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10[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tagalong_kid_steven_universe_crop.png]]]]
11[[caption-width-right:350:A for effort, at least.]]
12
13->'''Ray Thompson:''' Can I come along? Can I? Can I?\
14'''[[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn J'onzz]]:''' I hesitate to put the boy in harm's way.\
15'''Catman:''' Sure thing, little buddy!\
16'''Ray:''' Oh boy!
17-->-- ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E18And19Legends Legends, Part 1]]"
18
19Typically the youngest member of a group, the Tagalong Kid is usually the younger brother or sister of one of the older team members. They get to save the day about [[OnceASeason once per season]], but in the worst case scenarios, they will end up being TheLoad or DesignatedVictim in every other episode. The "tagalong" part of their role almost always occurs after being told they are MostDefinitelyNotAccompanyingUs.
20
21Depending on the setting or the kid's character, this can be a JustifiedTrope. Say they're living in a CrapsackWorld where leaving the kid in the "safety" of the townsfolk is a non-option, or the kid is a LivingMacGuffin or a FightMagnet. Sometimes the safest place for the tot is under the team's watchful eye where they can take a more active role in protecting them, and perhaps even teach them how to earn their keep. Such cases can lead to a ComingOfAgeStory.
22
23If the kid is ''actually'' (or eventually becomes) 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.
24
25TeamPet is the animal equivalent to this, RobotBuddy the artificial version.
26
27* TheHeart -- ChildrenAreInnocent. A CheerfulChild can operate as the team's moral compass and emotional center. At worst, they serve as the [[DesignatedVictim designated kidnap victim]] whom everyone will [[EveryonesBabySister be fiercely protective of]]. Might be the least likely Team Kid to be the BrattyHalfPint, though it does happen.
28** If given combat ability, they tend to use their youthful energy and small size to fight as a FragileSpeedster. Alternatively, they may use some form of ranged weaponry to strike from a safe distance as a GlassCannon. Slingshots and other throw weapons are more common than relying on archery or [[TheGunslinger firearms]].
29** Older kids may instead be a HotBlooded teenager. They will still be the most [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism idealistic]] one on the team, but their combat ability tends to be a KidSamurai or a YoungGun.
30* TheSmartGuy -- TeenGenius, or maybe [[ImprobableAge preteen]]. The BrattyHalfPint can also fill the "smartass" variation of this role.
31* TheBigGuy -- Stronger than they first appear, the kid is a CuteBruiser and a PintSizedPowerhouse capable of benchpressing ten adult men.
32* TheFace -- Younger and less mature but possessing [[WiseBeyondTheirYears certain]] [[FromTheMouthsOfBabes insights]] their older companions lack.
33
34Contrast TokenAdult. Compare ImprobableAge, ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, KidAppealCharacter, KidSidekick, TheTeamNormal, TheTeamWannabe, TokenMiniMoe.
35----
36!!Examples:
37[[foldercontrol]]
38
39[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
40* Capella of ''Manga/ZeroSevenGhost'' becomes this after Teito and Frau rescue him from slavery. [[spoiler:He later leaves the group when he is reunited with his mother.]]
41* Isidro from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. Once he gets a useful weapon (and accepts that he's neither the right size or age to swing a {{BFS}} like Guts) he's actually useful in combat situations.
42** Guts himself was considered this to the mercenary group who raised him until he actually trained and became a competent warrior.
43* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', [[BloodKnight Zaraki Kenpachi]] has [[CuteBruiser Kusajishi Yachiru]], his vice-captain who's just as bloodthirsty as Kenpachi but holds back so he can enjoy himself. In later arcs, we also have Nel.
44* David in ''Anime/BloodPlus'' sees Kai and Riku as this. Riku [[spoiler: [[OutWithABang is raped and killed]] by Diva]]. Post-timeskip, Kai [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] and proceeds to make himself useful.
45* Conan Edogawa of ''Manga/CaseClosed'' was first considered by the Detective Boys as such, but... [[TeenGenius his intelligence]] could hardly be covered.
46* Clare is Teresa's Tagalong Kid in ''Manga/{{Claymore}},'' and Raki becomes hers. Raki gets one himself after the TimeSkip, citing Clare's treatment of him as his motivation. [[spoiler: Of course his happens to be Priscilla, the single most powerful Awakened Being in existence]].
47* Kosuke Kita from ''Anime/CombattlerV'' and Hiyoshi Go from ''Anime/VoltesV''. Both are TheSmartGuy and underaged.
48* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': [[CloudcuckooLander Edward]] is a particularly forceful kind of "tagalong" on the [[BountyHunter Bebop Crew]]. Faye promised she could join in return for using her [[PlayfulHack incredibly hacking skills]] to their benefit for one job, not telling the rest of the crew [[TheCakeIsALie or intending to keep her end]], but Ed ''takes over the entire ship'' when it leaves without her. Thereafter, Ed is basically left to her own devices and usually stays on the Bebop even when she is involved with missions.
49* July in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', first to November 11 and April and, in the second season, to Hei. However, despite the ExtremeDoormat attitude, he's actually an important member of the group; as a Doll, he can do reconnaissance without anyone having to actually get in the line of fire.
50* In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', Takeru and prior to Hikari joining the team, his Digimon Patamon only evolved to Adult and fought, twice. Once Hikari joins the team he becomes a lot more active. Ironically, Patamon's evolutions were the most powerful of the team, which is why they didn't appear much ([[BestForLast He was always the last to evolve]] -- [=HolyAngemon=] didn't debut until 3 episodes before the end!).
51** 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. Averted with Ai and Mako. Their partner [[spoiler:Impmon]] insists that they stay home where they're safe, given that they're even younger than the aforementioned Xiaochung. Fortunately, they're smart enough to listen.
52** In ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' we had Tommy/Tomoki, a crybaby 9-year-old for the first few episodes before starting to stand up for himself as a fighter.
53* The Selfish Trio from ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' has Ira, a villainous example. Unlike his teammates, he relies on brute strength instead of smart plans. Even the MonstersOfTheWeek he summons are usually dumb and simple.
54* Son Gohan of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' starts off as this in the early arcs, [[spoiler:only to invert it in the Cell arc when he becomes the most powerful character in the story]]. After Gohan grows up, [[CheerfulChild Goten]] and [[BrattyHalfPint Trunks]] share the role.
55** Gohan is more of an UnbuiltTrope because [[ReluctantHero he was never a "tag-along" to begin with]].
56* Suika in ''Manga/DrStone'' is easily the youngest member of the Kingdom of Science, though has her own useful abilities as a stealth expert. [[spoiler:She grows out of this when she's the only hero left alive to unpetrify everyone else.]]
57* 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/TheHeart and TheSmartGirl, sharing this role with Lucy and the two act as sisters.
58* Bat from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', as well as Lin.
59* Alphonse Elric and May Chang in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' are barely teenagers, but they are both very skilled fighters. Alphonse happens to be a soul attached to a giant suit of armor, making him among the largest and toughest characters. May is a user of the Xingese art of alkahestry, a variant of alchemy that becomes vitally useful at a few points in the story.
60* In ''Anime/GallForce'', Mitty. However, her knowledge of [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer air ducts and sewer systems]] as a {{Delinquent}} [[PlotTailoredToTheParty proves useful]] to the military.
61* Mamoru in ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'', although it's quite ''necessary'' that he tag along. And Mamoru proves his worth a few times outside his usual specialty, like during his DynamicEntry / BigDamnHeroes / {{Throwing Down the Gauntlet}} moment in Episode 40.
62-->'''Mamoru:''' Fight me, Primevals!
63** In fact, by the time ''FINAL'' rolls around, Mamoru has arguably [[TookALevelInBadass Taken a Level in]] KidHero; when he reappears late in the series, his purification abilities have gained [[HolyHandGrenade some real destructive power]], he gets his own FinalBattle with one of the Sol Masters, and his ultimate {{Determinator}} moment in said battle empowered the rest of the team's G-Stones when the good guys were on the knife's edge of defeat. The series would almost certainly have had a DownerEnding if Mamoru hadn't been there and hadn't been as badass as he was.
64* ''Manga/GetBackers'' offers a subversion in the form of [[TeenGenius 14-year-old MakubeX]], who in flashbacks is shown to be something of a tag-along to Ginji. But upon the latter's departure from their hometown, he goes on to become its ruler and has several adults working for him. Some of the said adults "tag along" for their own purposes, while the others are devoted followers who would go to the ends of the earth for him.
65* Genki Saotome from ''Manga/GetterRobo''. Although he [[spoiler:was transformed in Kei saotome]] in Getter Robo Armageddon.
66* [[MadeOfIron Sealand]] of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' usually ends up as this when he tries to involve himself in the affairs of the ''real'' nations. He generally gets chased off because nobody is willing to recognize him. He almost managed the obligatory one-time-Tagalong Kid-rescue in TheMovie, but [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments nobody acknowledges him then either]].
67* The main cast of ''Anime/HighschoolOfTheDead'' thinks it's perfectly safe to run around killing zombies with a little girl in tow. Though to be fair, Alice probably ''really is'' a lot safer with them than [[CrapsackWorld anywhere else in the world]].
68* ''Manga/InuYasha'':
69** Shippo. After his father is killed, Kagome decides to let him come along with her and Inuyasha on their adventures.
70** Sesshomaru has his own tagalong kid/MoralityPet in the form of [[CheerfulChild Rin]].
71* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' loves this trope.
72** Part 1 has Poco, a kid who is rescued from vampires by the heroes. Despite being a child with no combat ability, he plays a crucial role by slipping through a small hole and opening the way for Baron Zeppelli to save Jonathan from Tarukus.
73** Part 2's is Smokey Brown, a kid whom Joseph rescues from a pair of {{Dirty Cop}}s who try to blackmail him into giving them part of the money he steals. He doesn't really participate that much in Joseph's adventure, only appearing at the beginning and end.
74** Part 3 features Anne, who is rescued from an assassin sent by the BigBad (seeing a pattern here?). After stowing away on the protagonists' ship, and later hitchhiking with them, the protagonists get tired of her and get her on a plane home
75** Part 4 somewhat breaks the trend since Hayato Kawajiri only appears in the second half of the manga and participates in the story far more actively than the past "kid" characters, [[spoiler:as the first to find out that Yoshikage Kira killed and stole the identity of his father, Kosaku Kawajiri]].
76** Part 5 breaks the trend completely, having no children among the main characters, with Narancia Ghirga, [[OlderThanTheyLook who may at first look like one]], actually being a 17-year-old PsychopathicManchild who's older than Giorno and one of the strongest combatants on the team to boot.
77** Part 6 then returns to form ''while'' subverting it with Emporio Alnino, a kid hiding out in the prison where the story is set. [[spoiler:His ability is arguably the weakest in the entire series, but due to circumstance he ends up being the one who finally defeats the arc's BigBad.]]
78** Part 7 breaks the trend again; the entire cast is composed of adults and no-one is anyone's tag-along.
79* Mayumi from ''Anime/KotetsuJeeg'', [[TheHero Hiroshi's]] little sister. She was more endearing and more lovingly naive than her counterparts of other Creator/GoNagai works.
80* Shiro Kabuto from ''Anime/MazingerZ'' and ''Anime/GreatMazinger''. ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' -- the third series from the ''Mazinger trilogy'' -- also had a Tagalong Kid: Goro, Hikaru Makiba's little brother.
81* Doctor Tenma from ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' has Dieter for a large chunk of the plot who insists on following people.
82* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'''s main narrative, Takamichi is a BadassTeacher and ReasonableAuthorityFigure who acts as a mentor to Negi and outside help to his group, the Ala Alba. In flashbacks, he was the Tagalong Kid for Negi's father's group, the Ala Rubra.
83* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Several examples, and all of them play some kind of significant role.
84** 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 Vice Admiral Garp; post-Skip, he's risen to the rank of Captain.
85** The Usopp Pirates are three village boys who enjoyed playing pirate with Usopp. But when the Black Cat Pirates invade, Usopp entrusts them with Kaya's safety, and with their tricks and familiarity with the forest, they manage to fend off Kuro's [[TheDragon Dragon]] long enough for proper reinforcements to arrive and finish him off.
86** Aisa is a Shandoran girl whose combat prowess is an InformedAbility at best. But her [[CombatClairvoyance Mantra—or Observation Haki]]—is extraordinarily powerful, letting her sense the presence and strength of an island's worth of people from farther away. It's even stronger than [[BigBad Enel]]'s Mantra, even with his [[ShockAndAwe lightning powers]] augmenting them.
87** Chimney from the Water 7 saga is the granddaughter of stationmaster Kokoro, and she stows away when Kokoro conducts the Rocketman to Enies Lobby. Her contribution is stumbling into a secret passageway that leads to where [[DirtyCoward Spandam]] and [[DragonInChief Lucci]] are taking Robin. When she finds her way out of the passageway, she not only saves Luffy from drowning in turbulent waters—something that's only possible because she's [[spoiler:1/4 mermaid]]—but also leads him through the passageway...and later Franky as well. The former fights Lucci while the latter rescues Robin.
88** Momonosuke from the Pirate Alliance saga, eventually revealed to be LostOrphanedRoyalty, proves very helpful with the Dragon Zoan fruit that he ate.
89** Tama in the Wano arc proves absolutely invaluable with her power to create dumplings that will instantly tame any beast that consumes one, including Zoans. Going up against a crew filled with nothing ''but'' Zoans...
90* Shiro Takaoji in ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub''. Honey looks like he should be, but he's [[OlderThanTheyLook actually the oldest member of the club]] and [[BewareTheNiceOnes a martial arts master]].
91* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
92** Max from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphire'' is the younger brother of May and, due to being younger than 10 years old, is not an official Pokémon trainer and thus doesn't have any Pokémon to call his own. As a result, he relies more on his Pokémon knowledge to help Ash's group, which helps counterbalance May's lack of knowledge with Pokémon.
93** Bonnie from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'' is the younger sister of Gym Leader Clemont and like Max, is also not old enough to be a Pokémon trainer herself. But unlike Max, Bonnie does have an unofficial Pokémon partner in the form of Clemont's Dedenne. In fact, she does commands Dedenne in unofficial battles. She has a tendency to [[FriendToAllLivingThings befriend all kinds of Pokémon]], even the big scary ones like [[TerrifyingTyrannosaur Tyrantrum]] and [[OlympusMons Zygarde]]. And she's totally for romance, often trying to get Clemont a girlfriend he doesn't want, and [[ShipperOnDeck secretly nudging Serena to act on her feelings for Ash]].
94* Cattleya's son Rana in ''Anime/QueensBlade'', who turns himself into a MoralityPet for Airi after [[spoiler:his mother is petrified]].
95* Nieble from ''Manga/RaveMaster'' is introduced as a child Sieg knows who instantly starts following him around. Once [[spoiler: Sieg passes away]] he ends up with Belnika at all times.
96* Antonio from ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'', though he's quite GenreSavvy and competent as well.
97* Yuli/Jun in ''Anime/RoninWarriors''[=/=]''Yoroiden Samurai Troopers''.
98* Chibi-usa of ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' is one of the BrattyHalfPint variety.
99* [[CuteBruiser Goku]] of ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' has the personality and relationships of a BrattyHalfPint down pat -- but he's the closest thing the series has to a genuine hero, and it's his relationship with Sanzo/Konzen that is the impetus of...pretty much everything that happens in the plot.
100* Akira of the Shiseiten in ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo.''
101* Jinpei from ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman''. As 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.
102* In ''Anime/SpeedRacer'', little brother Spritle and his monkey Chim-Chim were constantly stowing away in the Mach 5's trunk.
103* [[spoiler:Ako Shirabe/Cure Muse]] in ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'' turns out to be this. She acted as a masked AloofAlly most of the time, but pretended to be [[spoiler:older and taller than she is]]. Despite her age, she's very smart and GenreSavvy. Of course, she's similar as strong than other Pretty Cures. She's even the first to become a Pretty Cure. However, she the only one who has not a Belltier or another rod.
104* Gimmy and Darry start out as Tagalong Kids in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. They do become major characters after the TimeSkip, but right at first they just stick around and watch the grownups do their thing.
105* Eto, from ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', is a villainous example. A member of [[TheSyndicate Aogiri Tree]], she is a child Ghoul in bandages and a cute floral scarf that skips around following the leaders of the organization. She's easily ignored, and doesn't seem like much of a threat in comparison to the group's many seasoned killers. [[spoiler: This is a '''very intentional''' ploy on her part. In reality, she's OlderThanSheLooks and uses the guise of a child to avoid drawing attention to herself. She's actually the BigBad]].
106* Chiru from ''Anime/{{Xabungle}}''... by that show's standards.
107* In ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'', [[GenkiGirl Yotsuba]] is ''everyone's'' Tagalong Kid...when she's in the mood for it.
108* Mokuba Kaiba and Rebecca Hawkins of ''Anime/YuGiOh''.
109* Rua from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' is this to the main team. He's the same age as his twin sister, Ruka, but not having any Signer powers he tends to default to this role. [[spoiler:Much later on he TookALevelInBadass and becomes a Signer himself.]]
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Asian Animation]]
113* Totobory from ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7''. While he does have super senses like the rest of the Super Borys (the ability to taste things without consuming them), he doesn't get to use them much. Not to mention he's also a ShrinkingViolet.
114[[/folder]]
115
116[[folder:Comic Books]]
117* ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': After meeting Dagger and that other guy, Ganke asked Miles to an honorary member of the team, or something like that. He didn't even got an answer.
118* Tyler from ''ComicBook/JurassicStrikeForceFive'', the son of a scientist who gets caught up in the various fights between the Strike Force dinos and Zalex's Reptilians. He's surprisingly very helpful to the heroes.
119* Isabel from ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'', the stewardess whom Red Hood takes on a date, is accidentally teleported with the rest of the team onto the Tamaranean space ship. She reacts as well as you'd expect.
120* For most of ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'', Vima Sunrider doesn't do much but get towed along in her ActionMom's wake and being told by various Masters that she'll be a great Jedi, not surprising since she's about kindergarten age. It isn't until "Redemption", which takes place when she's a teenager, that she acts independently.
121* A ''very'' dark example in ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'' with [[CreepyChild Keiko]], who has been traveling with [[KnightTemplar Jei]] ever since her grandfather was killed by bandits (who were in turn killed by Jei). Thing is, Jei is an AxCrazy SerialKiller with ''[[BlueAndOrangeMorality seriously]]'' [[BlueAndOrangeMorality skewed morality]], and it's clear being around him is not good for her in the long term.
122* ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' Vol. 2 has a strange zigzagged semi-subversion in Kid Loki, who appears to be about 10-12 as opposed to the 17-21 of the rest of the team. He's clearly [[TheSmartGuy very bright and knowledgeable]], if [[LovableTraitor clearly untrustworthy]], but he has a bratty personality and self-deprecatingly calls himself "comic relief" due to his habit of PowerStrainBlackout. [[spoiler: He's also essentially an adult mentally -- the result of the dead adult Loki's centuries of memories overwriting the mind of the original child Loki, resulting in a third person torn between his villainous impulses and his conscience. Later in the series run, he acquires a new 20-something body, courtesy of resident RealityWarper Billy, and his behavior becomes somewhat more mature to match.]]
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Fan Works]]
126* ''Fanfic/ArcCorp'':
127** Downplayed with Ruby. While Jaune doesn't exactly want her to join [[TheMenInBlack ARC Corp]], since she's a Huntress-in-training, she is able carry her weight whenever she does end up in field alongside him and Blake, even managing to save their lives on one occasion. Jaune's reluctance to hiring Ruby full-time once she turns 17 or making use of her outside being an office sitter is purely because he doesn't want to see one of the only friends he has get hurt as opposed to thinking Ruby is a hinderance.
128** Justified with Amber, Jaune's youngest sister. She ends up having to intern at the Containments Branch due to staffing issues caused by the Mountain Glenn incident necessitating that both her and Lavender (Jaune's other younger sister) quickly be brought up to speed and start running their own offices. She's still helpful due to at least having a theoretical knowledge of everything to do with anomalies, but her presence nevertheless frustrates all parties involved: the rest of ARC Corp wouldn't have sent her to Jaune if they had an actual choice, Jaune and Blake are put off by having to deal with a spoiled brat who outright hates the former and will happily inform everyone else if she sees something suspicious about the way they operate, and Amber herself doesn't want to be there due to hating that the pair are {{Technical Pacifist}}s that don't kill all anomalies with extreme prejudice.
129--->'''Blake:''' Please tell me we're not going to have to babysit some genocidal mini-Saphron.\
130'''Jaune:''' I mean, I'm going to have to babysit. You're just going to have to put up with her.
131* In ''Fanfic/CrossAngeTheKnightOfHilda'', one of the little girls under Ersha's care (specifically the one with orange hair in twintails) is [[NamedByTheAdaptation given the name Cynthia by the author]], and [[SparedByTheAdaptation gets saved from her death in Arzenal]]. Inspired by Rio's words, Cynthia opts to stay onboard the Aurora when the Network takes custody of the surviving schoolkids and works alongside Rhino in the launch bay with the Armorers.
132* Basically applies to Willow Rosenberg in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''/''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' crossover "[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-20388/EenaAngel+Once+And+Always.htm Once and Always]]", when she finds herself in Narnia during the reign of the White Witch at the same time as the Pevensie children before she even meets Buffy. While Willow is at least between Susan and Edmund in age, Aslan makes it clear that there will only ever be four thrones at Cair Paravel, and so Willow can only be an ally in the upcoming battle with the White Witch rather than a future third Queen. However, Willow ultimately decides that she would prefer to stay and help Narnia rather than leave and forget everything, observing to Aslan that she prefers to stand anyway.
133* ''Fanfic/PowerRangersOceania'' features Hannah. A college student who likes to hang around the Ocean Rangers, she begins the story like this since she is not a Ranger herself and seems to be the youngest (her parents have even commented on her spending time with adults rather than people her own age). She quickly grows out of it by being an excellent diver.
134* ''Fanfic/TwiceChosen'' has Alpha explicitly refer to Rue as this, as there are only five coins and she just happened to follow the other Tributes into the cave.
135* ''Fanfic/UsAndThem'': [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Tifa]], who is fifteen here, is basically roped into the mission to stop Jenova after she breaks out of the Mt. Nibel reactor because Rufus insists on not letting her go back to Nibelheim and getting a panic started from the stories of a hysterical teenage girl.
136-->'''Tifa:''' I'm not hysterical!
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
140%%* Alice in ''WesternAnimation/TheIllusionist2010''.
141* Private is seen by the others (especially Skipper) as a cute version of this in ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar''. Somewhat justified when he was a newly-hatched chick, but not after he's fully grown.
142* 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 hero]], strives to be just like him, and sometimes follows him around. Meanwhile, Skippy's sister called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Tagalong"]] is this to him.
143%%* Woody in ''Animation/SkyBlue''. He suffers.
144[[/folder]]
145
146[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
147* Trish from ''Film/AngelsRevenge''.
148* Minya from the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies could be considered this for Godzilla and his allies, most notably in ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' where he spends most of the story on the sidelines while the other monsters are mind controlled by aliens and later battle King Ghidorah.
149* ''Film/HighwayToHell'' has Adam, Beelze's son who helps Rachel and Charlie escape Hell.
150* Short Round in ''Film/{{Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom}}''.
151* Defied in ''Film/IronMan3''. Tony Stark brushes away Harley in his attempts to bring him so he can keep him safe from danger.
152-->'''Harley:''' So now you're just gonna leave me here, [[DisappearedDad just like my dad?]]\
153'''Tony:''' ''[{{beat}}]'' [[BluntYes Yep.]]
154* It seems to be a "rule" of the ''Franchise/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.
155* Scott Larson in ''Film/MidnightMadness'' He was picked up by one of the teams when he was trying to run away. [[spoiler: He ends up saving the day twice, once by enabling the team to beat a video game, and also by using his retainer to restart a stuck elevator.]]
156* In ''Film/NightSchool2018'', Mila is basically this for the rest of the night school students, as the rest of the students are all adults taking their GED after dropping out of high school for various reasons while Mila is a juvenile delinquent attending on the insistence of her parents.
157* Brandon from the ''Film/NoahsArc'' movie.
158* "Button" from the 2003 Western, ''Film/OpenRange''. His backstory is told by gunslinger/cowboy Charley at one point, saying that Boss Spearman's crew met him in a small Texas town a few years prior to the movie. He was "living off café garbage and couldn't speak a word of English" and they "took him on, thinking [they] were doing him a favour". But they still haven't learned what his real name is.
159* ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968:'' Lucius is a younger Ape who is constantly critiquing the older generation and accompanies Taylor, Nova, Cornelius , and Zira on their quest in the final act, acting as a lookout during the climax.
160* In ''Film/ShredderOrpheus'', Razoreus is the youngest of the prominent Grey Zone citizens and looks up to Orpheus like an older brother. [[spoiler:He's the most devastated by far when Orpheus dies.]]
161* Kid from ''Film/SixStringSamurai''. Yes, Kid is actually his name.
162* Chekov in the prequel/reboot ''Film/StarTrek2009'' is only seventeen, and thus some of the other characters (who are mostly [[BlatantLies very mature individuals]] in their twenties) seem to regard him as this. Which he is, to an extent, but he's also pretty clearly gearing up to be TheSmartGuy as well.
163* Frankie Muniz's character in ''Film/StayAlive2006''.
164* ''Film/ThatManFromRio'': Adrian, pursuing his kidnapped girlfriend to Rio, is befriended by Sir Winston, a young street kid who saves Adrian's hide a couple of times.
165* Nao from ''Film/UltramanZeroTheRevengeOfBelial'', who happens to be the little brother of Zero's human host for the movie. He's actually pretty useful and gets to pilot a HumongousMecha in the final battle.
166[[/folder]]
167
168[[folder:Literature]]
169* ''Literature/TheBlueNosedWitch'':
170** Butch, the child dressed like a pirate, is there along with the other kids trick-or-treating because his older sister the Tall Witch had to bring him, though she told their mother he was too young. He has to be home by nine-thirty that night.
171** Blanche is treated like this by Minnie Max, who thinks her [[AlwaysLate chronic lateness]] and scatterbrained ways means she's too young to be part of Scurry 13 and ought to be sent back to Scurry 2 1/2.
172%%* ''Literature/BonesOfFaerie'': Allie.
173* ''Literature/{{Dinoverse}}'': "Runt" is the little brother to Zane's host. Zane [[RefusalOfTheCall refuses to leave the herd]] at first until he's kicked out to fetch Runt. Then he encounters the other formerly human characters, and he can't leave the little guy alone, so...
174* ''Literature/DocWilde'', a ''Literature/DocSavage'' parody, brings his kids with him on his adventures. He's been raising them to be just like him.
175* ''Literature/DragonBones'': Ward treats his sister Ciarra as tagalong kid, even though she's just three years younger than he is. (She's sixteen, which would make her an adult in many cultures.) She is mute, which may contribute to this. Of course, she's technically the only kid who tags along; Ward is on the run from the authorities, the proper adults in the group are his father's valet and the stable master, who just accompany him out of loyalty, and a runaway slave who has her own reasons for running away.
176* ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'': As Locke’s mentee, Bug 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 realistic outcome of this trope. Getting a child involved in dangerous situations is generally more dangerous for a child than an adult, because children are less equipped (less experience, less physical strength in a fight, less maturity, etc) to handle it. And now, Locke has to live with the fact that he put a child in a situation that killed him. Although, in Locke’s defense, if he hadn’t taken in Bug, Bug’s [[StreetUrchin life]] [[CrapsackWorld probably]] would’ve turned out similarly.]]
177* ''Literature/GuardsGuards'': [[spoiler:Lupine Wonse]] is a literal Tagalong Kid; he was TheSmartGuy in their street gang mostly to stop them beating him when they got bored. The skipping run he developed to keep up with the big boys in his gang is how Vimes recognizes him as an adult leaving the scene of a crime.
178* ''Literature/LesMiserables'': [[PluckyComicRelief Gavroche]] is this to the students at the barricade, though unlike most Tagalong Kids, he is a core part of the group, and an invaluable asset from the start. There is also some Deconstruction at work, as several of the rebels are reluctant and uncomfortable with having a comrade-in-arms who hasn't reached puberty. [[spoiler: He is killed collecting bullets, DefiantToTheEnd.]]
179* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': Merry and Pippin fill this role, both being younger cousins of Frodo. They are not ''children'', but they're considered very young adults (hobbits are considered to be mature and responsible only when they hit their thirties). They fulfill this role in ''Fellowship'', tacking themselves onto the quest to support Frodo but without standing out too often. In ''The Two Towers'' they break out of it. Then in ''Return of the King'' they both feel like this and TheLoad to Rohan (for Merry) and Gondor (for Pippin), but take actions that end up being very important.
180* ''Literature/{{Metaltown}}'': Chip is one of the youngest Metaltown citizens and tags along with Ty frequently; while reticent at first, she eventually warms up to him. Ty trying to save him from a potentially life-threatening job [[spoiler:ends up with her going blind in one eye]].
181* ''Literature/OrigamiYoda'': Murky mostly just hangs around with his older friends and makes comments.
182* ''Literature/TheOutsiders'': Ponyboy. He's only considered a "member" of the gang because of his older brothers.
183* ''Literature/RachelGriffin'': The PowerTrio is by the second book officially comprised of ''four'' members, with the addition of [[TheKirk Nastasia's]] {{fangirl}} Joy O'Keefe, who insists on coming and can't [[StayInTheKitchen politely]] be excluded.
184* ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'': Jimmy the Hand in ''Silverthorn'' and ''A Darkness at Sethanon'', the second and third books. 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.
185* ''Literature/TheRingworldEngineers'': Kawaresksenjajok is a City Builder child who accidentally stumbles into ''Hot Needle of Inquiry'' and ends up joining the main cast simply because the Hindmost forget to turn a teleporter device off after Louis used it.
186* ''Literature/ShatterMe'': Adam's younger brother James who he and Juliette have no choice but to take on the run with them to stop Warner from harming him.
187* ''Literature/TailchasersSong'': Tailchaser intended to go on his journey alone. Early on he noticed that Pouncequick, an orphaned kitten peer of his, was following him. Tailchaser didn't have the nerve to send the kitten back through the dangerous forest all alone, so he let Pouncequick tag along. Tailchaser soon finds that he prefers having company on his task. Pouncequick is TheHeart[=/=]CheerfulChild variety.
188* ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' is an inversion. Sure, Dorothy's not a native, and at 11, she's likely the youngest of the bunch. Still, it's obvious that she's [[TheLeader the one in charge]].
189* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': This happens occasionally.
190** In ''The New Prophecy'', Squirrelpaw tags along because she wants adventure and to get away from her arguments with her father, and Brambleclaw is basically forced to agree since she threatens to reveal their mission otherwise. She proves to be helpful on their quest as a decent hunter and fighter, and her TwinTelepathy with her medicine-cat littermate helps her realize what treatment they need to treat Tawnypelt's injury.
191** In ''Dawn of the Clans'', Clear Sky and Gray Wing's younger brother Jagged Peak wants to join the Followers of the Sun Trail on their quest to their new home. Gray Wing originally intended to stay in the mountains, but went to go find and protect his little brother and joined the quest too.
192[[/folder]]
193
194[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
195* Gary's little brother Tucker on ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''.
196* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'': Boxey ends up being this in "Gun At Ice Planet Zero" and "The Magnificent Warriors" but contributes a little in "Fire In Space", thought Muffit proves more useful.
197* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': Cousin Oliver was never given much to do except be Bobby and Cindy's sidekick.
198* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
199** [[BrattyHalfPint Dawn Summers]], though she is essential to the plot in Season 5, where she first appears.
200** Principal Snyder after regressing to his adolescent self. ("Band Candy").
201* ''Series/CaseyJones'': Casey Junior usually dresses like his father in a junior version of his Dad's engineer's uniform. He's a good kid, who actually managed to save the day in the first episode. As a result, Junior and his dog Cinders are made honorary engineers ''and'' get a free pass on the railroad for life. Junior often wants to ride with his father, and sometimes does, but he also has to go to school. Sometimes, a trip is just too dangerous and Casey Jones tells his son to stay home. As such, Junior avoids being TheLoad. A couple of times he does sneak along, for example he tries to hide aboard the baggage car when a phony Secret Service Agent denies him the opportunity to meet President Chester A. Arthur. Even there, though, Junior helps save the day. The supervising secret service agent discovers the imposter, as ''he and President Arthur had sent instructions that Junior was to be allowed aboard the train''.
202* Alexis Castle on ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}''. She also doubles as TheSmartGuy[=/=] TeenGenius and provides lots and lots of helpful insight to her ManChild father. And when she shows up at the police station, everyone minds their language.
203* ''Series/DarkMatter2015'': 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]].
204* ''Series/EerieIndiana'': Simon is very much the tagalong kid to Marshall, who is about four years older than him, during their paranormal investigations. In "The Dead Letter", this is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] during Marshall's dream when Simon says, "I'm tired of being second banana on this show." A confused Marshall asks himself, "[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall What show?]]"
205* River Tam on ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. She has a much bigger role in the movie.
206* ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}'': Though at 69 Abe is only a kid in comparison to his immortal father, Henry's son Abraham sometimes sticks his nose where it doesn't belong in a manner and attitude that definitely fit this trope.
207* ''Series/LazyTown'': Ziggy usually follows around Stephanie and Sportacus during their antics every episode.
208* Mimoso Ratón in ''Series/OdiseaBurbujas'', a baby mouse.
209* Damien in ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses''.
210* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Benny Romero in the last season. In "Geraldine", he stowsaway aboard the trailer Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Munsee are taking to Arizona.
211* Justin in ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' is literally a kid who tagged along and was given Ranger Powers. For reasons that are never adequately explained in the series, [[StockFootage he morphs into a fully grown adult blue Ranger]], unless he takes off his helmet, which shrinks him down to his normal size until he puts it back on.
212* Kate from ''Series/RobinHood''. Her age was unclear, yet the [[DawsonCasting 30-year-old actress]] seemed to be channeling a bratty teenage girl.
213* ''Series/{{Thunderstone}}'' has Chip, who is the youngest of the main cast at maybe 10-years-old. He wants to go out on adventures but is told to stay back as he's "too young to keep up". He really should heed this advice, as his attempts to sneak out and prove himself as useful almost always end with him getting captured or, on one occasion, trapped in quicksand.
214* ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' had Isamu Hoshino (or Hoshino Fuji in the original English dub), an 11-year-old boy who often visits Science Patrol while they're in their headquarters. He starts off as TheLoad, but eventually proves himself useful and is made an official member, complete with his own Science Patrol uniform. Unfortunately, he suffers from ChuckCunninghamSyndrome not too longer afterwards
215** The 70s ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' usually have one, like Jiro Sakata from ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'', Dan Umezu from ''Series/UltramanAce'' (although he only appears in episodes 29 through 43), Kenichi Shiratori from ''Series/UltramanTaro'', and Tohru and Kaoru Umeda from ''Series/UltramanLeo''. The mainly serve as just a point-of-view character for younger viewers and a little brother stand-in for the heroes.
216[[/folder]]
217
218[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
219* ''Literature/TheFourGospels'': John the Apostle was likely the tagalong kid among Jesus' disciples. Apart from being "significantly younger" than his brother James (and the rest of the Twelve), it's unclear just how old John was at the point where he JumpedAtTheCall; but "the disciple whom He loved" (as John later refers to himself in his gospel) in context might well mean [[ParentalSubstitute parental love]] for a HappilyAdopted son. In a dying moment of awesome Jesus also instructs His mother Mary to [[TakeCareOfTheKids take care]] of John as if he were ''her'' son. John later cares for Mary as if she were his mother, too.
220[[/folder]]
221
222[[folder:Video Games]]
223* Grapefruit Cookie, the CheerfulChild and youngest member of the Citrus Squad from ''VideoGame/CookieRun''. While she is part of the gang, she isn't really participated within some of their activities, since they're "ball games".
224* Adell's younger siblings, Taro and Hanako, from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' fill this role, while also acting as ThoseTwoGuys for the party. Taro and Hanako double as TheBigGuy (gameplay-wise) and TheSmartGuy (story-wise), respectively.
225* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', winning all Arena matches saddles you with the "Adoring Fan", a small boy who follows you around gushing about your deeds. However, he is a coward and will not fight when you are being attacked, making him wholly useless.
226* By exploiting a glitch, you can get 6-year-old Bumble to tag along after you throughout ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''.
227* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
228** Vaan in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' -- a bit unusual in that he's the viewpoint character. Gameplay-wise (and keeping in mind that there's a large amount of GameplayAndStoryIntegration) Vaan is out and out the best character on the team, assuming you use him at all. This would seem to imply that Vaan is a [[TheBigGuy monster killing machine]] the team, fortunately, has lying around.
229*** Later games show Vaan has gone into business as a [[ImpossibleThief god-like thief]] and have him be a skilled enough fighter to hold off a PhysicalGod for a long time. So, the FFXII team probably [[MagikarpPower didn't know what they had on their hands]]. As incidental as Vaan's inclusion on the team maybe, he's probably the single most powerful weapon at their disposal, if not instrumental to their success.
230*** Vaan can be best described as an "[[TheAce Ace]]-in-training". You know how in fiction, really skilled Rogue-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.
231*** Penelo went through a similar change. She played even less of a role in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' than Vaan did and her only purpose for tagging along was to make sure Vaan was staying out of trouble since he was the only family she had left. Her role was expanded upon in the spinoffs, but she's still mostly portrayed as Vaan's partner who makes sure he doesn't cause too much trouble.
232** 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.
233* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
234** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', 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.
235** Rolf and Mist start as these in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'' until they join the army proper.
236* Exaggerated quite stupendously in ''VideoGame/FurFighters''. Tweek the baby dragon is only ''one day old'' before the events of the game force him to take up arms alongside his older war veteran buddies. In other words, he ReallyWasBornYesterday.
237* Mission Vao and Zaalbar from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Mission is more obvious, being HotBlooded and a FragileSpeedster (her dexterity is very high), with a bit of the "genius" as her true strengths come from being more well-rounded in the skills department than the droids. She's also higher on the KarmaMeter than ''the party's Jedi'' (tied with Carth, surprisingly). Zaalbar is definitely TheBigGuy, who's actually marginally higher on the KarmaMeter than Jolee, but still light-sided. He doesn't really appear to be a kid (Wookiees age differently than humans), but his interactions with Mission, and the fact that he's constantly referred to as "young" means you likely have two adolescents along for the ride.
238* Ellie from ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] this. She was born into the CrapsackWorld that the U.S. has become, so she's effectively known from birth that she needs to pull her own weight and be just as useful/capable as adults in order to survive. She also knows not to be a NeutralFemale, helping out Joel when and how she can.
239* Chico and, to a lesser extent, Paz, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes''. As lampshaded by [[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee]] [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation review of the latter]]:
240-->'''Yahtzee:''' ...But there's these two kids who hang around his base, either by the same principle as those two kids that used to hang around with the WesternAnimation/SuperFriends, or because it's like those little birds that live in crocodiles' mouths, and he hires them to pick bits of cornflake out of his beard.
241* ''VideoGame/PeretEmHeruForThePrisoners'' has Rin, a BrattyHalfPint who snuck into the protagonists' tour group despite not being related to anyone in it. Her tendency to lie and pull pranks can have [[AnyoneCanDie grave consequences]] if the player isn't careful...
242* Ken Amada from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' who fits the AdorablyPrecociousChild trope to a T. He's the 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.]]]]
243* In ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris'', Jay and Elle are the youngest members of the Starship Tetra's team and don't seem to have an official position in the crew whereas the rest of the group does. Jay and Elle are also TricksterTwins who love pulling mean pranks on others, especially the Tetra's engineer Ai. Averted in ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris2'', where they demonstrate their importance via their ability to find anything and anyone they want, even across dimensions.
244* Aila to Geddoe's mercenary group in ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'', at least in the mercenaries' opinion. She ''was'' a warrior in her [[DoomedHometown home village]], but is still young and naive compared to the rest, and at the end of the game [[spoiler:Geddoe doesn't let her join the group officially, but he does let her stay around, making her an official Tagalong Kid]].
245* Toad plays this role in certain ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' games, including ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''.
246* Pipin from ''VideoGame/TreasureOfTheRudra''. He is found lost in the Great Forest in Riza's scenario, and he initially bosses her and Garlyle and tries to distract her away from her goal of purifying the world. However, not only does he stay until the end of her scenario, but he is also [[spoiler: able to reunite with the Leader of the hidden village, his original goal, and at the perfect time for their party revive Foxy in Sion's scenario.]]
247* Riki from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''. All the other party members have a good reason for wanting to fight [[MechanicalMonster the Mechon]], be it to avenge or to rescue loved ones. Riki suffered none of these problems and is pretty much roped into going along with them. Of course, that's not to say he's just TheLoad, [[PintSizedPowerhouse far from it!]]
248** 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]].
249[[/folder]]
250
251[[folder:Visual Novels]]
252* Pearl from ''Franchise/AceAttorney'', who, in the second game, is pretty much Maya when the latter's unavailable.
253[[/folder]]
254
255[[folder:Web Animation]]
256* The ''WebAnimation/CPUChampionshipSeries'' has [=LinusH111=].
257[[/folder]]
258
259[[folder:Webcomics]]
260* Gordito in ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja''. A 12-year-old Mexican [[TheGunslinger GunSlinger]]... with a full-grown mustache. At one point, the good Doctor highlights that Gordito does not merely "tag along".
261-->'''Dr [=McNinja=]:''' Do you think I run around with a ''12-year-old boy'' just because I like his inferior grasp of girls and higher level math? Do you think I left him with my psychotic parents because I wanted him to die? No, you undead pale ponce! Gordito is the effing ''badass kid''.
262* Freddy in ''Webcomic/TheDreamer''. He's getting better, though.
263* Donny has this role in ''Webcomic/EarsForElves''. Much to Tanna's despair (since she has to look after him), he's also a CheerfulChild.
264* Rico and Ellaine in ''Webcomic/{{Minion}}''.
265* In ''Webcomic/RescuingDara'', Dara has to come along with the team for their plan to work, and she does help [[http://www.espetrellcomics.com/rescuingdara/?p=348 sometimes]], but she still is this trope.
266* Meela in Webcomic/{{Strays}}.
267* Mia from ''Webcomic/TrueVillains''.
268[[/folder]]
269
270[[folder:Web Original]]
271* Matt, Leo and Mark in the first season of ''Literature/OmegaGuardians''. Andy could also count as well, even though he was treated an equal part of the team depending on the episode.
272* Jade, from the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', looks 11. She's actually 14 and most people who meet her think she's the Tagalong Kid and TheLoad of Team Kimba. She's not actually.
273** The Three Little Witches have been this to both The Alphas and Team Wondercute at times.
274** In the Gen 2 stories, Karma is the adorable seven year old daughter of one of the teachers, who is constantly trying to join the latest incarnation of Wondercute. She manages to cause more trouble than the rest of them combined.
275* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', Theo Anders, son of the Nazi supervillain Kaiser but who lacks powers of his own, is generally brought along by his stepmother Purity with her group, the Pure, because he serves as a caretaker for his half-sister Aster.
276[[/folder]]
277
278[[folder:Web Videos]]
279* Instead of sending her on a plane to Hong Kong, the Runaway girl follows the Joestar group in ''WebVideo/VaguelyRecallingJoJo''.
280* In almost all of ''LetsPlay/VanossGamingAndCompany'''s animated adventures, [=LuiCalibre=] is made into one of these due to his "squeaker voice".
281[[/folder]]
282
283[[folder:Western Animation]]
284* ''WesternAnimation/AngelinaBallerina'' has Henry, Angelina's younger cousin, as the tagalong in the original books and the 2002 series. Polly, Angelina's little sister, takes over this role in the 2009 CGI series.
285* Spinner in the ''WesternAnimation/ClutchCargo'' cartoon series. Why did Clutch need to look after a little boy anyway?
286* Hiroki and Johnny in the later seasons of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko''.
287* Tommy (alias Numbuh T) of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' -- was [[SixthRangerTraitor almost]] promoted to SixthRanger. In other cases he gets in {{The Team}}'s way by tagging along.
288* ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'' has pre-teen orphan Kshin (a young protege of Mandrake the Magician) who, especially in early episodes, is [[TheTeamWannabe keen to prove himself as a Defender]], but regularly gets into trouble because of his [[ChildrenAreInnocent naivety]]. He does occasionally help to save the day, though.
289* Sheila's younger brother Bobby, from the animated ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'', is a Tagalong Kid of the CuteBruiser variety.
290* Creator/HannaBarbera had a lot of these in their heyday.
291** Jan and Jace in the original ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' cartoons essentially were two kids who went along on Space Ghost's adventures.
292** Jonny Quest himself, in the original ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' cartoon. When he aged up to teenhood in the later series ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'', he was much more actively involved in the adventures. The number of scrapes he'd get into didn't lessen from when he was a kid; what changed was his ability to do something about them.
293** Pete, Dr. Quinn Darien's nephew on ''WesternAnimation/TheGodzillaPowerHour'', although he has the benefit of being the main means of talking with Godzooky and, by proxy, Godzilla.
294** ''WesternAnimation/MightyMightor'' had Little Rok (or just plain Rok), who was the younger brother of Sheera, the love interest of Mightor's alter ego Tor Basically, Little Rok was an annoying little boy who was a big fan of Mightor, the guardian of their tribe, completely unaware that he was the older alter ego of his sister's friend Tor; in fact Little Rok admired Mightor so much that, whenever there was trouble, he would put on a horned mask resembling the one worn by Mightor, pick up a giant wooden toy club carved to resemble the club used by Mightor, and would fly into battle on his pet bird loudly screaming Mightor's name and boasting that he would either defeat all the bad guys by himself or that he would help Mightor defeat the bad guys (when he followed Mightor into battle that is). Sometimes he actually did help, if only by accident (such as getting in the villain's way just long enough for Mightor to thwart the villain's plan) but most of the time he was just TheLoad in the fight whom Mightor would have to rescue (and allow Little Rok to think he had beaten the threat by himself) or think up some fake "order" to get the dumb kid to stay put and stay out of his way so he could do his job.
295** The "Three Musketeers" segments from ''WesternAnimation/TheBananaSplits'' had Tooly who followed the musketeers on their adventures, usually after being forbidden from doing so.
296* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'' episode "The Legion of Super Writers" has Loud Kiddington play this role to the team of the episode's title.
297* ''WesternAnimation/IvanhoeTheKingsKnight'': Being old enough to be Ivanhoe and Rowena's daughter and three years younger than Wamba, Rebecca most certainly qualifies. "The Four Black Knights" shows the negative parts of this trope when Rebecca tagging along nearly costs Harold his life.
298* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': Jade Chan, who likes to tag along with her uncle Jackie Chan on adventures no matter how many times she gets scolded or grounded for it.
299* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': Ray Thompson, in the episode "Legends." For the most part, he's a useless sidekick who cheers on the heroes featured in that episode, the Justice Guild. [[spoiler:The twist here is that he's the bad guy; the Guild [[DeadAllAlong perished years ago in a nuclear explosion]], the same explosion that mutated Ray into a RealityWarper. Ray used his new powers to create an illusion where the Guild was still alive, trapping all of the other survivors with it.]]
300* On ''Literature/MaxAndRuby'', Max is often this, though probably at least half the time he'd rather ''not'' be because he's been dragged along to whatever girly activity Ruby and her friends are doing.
301* ''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.
302* Howleen Wolf of ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHigh'', especially in the ''Fright On!'' special. She often deals with her wish to be treated less like her siblings' tagalong but wanting to be like them at the same time.
303* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSpike Spike]] the baby dragon serves as assistant and de facto little brother to Twilight Sparkle, and frequently comes along on the ponies' adventures. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in that the ponies rarely bring up his age and he's shown to be just as capable as the adult ponies, except for one instance in which he had to miss out on an adventure because he was too young to stay up all night.
304** Played cutely straight in the openings of Seasons 1-3, where Twilight easily jumps out of the balloon basket, but Spike has to climb out and run after her.
305* Max [=LeBlanc=] in ''WesternAnimation/NightHood''. Might also qualify as a child's version of a DistressedDude, due to getting into trouble every other episode and having Lupin come and save him. One episode revolved around him getting kidnapped and Lupin had to rob Fort Knox in order to get him create an illusion back.
306* ''WesternAnimation/OhNoItsAnAlienInvasion'' has S.W.E.E.T. leader Nate's little sister Lily.
307* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' has Mindy, a 4- (later 5)-year-old girl who loves to tag along on Jet's adventures and is ConstantlyCurious. However, in Season 1, she couldn't go to space because she was 4 and her mom wouldn't let her go anywhere past Jet's yard. [[spoiler: In Season 2, she turns 5 and finally gets to go to space]].
308* Enzo in ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', at least the first few seasons.
309* In the ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' episode "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS3E4Vindicators3TheReturnOfWorldender Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender]]", [[Characters/RickAndMortyMortySmith Morty Smith]] is excited to be part of what he assumed to be a second assembly of the eponymous SuperTeam (having already participated in their first one), only to learn that this is actually the third time they've banded together -- they didn't summon Rick and Morty for the second adventure because Alan Rails couldn't tolerate Rick, who serves as the team's GadgeteerGenius. As the adventure continues, Morty starts to lose his enthusiasm for the Vindicators, especially when Vance Maximus admits they merely let Morty hang around for publicity purposes. By the end of the episode, Morty considers the Vindicators unneeded and gives away the Vindicators jacket Vance gave him.
310* Dil of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}''. One episode revolves around the older babies giving him an initiation into "the big babies".
311* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'':
312** Frosta is the youngest member of the Princess Alliance at eleven and three quarters, and is frequently treated differently from the others of the team.
313** In "Launch", this gets inverted: [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerEntrapta Entrapta]], a woman of 25- to 35-years-old who is also the shortest of the Princesses alongside the aforementioned 12-year-old Frosta, is the one who has to be kept on a child leash by the other Princesses lest she wander off into danger.
314* ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'': Tails, which provides for some CharacterDevelopment as he trains under his BigBrotherMentor to become a more effectual Freedom Fighter.
315* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch'' plays with this trope. All of the members of the titular squad are technically children, but all have undergone [[RapidAging growth acceleration]] to bioligical adulthood -- sans Omega. Though competent in her own right, Omega is the only one of the squad who hasn't spent the last three years on the front lines of the Clone Wars, and is a bit less experienced and more naive. [[spoiler:Further complicating this trope is the revelation that she's older than the other clones by at least a few years.]]
316* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is an odd example where this character is the [[Characters/StevenUniverseStevenQuartzUniverse protagonist]] -- it centers around a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-magical]] [[KidSidekick kid]] who lives with the Crystal Gems, a team of magical guardians whom his mother used to be a part of. He actually holds a great deal of fear that he'll never become powerful enough to be ''anything'' but this trope, and forever live in his mother's shadow. By the end of the first season, however, he's matured into TheHeart.
317* Apple Dumplin' from ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake'' in the 2003 series.
318* Toad in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3''.
319** Let's not forget the other tagalong of the Mario Bros., which is Oogtar in ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld''.
320* The Thunderkittens in ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats1985'' and ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011''. They do have some useful skills.
321* Sari, for the first two seasons of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''.
322* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'':
323** [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], with the added twist that [[OlderAlterEgo nobody realizes that he's a kid]]. The team assumes he's spying on them for the Justice League, when in reality he's an AscendedFanboy hanging out with his real age group.
324** Snapper Carr, the quintessential example in DC Comics, is confirmed to have been this in the past, until he did something really stupid that tipped the Joker off about their secret base. But today he's graduated to teacher at the school that Megan and Connor attend, and occasional MissionControl. For bonus points, two of his students are Marvin and Wendy, another quintessential example of this trope from [[WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}} DC media]] (though they never play this role in the show).
325[[/folder]]
326
327[[folder:Real Life]]
328* RealityIsUnrealistic -- The Iwakura Mission of Meiji-era Japan was a Japanese tour of the world intended to help the country modernize, so that it would be able to compete with the Western nations. Because it was a mission of modernization, almost all the passengers were adults, who were sent off to study at Western universities so they could use that knowledge to improve their own country. Yet despite this, one of the passengers was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuda_Umeko Tsuda Umeko]], a ''6-year-old girl''. She was dropped off in the United States and taken in by an American couple to be educated there, but the fact that she was there at all is bizarre considering the mission's purpose. (It is possible that this is the reason there are so many examples of this trope in Japanese works, but more likely than not that is just because of Japan's [[UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} cultural obsession with cuteness]], which ironically [[NewerThanTheyThink did not exist in Tsuda's time]].)
329[[/folder]]

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