Line #127 FanFic/TheSunSoul


1	''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5367085/1/The_Sun_Soul The Sun Soul]]'' is a Pokemon fanfic written by 50calliberchaos.
2
3	A DarkerAndEdgier take on Pokémon, this fic chronicles the journey of Ash Ketchum in a more realistic, dangerous Pokémon world where death and corruption are rife. Pokémon are dangerous enough that one red Gyarados can wipe out an entire town, science has focused mainly on researching Pokémon, leading to very advanced medicine but relatively little in terms of computers, transport etc, transportation is mainly on foot/per Pokémon (with cars being right out, even in the core region) and there being an actual frontier to human civilization.
4
5	The story follows Ash Ketchum, but not as we know him from the anime. An early experience with Pokémon in his childhood teaches him to respect Pokémon for the dangerous nature they possess, a lesson that stays with him throughout the rest of the story. With his traveling companion Misty, a girl with a mysterious past, Ash attempts to get to the bottom of why Team Rocket are occupying Mt. Moon and trying to enter Cerulean Cave. Along the way he meets Bill the scientist, a reclusive inventor, Dawn, a fellow trainer with whom he shares a mysterious connection, Jesse and James, who are constantly at odds with Ash and Misty, and the ever manipulative [[MagnificentBastard Mewtwo]]. Warning: character deaths, [[{{Gorn}} violence, and gore]] ahead.
6
7	Now has a sequel, ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10539516/1/Foundations-of-the-World Foundations of the World]]'', following [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire May and Wallace]] as May's attempt to reclaim the throne of Hoenn draws her into a vicious civil war against Teams Magma and Aqua.
8	----
9	!!Tropes:
10	%%* ActionGirl: Janine. She throws herself at the enemy before she throws her Pokemon.
11	%%* AffablyEvil: Mewtwo insists on talking to Ash with civility, offers him hospitality, and even proposes him to become sort-of friends and share the world.
12	%%* AloofAlly: [[spoiler:Mewtwo would rather Ash survive. But if he doesn't, no big deal; he has enough plans in the background that he can afford to lose one pawn.]]
13	%%* AlmostDeadGuy: [[spoiler:Johanna, who holds on just long enough to give Ash her Charmeleon and tell it to obey him.]]
14	%%* AntiVillain:
15	%%** Koga may have [[spoiler:sold out his clan and his city to Team Rocket,]] but only so he could [[spoiler:find a cure for his daughter's disease]].
16	%%** [[spoiler:May]] was one, but slow became more heroic.
17	%%** [[spoiler:Giovanni]] tries to present himself as one of these. [[spoiler:He's hardly the most trustworthy character, however.]]
18	* AnyoneCanDie: A ''lot'' of characters, both people and Pokemon, die in this fic, so we'll just list the plot-relevant ones. [[spoiler:The entire population of Pallet Town – minus Ash and Oak, but including Delia –, Cade, Misty's Staryu, Violet, Ash's Fearow, Johanna, Jessie's Charizard, Fey, and Lt. Surge.]] This is just from the pre-TimeSkip chapters.
19	* ArmorIsUseless:
20	** Averted big time. Throughout the story armor is shown to be a main reason the heroes are still alive. The battle for Celadon specifically shows that one of the things that makes the event horrific is how [[spoiler:long soldiers have to beat on each other just to get through their opponent's armor]].
21	** [[spoiler:Misty's]] death is due in large part to [[spoiler:her]] opting out of wearing armor.
22	** On Cinnabar, Ash's armor saves his life when [[spoiler:the specially designed heat-shielding in the suit saves him from a Salamence's breath weapon]].
23	* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: Invoked in-universe. The people of Celadon city see nothing wrong with paying for timber, iron, ect., with money that they print (while exporting next to nothing). As Erika points out, this is a very bad idea.
24	%%* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Misty, due to being a former member of Team Rocket. She claims to have been a DefectorFromDecadence only until she met Ash, at which point she completed her HeelFaceTurn]].
25	%%* AxCrazy:
26	%%** Cade the bug hunter. [[spoiler:Catching Pokemon and their trainers for bug food...]]
27	%%** Also Jessie. The only reason she doesn't try to kill everyone the minute they get in her way is because James is pragmatic enough to remind her that's not always the best course of action.
28	%%* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Ash and Giovanni]]
29	%%* BadassAdorable: Pikachu, Growlithe.
30	%%* BadassNormal: Misty and Brock are both shown to be deadly in combat, both with Pokemon and by themselves. Officer Jenny and Erika both kick some serious ass, and let's not even start on Jesse and James.
31	%%* BattleCouple: Ash and Misty, Jesse and James.
32	%%* TheBeastmaster: Everyone with a Pokemon, but especially Ash, who seems to command unusual respect and obedience from Pokemon around him. [[spoiler:There's a good reason for that: savants are basically beings born to be beastmasters.]]
33	%%* BeastOfBattle: Pokemon, naturally.
34	%%* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted with [[spoiler:Officer Jenny]], who is expressly shown to have suffered all of the physical effects of [[spoiler:months in a shitty prison.]]
35	%%* BigBadEnsemble: At first, Team Rocket serves as the main antagonist force, but [[spoiler:Elm]] and [[spoiler:Mewtwo]] are giving the group a run for its money. After [[spoiler:Elm's death and Team Rocket's EnemyMine with Ash]], [[spoiler:Mewtwo]] becomes the only BigBad.
36	%%* BigCreepyCrawlies: The Caterpies and Weedles in Viridian forest. Especially the Weedles.
37	%%* BigDamnHeroes:
38	%%** [[spoiler:Brock and Ash at Mt. Moon]], [[spoiler: Brock]] in Vermilion.
39	%%** Subverted in chapter 30, [[spoiler:Giovanni and what appears to be a large contingent of Rockets]] intended to do this during the fight with [[spoiler:Elm]]. They were a bit late to the party though.
40	%%* BigScrewedUpFamily:
41	%%** [[spoiler:Misty hails from one.]]
42	%%** As does [[spoiler:Janine.]]
43	%%** Ash's dad is [[spoiler:Giovanni, head of Team Rocket.]] Yup.
44	%%* BlackWidow: [[spoiler:Misty]] apparently acted as one once.
45	%%* BornLucky: Ash, apparently, surviving amazing odds; [[spoiler:falling off a waterfall]] among others.
46	%%* CanineCompanion:
47	%%** Growlithe/Arcanine
48	%%** Mightyena for [[spoiler:May]].
49	%%* CallingTheOldManOut: Janine to Koga. Since both are ninjas, it quickly takes a turn for the worse.
50	%%* ChekhovsArmy: At the Saffron City checkpoint, the group meet up with a mercenary company. Said company later reappears for the Celadon arc.
51	%%* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Mewtwo. If Elm and Giovanni are to be believed, he's the one behind the war between Orange/Johto/Orre and Cinnabar...]]
52	%%* {{Cincinnatus}}: What the Gym Leaders are supposed to be like, though several of them have become corrupt. Brock himself denies this, just because he doesn't like the idea.
53	%%* CityOfCanals: Cerulean City has this in spades, complete with the odors such a setup entails.
54	%%* {{Cliffhanger}}: An especially cruel one in Chapter 31
55	%%* ClingyJealousGirl: Janine displays some of this when she thinks Sabrina's getting too close to Ash. Vicki lampshades it almost immediately.
56	* CompositeCharacter: Ash is still himself, but Gary's place as Oak's grandson.
57	%%* CowboyCop: This is pretty much the golden rule of the Fuchsia Gym.
58	%%* CrapsackWorld:
59	%%** Pokemon are deadly dangerous. And thanks to the machinations of Team Rocket, [[spoiler:Elm, and Mewtwo]], Kanto is becoming a steadily worse place to live (food shortages, open war over cities, the works). Ash and company are working to fix this and eventually [[EarnYourHappyEnding do.]]
60	%%** From the stories coming from Cinnabar, the other regions may be even worse.
61	%%** The Orange Islands are in the grasp of a [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized populist revolutionary council]] that overthrew the sitting King, and now has its sights set on [[spoiler:Invading Kanto, starting with Cinnibar Island.]]
62	%%** Hoenn has been torn apart by a devastating civil war and is almost a total loss. [[spoiler:May still has hope for Hoenn's future, and plans on ruling it as queen.]]
63	%%** As bad as those are, Orre is implied to be even worse.
64	* CurbStompBattle: Oak and Clair, two of the world's most powerful trainers, swoop down on [[spoiler:Professor Elm]] just off the coast of Cinnibar. [[spoiler:[[TotalPartyKill They're utterly destroyed.]]]]
65	%%* DarkActionGirl.
66	%%** [[spoiler:Misty embodied this as the Cerulean Gym Leader]], but [[HeelFaceTurn went soft]] after meeting [[spoiler:[[LoveRedeems and falling in love with]]]] Ash.
67	%%** [[spoiler:May]] also has shades of this, especially in the way that she [[spoiler:[[TheStarscream betrays]] [[BodyguardBetrayal and kills]] [[ManipulativeBastard Professor Elm.]]]]
68	%%* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Everything!'' But to be specific, the Pokemon are really wild and dangerous wandering monsters. This means that the safest places are the cities which are protected by the gyms, but this protection comes with a price of its own: namely, the gym leaders basically run the cities. Team Rocket masquerades as a community service organization even as they cause economic havoc, take away food sources, and run horrific experiments. And that's not even getting into the characters...
69	* DeadlineNews: During the [[spoiler:Johto/Cinnabar War]], a cameraman is killed by an attacking Gyarados.
70	%%* DeathByOriginStory: Prior to Ash's journey, [[spoiler:Norman, Caroline, and Max.]] Apparently Professor Oak was responsible[[note]]then again, it's [[VillainsNeverLie Professor Elm who says this]][[/note]]. Needless to say, May is ''pissed''.
71	* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:After Misty is killed, Ash intends to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge take out as many Rockets]] as he can kill before he's taken out. Fortunately, Janine's arrival forces him to reconsider.]]
72	%%* DeceptiveDisciple: [[spoiler:May]] may be Professor Elm's protege, but [[spoiler:she never believed the lies he fed her about how Oak murdered her family.]] That doesn't exactly mean that she [[{{Revenge}} finds him innocent]], either...
73	* DeconstructionFic: The whole fic is essentially an examination of how dangerous a realistic Pokemon universe would be.
74	%%* DefeatMeansFriendship: While catching Pokemon still works this way, it's not instantaneous. For example, after catching Fearow, Ash and Misty release all their Pokemon before releasing Fearow for the first time, ready to fight it if it tries anything.
75	* {{Determinator}}: Ash embodies determination. Even by the end of the Vermilion arc, you'll wonder how someone can endure that kind of punishment. By the end of the Celadon and Saffron arcs, you'll wonder how ''anyone'' can function as a person after what he's been through.
76	* DontGoInTheWoods: Viridian Forest. At a certain point, the canopy covers the sky completely, not letting any light in. The air becomes completely still. The temperature drops sharply in certain areas. The trail gets ever narrower, making it easy to get lost. And God help you if you stumble upon a [[AllWebbedUp silky white pod]] [[spoiler:or a clearing full of them]]... Even the Indigo Plateau Rangers, some of the toughest survivalists Kanto has to offer, aren't safe, as Ash and Misty eventually find out.
77	%%* DoomedHometown: Pallet Town.
78	%%* DoomMagnet: [[spoiler:Two cities are]] destroyed while Ash is nearby. [[spoiler:Averted in the case of Cerulean City, though.]]
79	* {{Doorstopper}}: 337,069 words as of Chapter 37.
80	%%* DragonRider:
81	%%** [[spoiler:Ash]], once [[spoiler:he]] gets a Charizard. Making it even more badass is the fact that Charizard is wickedly aggressive and AxCrazy, even for its infamously dangerous species.
82	%%** Later on, [[spoiler:damn near everybody]] is flying around on a Charizard.
83	%%** And of course, Lance has his Dragonites.
84	%%* TheDragon: Ironically, [[spoiler:Ash himself]] basically did all the dirty work of the BigBad and made his EvilPlan possible.
85	%%* {{Dystopia}}: Kanto in general seems to be a mild(ish) example of one.
86	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Ash and Janine managed to do it.]]
87	%%* TheEmpath: [[spoiler:[[spoiler:Savants, more or less, are this with Pokemon.]]
88	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Misty [[spoiler:beheads a girl working for Team Rocket before she can say anything]] in front of Ash.
89	%%* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: Zombie Pokemon, even.
90	* {{Expy}}: By the author's admission, Bill is based off [[Franchise/MassEffect Mordin Solus]].
91	* FalseFlagOperation: Soldiers from Orre attempt to smuggle the [[spoiler:Ocean Spirit]] away from Hoenn in a ship displaying Team Aqua sigils, to direct the region's forces to Team Aqua as a distraction.
92	* FantasyGunControl: It's mentioned that gunpowder weapons were experimented with, but were found to be too inefficient as well as frightening the trainers' Pokemon.
93	%%* FeatheredFiend:
94	%%** Fearow, among others. And then later, Pidgeot.
95	%%** [[spoiler:Dawn]] and later [[spoiler:May]] each have Swellows.
96	%%* FeedItABomb: An Aerodactyl is dealt with this way. [[{{Gorn}} It's as gruesome]] [[NightmareFuel as you think it is.]]
97	* FreudianExcuse: Koga had to [[spoiler: watch his wife slowly waste away from Huntington's. Upon realizing that his daughter Janine had it as well, and would die even younger then her mother, he turned to Team Rocket for help]].
98	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Ash seems to command an unusual amount of respect from Pokemon he catches or commands, and they seem to intuitively understand his orders. Most notable with Blastoise, who is described by Misty as rather dense, stubborn, and tactically disinclined, but under Ash's command suddenly understands completely new tactics and obeys without hesitation.
99	* FromBadToWorse: Ash goes from losing his entire hometown, his mother, and entire childhood in a night to being thrown into a continent-spanning conspiracy that culminates in him being [[spoiler:stabbed, thrown off waterfalls, attacked by [[HeroKiller Jesse and James]] over and over, and generally nearly killed on a fairly regular basis.]] Oh, and then [[spoiler:Misty, his lover, is brutally murdered in a battle he insisted they fight]]. Not to mention [[spoiler:Pikachu gets killed as well]]. And then [[spoiler:Professor Oak]]
100	%%* GadgeteerGenius:
101	%%** Professor Oak definitely qualifies, for obvious reasons.
102	%%** Ash is an interesting example. He inherited some of his grandfather's scientific talent by working with the man, though he still displays the lack of book-knowledge one would expect from a simple frontier kid with no formal training in much of anything other than Pokemon, as seen in his conversations with Erika.
103	%%** Dawn also qualifies; Oak says that she's better than Ash.
104	* GoddamnedBats: {{Invoked}} In-universe and taken literally when [[spoiler:Agatha]] is overwhelmed by every single Zubat from Victory Road attacking at once.
105	%%* GratuitousGerman: Blaine in chapter 31: "Schweigen!". Technically correct, although "Ruhe!" would be preferred by Germans.
106	%%* GuestStarPartyMember: The Old Crone [[spoiler:AKA Agatha]] in the Lavender arc.
107	* GutFeeling: [[spoiler:Savant powers manifest as an intuitive sense of exactly what needs to be done. At one point Bill tells Ash he should listen to his little thoughts that come from nowhere, because they're right.]]
108	%%* HeadPet: Pikachu
109	%%* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:May in chapter 30.]]
110	* HeroicBSOD: Ash suffers one when [[spoiler:Fearow dies and he thinks Misty has died as well]]. He has a far worse one when [[spoiler:Misty actually ''does'' die]].
111	%%* HeroicDog: Arcanine, at one point.
112	* HeroicNeutral: Sabrina is cares about Saffron's well-being above all else, and any friends of Saffron are friends of hers. [[spoiler:Even if they are trying to kill each other.]]
113	%%* HeroicComedicSociopath: Ash's Haunter.
114	%%* HeroKiller: ''Jessie and James.'' No, seriously. They have a Charizard, for Arceus' sake! Most of the reason they haven't killed Ash was because of [[spoiler:his savant heritage[[note]]which, for example, allowed him to survive a lethal Smog cloud[[/note]]]].
115	%%* HeroOfAnotherStory:
116	%%** Dawn clearly has some adventure going on back in Sinnoh.
117	%%** Similarly for May, who now has her own sequel.
118	* TheHighKing: Hoenn used to have a High King, with the title passing between the various royal families to avoid a concentration of power. This system collapsed into civil war when May's father Norman refused to give up the throne to Wallace's grandmother as required.
119	%%* IAmTheTrope: Combined with PunctuatedForEmphasis for good measure by Sabrina.
120	%%* IceQueen:
121	%%** Dawn, like crazy.
122	%%** Misty fit for a while.
123	* ImprobableWeaponUser: [[spoiler:Koga. Those eggs filled with finely crushed pepper aren't that [[BoringYetPractical awesome, but they work]]]].
124	* InsultToRocks: One of Ash's companions considers [[spoiler:Margaret]] an insult to the psychotic lowlife community.
125	%%* InTheHood: Seems to be the standard uniform for the Fuchsia Gym.
126	* IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat: Misty expresses surprise that Ash can bond with and control Pokemon on a level that shouldn't be possible; on numerous occasions she observes that Ash performs actions with just-caught Pokemon that would have left anyone else dead. Ash is ''completely'' unaware of this [[spoiler:until he gets told he's a savant]].
127	* KillAllHumans: [[spoiler:Mewtwo plans on wiping out humanity with an army of Pokémon.]]
128	%%* LadyOfWar: Erika has a flavor of this to her. While she maintains an air of royalty about her, to the point of being a major pain in the ass, she can also be a surprisingly potent force on the battlefield if [[spoiler:killing a Scyther is any indication]].
129	* LamarckWasRight: Apparently being around a specific type of Pokemon can, over generations, cause humans to take on the aspects of that type of Pokemon. [[spoiler:Then there are savants, who attune with Pokemon in general.]]
130	%%* LastSecondWordSwap: Wallace's Kirlia attempts to hide her vicious streak from him:
131	%%--> He'll come back and kill you in your sleep. It's what I'd do... duly expect any competent person to do.
132	* LodgedBladeRecycling: Subverted. Cabe the Bug catcher [[spoiler:pulls out a knife that Ash stabbed into him, only for it to cause the bleeding to get a lot worse.]]
133	%%* LoveMakesYouEvil: Koga.
134	%%* LoveRedeems: [[spoiler:Misty.]]
135	%%* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Giovanni is Ash's father.]]
136	* MentalFusion: [[spoiler:Ash and Mewtwo.]]
137	%%* MotorMouth: Bill.
138	%%* MutualKill: [[spoiler:Jesse and Misty]] with more than a hint of TakingYouWithMe on the part of the latter.
139	* MythologyGag: In the beginning, Ash is rescued by Professor Oak while running through [[VideoGame/PokemonRedandBlue tall grass]].
140	%%* MysteriousPast: Misty. Even after TheReveal, there are huge chunks of important detail missing.
141	%%* {{Ninja}}: All members of the Fuchsia Gym.
142	* NothingPersonal: Stated word-for-word by Ash [[spoiler:when he kills the Celadon security guard that stumbled on him and Pikachu when they were raiding for papers in Chapter 21.]]
143	* ObfuscatingStupidity: When in public, Jessie and James act pretty similar to their canon counterparts, i.e. hapless, dumb, and goofy.
144	%%* OlympusMons: Zapdos is somewhere between this and an EldritchAbomination.
145	%%* OneHeadTaller: Ash to May.
146	* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:Ash, after gaining Mewtwo's powers. He can control even the three Legendary Birds.]]
147	* PokeInTheThirdEye: As in the games, the Blue and Red Orbs provide a conduit to the minds of Kyogre and Groudon respectively. However, accessing the minds of such powerful Legendary Pokémon allows them to respond, and even being near the orbs quickly erodes the mind of even a savant.
148	%%* PragmaticVillainy: James usually keeps Jessie in line, and he has warned her that he will have no choice but to kill her if she lets her "[[AxCrazy urges]]" override common sense.
149	%%* PrepareToDie: [[spoiler:In Chapter 30, Ash and May confront Elm. Ash gives us this:]]
150	%%--> [[spoiler:"I'm Ash Ketchum (...)You killed my mother, destroyed my home, and murdered my grandfather. Today, you die."]]
151	%%* PsychicPowers: The usual suspects[[spoiler:, but Ash and other savants seem to have a very subtle, yet effective, version of this]].
152	* RedShirt: Tends to be averted. Regular joes wear armor and carry weapons that are no more or less deadly than what the heroes get. Pokémon notwithstanding, everyone is on pretty equal ground, which is, of course, what sets the heroes apart.
153	%%* RelationshipUpgrade: Ash and Misty get into a relationship, and have explicitly had sex. It's strongly implied that Jessie and James have had the same. [[spoiler:Ash and Janine]] also have one much later on.
154	%%* PleaseWakeUp: [[spoiler:Ash to Misty.]]
155	%%* PsychicBlockDefense: Wallace copes with his Orb much better than May because he has his Kirlia on hand to provide one of these.
156	%%* TheProfessor:
157	%%** Oak, of course. Though we also see Bill, and hear about Rowan.
158	%%** Elm shows up [[spoiler:attacking Cinnabar with a Red Gyarados]].
159	* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:A battle between Ash and Jessie leaves the latter trapped under a large pile of debris from a collapsed metal shed, alive but clearly in a hopeless situation. Ash [[LampshadeHanging says that he's probably going to regret what he's about to do]] before coming to the rescue and taking her to the ER with him. [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished And then she kills Misty]].]]
160	%%* ShipTease: [[spoiler:Ash/Janine]] has been hinted at a lot ever since [[spoiler:Misty's death.]]
161	* ShootTheMessenger: During the [[spoiler:battle of Celadon, Brock, who is leading Celadon's forces, is warned by an enemy messenger that if they do not surrender, then there will be no quarter given. Brock responds by riding forward, shouting "IF!" and ordering his archers to attack]]. It does not end well for the messenger.
162	%%* ShoutOut: Chapter 18: "Janine nodded. "Rule thirty-four of the Fuchsia Gym: [[http://bluejacket.com/humor_usmc_wisdom.html Be polite and professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet]]." (Right at the bottom of the page, number 21.)
163	* SmugSnake: [[spoiler:Professor Elm]] gets results, but he seriously overestimates his sway over [[spoiler:his right-hand-girl and pet [[TheBeastMaster Savant]], May.]] This ends [[spoiler:[[EtTuBrute predictably.]]]]
164	%%* SurvivorGuilt: Ash shows some of this.
165	%%* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Ash and [[spoiler:Mewtwo]] in Lavender Town.
166	* TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: [[spoiler:Savants are capable of recognizing other savants. It's described as finding a person familiar, even if you've never met.]]
167	* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Mewtwo to Elm. Everything bad in the story is his fault.]]
168	* TheReveal: Misty [[spoiler:was once part of Team Rocket.]]
169	* TimeSkip: The fic goes a year ahead in time after [[spoiler:Ash becomes Gym Leader of Vermillion City.]]
170	%%* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:After so long, it actually gets said as the cliffhanger]] in Chapter 31
171	* TookALevelInBadass: Every single character compared to their canon counteparts, due to the much more dangerous world they live in, but special mention goes to Jessie and James, who went from [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain jokes]] to outright [[HeroKiller menaces]].
172	%%* TranshumanAliens: Humanity seems to be set out for this as they adapt to the Pokemon around them. [[spoiler:Ash is one of these, a savant, able to bond with Pokemon on a deeper unconscious level.]]
173	* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Both Kasumi and Misty give conflicting stories about Misty's past, with no indication of who's telling the truth.]]
174	%%* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Everyone except Team Rocket, for Mewtwo. Ash takes the cake.]]
175	%%* VillainExitStageLeft: Koga... but then again, ninja.
176	%%* VillainousBreakdown:
177	%%* James really loses it during the battle at Silph Co.
178	%%** Elm just about craps himself during the ending of his battle with Ash and [[spoiler:May]].
179	%%* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Team Rocket.
180	* WeCanRuleTogether:
181	** Jessie and James give Ash a job offer when they first meet. To their credit, they hadn't done anything evil on screen yet.
182	%%** Kasumi also tries this on Ash, with little success.
183	%%** Koga tries this on Janine. It doesn't work, though it rattles Janine enough to bring her to tears.
184	%%** Elm tries it too.
185	** [[spoiler:Mewtwo offers Ash a place in his post-mankind world for being a savant and his service. Ash replies by throwing the Master Ball at it.]]
186	%%* WarIsHell: [[spoiler:The battle for Celadon]] proves once and for all that Pokemon have their place in war... And that it's not pretty.
187	%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: Koga and James. Apparently, many members of Team Rocket are this.
188	%%* WhamEpisode: Chapter 22. [[spoiler:Misty and Jessie die.]]
189	%%** Chapter 25. [[spoiler:Pikachu dies. James dies. Giovanni is Ash's father.]]
190	%%** Chapter 35: [[spoiler:Mewtwo reveals itself as the mastermind behind everything, that Ash was TheDragon/UnwittingPawn all along, defeated May and Giovanni, is about to kill all of the main characters, and the final battle begins.]]
191	* WithThisHerring: When Ash and Misty first set out, they're given body armor by Professor Oak, which was rather crappy, but did the job well enough. This is due in part to the fact that Oak barely had any resources to scrape together considering [[spoiler:Pallet Town was destroyed]]. When they get to Bill, he gives them two very nice sets of armor which Brock says even the Elite Four would like, which Ash reasons is because the Pokedex cataloging mission they're on is incredibly dangerous and it would only make sense for them to receive such high-end gear. In addition to the armor, Bill replenishes their supplies of rations, anti-toxins, gear, etc. and parts with a joke about how they're draining what he has.
192	%%* YouKilledMyFather: [[spoiler:Ash to Elm in Chapter 30. See PrepareToDie.]]
193	* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler:Ash becoming Vermillion Gym Leader,]] though he didn't do the deed himself. It's noted that it only worked due to extenuating circumstances.
194	%%* ZergRush:
195	%%** The "[[GreyandGreyMorality bad guys]]" try this in [[spoiler:the battle for Celadon]] after their trainers fail to carry the day.
196	%%** [[spoiler:Mewtwo's tactic in the final battle boils down to using an army of Pokemon this way.]]

Context FanFic / TheSunSoul