History Main / TagalongKid

* Wendy of ''Manga/FairyTail'' started to become this to series' resident FiveManBand Team Natsu shortly after joining Fairy Tail, and while she is a de facto member now, considered equal with the others in-universe, she is still largely a Tagalong Kid to the readers. She has since graduated to being the GirlyGirl, sharing this role with Lucy, who also spends time as TheSmartGuy.

* It seems to be a "rule" of the ''Film/JurassicPark'' series that the main characters must always be accompanied by at least one kid. ''Jurassic Park'' kids tend to be TheLoad most of the time, but will nevertheless probably have a ChekhovsSkill which will prove useful about once in their film.

* Pearl from ''Franchise/AceAttorney'', who, in the second game, is pretty much Maya when the latter's unavailable.

* Ken Amada from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' who fits the AdorablyPrecociousChild trope to a T. He most idealistic of the group, and in battle serves as a CombatMedic, with emphasis on the OneHitKO [[LightEmUp Hama]] skills. [[spoiler: However, this is post-CharacterDevelopment after he gives up his vendetta against a party member who [[YouKilledMyFather killed]] [[AccidentalMurder (accidentally)]] [[YouKilledMyFather his mother.]]]]

** Riki has many debts because of his dozens of kids, [[OnlyInItForTheMoney so if he saves the world people will idolize him and he would become rich.]] He is the tag-along kid just in spirit, ironically, [[{{Manchild}} Riki is the oldest member of the party.]]

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': Five, the TeenGenius and EveryonesBabySister of the group. Also in an in-universe sense, Five is the only one without a wanted file in the ship's database and it's unclear at first why there was a girl her age on a ship full of hardened criminals prior to them all being [[AmnesiacHero mindwiped]]. Kidnapping victim? [[LittleStowaway Stowaway]]? [[spoiler:It's the latter, and the crew voted 3/2 to keep her because she was good with machines]].

If the kid is part of TheTeam instead of just a tag-along, the kid might sub in for just about any role but with the proper tropes behind them.

** In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' we had Jianliang's little sister Xiaochung. Her partner Lopmon didn't get too much action in the final arc partly because of this; the other bits being the SpotlightStealingSquad.

If the kid is part of TheTeam instead of just a tag-along, the kid might sub in for just about any role but with the proper tropes behind him or her.

** Older kids may instead be a HotBlooded teenager. He or She will still be the most [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism idealistic]] one on the team, but her/his combat ability tends to be a KidSamurai or a YoungGun.

* TheBigGuy -- Stronger than he first appears, the kid is a CuteBruiser and a PintSizedPowerHouse capable of benchpressing ten adult men.

* Wendy of ''Manga/FairyTail'' started to become this to series' resident FiveManBand Team Natsu shortly after joining Fairy Tail, and while she is a de facto member now, considered equal with the others in-universe, she is still largely a Tagalong Kid to the readers. She has since graduated to being TheChick, sharing this role with Lucy, who also spends time as TheSmartGuy.

* Jinpei from ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman''. As [[TheChick Jun's]] adopted brother they grew up in the same orphanage together, and Jun literally required that Jinpei joined her when she accepted [[TheMentor Dr. Nambu's]] offer to join the Science Ninja Team. Thus he serves the role of being the smartass BrattyHalfPint variant of TheSmartGuy.

** [[BrattyHalfPint Dawn]] [[TheChick Summers]], though she is essential to the plot in Season 5, where she first appears.

* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali': Notably averted. Trini is three years younger than Molly and Tooey — a huge age difference for children ten years old and under — but they've treated her as an equal since the day she arrived.

* Jimmy the Hand is this in ''Silverthorn'' and ''A Darkness at Sethanon'', the second and third books of ''Literature/TheRiftwarSaga''. Prince Arutha tries to leave him behind in Krondor rather than expose him to the extreme danger that Arutha is going into. Needless to say, the best boy thief in Krondor doesn't take well to having someone try to keep him out of trouble for his own safety.

* The ''Machinima/CPUChampionshipSeries'' has [=LinusH111=].

*** Vaan can be best described as an "[[TheAce Ace]]-in-training". You know how in fiction, really skilled Rouge-type or heroic type characters come from dirt-poor backgrounds? Well, that's Vaan. In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' he's still very young, but clearly has a lot of potentials, while ''Revenant Wings'' shows us how he went from Street Brat to the swashbuckler we see in later games.

* ''Literature/DocWilde'', a ''Franchise/DocSavage'' parody, brings his kids with him on his adventures. He's been raising them to be just like him.

%%* Alice in ''WesternAnimation/TheIllusionist''.

* As Locke’s mentee, Bug in ''Literature/Gentleman Bastard'' is 12 years old, a good 15 years younger than the rest of Locke’s gang. He’s more impulsive and crude than the rest of the gang, as he’s a child who’s working to prove himself. [[spoiler:Sadly, his fate is a very [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome realistic outcome]] of this trope, as getting a child involved in dangerous business is generally even more dangerous for a child than an adult, because children are less equipped to handle dangerous situations. And now, Locke has to live with the guilt that he got a child killed because he involved him in Locke’s dangerous business. Although, in Locke’s defense, if he hadn’t taken in Bug, Bug’s [[StreetUrchin life]] [[CrapsackWorld probably]] would’ve turned out similarly.]]

'''[[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn J'onzz]]:''' I hesitate to put the boy in harm’s way.\\

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': Five, the TeenGenius and EveryonesBabySister of the group. Also in an in-universe sense, Five is the only one without a wanted file in the ship's database and it's unclear at first why there was a girl her age on a ship full of hardened criminals prior to them all being [[AmnesiacHero mindwiped]]. Kidnapping victim? Stowaway? [[spoiler:It's the latter, and the crew voted 3/2 to keep her because she was good with machines]].

** Hope in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is a civilian that was unlucky enough to be caught up in the Purge. He stubbornly follows [[TheHero Lightning]] for the bulk of the game. Unlike some kids, he's incredibly useful, because he has the [[SquishyWizard highest magic stat]] in the game.

** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', you've got two of them in the First Generation: Oifey, who's the army's TeenGenius [[TheStrategist Strategist]], and Shanan, who starts as a JamesBondage. Both of them become badasses in the Second Generation.

* The Thunderkittens in ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats'' and ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011''. They do have some useful skills.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':

* Skippy the rabbit in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'' is the Tagalong Kid to Robin Hood. He's a spirited KidAppealCharacter who regards Robin as [[HeroWorship his hro]] and strives to be just like him. Meanwhile, Skippy's sister called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Tagalong"]] is this to him.

%%* Skippy the rabbit in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'' is the Tagalong Kid to Robin Hood, while his sister called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Tagalong"]] is this to him.

* Kid from ''Six-String Samurai''. Yes, Kid is actually his name.

** Koby only just counts as this in the first arc, a pink-haired young man whom Luffy rescues from the Alvida Pirates. He's only a year younger than Luffy, but his short and pudgy body in his first appearance makes it impossible to tell without the supplementary material. He's world-savvy and competent at navigation, which allows Luffy to reach Shells Town, but has zero combat abilities. This role dissolves when he fulfills his dream of joining the Marines, and becomes an apprentice to [[BadassGrandpa Vice Admiral Garp]]; post-Skip, he's risen to the rank of Captain.

* Frankie Muniz's character in ''Film/StayAlive''.