History Main / ShaggydogStory

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* Creator/NormMacDonald every time he's interviewed ''"So the guy says to me he says to me the guy says..."''

* Challenger Andy's video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCS1_W-xMyg "Can You Beat a Level 100 Hoppip With a Level 5 Totodile?"]] ultimately ends this way, several times. After spending more than 20 hours theorycrafting a way to make it past the first mandatory victory in a copy of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokemon Crystal]]'' that has been hacked to make all the wild and trained enemy Pokemon level 100 while resetting any of his own catches to Level 1, using information from ''Website/PokemonShowdown'' and [[TheWikiRule Bulbapedia]], he first finds out that the calculations used by ''Showdown'', according to which his question would indeed be answered in the affirmative, are based on a false premise. This forces him to reverse-engineer the ''Pokemon'' damage formula by hand, which ''also'' turned out to be pointless since Bulbapedia, his source, was incorrect, which he didn't suspect for another 35 hours. He then had to consult with dataminers for another 10 hours after that to determine the true damage formula... which revealed that it is mathematically impossible to beat a level 100 wild Hoppip that retains the moves it would normally have when encountered at its intended level before the Trainer Joey battle with a level 5 starter Pokemon obtained from Professor Elm that has not won a single battle in ''Pokemon Crystal'', only after the viewer sits through 22 minutes and 10 seconds of the video. Then after that, he reveals that while this particular event is impossible, his original challenge (beating a hack of the Generation II games in which all enemy Pokemon are level 100 and none of the player's Pokemon are) is not impossible, and implied that he would release a follow-up video explaining how he did it... only for him to lose the ROM file, preventing him from finishing the challenge or ever making the follow-up video.

* Challenger Andy's video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCS1_W-xMyg "Can You Beat a Level 100 Hoppip With a Level 5 Totodile?"]] ultimately ends this way, several times. After spending more than 20 hours theorycrafting a way to make it past the first mandatory victory in a copy of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokemon Crystal]]'' that has been hacked to give all the wild and trained enemy Pokemon level 100 while resetting any of his own catches to Level 1, using information from ''Website/PokemonShowdown'' and [[TheWikiRule Bulbapedia]], he first finds out that the calculations used by ''Showdown'', according to which his question would indeed be answered in the affirmative, are based on a false premise. This forces him to reverse-engineer the ''Pokemon'' damage formula by hand, which ''also'' turned out to be pointless since Bulbapedia, his source, was incorrect, which he didn't suspect for another 35 hours. He then had to consult with dataminers for another 10 hours after that to determine the true damage formula... which revealed that it is mathematically impossible to beat a level 100 wild Hoppip that retains the moves it would normally have when encountered at its intended level before the Trainer Joey battle with a level 5 starter Pokemon obtained from Professor Elm that has not won a single battle in ''Pokemon Crystal'', only after the viewer sits through 22 minutes and 10 seconds of the video. Then after that, he reveals that while this particular event is impossible, his original challenge (beating a hack of the Generation II games in which all enemy Pokemon are level 100 and none of the player's Pokemon are) is not impossible, and implied that he would release a follow-up video explaining how he did it... only for him to lose the ROM file, preventing him from finishing the challenge or ever making the follow-up video.

* Challenger Andy's video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCS1_W-xMyg "Can You Beat a Level 100 Hoppip With a Level 5 Totodile?"]] ultimately ends this way, several times. After spending more than 20 hours theorycrafting a way to make it past the first mandatory victory in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokemon Crystal]]'' using information from ''Website/PokemonShowdown'' and [[TheWikiRule Bulbapedia]], he first finds out that the calculations used by ''Showdown'', according to which his question would indeed be answered in the affirmative, are based on a false premise. This forces him to reverse-engineer the ''Pokemon'' damage formula by hand, which ''also'' turned out to be pointless since Bulbapedia, his source, was incorrect, which he didn't suspect for another 35 hours. He then had to consult with dataminers for another 10 hours after that to determine the true damage formula... which revealed that it is mathematically impossible to beat a level 100 wild Hoppip that retains the moves it would normally have when encountered at its intended level before the Trainer Joey battle with a level 5 starter Pokemon obtained from Professor Elm that has not won a single battle in ''Pokemon Crystal'', only after the viewer sits through 22 minutes and 10 seconds of the video. Then after that, he reveals that while this particular event is impossible, his original challenge (beating a hack of the Generation II games in which all enemy Pokemon are level 100 and none of the player's Pokemon are) is not impossible, and implied that he would release a follow-up video explaining how he did it... only for him to lose the ROM file, preventing him from finishing the challenge or ever making the follow-up video.

* The plot of the ''WesternAnimation/SpongbobSquarePants 4D ride'' has [=SpongeBob=] chasing after Patrick who took the last pickle which he needs to complete a krabby patty for a customer. At the end, [=SpongeBob=] gets the pickle and puts it in the patty. However, it turns out the customer requested no pickles due to being allergic.

* In ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'', if the Safe ending hasn't been cleared beforehand, then the True ending (which is otherwise the GoldenEnding) ends with [[spoiler:several of the group, including the main character, forced to hopelessly try and work out a passcode for which they lack the necessary clue]].

** In Season 3, Sonic and co. attempt to rob [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Casino Zone]] of all its loot. After the initial disaster of their first attempt, they manage to get everything out, until they realize all they've stolen are [[WorthlessCurrency rings]], which have no value anywhere.

* The ending of ''Fanfic/TheStoryToEndAllStories'' is somewhat anticlimactic as it turns out that [[spoiler: the Nothing isn't as much of a threat as it's made out to be.]]

* LegacyOfTheRedSun: Small one. [[spoiler: In a bit of dialogue, Han tells how he let a Wookie named Chewbacca free when he was told to skin him, but didn't go on the run with him. He later found Chewbacca had been killed in the street.]]

* In ''[[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/dont-be-an-impel-down-er-one-piece-si.386260/page-40#post-21946100 Don't Be An Impel Down-er]]'', the SelfInsert is born to a prisoner in Level Six of Impel Down. For the crime of "Being Born", he's sentenced to fifty years in prison, less with good behavior. After seventeen years of being a model prisoner, even getting a decade taken off his sentence, [[YouAreNumberSix Prisoner 10013]] is informed that the higher ups changed their minds and his is now a life sentence. Warden Magellan, the one to inform him, [[PetTheDog allows Prisoner 10013 to step outside and see the sky for the first time]] before he has to go back to his cell. Subverted when a Cipher Pol agent comes to offer him a job in exchange for release from Impel Down.

* In the ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' fancomic ''[[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-new-twelve-labors-of-heracles-a-fate-grand-order-comic-update-the-end.809726/ The New Twelve Labors of Heracles]]'', Jason buys a Holy Grail from fBay and charges it by having Heracles recreate his twelve labors, which will give Heracles enough strength to battle Zeus in the Lostbelts. [[spoiler:At the end of the labors, the grail only had enough power to create a single Saint Quartz... which Jason pockets despite the frustration]].

* [[http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-07-09/ This]] ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' comic.
** Scott Adams in general is fairly fond of this trope, often times inspired by [[RippedFromTheHeadlines real life stories from readers]] about {{Pointy Haired Boss}}es.

** There was a very ''long'' series of strips involving Peppermint Patty training for an ice skating tournament that ran over a whole winter. First, she hired Snoopy as a coach. Then she convinced Marcie to make her a skating dress; Marcie tried her best, but she couldn't sew, and made an awful dress. It almost ruined their friendship, until Marcie's mother made Patty a beautiful dress. Then Patty needed to get a new hairdo to go with it; Marcie was no good at that, so Patty went to Charlie Brown's dad - who's a barber. Unfortunately, he mistook her for a boy, and gave her a boy's haircut. Patty averted another disaster by buying a wig... [[spoiler:But in the end, it all turned out to be pointless, because the tournament was actually a roller skating competition.]]

* During a Wrestling/{{TNA}} JAPW crossover, Knockouts Champion Wrestling/MadisonRayne agreed to give Wrestling/AngelinaLove a title shot ''if'' Love could beat her old rival, the undefeated Jersey All Pro Women's Champion Wrestling/SaraDelRey. When Love did what no one though possible and beat Del Rey Rayne immediately ran out and hit Love with the belt, [[ExactWords a literal title shot]]. But Angelina Love wasn't knocked unconscious, the referee, Earl Hebner, had the match get officially underway and despite Rayne's huge early advantage Love started to make a comeback...only for Hebner to [[KissOfDistraction kiss her, causing enough of a distraction]] for Rayne to retain.

* The 2015 edition of Wrestling/SurvivorSeries centered around a TournamentArc for the WWE Championship following Wrestling/SethRollins, who was a member of Wrestling/TheAuthority, getting injured. [[ThrowTheDogABone The dog won]], [[YankTheDogsChain unfortunatley]], at the end of the tournament, Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} cashed in his Money in the Bank contract ''on'' said dog and, with aid from Triple H, won the match thus won the title, leaving the Authority no worse for wear than before and the fans even more agitated at their invinciblity. The dog in question? Wrestling/RomanReigns.
** 2018 got worse for poor Roman with his rivalry against Wrestling/BrockLesnar. Roman fought as hard as he could to get the Universal Championship off Lesnar out of disgust for Brock's bad work ethic and tendancy to be an absentee champion, facing Lesnar at multiple [=PPVs=] throughout the year, getting incredibly mixed reactions at every step[[note]]Some people were bored with Lesnar's overly-long reign and wanted Roman to win just for something new and to have a champion who actually showed up regularly, others were sick of Roman's Super-Roman booking and didn't want him to get that validation, and others still just didn't think the feud was very good[[/note]] on top of repeatedly losing to Brock. He got [[TraumaCongaLine beat up, hospitalised, cheated out of a victory and more]] as the feud rolled on to the point where Roman himself told everyone he was sick of talking about Brock. Then, after he ''finally'' won the damn belt at ''Wrestling/SummerSlam'', he only got to hold it for a relatively short two months before [[invoked]][[RealLifeWritesThePlot his cancer returned in Real Life, forcing him to drop it]]. ''Ouch.'' Oh, and then Baron Corbin's interference meant that the belt went back to Lesnar at ''Crown Jewel'', completely invalidating Roman's efforts to bring the belt back to regular syndicated television. ''Double ouch.''

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Project Freelancer was created as a means to fight aliens [[spoiler: and find a way to bring back Allison.]] To do so, the Director tortured the A.I. Alpha into fragmenting itself so it could provide A.I.s for experimental purposes. However, the Project practically failed in its objectives, with all its Freelancers becoming crazy, going rogue, abandoning the project or dying and [[spoiler: Allison/Tex staying dead.]]

* The 2015 edition of Wrestling/SurvivorSeries centered around a TournamentArc for the WWE Championship following Wrestling/SethRollins, who was a member of Wrestling/TheAuthority, getting injured. However, at the end of the tournament, Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and, with aid from Triple H, won, leaving the Authority no worse for wear than before and the fans even more agitated at their invinciblity.

** In Season 3, Franchise/{{Sonic}} and co. attempt to rob [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Casino Zone]] of all its loot. After the initial disaster of their first attempt, they manage to get everything out, until they realize all they've stolen are [[WorthlessCurrency rings]], which have no value anywhere.

* ShaggyDogStory/{{Webcomics}}

* The Great White Sheet Game: Typically played at co-ed college parties with some amount of alcohol, often on road trips where the participants have multiple hotel rooms. One person who has never played before is chosen as the Player, while all those who have played before take on the roles of "Master" (for the leader of the game) and "Others". The Player sits on a bed, and has a sheet tented over him. The Master then explains that this is a test, and that the Player must follow the instructions that the Master or the Others give, to the letter. The game then proceeds, first with the Master describing a scene: "You are walking through the desert. It is hot, and you are thirsty. You realize you don't need to be wearing as much as you are. Take something off, and pass it to me." Usually, the Player removes something inconsequential--jewelry or shoes. The Others then continue in the same vein--embellishing and otherwise confounding the statement, but always with the admonition to remove something the Player is wearing needlessly. As time goes on, articles of clothing start coming off and getting passed out.[[spoiler: The game ends when the Player figures out he's supposed to take off the damn sheet. If he's already naked underneath, well, then the Master and Others won the game.]]

** In another story, the gang has a baseball game, but Charlie Brown isn't available. He has to push around his sister, Sally (only a toddler at the time and officially making her debut in this storyline), in a stroller. Everyone is upset including Charlie Brown himself. Linus informs him they're at the bottom of the 9th and still have a chance to win. Charlie Brown ends up leaving Sally to finish up the game. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Naturally,]] strikes out and is chewed out by everyone, and on top of that, his mother is now angry with him for ditching his sister. He tries to complain to Lucy who gave him the hardest time about everything, and how he's in trouble at home, and she just ignores him. In the end, all he can do is apologize to Sally and promise to be there for her when she needs him.

* Creator/NormMacDonald every time he's interviewed ''so the guy says to me he says to me the guy says...''

* ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': In the sequel, ''Picking Up the Pieces'', the group's trip to the Griffish Isles to find Wind Breaker's mother... which ends in them not only ''not'' finding her, but after five days of travel to get to the griffon they think ''might'' be her, they find she has the wrong color eyes and has just received a letter that will reunite her with her real son.

* Chapter 18 of ''FanFic/DumbledoresArmyAndTheYearOfDarkness''. Hans Belsen, basically an Expy of Josef Mengele, shows up to the school because he wants to torture children. When Neville and Jack Sloper insult him ''later that chapter,'' he immediately leaves the school instead of, you know, torturing them.

* In ''FanFic/BeingDeadAintEasy'', after spending two and a half hours moving Kaiba's chair across the room and spinning it to where he can sit down, Joey realizes that not only could he have sat on the bed and not wasted so much energy, he'll have to move the chair back before Kaiba wakes up in three hours.

* In ''FanFic/ThisBites'', [[spoiler:for all the crew's efforts, Merry's keel still snapped, meaning she's still doomed]].

* The ending of ''FanFic/TheStoryToEndAllStories'' is somewhat anticlimactic as it turns out that [[spoiler: the Nothing isn't as much of a threat as it's made out to be.]]

See also GainaxEnding. Can compare to AllJustADream and OverlyLongGag, and overlap with HappyEndingOverride, CruelTwistEnding, and CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot. A reveal that ItWasWithYouAllAlong may feel like this to the protagonist. For short stories which build up to an unbelievably wretched pun, see {{Feghoot}}. Compare with NonProtagonistResolver which may or may not involve this trope [[note]]if it is important that, specifically, ''the hero'' has to resolve the conflict--and not merely that the conflict has to be resolved--a NPR leads to a ShaggyDogStory[[/note]]. Contrast with ShaggyFrogStory, where a familiar story is mangled for comedic purposes. It can also lead to a WhatNowEnding, should the protagonist himself realize that his adventure is all for nothing.

Comedic shaggy dog stories are often parodies, undercutting typical plot structures by offering a [[ContrivedCoincidence ridiculous coincidence]] or [[DeusExMachina unforeseen twist]], or even just making the entire episode irrelevant. ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' enjoys these. Comedic shaggy dog stories can be frustrating in their randomness, but often succeed in execution.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Warhammer}}'': The tale of the dishonor of the Ironfists. The family had suffered a dishonor so severe it required one member of the family to swear the Slayer Oath and seek death in battle. Ungrim Ironfist took the oath so his son Garagrim wouldn't have to. Garagrim Ironfist took the oath so his father Ungrim wouldn't have to. Garagrim eventually found the honorable death he sought and discharged the family's debt of honor, but his death drove Ungrim mad with grief and caused him to take the Slayer Oath in order to shed the dishonor of sacrificing his son to save his own skin, rendering Garagrim's sacrifice completely moot.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOawFvFMnuA This commercial]] for Bridgestone tires. It even has dogs. The ad starts with a dog finding its lover [[YourCheatingHeart having sex with another dog]]. The dog is so shocked it starts running away and arrives at a road with lots of cars passing. The dog [[DrivenToSuicide jumps in front of a car]], which stops almost instantly thanks to its Bridgestone brand tires. The end.

See also GainaxEnding. Can compare to AllJustADream and OverlyLongGag, and overlap with HappyEndingOverride and CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot. A reveal that ItWasWithYouAllAlong may feel like this to the protagonist. For short stories which build up to an unbelievably wretched pun, see {{Feghoot}}. Compare with NonProtagonistResolver which may or may not involve this trope [[note]]if it is important that, specifically, ''the hero'' has to resolve the conflict--and not merely that the conflict has to be resolved--a NPR leads to a ShaggyDogStory[[/note]]. Contrast with ShaggyFrogStory, where a familiar story is mangled for comedic purposes. It can also lead to a WhatNowEnding, should the protagonist himself realize that his adventure is all for nothing.