way becomes involved with the current action.

* This troper has made a game out of spotting these and counting the number of them every episode of ''Ghost Whisperer''. Although there are plenty of subversions too -- Melinda will often do something very stupid and dangerous, but [[TheFool nothing will come of it]].

->'''Gender Equality, Part 2 (Tifa Rule):''' ''If any female character, in a burst of anger or enthusiasm, decides to go off and accomplish something on her own without the hero, she will fail miserably and again have to be rescued.''\\
-- '''[[ConsoleRPGCliches145To168 The Grand List of Console RPG Cliches]]'''

Compare DamselScrappy. This trope is when someone "normal" acts like a DamselScrappy for no reason other than that she picks up the Distress Ball. See also [[{{ptitle348j0es8wpxt}} The President's Daughter]].

* In {{Persona 4}}, Chie Satonaka rushes off into Yukiko's Castle to save her friend, despite her previously having agreed to stay with the group, as she didn't yet have the power to protect herself. And yet, despite not having such power,[[FridgeLogic she made it through a floor full of Shadows without anything happening to her.]]

* In {{Persona 4}}, Chie Satonaka rushes off into Yukiko's Castle to save her friend, despite her previously having agreed to stay with the group, as she didn't yet have the power to protect herself. The results are about what you'd expect. And yet, despite not having such power, [[FridgeLogic she somehow made it up two floors full of Shadows without anything happening to her]]

** In {{Persona 4}}, Chie Satonaka rushes off into Yukiko's Castle to save her friend, despite her previously having agreed to stay with the group, as she didn't yet have the power to protect herself. The results are about what you'd expect. And yet, despite not having such power, [[FridgeLogic she somehow made it up two floors full of Shadows without anything happening to her]]

** In Persona4, Chie Satonaka rushes off into Yukiko's Castle to save her friend, despite her previously having agreed to stay with the group, as she didn't yet have the power to protect herself. The results are about what you'd expect. And yet, despite not having such power, [[FridgeLogic she somehow made it up two floors full of Shadows without anything happening to her]]

* In Persona4, Chie Satonaka rushes off into Yukiko's Castle to save her friend, despite her previously having agreed to stay with the group, as she didn't yet have the power to protect herself. The results are about what you'd expect.

* [[MoralityPet Mokuba]] gets kidnapped roughly once-an-arc in ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}!'' and briefly [[GrandTheftMe possessed]] in an Anime-only arc. Granted, unlike most of the examples, he's just a pre-teen with some {{Improbable Skill}}s. One wonders why [[TheRival Seto Kaiba]] doesn't hire some competent body guards, or better yet chain his brother to him by now!
** Once he even gets kidnapped while disguised as a girl which, in this troper's opinion, was a lampshade hanging.

* Pictured above: Sora Takenouchi got hit upside the head with one of these during the Christmas episodes of ''{{Digimon 02}}'', by panicking when debris started falling around her and having to be pulled away by Matt; the other characters (including Sora's [[BondCreatures Bond Creature]]) ''ran away.'' {{Chickification}}, FanDumb screamed. Even when Sora actually recovered and joined Miyako/Yolei in the World Tour arc, leading the Russian Digidestined. Unfortunately, that mission didn't go too well either; the girls nearly froze to death and had to be rescued there as well. SoYeah...

[[{{Digimon}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MattandSora-1.jpg]]
[[caption-width:640:Sora forgot how to run away again...]]