History Main / OnePersonOnePower

* The ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' books fit this trope. Every person has a single magical talent, and no two people can ever have the same one. Talents [[SuperpowerLottery range]] from 'essentially completely useless' to 'RealityWarper'.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' and ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''

** There are exceptions to this trope i.e. people who possess multiple Quirks. Many people can tolerate two Quirks at best, on the condition that they are physically fit. Very few people can endure more than two Quirks without turning into mindless living dolls. The most infamous among them is [[BigBad All For One]] whose original Quirk can [[PowerParasite steal numerous Quirks for personal use]] or [[SuperEmpowering transfer them to others]]. All For One's sidekick, [[MadScientist Dr. Garaki]] can surgically transplant Quirks to create [[EliteMooks Nōmus]]/{{Artificial Human}}s. However, the brain functions of these creatures are affected by Quirk Overload. Villains like [[spoiler:Number Six, Wolfram, Nine, Gigantomachia, Lady Nagant, and Tomura Shigaraki can endure multiple Quirks with their sense of self intact.]]

** Anyone possessing multiple Quirks suffers from a major drawback. It can range from physical strain ([[spoiler:Izuku Midoriya, Nine]]), [[CastFromLifeSpan life force depletion]] ([[spoiler:past One For All users with Quirks, Nine]]), to decreased intellect ([[spoiler:Gigantomachia, Nomus]]) and psychological harm ([[spoiler:All For One, Tomura Shigaraki]]).

[[folder:AnimeAndManga]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* Each witch from ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' possesses a unique "active power" in addition to their basic powers of spell-casting, potion-brewing and scrying. They can range from telekinesis, creating fire, super speed and even invisibility. The Charmed Ones are an exception as they all start with one power and naturally gain new ones as they advance.

* ''LightNovel/InfiniteDendrogram'': The titular VRMMORPG has players called Masters where a special ability called an [[PersonalityPowers Embryo]]. This is basically a skill that is based on a person's personality and their experiences within the world. Many types of Embryos but broad categories exist. Type: Arms are weapons that follow the form of swords, guns, staves, etc. Type: Guardner takes the form of a non-human being much like that of tamed monster. Type: Chariot are basically vehicles which would be a carriage or a mecha. Type: Castle is buildings which do not move but high defense. Type: Territory are abilities that work within an area rather than having a physical form.

** Subverted in that Devil Fruits can have overlapping or alternative powers to each other, especially by getting quite strict with the definition of "one power". For example, the More-More Fruit makes things bigger and the Mini-Mini Fruit makes things smaller, but both fruits allow the user to revert a modified item to its former size. There is only one [[ElementalTransformation Logia]] of [[PlayingWithFire Fire, but there are both "fire adjacent" Logias like [[MagmaMan Magma]] or [SuperSmoke Smoke]], and plenty of heat or flame-manipulating Paramecias. There are entirely separate Logias for Cold and Snow. Then there are the [[{{Animorphism}} Zoan]] Devil Fruits, which often have specific fruits for specific ''species'' of animal; the [[ScaledUp Snake-Snake Fruit]] has specific models for King Cobra and Anaconda, for example.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', there appears to be only one of each Devil Fruit, and nobody can have two Devil Fruit powers (except [[spoiler:Blackbeard]]). This will result in the death of the person trying to obtain the second power. Averted with Haki, which can be learned by anyone and used in tandem with Devil Fruit powers or other abilities.

* ''Literature/ReleaseThatWitch'': Every witch has one innate magical spell, and it's the only one they can keep and evolve. [[PowersAsPrograms However, they can temporarily use different spells by using magical ores with a witch's / demon's powers etched into them.]]

* ''Literature/{{Graceling}}'': Graces are abilities some members of the population just happen to be born with, signified by their heterochromatic eyes. These graces enhance one's ability in a particular field- Main character Katsa, for example, has a killing grace (which turns out to actually be a [[spoiler:''survival '' grace]]), deuteragonist Po is graced with enhanced perception, and the main antagonist King Leck is graced with telling lies that people will believe.

Some powers might [[SemanticSuperpower more versatile]] [[SwissArmySuperpower than others]], of course. These may include the power to [[PowerCopying copy]] or [[PowerParasite steal]] other powers, as long as that is the person's only designated power. ''Nobody'' gets ComboPlatterPowers by default (which would mean that those who do are unnatural, and usually artificial, cases).

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', there appears to be only one of each Devil Fruit, and nobody can have two Devil Fruit powers (except [[spoiler: Blackbeard]]). Trying to will result in the death of the person trying to obtain the second power. Averted with Haki, which can be learned by anyone and used in tandem with Devil Fruit powers or other abilities.

* ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' by Michael Grant features several superpowered kids with a single power each, with the eventual exceptions of Brittney, Drake, and [[spoiler: Gaia]].
* ''Literature/{{Graceling}}'': Graces are abilities some members of the population just happen to be born with, signified by their heterochromatic eyes. These graces enhance one's ability in a particular field- Main character Katsa, for example, has a killing grace (which turns out to actually be a [[spoiler: ''survival '' grace]]), deuteragonist Po is graced with enhanced perception, and the main antagonist King Leck is graced with telling lies that people will believe.

* In the universe of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', every pony, Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth, has a "special talent" that is reflected in their cutie-mark. This can be fairly mundane, like an affinity for a particular skill or field of study, or a legitimate superpower. Twilight Sparkle has a particularly versatile one, since her talent is being good at magic in general (as opposed to other unicorns, whose magic generally helps them in something more specific).

See also EveryoneHasASpecialMove, SignatureMove, and SinglePowerSuperheroes. Compare OneSuperOnePowerset and ThemeDeck.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': All living things have an [[{{Mana}} Aura]]. With training, they can strengthen their Aura and use it for a range of effects, such as [[SuperToughness preventing injury]] or [[HealingFactor healing injuries]] that do manage to be inflicted, or blocking strikes by [[BarrierWarrior projecting Aura]] like a forcefield. However, every single person possesses the ability to develop a Semblance, a manifestation of Aura that is unique to every individual. Among the main characters, Ruby can engage in [[SuperSpeed feats of extreme speed]]; Weiss can create magical glyphs that perform a range of [[GeometricMagic faux-magical effects]], such as the ability to summon and command ice-versions of her fallen foes; Blake can create shadow-clones that take the blows meant for her; Yang can tank damage and [[CriticalStatusBuff convert it to deal increased damage back]] to her foes; Jaune has the ability to [[SuperEmpowering amplify everyone else's Aura]], increasing the effectiveness of their abilities; Nora can tank electricity to [[SuperStrength increase her strength]]; Pyrrha can [[MagnetismManipulation use magnetism]] to achieve a range of effects, from creating tornados of soda cans to winning battles by subtlely manipulating warriors' armour and weapons to ensure they lose fights without ever knowing why; and Ren can [[EmotionSuppression mask people's emotions]], making them invisible to the [[AnimalisticAbomination monstrous]] [[EmotionEater Creatures of Grimm]].

* ''Literature/TheGrimnoirChronicles'': Almost all Magicals/Actives only have one Power each, albeit with RequiredSecondaryPowers included. Sufficiently powerful Actives can emulate closely related ones ([[GravityMaster Heavy]] Sullivan can affect his density like a Massive), and Chairman Okubo Tokugawa is the only one with natural ComboPlatterPowers. [[spoiler:The Pathfinders of [[EldritchAbomination the Enemy]] are able to use multiple Powers thanks to PowerParasite and assimilation, and Faye is a [[AwesomeByAnalysis Cog]] whose power is ''understanding all the other powers'', with the first power she properly learned being the [[{{Teleportation}} Traveling]] she's introduced as using.]]

* ''Webcomic/ScoobAndShag'': The cartoon characters we know and love are actually an alien race and each member is born with a unique power called a "Ballyhoo", born from the adoration of humans. Each one is named after TV or video recording terminology. For example, [[WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog Courage]]'s "On Demand" lets him turn into any kind of object at will, [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit]]'s "ProductPlacement" lets him summon branded objects for [[SwissArmySuperpower a variety of purposes]], and WesternAnimation/{{Droopy}}'s "DirectToVideo" summons creepy paintings that he can see through.

** For instance Ariel's BarrierWarrior previously belonged to {{spoiler:Ward}} before they died.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': All living things have an [[LifeEnergy Aura]]. With training, they can strengthen their Aura and use it for a range of effects, such as [[SuperToughness preventing injury]] or [[HealingFactor healing injuries]] that do manage to be inflicted, or blocking strikes by [[BarrierWarrior projecting Aura]] like a forcefield. However, every single person possesses the ability to develop a Semblance, a manifestation of Aura that is unique to every individual. Among the main characters, Ruby can engage in [[SuperSpeed feats of extreme speed]]; Weiss can create magical glyphs that perform a range of [[GeometricMagic faux-magical effects]], such as the ability to summon and command ice-versions of her fallen foes; Blake can create shadow-clones that take the blows meant for her; Yang can tank damage and [[CriticalStatusBuff convert it to deal increased damage back]] to her foes; Jaune has the ability to [[SuperEmpowering amplify everyone else's Aura]], increasing the effectiveness of their abilities; Nora can tank electricity to [[SuperStrength increase her strength]]; Pyrrha can [[MagnetismManipulation use magnetism]] to achieve a range of effects, from creating tornados of soda cans to winning battles by subtlely manipulating warriors' armour and weapons to ensure they lose fights without ever knowing why; and Ren can [[EmotionSuppression mask people's emotions]], making them invisible to the [[AnimalisticAbomination monstrous]] [[EmotionEater Creatures of Grimm]].

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': All living things have an [[SoulPower Aura]]. With training, they can strengthen their Aura and use it for a range of effects, such as [[SuperToughness preventing injury]] or [[HealingFactor healing injuries]] that do manage to be inflicted, or blocking strikes by [[BarrierWarrior projecting Aura]] like a forcefield. However, every single person possesses the ability to develop a Semblance, a manifestation of Aura that is unique to every individual. Among the main characters, Ruby can engage in [[SuperSpeed feats of extreme speed]]; Weiss can create magical glyphs that perform a range of [[GeometricMagic faux-magical effects]], such as the ability to summon and command ice-versions of her fallen foes; Blake can create shadow-clones that take the blows meant for her; Yang can tank damage and [[CriticalStatusBuff convert it to deal increased damage back]] to her foes; Jaune has the ability to [[SuperEmpowering amplify everyone else's Aura]], increasing the effectiveness of their abilities; Nora can tank electricity to [[SuperStrength increase her strength]]; Pyrrha can [[MagnetismManipulation use magnetism]] to achieve a range of effects, from creating tornados of soda cans to winning battles by subtlely manipulating warriors' armour and weapons to ensure they lose fights without ever knowing why; and Ren can [[EmotionSuppression mask people's emotions]], making them invisible to the [[AnimalisticAbomination monstrous]] [[EmotionEater Creatures of Grimm]].

** Anyone possessing multiple Quirks suffers from a major drawback. It can range from physical strain ([[spoiler:Izuku Midoriya, Nine]]), [[CastFromLifeSpan life force depletion]] ([[spoiler:past One For All users with Quirks]]), to decreased intellect ([[spoiler:Gigantomachia, Nomus]]) and psychological harm ([[spoiler:All For One, Tomura Shigaraki]]).

** There are exceptions to this trope i.e. people who possess multiple Quirks. Many people can tolerate two Quirks at best, on the condition that they are physically fit. Very few people can endure more than two Quirks without turning into mindless living dolls. The most infamous among them is [[BigBad All For One]] whose original Quirk can [[PowerParasite steal numerous Quirks for personal use]] or [[SuperEmpowering transfer them to others]]. All For One's sidekick, [[MadScientist Dr. Garaki]] can surgically transplant Quirks to create [[EliteMooks Nōmus]]/{{Artificial Human}}s. However, the brain functions of these creatures are affected by Quirk Overload. Villains like [[spoiler:Number Six, Wolfram, Nine, Gigantomachia, and Tomura Shigaraki can endure multiple Quirks with their sense of self intact.]]

* The Magicals/Actives of ''[[Literature/TheGrimnoirChronicles Hard Magic]]'' all have one power each, albeit with RequiredSecondaryPowers included.

** Anyone possessing multiple Quirks suffers from a major drawback. It can range from physical strain ([[spoiler:Izuku Midoriya, Nine]]) , life force depletion ([[spoiler:past One For All users with Quirks]]), to decreased intellect ([[spoiler:Gigantomachia, Nomus]]) and psychological harm ([[spoiler:All For One, Tomura Shigaraki]]).

[[folder: LiveActionTV]]