History Main / WellTrainedButInexperienced

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', it's noted that Raiden, the new protagonist, has mostly only been trained by virtual reality simulations. Snake (who said simulations were based on the personal experience of) far outclasses him. [[spoiler:In a twist, the whole game turns out to have been a plot by [[GreaterScopeVillain The Patriots]] to recreate the events of the previous games, using Raiden as an UnwittingPawn to produce enough data to create a simulation which averts this trope.]]

* In ''Film/BatmanBegins'' Bruce is one of the finest recruits for the League of Shadows, quickly learning and adapting to all the training he was given by Ducard. When he decides to engage the criminal element in Gotham, his entire strategy has to change because [[[[ThouShaltNotKill he is unwilling to use the Leagues' extreme methods]], ''and'' he has to develop the Batman persona through trial and error while adapting rejected R&D equipment for his own use. This results in a few early missteps, with his first attempt to escape via a rooftop ending in him smacking into a fire escape and making himself look like an idiot.

* ''Literature/{{Gate}}'': Princess Piña Co Lada is well trained, but that was only in sword lessons and combat drills. In her first real battle, the Battle of Italica, she panics and freezes up when her battle plan goes wrong and everyone around her is dying. If the JSDF hadn't interfered, she would have likely been captured or killed.
* ''Literature/InvadersOfTheRokujyouma'': Yurika claims to be [[MagicalGirlWarrior "Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika"]], sent from [[MagicalLand an otherworldly kingdom]] to defend Room 106 from evildoers... but she never displays any magic, and is timid, lazy and generally incompetent enough to become the group ButtMonkey. However, when she's not restricted by her land's PrimeDirective she proves herself to be a StrongAndSkilled CowardlyLion with a knack for elaborate {{Wizard Duel}}s. In volume 19 it's revealed why Folsaria would send an agent who seems so ill-prepared for their duties -- [[spoiler:reaching the rank of "Rainbow" would normally take about five years of training, but Yurika was so [[StrongAndSkilled gifted]] and [[PassingTheTorch driven to follow in Rainbow Nana's footsteps]] that she went from {{Muggle}} to TheArchmage in only ''one year''. Nana claims that the only place left for Yurika to grow is her [[{{Determinator}} strength of heart]], and on the day she achieves that she'll go down as the greatest wizard in history.]]

Depending on the story, this will end in either a horribly ignominious death, or a valuable source of experience that will end in the character becoming genuinely StrongAndSkilled.

Compare EnsignNewbie, EveryYearTheyFizzleOut, PaperTiger, TaughtByExperience and WeakButSkilled. Contrast IncompletelyTrained, StrongAndSkilled and UnskilledButStrong. See also SkilledButNaive, where the NaiveNewcomer can come across as rather ditzy or green-horned, but are still able to do what they do best when given the opportunity. May result in a ([[SubvertedTrope subverted]]) case of WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer

** The Com Guard ended up on the receiving end of this trope when they faced the Clans at Tukayyid. Well-disciplined, drilled intensely, given the best technology available to the Inner Sphere and fanatically loyal to [=ComStar=], they were nonetheless intended to be hidden from the Inner Sphere and only a few of them had therefore ever faced real combat (usually as part of {{False Flag Operation}}s or veteran converts from the Great Houses). The Com Guard still won, thanks to superior strategy (as in, they had one), numbers (six-to-one advantage, and the defensive ground), preparation, and most of the Clans not taking them seriously as a threat, but still suffered over 40% fatalities (not casualties -- ''fatalities'') during the battle. When faced with the one Clan that actually did prep-work for the battle (Clan Wolf), the Com Guard got trounced.

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': In her youth, the MasterSwordsman Meti trained her body and her sword skills relentlessly until at sixteen her strength and athleticism bordered on CharlesAtlasSuperpower. In her first real fight she was subsequently beaten nearly to death, broke her sword, and only killed her opponent by gouging his brain out with her thumbs. This event led her to conclude that she had been training all the wrong skills, and she proceeded to develop a style founded on actualizing her KillingIntent: the ability to cut down any opponent of any skill through simple reflex, as easily and unconsciously as breathing, thereby sidestepping the need to train anything else.

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': In her youth, the MasterSwordsman Meti trained her body and her sword skills relentlessly until at sixteen her strength and athleticism bordered on CharlesAtlasSuperpower. In her first real fight she was subsequently beaten nearly to death, broke her sword, and only killed her opponent by gouging his brain out with her thumbs. This event led her to conclude that she had been training all the wrong skills, and proceeded to develop a style founded on pure KillingIntent: the ability to cut down any opponent of any skill through simple reflex, as easily and unconsciously as breathing, thereby sidestepping the need to train anything at all.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'': Guel Jeturk was once the top duelist in Asticassia Academy but, he is still just an innocent civilian whose fighting experience consists of normal non-fatal duels. When he is faced with the possibility that he can die for real, he sobs and cries while fighting for his life. [[spoiler:This isn't helped when he learns that the pilot trying to kill him, who he kills in self-defense, is his own father.]]

* ''LightNovel/InvadersOfTheRokujyouma'': Yurika claims to be [[MagicalGirlWarrior "Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika"]], sent from [[MagicalLand an otherworldly kingdom]] to defend Room 106 from evildoers... but she never displays any magic, and is timid, lazy and generally incompetent enough to become the group ButtMonkey. However, when she's not restricted by her land's PrimeDirective she proves herself to be a StrongAndSkilled CowardlyLion with a knack for elaborate {{Wizard Duel}}s. In volume 19 it's revealed why Folsaria would send an agent who seems so ill-prepared for their duties -- [[spoiler:reaching the rank of "Rainbow" would normally take about five years of training, but Yurika was so [[StrongAndSkilled gifted]] and [[PassingTheTorch driven to follow in Rainbow Nana's footsteps]] that she went from {{Muggle}} to TheArchmage in only ''one year''. Nana claims that the only place left for Yurika to grow is her [[{{Determinator}} strength of heart]], and on the day she achieves that she'll go down as the greatest wizard in history.]]

** Momo Yaoyorozu got into UA on recommendation, coming from a rich family and possessing a quirk -- "Creation" - that she had spent hours studying for in its use. While she is an incredibly intelligent member of the class and has used her quirk to great effectiveness when as part of a group, she has difficulty when forced to stand on her own, a problem that has given her reserves of self-doubt as she continues to lose fights as the series progresses. Recognizing this, Aizawa pairs her up with Shoto Todoroki (who also relies too much on his quirk to carry him) against himself.

->'''Rhaenyra:''' Those men are tourney knights. My father should be defended by a man who's known real combat.

* In the book version of ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', during [[SwordFight his duel]] with the Man in Black/Westley, Inigo notes that Westley is a tremendous fighter when the two are in the middle of open ground, but is tripped up when Inigo lures him over to obstacles like large rocks and trees, where Inigo is able to briefly take the upper hand. This dovetails with their back stories, as Westley was extremely well trained by [[PirateKing the Dread Pirate Roberts]] and his crew... but he was trained to fight aboard a ship and all his fighting experience [[{{Pirate}} has taken place about boats]], so he has no training or practical experience dealing with natural land obstacles likes trees or boulders. Meanwhile Inigo has traveled all over the world training under and fighting various masters, including one SadistTeacher who insisted on Inigo learning to fight on rough terrain and under all sorts of adverse conditions. And on top of ''that'', Inigo has been working as a mercenary with Vizzini and Fezzik, fighting to the death in all sorts of situations and places. As a result Inigo has both the training and experience to better deal with such obstacles.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': The third part of Paradis's military, the Military Police, are held up as the elite of humanity's fighters; the top ten trainees from every class of recruits get picked to join them, as they are given food, luxury, and safety behind the innermost wall. However, considering that humanity is embroiled in a war for survival against the Titans, this is a way for people to be able to cower behind the walls in safety despite how much more valuable their skills would be in the field. [[spoiler:When the Survey Corps launches a coup against the government, the Military Police are essentially helpless against their lesser-ranked but much more experienced counterparts and fail utterly to resist at all.]]

** The Jedi also qualify this by Episode II. One reason why they suffer such high casualties in the Clone Wars is because they are essentially trained as an elite peacekeeping and police force, but not for sustained battlefield conditions.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', Alphianud and Alisaie are both {{Teen Genius}}es who are the youngest ever to graduate from the Studium, the finest college in the ProudScholarRace nation of Sharlayan. This also extends to their skills at offensive and healing magics, with Alphinaud summoning a unique obsidian carbuncle while Alisaie wields the SecretArt of red magic. But both teenagers have limited experience on the battlefield due to their age. Alphinaud in particular is clearly shaken when he's ambushed by bears at Gorgagne Mills and needs a moment to compose himself after killing one of them. Alisaie is also said to struggle with the rigorous physical component of her fighting style.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'': Patrick Colasour has completed 2000 simulation battles, but gets stomped in all of his battles with the Gundam Meisters. Downplayed in that the Gundam Meisters [[CantCatchUp have really good tech]] and when Patrick has to fight against mobile suits on par with his (however few times that occurs), [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass he gets to show why he's considered one of the AEU's aces]].