History Main / ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne

* In ''VideoGame/Mother3'', even with there technically being two Chosen Ones here, it still applies. While Lucas isn't necessarily name-dropped as the Chosen One, [[spoiler: the fact that he's the only person (besides the Masked Man) who can use PK Love and pull the 7 Needles to awaken the dragon as was prophesied hints at it. And the Magypsies flat out point out that fact too. As such, Lucas definitely fits this trope, given all the traumatizing things that happen to him as he goes on his journey.]] Same goes for [[spoiler:the Masked Man, AKA Claus, for the same reasoning as mentioned above, him being forced to become the Masked Man and commit atrocities in the name of Porky being the worst of it.]]

* A lot of games in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' fit this trope. Even when it's played straight in that it's not ''entirely'' a bad thing, there's ''still'' a catch:
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** Colette. Chosen at birth [[spoiler:for her genetic compatibility with the BigBad's dead big sister]], she goes through one painful transformation after another, in between [[DamselInDistress kidnappings]] which are also connected to her status. [[spoiler:Not to mention the psychological trauma and self-esteem issues that come from knowing [[HarmfulToMinors since about age six]] that she'd one day be expected to make a HeroicSacrifice to save the world.]]
*** Zelos has most of Colette's psychological issues, compounded by ParentalAbandonment [[spoiler:- his father, the previous ChosenOne of his world, committed suicide, and his mother was murdered in front of his eyes when he was about eight; the murderer was TheMistress of Zelos's father, who was [[TakingTheBullet targeting Zelos]] so that Zelos's half-sister could become the Chosen instead. Her last words to him were "You should never have been born"]], after which he decided that being the Chosen One was the only reason his life had value at all. [[spoiler:And then the reveal comes that Martel isn't a real goddess...is it any wonder he's a DeathSeeker unless [[MessianicArchetype Lloyd]] can convince him he's worthwhile?]]
** Shirley in ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia''. Has no friends, spends most of the game getting kidnapped, her first friend [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet for her]], and then she turns out to be [[spoiler: a kind of DarkMessiah, is brainwashed by the entire ocean and almost commits genocide on land-dwelling humans.]]
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', Reid is a chosen one in that he can bear Fibril... but he's not the only one who can do so. Ras, [[BigBad Shizel]], and Meredy (albeit not [[GameplayAndStorySegregation integrated into the gameplay]] or [[InformedAbility fully explained in text]]) can, too. Unfortunately? Nereid's Fibril can ''make you possessed by Nereid himself'', and invoking Seyfert's Fibril before undergoing all of the trials? [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique You die]].
** Estelle is the Child of the Full Moon in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. Must be neat to have powerful healing artes, right? Well, Phaeroh wants her dead and views her as a poison to the world, and using her powers on an Entelixea will cause them to go crazy and eventually kill them. Even ''if'' she can turn them into spirits.
** Veigue didn't know how to control his Ice Force in ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' when he was "chosen" to gain its powers. So during an outburst of yelling "CLAAAAIIIIRRRREEE!", he froze her. (This actually became somewhat of a running gag; a Tales DVD shows him shouting, "CLAAAAIIIRRRREEEE!" and covering the screen in ice; and several fans were disappointed this wasn't integrated into ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''.)
** So you're a reincarnation of a heavenly being in ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence''? Your past life is ''literally'' going to come back to haunt you.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Luke fon Fabre [[spoiler:(both original and replica models)]], who is informed that he is a chosen hero BecauseDestinySaysSo, but not what the consequences of his actions will be. [[spoiler:Because of his ignorance, he destroys a city and starts a war, all in accordance with the ancient prophecy that controls the world, and he has to deal with the consequences for the rest of the game.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' sees Milla Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits, focus on her mission to destroy a tyrannical king and his doomsday device. [[spoiler:Except being a {{Determinator}} gets her crippled, and later killed, by her staunch refusal to abandon her goal. And then it turns out she's not really the Lord of Spirits after all, just conditioned to believe she was. And that tyrant of a king? He's an AntiVillain who only wanted to protect his kingdom from people seeking to usurp it. Finally, at the very end of the game, she does get to become the true Lord of Spirits, at the cost of having to leave behind everyone in the human world she's grown to care about.]]
* The Trow from ''VideoGame/TheBardsTale'' have a few songs about how much it sucks to be the chosen one. And considering the situations in which they sing them[[labelnote:One]]when you find a dead chosen one and loot his armor[[/labelnote]][[labelnote:Two]]when you find a prison full of Chosen Ones[[/labelnote]], it's appropriate. Though played around with for the Bard himself -- he is also a Chosen One, yet despite the repeated insistence of the Trow Band he actually ends up in the position to fulfil the prophecy, not die and get riches [[spoiler: or alternatively stop a demon princess from ravaging the world and end up no worse off than he was at the start of the story]], thanks to having more combat competence than farmboys and having the power of the save function on his side.
* Pretty much every hero in the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series:
** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'':
*** Ted preceded everyone in the above trope. He acquires the [[{{Macguffin}} Soul Eater Rune]], is forced to runaway from the witch Windy for the next 300 years, gets his rune stolen from him [[VideoGame/SuikodenIV 150 years after]] he fled from his village, and commands the Soul Eater to ''[[FateWorseThanDeath eat his soul]]'' just so that he won't [[BrainwashedAndCrazy accidentally command the soul to return the Rune back to him.]]
*** Tir [=McDohl=], [[spoiler:son of TheEmpire's [[FourStarBadass greatest general]], forced to run for his life from the EvilSorceress trying to steal the MacGuffin from him. In the process, he was recruited into the LaResistance and eventually became its leader... AFTER said leader DIED in front of him AFTER she has expressed that she might've liked him a lot as a friend. As you lead the Resistance to victory, your BattleButler [[YouShallNotPass died trying to protect you]], then the defeated generals pull off a MyGodWhatHaveIDone after pretty much crossing the MoralEventHorizon while under MoreThanMindControl, so you don't pretty much have a choice but to [[DefeatMeansFriendship recruit them]]. Then you will have to [[DuelToTheDeath kill your own father]] to protect your castle, and then you have to see your [[TheLancer best friend]] suffer a FateWorseThanDeath. And if you haven't recruited all 108 Stars of Destiny, then your BattleButler would be KilledOffForReal. Regardless of the status of his BattleButler afterwards, [[OverlyLongGag it left him so shell-shocked that he didn't even want to be there when]] TheRepublic [[OverlyLongGag was inaugurated, because he doesn't want the Soul Eater to take any more lives]]. Oh, and he had to deliberately avoid the young hot ninja chick that has been heavily crushing over him, just so she can avoid the fates of these people. If that doesn't suck, I don't know what does.]]
** Riou and Jowy become the Bearers of the Bright Shield and Black Sword Runes in ''Videogame/SuikodenII''. The Runes are two halves of the True Rune of Beginning. The Bearers are inevitably driven into circumstances [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne where they must fight each other to the death to reunite the Rune]]. Even worse, the Runes ''always'' choose best friends as their Bearers. ''The Runes force best friends to kill each other.''
** Lazlo [[spoiler:en Kuldes]] from ''Videogame/SuikodenIV'' ends up with a True Rune that is just as sucky as the Soul Eater. The Rune of Punishment drains its bearer's lifeforce each time it is used. Eventually, the Rune will ''consume'' its bearer and trap them inside it forever [[spoiler:which is what happens to Lazlo in the bad ending]]. Worse, the Bearers inevitably find themselves in situations where they have no choice but to use the Rune's power. Fortunately, there is one way to avoid this: [[spoiler:the Rune governs atonement ''and'' forgiveness. An act of extreme forgiveness by the Bearer can shift the Rune into its forgiveness phase, in which it no longer feeds on the Bearer to use its powers. If Lazlo recruits the other 107 Stars of Destiny, he gets an opportunity to recruit and forgive his former friend turned enemy Snowe (the last Star of Destiny) for his earlier betrayal at the beginning of the game. Forgiving Snowe completes the gathering of the 108 Stars of Destiny and is a strong enough act of forgiveness to shift the Rune of Punishment.]]
* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'':
** Zanik is the goblin war god Bandos' Chosen Commander, the goblin who will lead all the goblins to victory in a huge war. There's just one catch: Zanik is of the Dorgeshuun, [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a group of pacifist cave goblins who renounced Bandos]] after [[BadBoss he ordered them to partake in a battle they had no chance of winning for no reason]]. There's an entire quest series devoted to Zanik basically telling Bandos to fuck off. [[spoiler: And that's not even getting into the part where being the Chosen Commander means [[GrandTheftMe Bandos basically uses you as a puppet]] to [[LoopholeAbuse get around the Edicts of Guthix preventing him from physically entering Gielinor]], thus allowing him to directly command his armies once more and wage war on the entire realm.]]
** The player character themself is chosen by Guthix to become the World Guardian, immune to the powers of gods, with the destiny of preventing divine oppression or God Wars from plaguing Gielinor. This means the rest of the gods are now targeting you, either for mind games or for murder.
* Similar to above, the Protagonist from ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. For him, being TheChosenOne means being fated to fight a series of terrifyingly powerful demons in a contest for power that will make him a target of Heaven and the demons if he goes too far out of line... not to mention being personally responsible for the lives of everybody in the lockdown.
* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' also has it pretty bad. After finding out about the Dark Hour, he/she joins a group dedicated to stopping it. [[spoiler: Only to find out that they were unwittingly played in order to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Also, thanks to being at the wrong place at the wrong time, the harbinger of this end turned out to be [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan locked inside of him/her]]. This results in him/her having to make a sadistic choice. The first option is to erase everyone's memories of the fact that the end of the world is coming, [[LetThemDieHappy but allowing all of them to live their last days happily]]. The other option is to keep everyone's memories intact allowing them to futilely fight against the coming end. This first leads to a NonstandardGameOver/[[DownerEnding Bad End]]. The protagonist only succeeds with the second option by performing a HeroicSacrifice that results in him/her becoming a BarrierMaiden.]]
* The whole playable cast of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' gets it bad across both games of the duology, Tatsuya in particular. Turns out being caught in a ''Literature/BookOfJob''-style contest between two powerful (and otherwise evenly-matched) gods of humanity's creative and destructive sides, each trying to see which of their respective domains is stronger in humanity, just completely sucks. And that's before one of them decides to kick over the table when things don't go his way.

* Sometimes being TheChosenOne in the ''[[Franchise/TheElderScrolls Elder Scrolls]]'' universe can ''really'' suck. To note:
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' shows us how much it sucks to be the ''[[TheUnchosenOne Un]]''[[TheUnchosenOne chosen One]]. Due to some completely random coincidences, [[PlayerCharacter The Agent]] gets sent by [[TheGoodKing the Emperor]] to Daggerfall on a seemingly minor mission, but find themselves in the middle of a massive political GambitPileup with heaps of BlackAndGrayMorality. Just for doing what they're told, the various factions are constantly sending assassins after the Agent, and they quickly learn directly or implicitly that few people are actually trustworthy around the Iliac Bay. In ''Morrowind'', we learn that [[spoiler:[[MergingTheBranches all of the morally gray outcomes are canonical]] due to a TimeBreak, including the DummiedOut ending where the Numidium [[KilledOffForReal kills the Agent]] and [[DeaderThanDead obliterates their immortal soul]] because they are unworthy.]]
** The Nerevarine in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' definitely gets the cosmic short end of the stick. While all of the Chosen Ones in ''The Elder Scrolls'' series have to endure many hardships to accomplish their goals, none of the others get infected with a horrible mutating disease as part of their divine mission (though the Nerevarine is able to eventually remove the negative aspects of it). It also sucks because ''everyone'' around the Nerevarine is trying to manipulate him/her: the Emperor, the Tribunal, Azura, Dagoth Ur, ''everyone''. And in the end, the Nerevarine [[spoiler:saves Tamriel from the threat of Dagoth Ur, but at the same time [[NiceJobBreakingItHero unintentionally sets in motion Morrowind's destruction]].]] In ''Oblivion'', it is mentioned that the Nerevarine apparently took an expedition to Akavir, and hasn't been heard from since. The Nerevarine's story essentially ends with him/her the [[TheAgeless Ageless]] hero of a land that has been destroyed, [[HappyEndingOverride most of his/her accomplishments rendered moot]], and having vanished off the face of Tamriel entirely.
** The Champion of Cyrodiil in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' doesn't have it much better. The Champion actually ''fails'' his/her mission to stop Mehrunes Dagon's invasion and has to watch as the other Chosen One, whom s/he has been helping and protecting throughout the main questline, sacrifices himself to save the world. The Champion is later tapped to be the successor of the Daedric Prince of Madness, Sheogorath, which entails leaving Cyrodiil behind and gradually going insane as mad gods are wont to do.
** Being the Dragonborn in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' means every major cosmic power either wants to kill you, use you, or both. Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora is particularly interested in Dragonborn, and arranges events that eventually [[spoiler:force the Dragonborn to act as his new champion.]]
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'':
** This is probably the most prominent trope in the game because ContinuingIsPainful. Sure, you're effectively immortal and will return to life after being killed, but all this means is that you will be dying repeatedly, each time horribly. You'll also watch as your friends and allies die and go hollow one by one.
** In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII''. Prince Lothric was designated at birth to be the one to Link the Flame, but he grew to resent his role due to everyone knowing that he would be the one to do it and thus never being allowed any sort of choice or say in the matter. This eventually caused him to become disillusioned and misanthropic to the whole affair, to the point where he decides to just [[RefusalOfTheCall let the Age of Dark come]], rather than submit himself and his brother to the Flame again.
* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': The Vergio Oracles lost their clairvoyant powers, but Serra Cadmus is the only one who regained her powers. Unfortunately, Oracles cannot refrain from announcing their prophecies, and the one she gives is "Fear the Revenant: The Vanguard of Ruin," which causes human civilization to panic about the end days. In order to quell this panic, Emperor Daigo orders her execution, so Serra has no choice but to flee Vergio and take her chances with the Fog.
* Ark from ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}''. It turns out that returning life to the surface world requires [[spoiler: the destruction of his own, himself included. The real kick to the balls is the implication that his past incarnations have been doing this since the dawn of time.]]
* Duran from ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki''. To the point he's a cynical DeathSeeker and DeadpanSnarker. Avoids being {{Wangst}} because he doesn't advertise it to the world and he's already resigned to his fate.
* Gabriel Belmont from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow''. Gabriel loses everything and everyone important to him in the course of fulfilling his God given destiny. [[spoiler:Even after becoming Dracula to spite God, God still considers him his chosen champion so he can't even find escape in death.]] To emphasize how much it sucks for him, he spends most of the sequel [[spoiler:trying to get his hands on the one weapon that can permanently kill him]] just so he can stop being the chosen one.
* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhBAM'', during an incident when you are brainwashed, you wonder if your ability with BAM is a gift or a curse, as all this fighting seems to be happening because of you.
* ''VideoGame/BrokenAge'':
** Vella is the latest maiden to be chosen as a HumanSacrifice to appease Mog Chothra, an EldritchAbomination that will destroy her village if he is not given a maiden every fourteen years. Being chosen is considered the highest honor, but Vella has gotten it into her head that maybe she doesn't want to be fed to a giant monster, an idea that earns her mockery from everyone in all the neighboring villages.
** Shay is the fourteen year old appointed captain of the Bossanostra, a spaceship with the goal of finding a new home for the people of his dying planet. While Shay is told repeatedly by the ship's computer that he is the most important person on the ship, Shay himself has no real control over the mission, and the computer has the overriding urge to keep Shay safe at all costs, so the it keeps him safe by not letting Shay do anything dangerous at all, and after fourteen years it's gotten so boring that Shay is partially DrivenToSuicide.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth'': [[spoiler:The cult at the beginning, Jack's time in the asylum, his mission to Innsmouth... all of this was set up by the Great Race of Yith to put him in the right place at the right time so he could kill two imprisoned Flying Polyps which were about to break free. In the end, while the Yith did help him on his quest, they do not cure his psyche, instead [[DrivenToSuicide leaving him to die in a mental institution]].]]
* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'':
** The PlayerCharacter has this trope in ''spades,'' particularly if s/he is good-aligned. Not only is s/he the child of [[spoiler: an evil murder god]], s/he also is fated to be a DoomMagnet as a result. Not to mention the fact that lots of people are trying to kill them, and that, in the second game, s/he [[spoiler: eventually develops a SuperpoweredEvilSide]].
** This is made slightly better in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIThroneOfBhaal.'' While you are the subject of a prophecy that says that [[spoiler: the Bhaalspawn will cause massive destruction to the Sword Coast]], a celestial being offers a different interpretation. [[spoiler: As it turns out, the prophecy doesn't speak of you, but of your failure to stop your more destructive half-brothers and -sisters.]]

* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', the main character is the reincarnation of a great hero called the Luminary, who banished the darkness once before and is prophesied to do so once again. Which meant he was at the top of evil's hit-list from the day he was born, and monsters razed a kingdom to the ground to try and get to him when he was a baby. This, in turn, gets another kingdom out for his blood, as the king [[SuperheroParadox blames him for the presence of the monsters]]. Most people don't even know of the Luminary, only this "Darkspawn" villain that the king's forces are hunting.
* While Ibuki in ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' is mostly a side character, in her own comic named after her it is revealed she was a chosen infant who would become a great ninja. After she was stolen from the Geki clan by Enjo, the current leader of her village group she has to live knowing and defending herself from the evil Geki clan who's ninjas who easily out size her want to kidnap her and make her work for them.
* In ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' Liu Kang is given a case of this in the new timeline starting with ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' where he [[spoiler: dies in a dispute with Raiden and is revived as a RevenantZombie]]. His past self also gets some in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' where he [[spoiler: has to forgo a relationship with Kitana as they guide the timeline]] in his tower ending.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': Shulk is the only Homs on Bionis able to wield the Monado without harming himself. It turns out it comes at a cost: [[spoiler:Namely, he slowly converts his body to be an avatar for {{Jerkass God|s}} [[BigBad Zanza]] to commit GrandTheftMe.]]
* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': The [[WonderChild circumstances of Aloy's birth]] that made her the Chosen One also made her an outcast within the Nora tribe, and as a result, she was raised her entire life by an adoptive father, Rost, who was himself also an outcast. As a result, she has little love for the Nora. When they finally accept her as the Chosen One and start worshiping her after [[spoiler:she saves them from an Eclipse raid and returns from her journey into All-Mother Mountain (a.k.a. ELEUTHIA-9) with the knowledge of her goal to destroy [[BigBad HADES]]]], she gives them a short but sweet TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
-->'''Nora matriarchs:''' All praise Aloy, anointed of the Nora!\\
'''Aloy:''' No! No! Stop this! Up! Up! First you shun me, now this? I will not be worshiped! I am not your "anointed"! I don't belong to you! There's a whole world beyond your borders, whole tribes of people just as good as you.
* Near the end of ''VideoGame/{{Oneshot}}'', you and Niko find out that [[spoiler:the only way that Niko can return home to their world is by smashing the lightbulb that's supposed to save ''this'' world, thus dooming it forever.]] And even worse, [[spoiler:they leave it up to you to decide whether or not you allow a lost little kid to get back to their family and thus leave an entire world to rot in darkness for the rest of its life or trap said kid in a world that is [[UnreliableNarrator allegedly]] doomed anyway to push the doom part a bit back.]] Have fun.

* Oh, how true for the four in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World''. Although seemingly four of many "Chosen Ones" brought over to fight the Black Tower, they're not professional adventurers like everyone else and resent how everyone expects them to act heroically at the drop of a hat. George eventually loses his temper and yells at a teenager trying to get them to rescue her 8-year-old sister; later he decides to give up his [[RingOfPower shapeshifting ring]] once the Black Tower is down and they can go home, because "as long as I have it, as long as ''we'' have it, we're gonna be someone's slaves."
* ''Fanfic/ConsequencesOfUnoriginality'' takes the time to point out that all those monsters the Chosen One has to fight come from somewhere--in this case, they spontaneously come into being to murder and torture innocent ponies to make Emeris appear to defeat them as the world forces him into the role of a GaryStu.
* In ''Fanfic/TheSagaOfAvatarKorra'', Korra is kidnapped by the Red Lotus because she was the Avatar. They took her away from her family and put her through a TrainingFromHell regiment for fourteen years. She never made friends nor did she ever know when her birthday was during that time. It was not until after she escaped from the Red Lotus and entered Republic City she was finally able to become friends with anyone besides her loyal polar bear dog Naga.
* In ''Fanfic/HitList'', Link and Zelda both get this. Zelda has [[spoiler:prophetic warnings from Nayru, which ''would'' be helpful if she had any context or idea how to prevent them and if she could get people to help without looking insane explaining it.]] Link, meanwhile, [[spoiler:has to fight Ganondorf alone, more or less (Zelda's there but can't help much), ultimately being stabbed in the stomach and nearly dying pushing Ganondorf out a window.]]
* Mocked in [[https://derpibooru.org/1033437 these]] [[https://derpibooru.org/1034146 three]] [[https://derpibooru.org/1036276 images]] by ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fan artist [[https://derpiboo.ru/tags/artist-colon-badumsquish Badumquish]] where Trixie is surprised that Twilight Sparkle not only doesn't get paid for being the Princess of Friendship, but also doesn't even get health or dental coverage (among ''other'' things). She goes on to [[InnocentlyInsensitive rub it in even further]] when she points out that she makes more ''and'' has better health care as a traveling magician. Cue epic DeathGlare from Twilight.
* ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'': In the Finale Arc, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are informed by Phobia that they are the ones who have to save the world this time. They complain about it at first, pointing out that they are only children and they barely made it out of the Wedding Arc with their lives, but suck it up and press forward.
* ''Fanfic/TheRoadYouChoose'' goes out of its way to show the toll that constantly having to save world takes on Ash and how he feels that he has no choice in the matter. It's explained that it is always Ash's choice to act, with his role more accurately being 'One Who Chooses', and that he does so because he believes it is the right thing to do. [[spoiler: However, there are lines that Ash proves he will not cross, being willing to endanger the entire world to keep Giovanni from killing Misty]].
* Zig-zagged in ''Fanfic/MyHuntsmanAcademia''. Izuku is incredibly grateful and happy to be the inheritor of One For All as it finally gave him the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a Huntsman at the greatest Huntsman Academy in the world. His adventures have given him a plethora of friends he could have only dreamed of prior to coming to Beacon and he gets to meet and learn from people he's idolized his entire life. But at the same time, One For All's backlash ''hurts'' and he has to be extremely careful when using it to avoid incapacitating himself in the middle of a life-or-death situation. Izuku also has to keep the nature of his new Semblance a secret, which eats away at him internally and contributes to his HeroicSelfDeprecation as his new friends praise him for how earnest he is. That guilt only lends to the crushing weight of his responsibilities as the leader of Team MNVW and his duties as the next Symbol of Peace and Hope, which make him privy to even more dark and dangerous secrets that he has to keep under wraps. While he will always appreciate the opportunity he's been given, it's clear that Izuku doesn't have his work cut out for him.
* ''Fanfic/DragonFromAsh'' gives this viewpoint to Velandryn Savani when he's revealed as the Dragonborn. As a Dunmer forced to become a ''Nord'' messiah, he's saddled with powers his country loathes, a non-negligeable part of the people he's intended to protect hates him for belonging to the "wrong" race and several important officials want to use him as a political pawn. He will also have to fight dragons in spite of being terrified of dying or losing his identity every time he absorbs their soul. For all his smugness, several of his allies cannot help but pity him.

* Music/BlackSabbath's [[Music/BlackSabbathAlbum "Black Sabbath"]] is about a guy who gets chosen...to go to Hell!
* "Rosetta Stoned" from Music/{{Tool}} briefly touches on this issue, though given the entire song is a drug-induced stream-of-consciousness train of thought it's obviously not the focus of it.

* In Myth/ClassicalMythology, a number of heroes have less than idyllic lives. Odysseus ends up taking over 10 years to travel back home. After being driven insane, Heracles kills his own family and when he has to do twelve tasks to [[TheAtoner atone]], the guy who chooses the tasks is doing a UriahGambit.

* ''Webcomic/TheWitchsThrone'': Technically, all girls that awaken as Witches are TheChosenOne. The only problem is, that's definitely not something they want to be.
* The role of Goddess was forced onto Max on his birthday in ''Webcomic/MagicalBoy'', specifically the day he decided to come out to his parents as trans. Because the Goddess is an exclusively feminine role to take, he is forced to have his hair up, his face covered in make-up and wear a frilly dress whenever he has to take on his duty (which he has no real say in whether he wants to fulfill it or not). If he does not fulfill his destiny, then the world will be overrun with [[EmotionEater emotion-eating]] monsters, leading to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. When he is not powered-hp, his zealous-to-the-point-of-obnoxious mother tries reminding him of his destiny every chance she gets, ignoring his coming out and trying to enforce his assigned gender onto him so that he may be a "proper lady."

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Juniper is chosen as her generation's Te Xuan Ze: the magical protector of the barrier between the human and monster world. At first, it's a job she takes in stride, even though she has to occasionally ditch her friends and keep it a secret from them. But then comes the real rub; she can't leave her hometown ''ever,'' as there is a barrier keeping her from leaving. The only way out is for her successor to take the reins. And as Juniper is still a child, it'll be a while before that happens. To say the least, she doesn't take this discovery well. Jasmine got it ''worse'' than her. Her son didn't become the Te Xuan Ze so she had to wait until Juniper was born. And the reason she travels the world is both to make up for all the time she lost as Te Xuan Ze AND to find a way to free Juniper from the barrier.

* Being the Chosen One of any of the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' games tends to come with a lot of headaches. This is particularly true of Hawke, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', who just can't seem to catch a break. By the end of the game, they've fled their home country to escape annihilation, [[spoiler:lost one sibling to an ogre attack, possibly watched the other one die as well, lost their mother to a serial killer, had to defend their adopted city from waves of bandits and invading forces, watched one of their friends (possibly their LoveInterest) descend into a bit of madness and blow up the local church to start a war,]] and ultimately ended up separated from all of their friends and on the run. Hawke's return appearance in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' shows the player just how much all of this is wearing them down, [[spoiler:and then they may be called upon to make a HeroicSacrifice on top of everything else.]]

* In ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'', Kento Tate is revealed to somehow be the descendant of the final [[HumanAliens Heliosian]] Emperor, Palmillion, and thus thrusted with the responsibility of managing the fallen empire's AlienPrince affairs as well as piloting the titular SuperRobot. Kento expresses on multiple occassions that he ''hates'' this responsibility.

** Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one destined to bring balance to the Force. Unfortunately, (due to a combination of emotional trauma exasperated by his reluctance to commit fully to either the Jedi or his own desires, his already impulsive and HotBlooded tendencies and his desperation to protect his wife) he gets corrupted to the dark side, spends half of the series as [[BigBad Palpatine's]] [[TheDragon Dragon]], and in the end [[spoiler:only saves everything by killing himself with Palpatine.]]

** Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one destined to bring balance to the Force. Unfortunately, (due to a combination of emotional trauma exasperated by his reluctance to either commit fully to the Jedi or his own desires, his already impulsive and HotBlooded tendencies and his desperation to protect his wife) he gets corrupted to the dark side, spends half of the series as [[BigBad Palpatine's]] [[TheDragon Dragon]], and in the end [[spoiler:only saves everything by killing himself with Palpatine.]]

** Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one destined to bring balance to the Force. Unfortunately, (due to a combination of emotional trauma exasperated by Jedi dogma, his already impulsive and HotBlooded tendencies and his desperation to protect his wife) he gets corrupted to the dark side, spends half of the series as [[BigBad Palpatine's]] [[TheDragon Dragon]], and in the end [[spoiler:only saves everything by killing himself with Palpatine.]]

** Zanik is the goblin war god Bandos' Chosen Commander, the goblin who will lead all the goblins to victory in a huge war. There's just one catch: Zanik is of the Dorgeshuun, a group of pacifist cave goblins who renounced Bandos after he ordered them to partake in a battle they had no chance of winning for no reason. There's an entire quest series devoted to Zanik basically telling Bandos to fuck off. [[spoiler: And that's not even getting into the part where being the Chosen Commander means Bandos basically uses you as a puppet to get arround the Edicts of Guthix preventing him from physically entering Gielinor, thus allowing him to directly command his armies once more and wage war on the entire realm.]]

** Zanik is the goblin war god Bandos' Chosen Commander, the goblin who will lead all the goblins to victory in a huge war. There's just one catch: Zanik is of the Dorgeshuun, a group of pacifist cave goblins who renounced Bandos after he ordered them to partake in a battle they had no chance of winning for no reason. There's an entire quest series devoted to Zanik basically telling Bandos to fuck off.

** These problems are even worse when it falls towards the current trollhunter James "Jim" Lake Jr., who is not only the first human trollhunter, but he is a mere teenager who had no fighting experience before was chosen. Being a human for a device designed for trolls, it takes getting used to for Jim to have control over its activation. As a human, he is considerably weaker than most trolls. As a teenager, he has many responsibilities in his personal life and school life, his duties straining his relationship with his mother and causing him to fall so far behind that he winds up missing over a month in school. [[spoiler:By the end of Season 3, he was forced to abandon his human life and allow himself to be turned into a troll by Merlin just so he would be physically strong and durable enough to take on [[BigBadEnsemble Gunmar and Morgana]].]]
* ''WesternAnimation/UnicornWarriorsEternal'': Emma certainly seems to think so. The latest reincarnation of the Sorceress Melinda, one of the ritular Warriors, Emma's life was completely upended when Destiny came for her on her literal wedding day. Now she's fully expected to give up her body to a woman she knows nothing about for the nebulous reason of saving the world. Worse, she's been driven away from her beloved fiance Winston, whilst having to deal with the advances of another of the warriors named Eldrid, Melinda's reincarnated elven lover. It's hard not to understand when she declares "I hate you" to the heroes.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' has a dragon assigned to protect every country. And our hero is, uh...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the American one.]] And it leads to getting chased by a dragon-crazy teacher, training taking most of his childhood, nearly getting killed multiple times, and [[spoiler: losing his dragon-hunting girlfriend through a time change.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Every generation, there is a [[BigGood single person]] who is tasked with protecting humanity from a secret AncientEvil and guiding them towards an equally secret destiny. As a FarmBoy, Oscar always wanted to be special... he just didn't want to be this special. When other people learn the AwfulTruth about what's really going on in the world, they have the option of running away from it all. Oscar is the only person who can't. [[spoiler:Ozma was tasked by the God of Light to help humanity achieve harmony by TheDayOfReckonning; if he fails, humanity will be destroyed. His soul, Aura and memories constantly [[ParasiticImmortality reincarnate into a new person]] whenever his previous body dies, passing into Oscar from Ozpin at the end of Volume 3. On top of Ozma's extraordinary powers, Oscar also inherits the emotional baggage of countless lifetimes spanning thousands of years; people who had issues with Ozpin, see him as a suitable proxy to satisfy their grudges; people who want Ozpin's advice, see him as nothing more than an access point to reach the person they really want. Oscar also faces the possibility of permanently losing his own identity through merging with Ozma; he therefore fears disappearing as a person in his own right and becoming nothing more than another one of Ozma's endless lives.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Homer Simpson experiences this in the episode "Homer the Great". At first it's nice being the Chosen One of the Stonecutters, but then he gets bored with it due to the ''lack'' of any challenge-everyone constantly sucks up to him and lets him win whatever games they play.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' has a dragon assigned to protect every country. And our hero is, uh...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the American one.]] And it leads to getting chased by a dragon-crazy teacher, training taking most of his childhood, nearly getting killed multiple times, and [[spoiler: losing his dragon-hunting girlfriend through a time change.]]
** One episode has him shifting the burden to his little sister, who is initially very eager to accept it. In ''one week'' she's a stressed out bundle of nerves because she's sleep deprived and falling behind in school. Jake, on the other hand, is having the time of his life as a normal kid.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'', Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon turns out to be the prophesied Green Ninja. This is great -- he possesses all the elemental powers of creation. The downside? He has to fight and defeat his dad (whom he loves and who loves him back), he has to grow up quickly (literally), and villains seek to steal his powers. And there are ''more'' reasons why his life sucks -- the others just aren't related to him being TheChosenOne.
* ''WesternAnimation/GaryAndHisDemons'' has the titular protagonist bemoan the fact that he is chosen to be a demon slayer and is waiting for his replacement.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' After the events of WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie, Hot Rod becomes Rodimus Prime, and while he does his job to defeat Unicron, a few episodes into the series afterwards, and he becomes more and more disgusted with having the Matrix of Leadership, [[TheChainsOfCommanding and all the duties of being leader of the Autobots]], to the point that when the Matrix is stolen by the Decepticons, he says they can have it!... Until the Decepticon who stole it starts to actually '''''melt''''' from having it in his chest. Rodimus is then ResignedToTheCall and takes it back.
-->'''Rodimus''': Why did I have to be chosen one?

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', Adora at first enjoyed having the power of She-Ra, but after various set backs, she began to become overwhelmed by her responsibilities and her perceived failures. She seems to adopt this mind set in season 3 after she learns of the fact she was stolen from another world and Light Hope tells her she doesn't have any choice in her destiny. Then in season 4, [[spoiler: she is completely horrified to learn that She-Ra is the conduit for the Heart of Etheria, a weapon that the First Ones made to destroy countless other worlds]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', Ladybug and Chat Noir have the power to create and destroy respectively, but they cannot tell anyone, lest Hawk Moth and Mayura find out.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangbone}}'' doesn't shy away from showing how ''hard'' it is to have to guard one of [[SealedEvilInASixPack Venomous Drool's parts]]. Fangbone himself has to be on guard 24/7, can hardly do anything without a monster showing up to take the Toe of Evil from him, and is forced to live in a completely different world where he has very little idea of who he can trust. One episode "The Keeper of Toe" shows examples of the fates of Drool-Keepers who end up getting caught (eaten by monsters, getting turned inside-out, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking getting your head turned into a goat's and covered in butter]]), and in the case of [[FallenHero Wargrunt]], former keeper of Drool's elbow, how easy it can be to become corrupted by using the magic of Drool's body parts.
* ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'': Max certainly feels this way many a time about his status as the Mighty One. It's especially annoying when the world needs saving right in the middle of his vacations, or as he's playing baseball. Comes to a head in both season finales when [[spoiler: he gets to watch his friends die trying to help him achieve his destiny.]]

* In the ten years of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark never seemed to be happy even for a moment regarding his [[{{Franchise/Superman}} destiny]].

* In ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', John Connor definitely seems to fit this - he and his family are constantly in danger, and he has intermittent bouts of IJustWantToBeNormal, plus at least one possible suicide attempt.
* ''Series/MakoMermaidsAnH2OAdventure'': As a descendant of the merman king, Zac's [[{{Lunacy}} moonspells]] always have the same effect of drawing him to the artifacts made be mermen in ancient times to use as weapons against mermaids and his moonspelled personality always wants to use them regardless of what he actually wants. It's not until late into the second season that he starts getting a handle on the moonspell and refusing to let those weapons fulfill their purpose.
* Chloe, from ''Series/TheNineLivesOfChloeKing'' is a good example. Like Buffy, she just wants to be normal (though the main difference between them is that Chloe said she wanted to be special in the first place, so there's a bit of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor mixed in too).
* Allie, from Steven Spielberg's ''Series/{{Taken}}'', who just wants to be a normal little girl.
* Arthur clearly feels this way in ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', and is constantly telling Merlin that he has no idea what it feels like. While he does have good reason to take this viewpoint, (and to be fair the trope does apply to him), it applies to Merlin much, [[IronWoobie much]] more.

* ''Series/Charmed1998''
** Despite having three Chosen Ones, still fills the trope. The Halliwell sisters may receive magic powers, but their lives are frequently in danger, they have to lie to their loved ones and continually struggle to balance their witch duties with their personal lives. Piper's desire for a normal life is used against her more than once in particular.
** The show deconstructs it a couple of times. Notably one episode has the sisters given the option to give up their powers and they're initially willing to - until they end up nearly losing an innocent, ultimately deciding that the hardships are worth it if they can still protect people. And when they try to fake their deaths and go into hiding, they struggle with trying ''not'' to get involved in demon attacks.
* ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'': Over the course of the series, it's repeatedly shown just how traumatized Ash is from the events of the films, even after thirty years, and the new string of Deadite fighting he has to do in the present doesn't help. He finally hits his breaking point in the GrandFinale -- in light of the literal end of the world, he breaks down, slipping into a HeroicBSOD, [[DrowningMySorrows getting drunk]], and ranting about how he never wanted to be TheChosenOne in the first place.
-->'''Ash''': Pablo, how may times you heard me say this, huh? Why me?! Who am I?! Nobody. ''Nobody!'' Guy from Elk Grove, Michigan. Where the fuck is that? In the middle of jack-shit nowhere, that's where! You know what? I got news for you. I didn't ask for this! You think I want this horse shit? Be covered in blood 24/7? Who the fuck would want that?!