History Main / ShapeshiftingFailure

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Zorua and Zoroark are shapeshifters with the ability Illusion, which makes them appear to be a different Pokémon from their trainer's party. However, the first hit from a direct attack will force them to revert to normal. In ''Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions'', this is taken further by having inexperienced Zorua who take a human form still have their tails revealed. Touching these tails makes them turn back into a regular Zorua.
** Ditto, a species of Pokémon normally resembling pink blobs and most notable for their ability to shapeshift into anything, are sometimes depicted as having certain weaknesses or tells to their otherwise flawless ability to change forms. A common one in the anime and card game is that Ditto, either all Ditto or only certain individuals, cannot transform their faces.
*** In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, Ash and friends met a trainer who has a Ditto which can't transform its face along with the rest of it. Team Rocket captured this Ditto and forced it to change its face using threats and punishment and in the end, when Ash and his crew rescued Ditto, he finally can shapeshift completely into other Pokémon.
*** In addition, the ''Silver'' and ''Soul Silver'' Pokédexes state that a transformed Ditto cannot maintain its form if it starts laughing, which will force it to revert into its default shape.

* ''Film/TheThing'': The team stumbles onto the Thing before it could complete its assimilation of one of them. Thus, when they confront it, it looks just like him except with [[CreepyLongFingers grotesquely inhuman hands]].

* ''Disney/{{Moana}}'' has one scene in which the demigod Maui retrieves his magic hook from Tamatoa, which allows him to shapeshift again. Unfortunately, he's been out of practice for hundreds of years, so when he tries to use it, he can't quite manage to achieve the form he wants.

Shapeshifting Failure is when a shapeshifter can't keep one shape or loses some of their ability. This can be due to illness, injury, age, exhaustion, biological or chemical agents, anti-magic fields and the like. Distinct from GlamourFailure in that it doesn't involve {{glamour||s, psychic powers or illusion, their very body is in trouble.

Shapeshifting Failure is when a shapeshifter can't keep one shape or loses some of their ability. This can be due to illness, injury, age, exhaustion, biological or chemical agents, anti-magic fields and the like. Distinct from glamour failure in that in doesn't involve glamours, psychic powers or illusion, their very body is in trouble.

* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', after Hulk gets brutally defeated by Thanos and turns back into Banner, Hulk becomes so scared that he refuses to "come out" when Banner tries to HulkOut later in the movie.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Zorua and Zoroark are shapeshifters with the ability Illusion, which makes them appear to be a different Pokémon from their trainer's party. However, the first hit from a direct attack will force them to revert to normal. In ''Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions'', this is taken further by having inexperienced Zorua who take a human form still have their tails revealed. Touching these tails makes them turn back into a regular Zorua.
** Ditto, a species of Pokémon normally resembling pink blobs and most notable for their ability to shapeshift into anything, are sometimes depicted as having certain weaknesses or tells to their otherwise flawless ability to change forms. A common one in the anime and card game is that Ditto, either all Ditto or only certain individuals, cannot transform their faces.
*** In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, Ash and friends met a trainer who has a Ditto which can't transform its face along with the rest of it. Team Rocket captured this Ditto and forced it to change its face using threats and punishment and in the end, when Ash and his crew rescued Ditto, he finally can shapeshift completely into other Pokémon.
*** In addition, the ''Silver'' and ''Soul Silver'' Pokédexes state that a transformed Ditto cannot maintain its form if it starts laughing, which will force it to revert into its default shape.
[[/folder]]

Can lead to ShapeshifterDefaultForm if they lose control of their power, ShapeShifterSwanSong if they are dying or ThisWasHisTrueForm once they are dead.

ModeLock can result if they are forced into one shape and prevented from transforming.

Several of the entries in GlamourFailure would be better placed under this trope.

Compare GameFace, where they have dropped their disguise on purpose.

See also MorphicResonance, when even in another form, a character has some traits that give away who they really are, although this is more a limitation than an outright shapeshifting failure.

** Dittos, a species of Pokémon normally resembling pink blobs and most notable for their ability to shapeshift into anything, are sometimes depicted as having certain weaknesses or tells to their otherwise flawless ability to change forms. A common one in the anime and card game is that Dittos, either all Dittos or only certain individuals, cannot transform their faces.

** In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E24AnIndirectKiss An Indirect Kiss]]", Amethyst cracks her gem and nearly dies, shape shifting sporadically before getting healed.
** In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E26StevensBirthday Steven's Birthday]]", Steven, realizing he hasn't grown in several years, uses shape shifting to make himself taller. He struggles to retain the form, which ultimately backfires and turns him back into a baby. He recovers by the next morning.

** In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E13SoManyBirthdays So Many Birthdays]]", Steven, disappointed after failing to throw birthday parties for the Gems, begins shapeshifting and aging to match his emotional state, at one point aging up to an old man. The Gems realize this and manage help him turn back to his usual form by the endof the episode.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** Zorua and Zoroark are shapeshifters with the ability Illusion, which makes them appear to be a different pokemon from their trainer's party. However, the first hit from a direct attack will force them to revert to normal. In ''Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions'', this is taken further by having inexperienced Zorua who take a human form still have their tails revealed. Touching these tails makes them turn back into a regular Zorua.

--> "How do you make a youma revert back to her true form when she refuses to?"
--> ...
--> "Oh, that's easy,"
--> ...
--> (a ripple of force slammed into [[spoiler:the Ami-lookalike]], lifting her off her feet and hurling her toward the wall at breakneck speed)
---> ...
---> "Ow! Ouch!" Tiger groaned as she glowered at them from the ground. She now looked [[spoiler:somewhat like Ami would if she gained a head in height]], sprouted short horns, [[spoiler:took up body building]], and developed a strange skin condition. The black-striped youma whose school uniform now strained at the seams pulled herself to her feet and rubbed the back of her head. "You are no fun at all!"

[[folder:{{Film}} - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* A Mangalore from ''Film/TheFifthElement'' shows strain while trying to keep human shape, even before the scanner detects him as non human.

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The spells [[https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Alter%20Self alter self]], [[https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Polymorph#h-Polymorph polymorph]], [[https://app.roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Shapechange?fromList=Shapechange&Name=&Classes%5B%5D=druid#content shapechange]] and [[https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/True%20Polymorph#h-True%20Polymorph True Polymorph]] are concentration spells, so if the caster fails their concentration check because, say, they are injured, the spell will end, reverting them back to their original form.

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

** In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E26StevensBirthday Steven's Birthday]]", Steven, realizing he hasn't grown in several years, uses shape shifting to make himself taller. He struggles to retain the form, which ultimately backfires and turns him back into a baby. He gets better.

** In the season 3 episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E23BackToTheMoon Back to the Moon]]", Amethyst shapeshifts and pretends to be Jasper, but she can't keep up her shapeshifting and reverts back in front of the Ruby squad.

* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', after Hulk gets brutally defeated by Thanos and turns back into Banner, Hulk becomes so scared that he refuses to "come out" when Banner tried to HulkOut later in the movie.

[[folder:{{Film}} - Animated]]
* ''Disney/{{Moana}}'' has one scene in which the demigod Maui retrieves his magic hook from Tamatoa, which allows him to shapeshift again. Unfortunately, he's been out of practice for hundreds of years, so when he tries to use it, he can't quite manage to achieve the form he wants.
[[/folder]]

* The spells [[https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Alter%20Self alter self]], [[https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Polymorph#h-Polymorph polymorph]], [[https://app.roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Shapechange?fromList=Shapechange&Name=&Classes%5B%5D=druid#content shapechange]] and [[https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/True%20Polymorph#h-True%20Polymorph True Polymorph]] are a concentration spells, so if the caster fail their concentration check because, say,they are injured, the spell will end, reverting them back to their original form.

** Zorua and Zoroark are shapeshifters with the ability Illusion, which makes them appear to be a different pokemon from their trainer's party. However, the first hit from a direct attack will force them to revert to normal. In ''[[Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions Pokemon: Zoroark Master of Illusions]]'', this is taken further by having inexperienced Zorua who take a human form still have their tails revealed. Touching these tails makes them turn back into a regular Zorua.
* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, Ash and friends met a trainer who has a Ditto (a Pokemon known for shapeshifting into other Pokemons) which can't transform its face along with the rest of it. Team Rocket captured this Ditto and forced it to change its face using threats and punishment and in the end, when Ash and his crew rescued Ditto, he finally can shapeshift completely into other Pokemons.

* ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'' features Ols, shapeshifters that serve the Shadow Lord and able to take the form of any living creature and in rare cases inanimate objects. There is however a way of testing of someone is an Ol. Level 1 and 2 Ols are only able to hold the same form for three days. Upon this day they will lose control of the form and their bodies start distorting in a phenomena known as "the Tremor", before the Ol retains control of the form and returns to normal.

** In "An Indirect Kiss", Amethyst cracks her gem and nearly dies, shape shifting sporadically before getting healed.
** In "Steven's Birthday", Steven, realizing he hasn't grown in several years, uses shape shifting to make himself taller. He struggles to retain the form, which ultimately backfires and turns him back into a baby. He gets better.
** In the season 3 episode "Back to the Moon", Amethyst shapeshifts and pretends to be Jasper, but she can't keep up her shapeshifting and reverts back in front of the Ruby squad.

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Zorua and Zoroark are shapeshifters with the ability Illusion, which makes them appear to be a different pokemon from their trainer's party. However, the first hit from a direct attack will force them to revert to normal. In ''[[Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions Pokemon: Zoroark Master of Illusions]]'', this is taken further by having inexperienced Zorua who take a human form still have their tails revealed. Touching these tails makes them turn back into a regular Zorua.
* Another example occurs in the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' series when Ash and friends met a trainer who has a Ditto (a Pokemon known for shapeshifting into another Pokemons), can't transform their face along with the rest of them. Team Rocket captured this Ditto and forced it to change it face using threats and punishment and in the end, when Ash and his crew rescued Ditto, he finally can shapeshifts completely into other Pokemons.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

[[folder:{{Film}} - Live Action]]
* The T-1000 from ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' has difficulty keeping shape after being frozen and shattered, showing effect like unintentionally mimicking surfaces and loss of rigidity.

* In AvengersInfinityWar, after Hulk gets brutally defeated by Thanos and turns back into Banner, Hulk becomes so scared that he refuses to "come out" when Banner tried to HulkOut later in the movie.

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

[[folder: TabletopGame]]

[[folder:{{Webcomics}}]]
* [[http://www.mylifewithfel.com/ my life with fel]] has a squid hybrid girl pass out from exhaustion due to holding a human appearance too long.
* Webcomic/DHSComix: Shapeshifters can only stay transformed [[http://dhscomix.com/ocomics/ocomic.php?p=1-06 For a few hours]] before they have to change back to their default form, staying transformed for longer than this makes them ill. Of note is that shapeshifters can any form they chose, while other kinds of shape changes (Mimic's, Were's, Felimara) have only one to three alternative forms, but no apparent time limit.

[[folder: WesternAnimation]]

[[folder: VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'': Alex Mercer loses some of his shapeshifting weapon abilities when infected with a weaponized parasite.
[[/folder]]

Can lead to ShapeShifterSwanSong if they are dying or ShapeshifterDefaultForm / ThisWasHisTrueForm if they have died or lose control completely.

* An inverted example occurs in the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' series when Ash and friends met a trainer who has a Ditto (a Pokemon known for shapeshifting into another Pokemons), but has the failure of keep the face, no matter his transformation. Team Rocket captured this Ditto and forced it to change the face under threats and punishment and in the end, when Ash and his crew rescued Ditto, he finally can shapeshifts completely into other Pokemons.

* Webcomic/DHSComix: Shapeshifters can only stay transformed [[http://dhscomix.com/ocomics/ocomic.php?p=1-06 For a few hours]] before they have to change back to their default form, staying transformed for longer than this makes them ill. Of note is that shapeshifters can any form they chose, while other kinds of shape changes have only one to three alternative forms, but no apparent time limit.

Update: Okay , I think this is ready to go. Thanks for the input everyone, I'll give it a day or so and then start launch procedures. I'll also start an image picking thread to see if we can get a slightly clearer image.