History Main / PlotTailoredToTheParty

* The ''WinxClub'' ep "Truth or Dare" had the Winx conjuring up a simulacrum out of their fundamental powers.

* One episode of ''WolverineAndTheXMen'' invoked this trope explicitly. A ship carrying mutants to Genosha is attacked by pirates in search of mutants with useful powers. They end up kidnapping all of the adults and leaving the kids behind on the sinking ship. The kids' abilities are: breathing underwater, making "sticky goop", talking to machines, making things shatter by focusing on them, and butterfly wings. Initially, they mope around on the ship because they believe their powers are useless, but Nightcrawler appears to show them that no one is useless. At Nightcrawler's direction, they shatter some cargo crates and have the underwater-breathing kid glue them onto the breaches using the sticky goop. The girl who talks to machines navigates the boat, and the girl with butterfly wings makes and puts up a flag of questionable usefulness. Then they chase after the pirate ship, where Nightcrawler uses ''his'' powers to duel the pirate captain and save the grownups.

* Also, Mayuri Kurotsuchi fights against Szayel Aporro Granz, his evil [[TokenEvilTeammate (well, eviler)]] counterpart. Granz has an ability to resurrect himself after death by using the body of the person who killed him. Unfortunately for him, but Kurotsuchi and his OppositeSexClone assistant have saturated their entire bodies with poisons.
** You forgot to mention that Szayel has the ability to basically make voodoo dolls that allow him to crush the organs and bones of his target nearly at will... Mayuri is the only other character in the series with enough insane science at his disposal that in the time between discovering this ability (used on the guys Szayel was fighting before Mayuri arrived) and getting to the site of the battle he had REPLACED ALL HIS ORGANS WITH FAKES to render himself immune! This is exactly as insane as it sounds for every single other character in the series.

* And finally, Kenpachi faces off against Nnoitra, whose Hollow ability basically amounts to brute force (multiple arms to maximize offense and defense and hard skin that can't be cut without a great amount of force). Kenpachi's ''insane'' amount of offensive power just cuts through this, [[LetsGetDangerous when he finally gets serious enough to stop dicking around]].

* Ichigo vs Zaraki Kenpachi. Of all the captains for Ichigo to face, it happens to be the BloodKnight who prefers an ''even'' fight over a CurbStompBattle. As we later find out, if Kenpachi had actually been trying, he would have wrecked Ichigo. Also, it's worth noting that the aforementioned Ikkaku and Yumichika are his underlings--so it sorta runs in the division.

* When the Captains pull a BigDamnHeroes move to save the protagonists, the level that the match-ups are one-sided is just unbelievable. For example, Byakuya Kuchiki fights Zommari, who has the ability to take control of one object or body part with each of his 50 eyes. Too bad for him, Byakuya has ''millions'' of blades that obey his mental commands. Also, Mayuri Kurotsuchi fights against Szayel Aporro Granz, his evil [[TokenEvilTeammate (well, eviler)]] counterpart. Granz has an ability to resurrect himself after death by using the body of the person who killed him. Unfortunately for him, but Kurotsuchi and his OppositeSexClone assistant have saturated their entire bodies with poisons.

*** The above was also subverted: while Yumichika was hidden and thus able to use his true power to win, Ikkaku was fighting at the same time and wasn't hidden, leading to his loss. Then it's [[DoubleSubersion double subverted]] when the Fraccion that beat him (Pao, who has the ability to [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever grow ginormous]] is beaten by Captain Komamura, who has the ability to summon a creature that's [[SummonBiggerFish even bigger.]]

*** The above being a minor subversion, while Yumichika was hidden and thus able to use his true power to win, Ikkaku was fighting at the same time and wasn't hidden, leading to his loss.

* Uryu Ishida vs Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Both are highly intelligent and analytical and both love to point out the shortcomings of their opponents. At first, it seems like a subversion, until Kurotsuchi's arrogance from assuming [[AwesomenessFromAnalysis he'd already analyzed everything about the Quincy]] proves to be his undoing. Quincy had ''two'' powers that he didn't know about, and the first happens to be the only one that can defeat Kurotsuchi's shikai ability, and the second happens to be the one most perfectly tailored to fighting in a world made entirely of the stuff it uses for ammo.

* Uryu Ishida vs Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Both are highly intelligent and analytical and both love to point out the shortcomings of their opponents. At first, it seems like a subversion, until Kurotsuchi's arrogance from assuming [[AwesomenessFromAnalysis he'd already analyzed everything about the Quincy]] proves to be his undoing. Quincy had ''one'' power that he didn't know about, and it happens to be the one most perfectly tailored to fighting in a world made entirely of the stuff it uses for ammo.

*** Since Kimimaro died because of his sickness and managed to escape Gaara's perfect move, I wouldn't call it a CurbStompBattle. Gaara himself acknowledges they were lucky.

* Uryu Ishida vs Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Both are highly intelligent and analytical and both love to point out the shortcomings of their opponents. At first, it seems like a subversion, until Kurotsuchi's arrogance from assuming [[AwesomenessFromAnalysis he'd already analyzed everything about the Quincy]] proves to be his undoing. Quincy had ''one'' power that he didn't know about, and it happens to be the ONLY power that could have defeated his shikai's ability.

* Kenpachi vs Kaname Tousen. Tousen has an ability which causes complete depravation of the opponent's ''every'' sense except pain in order to demoralize and terrorize them. Unfortunately for him, he was fighting Bleach's premiere CombatSadomasochist, and he doesn't afraid of anything. And eventually, Kenpachi ''allows'' himself to get stabbed because he figures out that anyone touching Tousen's sword can get their senses back. Also of note is that Tousen never fights anyone with this ability again outside of a flashback. Kenpachi was essentially the ''only'' opponent he used it against.
* Okay, that was just the Soul Society arc. Now let's move on to Hueco Mundo.
* Right off the bat, Ishida fights a hollow whose ability is to rapid-fire hundreds of tiny projectiles. But, as we mentioned before, this was a a Quincy said hollow was fighting, and Ishida had ''just'' upgraded his bow to fire ''thousands'' of projectiles.
* When the Captains pull a BigDamnHeroes move to save the protagonists, the level that the match-ups are one-sided is just unbelievable. For example, Byakuya Kuchiki fights Lennox Zommari, who has the ability to take control of one object or body part with each of his 50 eyes. Too bad for him, Byakuya has ''millions'' of blades that obey his mental commands. Also, Mayuri Kurotsuchi fights against Szayel Aporro Granz, his evil [[MoreEvilThanThou (well, eviler)]] counterpart. Granz has an ability to resurrect himself after death by using the body of the person who killed him. Unfortunately for him, but Kurotsuchi and his OppositeSexClone assistant have saturated their entire bodies with poisons.

** It could be seen that the first-years' success lay in their vastly different strengths and teamwork, whereas a lone person would be less likely to have all of the skills required to get past all of the obstacles. [[spoiler:"Quirrelmort" made it to the final room, but since the Mirror of Erised only gave the stone to someone who wanted the stone but not want to use it, he ''never'' would've been able to get it by himself.]]
** It's also due to the tasks being created with adult wizards in mind. Most of them aren't good enough athletes for the broomstick ride or well enough acquainted with logic to solve the chessboard or potion riddle. Most adult wizards have little use for the kind of lateral thinking a science or maths major (or Hermione) would, as she points out.

* Ichigo vs Zaraki Kenpachi. Of all the captains for Ichigo to face, it happens to be the BloodKnight who prefers and ''even'' fight over a CurbStompBattle. As we later find out, if Kenpachi had actually been ''trying'', he would have wrecked Ichigo. Also, I should note that the aforementioned Ikkaku and Yumichika are his underlings--so it sorta runs in the division.

* The ''WinxClub'' ep "Truth or Dare" had the Winx Eigen-ing up a simulacrum out of their fundamental powers.
* Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} of the ''{{Superfriends}}'' gave rise to [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman an infinite number of such plots]]. {{Superman}} is a member of the ''{{Superfriends}}'', and arguably pretty much every plot which involves him is kind of an inverse EigenPlot, as they have to use Kryptonite or otherwise disable him somehow to give everyone else something to do.

* ''{{Digimon}}'' is often using it in a not too direct example, but still. In the first series (and second, and pretty much any) the Digimon would only evolve when their [=DigiDestined=] proved their specific most remarkable trait like love or honesty.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Bleach]]
* During the Soul Society arc, Ichigo and Ganju happen to enounter [[HeterosexualLifePartners Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika]]. Ichigo barely defeats one with brute force and Ganju manages to outpace and subdue the other with demon magic. ...Except we later learn that ''both'' of them have an entirely different scale of power (a bankai and a magic-draining sword release) that would have wrecked their specific opponents entirely. Luckily, both have vowed never to use them in public even if they die.
** Yumichika's battle against Charlotte is another perfect example of this, since Charlotte locking the two of them in an impentrable black sphere allows Yumichika to use his shikai, which he has been hiding from all his coworkers, and specifically said he's rather die than use it where anyone can see it.
* Ichigo vs Zaraki Kenpachi. Of all the captains for Ichigo to face, it happens to be the BloodKnight who prefers and ''even'' fight over a CurbStompBattle. As we later find out, if Kenpachi had actually been ''trying'', he would have wrecked Ichigo. Also, I should note that the aforementioned Ikkaku and Yumichika are his underlings--so it sorta runs in the division.
* Uryu Ishida vs Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Both are highly intelligent and analytical and both love to point out the shortcomings of their opponents. At first, it seems like a subversion, until Kurotsuchi's arrogance from assuming [[AwesomenessFromAnalysis he'd already analyzed everything about the Quincy]] proves to be his undoing. Quincy had ''one'' power that he didn't know about, and it happens to be the ONLY power that could have defeated his shikai's ability.
** Even earlier, Ishida fought a 3rd Seat shinigami whose primary ability was projectiles. Unfortunately for him, it's damn near impossible to out-projectile a Quincy.
* Kenpachi vs Kaname Tousen. Tousen has an ability which causes complete depravation of the opponent's ''every'' sense except pain in order to demoralize and terrorize them. Unfortunately for him, he was fighting Bleach's premiere CombatSadomasochist, and he doesn't afraid of anything. And eventually, Kenpachi ''allows'' himself to get stabbed because he figures out that anyone touching Tousen's sword can get their senses back. Also of note is that Tousen never fights anyone with this ability again outside of a flashback. Kenpachi was essentially the ''only'' opponent he used it against.
* Okay, that was just the Soul Society arc. Now let's move on to Hueco Mundo.
* Right off the bat, Ishida fights a hollow whose ability is to rapid-fire hundreds of tiny projectiles. But, as we mentioned before, this was a a Quincy said hollow was fighting, and Ishida had ''just'' upgraded his bow to fire ''thousands'' of projectiles.
* When the Captains pull a BigDamnHeroes move to save the protagonists, the level that the match-ups are one-sided is just unbelievable. For example, Byakuya Kuchiki fights Lennox Zommari, who has the ability to take control of one object or body part with each of his 50 eyes. Too bad for him, Byakuya has ''millions'' of blades that obey his mental commands. Also, Mayuri Kurotsuchi fights against Szayel Aporro Granz, his evil [[MoreEvilThanThou (well, eviler)]] counterpart. Granz has an ability to resurrect himself after death by using the body of the person who killed him. Unfortunately for him, but Kurotsuchi and his OppositeSexClone assistant have saturated their entire bodies with poisons.

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* In ''{{Bleach}}'', Yumichika's battle against Charlotte is a perfect example of this, since Charlotte locking the two of them in an impentrable black sphere allows Yumichika to use his shikai, which he has been hiding from all his coworkers, and specifically said he's rather die than use it where anyone can see it.
* Hilariously subverted in the second season of ''BlackButler''. After giving attention to a number of odd characters early in the episode, once the train they're one is headed towards a broken bridge with a bomb strapped to it set to detonate if they stop and an assassin having kidnapped Ciel, they all get up an anounce the skills they have that can save the day. Everyone rallies together, excited that they can pull it off, only for Sebastian to inform them he doesn't need their help before going and taking care of everything himself.
* Medaka of ''MedakaBox'' intentionally set the scavenger hunt up this way to help the participants grow as people. Some of the challenges were less than subtle, such as the Game Master Roleplaying Witch who could only be defeated by out-roleplaying her (there happens to be a girl deluded into believing she's the main character of a Magical Girl anime in the cast...). [[spoiler: Unfortunately, Zenkichi is left out of this planning, leading to his HeelFaceTurn.]]

Compare ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman, which is when the plot improbably makes use of a ''single'' [[CripplingOverspecialization character's abilities]]. This frequently comes up in a TournamentArc, where the heroes will have to pair off against their [[ThePsychoRangers equal and opposite villains]]. It's also common in {{Tabletop RPG}}s, where it serves as a way to ensure that everybody's doing enough stuff to have fun. In one-off works, it's a case of ChekhovsGun - of course they're going to need to crack a safe, or they wouldn't have brought the safecracker.

* Medaka of ''MedakaBox'' intentionally set the scavenger hunt up this way to help the participants grow as people. Some of the challenges were less than subtle, such as the Game Master Roleplaying Witch who could only be defeated by out-roleplaying her (there happens to be a girl deluded into believing she's the main character of a Magical Girl anime in the cast...).

* The Film/JamesBond movies feature a variant type; whatever [[ShoePhone inventions]] Q cooks up for 007, they're always [[ChekhovsGun precisely what he needs for the mission]]. He never finishes the movie with an unused gadget, and he never needs more than one copy of a given device.

* ''TheLostVikings''. The whole game (and its sequel) are based around this trope. Each of the vikings has a specific set of abilities (not necessarily including combat) which are required to solve all the puzzles in their path. Sometimes levels divide into distinct parts, tailored for each particular character. The sequel goes even further with adding two more characters, while still allowing you to control only three at a time. Each level can be solved by a given combination and only by it.

* Hilariously subverted in the second season of ''BlackButler''. After giving attention to a number of odd characters early in the episode, once the train they're one is headed towards a broken bridge with a bomb strapped to it set to detonate if they stop and an assasin having kidnapped Ciel, they all get up an anounce the skills they have that can save the day. Everyone rallies together, excited that they can pull it off, only for Sebastian to inform them he doesn't need their help before going and taking care of everything himself.