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In the endless rounds of MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours, there will eventually come a time when one's self-directed training [[HardWorkHardlyWorks (or lack thereof)]] will no longer prove sufficient to the task. The character must then find a {{mentor|s}} who will help him tap into his inner strength and develop new and more powerful attacks. This invariably requires multiple rounds of TrainingFromHell, or a difficult [[TheQuest quest]] (which is [[TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn the same thing disguised as a trip]]).

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In the endless rounds of MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours, there will eventually come a time when one's self-directed training [[HardWorkHardlyWorks (or lack thereof)]] will no longer prove sufficient to the task. The character must then find a {{mentor|s}} who will help him then tap into his their inner strength and develop new and more powerful attacks. This invariably requires multiple rounds of TrainingFromHell, or a difficult [[TheQuest quest]] (which is [[TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn the same thing disguised as a trip]]).
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* This is what the player will spend a lot of time doing in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', from slaughtering dragons to eat their souls, and then finding Words of Power to apply the knowledge from aforementioned dragon souls into devastating [[MakeMeWannaShout Shouts]]. [[BlownAcrossTheRoom Unrelenting Force]] is given to the player for free, but everything else requires you to unlock it.

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* This is what the player will spend a lot of time doing in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', from slaughtering dragons to eat their souls, and then finding Words of Power to apply the knowledge from aforementioned dragon souls into devastating [[MakeMeWannaShout [[WordsCanBreakMyBones Shouts]]. [[BlownAcrossTheRoom Unrelenting Force]] is given to the player for free, but everything else requires you to unlock it.
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* In ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'', Kazuma, Ryuho, [[spoiler:Cougar, and Mujo]] all get more powerful versions of their Alter powers [[spoiler:after passing into the "Alter world" and back]].

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* In ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'', ''Anime/SCryEd'', Kazuma, Ryuho, [[spoiler:Cougar, and Mujo]] all get more powerful versions of their Alter powers [[spoiler:after passing into the "Alter world" and back]].

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* Pretty much the entire plot of ''Film/TheLastDragon''.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Luke Skywalker never had more than two straight weeks of Jedi training; rather, he seems to have obtained ''all'' of his power from this trope.
** There are hints that he self-taught during the gaps between movies (and [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel]]'s [[ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel2015 2015 comic series]] builds on that premise). By ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', he appears with much more powerful Force techniques, declaring himself a Jedi Knight. Yoda admits he effectively ''is'' a Jedi now, and only needs to undergo a difficult test of character to finalize it.
*** Later statements reveal that time passes differently on Dagobah, much like Mortis, and his days spent there added up to several months for him.

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* Pretty much the %%* The entire plot point of ''Film/TheLastDragon''.
''Film/TheLastDragon'' (ZCE: Explain how)
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Over the course of the original trilogy,
Luke Skywalker has never had more than two straight weeks of Jedi training; training (and that time is within ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''); rather, he seems to have obtained ''all'' of his power from this trope.
** There are hints that he self-taught during the gaps between movies (and [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel]]'s [[ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel2015 2015 comic series]] builds on that premise). By ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', he appears with much more powerful Force techniques, declaring himself a Jedi Knight. Yoda admits he effectively ''is'' a Jedi now, and only needs to undergo a difficult test of character to finalize it.
*** Later statements reveal that time passes differently on Dagobah, much like Mortis, and his days spent there added up to several months for him.
trope.
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[[folder: Fan Works]]

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[[folder: Fan [[folder:Fan Works]]
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* Played with by Chaos in ''Manhwa/{{Ragnarok}}''. When we first see him, he's a [[MagicKnight Rune Knight]] with IdentityAmnesia. Turns out that amnesia "re-locked" true potential he had unlocked as a child -- he had once been trained by a Dragon Knight (swordsmen in direct service of Odin) in their style of combat, such as [[SingleStrokeBattle cleaving entire armies in half]]. Over the course of the novels, Chaos grows stronger as he remembers the training he'd forgotten.

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* Played with by Chaos in ''Manhwa/{{Ragnarok}}''.''Manhwa/Ragnarok1997''. When we first see him, he's a [[MagicKnight Rune Knight]] with IdentityAmnesia. Turns out that amnesia "re-locked" true potential he had unlocked as a child -- he had once been trained by a Dragon Knight (swordsmen in direct service of Odin) in their style of combat, such as [[SingleStrokeBattle cleaving entire armies in half]]. Over the course of the novels, Chaos grows stronger as he remembers the training he'd forgotten.
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* Link from ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' learns new magic and sword skills from wise men living in the hidden parts of towns. ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'' also have Link meets multiple mentors that teaches him new sword techniques. And ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' has Link learn special attacks from the [[SpiritAdvisor Hero's Shade]].

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* Link from ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' learns new magic and sword skills from wise men living in the hidden parts of towns. ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'' also have has Link meets meeting multiple mentors that teaches who teach him new sword techniques. And ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' has Link learn special attacks from the [[SpiritAdvisor Hero's Shade]].
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** Luffy then gets to do this ''again'' after [[spoiler: unleashing TheWorfBarrage on [[TheJuggernaut Kaido]] and getting [[CurbStompBattle one-shot]] for his efforts. After getting thrown in prison, he begins training under fellow inmate Hyogoro to master the art of using Armament Haki outside his body rather than coating himself in it and damaging things without touching them, which should supposedly help him actually deal damage to Kaido.]]
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* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is made of this trope -- Ichigo turning to the Visoreds for training as well as Orihime training with Rukia and Chad training with Urahara and Renji are the most standard examples. You could also say that, when a Shingami achieves Bankai by training with the spirit of their Zanpakuto it'ss a variation of this trope as the Zanpakuto teaches them how to unlock their true power. Ichigo has especially abused this trope, as he has been (deep breath): a shinigami, a Bankai level shinigami, a Visored, a Vasto Lorde-like shinigami, a more powerful shinigami, a Fullbringer, a ''more'' more powerful shinigami, and a [[spoiler:Quincy]]. Again -- that's ''all performed by a single character.''

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* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is made of this trope -- Ichigo turning to the Visoreds for training as well as Orihime training with Rukia and Chad training with Urahara and Renji are the most standard examples. You could also say that, when a Shingami achieves Bankai by training with the spirit of their Zanpakuto it'ss it's a variation of this trope as the Zanpakuto teaches them how to unlock their true power. Ichigo has especially abused this trope, as he has been (deep breath): a shinigami, a Bankai level shinigami, a Visored, a Vasto Lorde-like shinigami, a more powerful shinigami, a Fullbringer, a ''more'' more powerful shinigami, and a [[spoiler:Quincy]]. Again -- that's ''all performed by a single character.''
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* ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo''. The protagonist is trapped into the body of his worst enemy that they both share, but he's still strong as hell. Then he is surpassed and taken down... and suddenly he gets up, shouts something like "I remembered how this body fights!" and proceeds to kick his foe's ass. After some point, EVERY fight has this. Every character, sometimes more than once during the same battle if it's a long one, gets another upgrade by ThePowerOfLove, ThePowerOfFriendship, [[SuperMode the awakening of their hidden power]], [[RightMakesMight the pursue of their true convictions]] ([[AvertedTrope even when they know]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist that their acts are evil]])... even the bad guys get their upgrades this way, during the very same battle that the good guys!

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* ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo''. The protagonist is trapped into the body of his worst enemy that they both share, but he's still strong as hell. Then he is surpassed and taken down... and suddenly he gets up, shouts something like "I remembered how this body fights!" and proceeds to kick his foe's ass. After some point, EVERY fight has this. Every character, sometimes more than once during the same battle if it's a long one, gets another upgrade by ThePowerOfLove, ThePowerOfFriendship, [[SuperMode the awakening of their hidden power]], [[RightMakesMight the pursue of their true convictions]] ([[AvertedTrope even when they know]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist that their acts are evil]])... even the bad guys get their upgrades this way, during the very same battle that the good guys!guys are in!



** Its American counterpart, ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', kept much of this (the Rhino Steelzord didn't come with any True Potential Fairy Dust™, however, which is just as well -- the Rangers didn't seem stronger in later episodes. However, after trying and failing to awaken it, Dai Shi, ''the bad guy,'' realized he could now perfectly wield the technique he'd been trying to learn for the past several episodes.)

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** Its American counterpart, ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', kept much of this (the this, albeit the Rhino Steelzord didn't come with any True Potential Fairy Dust™, however, which is just as well -- the Rangers didn't seem stronger in later episodes. However, after trying and failing to awaken it, Dai Shi, ''the bad guy,'' realized he could now perfectly wield the technique he'd been trying to learn for the past several episodes.)
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** Gohan takes this trope extremely literally: he has an inner strength far beyond anyone around that only appears when he's emotionally pushed to the brink, and much is made about how powerful he'd be if he could use it at will. The first "unlock" is with the Grand Elder on Namek, but then in the Cell Arc this hidden power utilized as the way for him to reach Super Saiyan 2.[[labelnote:*]]Remember, the Grand Elder made it so that this emotion-based power jump wasn't needed anymore.[[/labelnote]] Then in the Buu Arc, Elder Kai performs a ritual that draws out the "hidden abilities" of mortals beyond what they're normally capable of, layering on top of the Grand Elder's unlock! It's later acknowledged in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' by Beerus and Whis that Gohan has a ''ridiculous'' amount of potential that not even Goku and Vegeta can hope to have, but the issue is Gohan simply isn't a BloodKnight like they are, so he doesn't have the same drive for training and combat.

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** Gohan takes this trope extremely literally: he has an inner strength far beyond anyone around that only appears when he's emotionally pushed to the brink, and much is made about how powerful he'd be if he could use it at will. The first "unlock" is with the Grand Elder on Namek, but then in the Cell Arc this hidden power was utilized as the way for him to reach Super Saiyan 2.[[labelnote:*]]Remember, the Grand Elder made it so that this emotion-based power jump wasn't needed anymore.[[/labelnote]] Then in the Buu Arc, Elder Kai performs a ritual that draws out the "hidden abilities" of mortals beyond what they're normally capable of, layering on top of the Grand Elder's unlock! It's later acknowledged in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' by Beerus and Whis that Gohan has a ''ridiculous'' amount of potential that not even Goku and Vegeta can hope to have, but the issue is Gohan simply isn't a BloodKnight like they are, so he doesn't have the same drive for training and combat.
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* Upon completing Ness's JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind in ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', Ness will gain a huge stat increase across the board. In particular, his PP pool shoots through the roof and ensures he can fire off PSI Rockin Omega with the mana to spare.

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* Upon completing Ness's JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind in ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', Ness will gain a huge stat increase across the board. In particular, his PP pool shoots through the roof and ensures he can fire off PSI Rockin Omega with the mana to spare.
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Added DiffLines:

* Upon completing Ness's JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind in ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', Ness will gain a huge stat increase across the board. In particular, his PP pool shoots through the roof and ensures he can fire off PSI Rockin Omega with the mana to spare.
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Added DiffLines:

*** Later statements reveal that time passes differently on Dagobah, much like Mortis, and his days spent there added up to several months for him.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is made of this trope -- Ichigo turning to the Visoreds for training as well as Orihime training with Rukia and Chad training with Urahara and Renji are the most standard examples. You could also say that when a Shingami achieves Bankai by training with the spirit of their Zanpakuto it is a variation of this trope as the sword teaches them how to unlock their true power. Ichigo has especially abused this trope. As of this writing, he has been (deep breath): a shinigami, a Bankai level shinigami, a Visored, a Vasto Lorde-like shinigami, a more powerful shinigami, a Fullbringer, a ''more'' more powerful shinigami, and a [[spoiler:Quincy]]. Again -- that's ''all performed by a single character.''

to:

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is made of this trope -- Ichigo turning to the Visoreds for training as well as Orihime training with Rukia and Chad training with Urahara and Renji are the most standard examples. You could also say that that, when a Shingami achieves Bankai by training with the spirit of their Zanpakuto it is it'ss a variation of this trope as the sword Zanpakuto teaches them how to unlock their true power. Ichigo has especially abused this trope. As of this writing, trope, as he has been (deep breath): a shinigami, a Bankai level shinigami, a Visored, a Vasto Lorde-like shinigami, a more powerful shinigami, a Fullbringer, a ''more'' more powerful shinigami, and a [[spoiler:Quincy]]. Again -- that's ''all performed by a single character.''



** And each previous unlocking of his true potential is proven ultimately ineffective against the current threat before he defeats them with [[SignatureMove The Rasengan]], which requires him to unlock more true potential that will likewise prove to be ultimately ineffective against THAT current threat.
** Eventually they just ditch the vanity of training altogether and just hand him new power-ups as the situation arises.

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** And each previous unlocking of his true potential is proven ultimately ineffective against the current threat before he defeats them with the [[SignatureMove The Rasengan]], which requires him to unlock more true potential that will likewise prove to be ultimately ineffective against THAT current threat.
** Eventually they Eventually, the plot just ditch ditches the vanity of training altogether and just hand hands him new power-ups as the situation arises.



* Luffy and Zoro of ''Manga/OnePiece'' went off to do this [[spoiler:during the two-year TimeSkip after the Marineford arc. Luffy went off to train his [[BattleAura Haki]] with Silvers Raleigh and Zoro went to train with Dracule Mihawk. The other characters went off to either [[TookALevelInBadass Take Levels of Badass]] in their own way or on other escapades.]]

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* Luffy and Zoro of ''Manga/OnePiece'' went off to do this [[spoiler:during the two-year TimeSkip after the Marineford arc. Luffy went off to train his [[BattleAura Haki]] with Silvers Raleigh Rayleigh and Zoro went to train with Dracule Mihawk. The other characters went off to either [[TookALevelInBadass Take Levels of Badass]] in their own way or on other escapades.]]
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** In ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', the Kais think Goku's in for this after his first defeat by Baby Vegeta. Played with in a sense, as all Goku needs to unlock his potential is to have his old tail grow back, in a particularly painful manner involving a pair of pliers. It ''certainly'' did the trick, as while Goku is still barely a match at first, he meets the criteria needed to unlock [[EleventhHourSuperpower Super Saiyan 4]] and gain the upper hand.

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** In ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', the Kais think Goku's in for this after his first defeat by Baby Vegeta. Played with in a sense, as all Goku needs to unlock his potential is to have his old tail grow back, in a particularly painful manner involving a pair of pliers. It ''certainly'' did the trick, as while Goku is still barely a match at first, he meets the criteria needed to unlock [[EleventhHourSuperpower [[SuperMode Super Saiyan 4]] and gain the upper hand.
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** In ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', the Kais think Goku's in for this after his first defeat by Baby Vegeta. Played with in a sense, as all Goku needs to unlock his potential is to have his tail grow, in a particularly painful manner involving a pair of pliers.

to:

** In ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', the Kais think Goku's in for this after his first defeat by Baby Vegeta. Played with in a sense, as all Goku needs to unlock his potential is to have his old tail grow, grow back, in a particularly painful manner involving a pair of pliers.pliers. It ''certainly'' did the trick, as while Goku is still barely a match at first, he meets the criteria needed to unlock [[EleventhHourSuperpower Super Saiyan 4]] and gain the upper hand.
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rm. vague / non-specific real-life example


[[folder:Real Life]]
* Hypnotism can work like this. It can't make you do anything that would be physically impossible for you in a normal state, but it can improve performance on some sports by helping the athlete unlock their inner potential. In the case of hypnosis for sports performance, the hypnotist functions as the mentor/guide who is helping to unlock the athlete's potential.
[[/folder]]

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