Follow TV Tropes

Following

Fanfic / Pokémon Opal and Garnet

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_117.jpeg
Below the logo: 5 of the 14 virtues. Top row (l-r): Kindness, Fun. Bottom row (l-r): Honor, Tolerance, Undying Loyalty.

Don't think that you've seen it all... you haven't.

Before Play the Game... before SOSchip... there was this.

Pokemon Opal and Garnet is the first fanfic published by oghond/Goldenheart388, then known as "tbbtfan". It is a Pokémon fanfiction which details the adventures of Kaylie Rodgers, a Pokémon Trainer who travels through the fanmade Feluv region with her 7 Pokemon, five of whom are named after characters from the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Add in some MLP:FiM inspired elements as well, and you get a complete lovable mess of a fanfic.

Due to it being Goldenheart388's first fanfic, it is rough around the edges and it shows. It's mainly notable for the introduction of two things that would end up being incorporated into We Are All Pokémon Trainers once Goldenheart388 joined. The first is the PokeLatin language, later given the official name of Kyrellik and then even later edited a bit into a Poipolian dialect of the UBese language shown in WAAPT, and the second is the first appearance of Orwell the Newspeak-speaking Crawdaunt. note 

Since then, the region of Feluv- including its mons- has been edited extensively into a more coherent region, and Goldenheart388 has stated that an extensive rewrite of the series will soon be in development, with all Hunchback references intact and Kyrellik formally established as its own language seperate from UBese. The rewrite is also planned to include multiple aspects from WAAPT, most notably the <Monese bracketing> and the OB-1 being Hasslemon-compatible note . The rewrite will be made available on Archive of Our Own, the same place that currently hosts Pokemon: SOSchip; the original fanfic, in all its glory, can be found above on fanfiction.net.

The rewrite was officially released onto Archive of Our Own on January 13th, 2024 and can be found here.


With that, these are the tropes for Pokemon Opal and Garnet! Enjoy! (cue "Make It Shine" from Victorious)

  • Absurd Phobia: In "The Watorse of the Guard," Frollo mentions evokophobia, persokophobia, and adakadaphobia. All three of them are a fear of evolution due to a specific cause:
    • Regular evokophobia is the fear that evolution will bring a Painful Transformation.
    • Persokophobia is the fear that evolution will result in a change in personality for the worse (i.e. disobedience) or loss of personal memories.
    • Adakadaphobia is the fear that evolution will result in adaptation.
  • Abusive Parents: Rocky's father is extremely abusive, burning his own son when he doesn't pronounce PokeLatin words correctly and implied to be a Drill Sergeant Nasty to Rocky when he was teaching the latter the language. Thankfully, he gets his comeuppance in Chapter 11.
  • Action Girl: Esmeralda. She's willing to take down any bully.
  • Actual Pacifist: Quasimodo was this prior to Episode 4, where he becomes a Technical Pacifist.
  • All-Loving Hero: Quasimodo. He's willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Including a bully Capyarge.
  • All of the Other Reindeer:
    • Quasimodo is, with the exception of his fellow Pokémon and his Trainer Kaylie, this to pretty much every other Pokémon in society, who refer to him as "a monster" and "ugly." Switeuk also counts, as he was terribly bullied by both Pokémon and Trainers at the FoF carnival.
    • Esmeralda. The reason she took to the Graswinemodo Tower was due to horrendous bullying from the other Larvell for being born with a swollen leg.
  • An Aesop: Plenty.
    • Don't be afraid to express your fears to others. Also, don't be afraid to try new things. (Chapter 4)
    • Kindness can go a long way. (Chapter 2)
    • Death is a hard concept to accept, but still it's something you need to accept. (Chapter 6)
    • Don't be arrogant. (Chapter 9)
    • Don't let abuse get in the way of trying to achieve your goals, and always be persistent. (Chapter 10/11)
    • Lies only damage your personal image, and if you tell too many of them, it can ruin your reputation. (Chapter 12)
    • You can't always get want you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need. In this case, a message to continue fighting. (Chapter 13)
    • Don't smoke and don't drink. (Chapter 14)
    • You don't always have to have the same strategy every time, and even when things are looking bad, you shouldn't give up on yourself. (Chapter 15)
    • You can assert yourself without becoming a jerk. Also, don't believe everything you see on television. (Chapter 16)
    • Miracles can happen. You just have to know where to look. Also, in the words of Clopin himself, "It's no fun to have no friends." (Chapter 18)
  • Anti-Villain: Orwell, the intellectual Crawdaunt, follows through with Team Folklore's plan to capture the Legendary Pokemon of Feluv- but rather than use them to convince Arceus to reset and destroy the universe, he plans to attempt to turn them away from doing so by making them realize their supposedly true calling: serving as nature's guardians alongside Zygarde.
    • In his debut chapter he's shown as this from the very beginning, as the only main member of Team Folklore not to have chased Drac nor have had any part in kidnapping him.
  • Any Last Words?: It's part of "Court of Miracles," and the opponent will usually respond with silence or questioning how singing is battling. Clopin's (obvious) response? "That's what they all say..."
  • Apologetic Attacker: Quasimodo. A lot. Thank Arceus for Bell Chime.
  • Apologizes a Lot: Quasimodo:
    Quasimodo: That's terrible. I-I'm sorry.

    Quasimodo: S-sorry. It's what you do in a battle.

    Quasimodo: Oh, I-I'm sorry. Are you alright?
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Doubles as Title Drop: "Just how huge is the galaxy of lies in your mind?" In the end, it is this question that serves as the final nail in the coffin in the Alolan Pokémon's defense.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Switeuk desperately wants to join the IPPA, but the members won't let him because he's deformed. By the end of the chapter, however, Rancorpujin recognizes Switeuk's potential, and he is made an official IPPA member.
  • Badass Adorable: Clopin is extremely adorable, but in battle...
  • Berserk Button:
    • Do not mess with Quasimodo's friends. Specifically, Clopin.
    • Don't mention the judge whenever the Emberhund's around, because Frollo will go insane. And don't go around comparing him to his namesake, either.
    • Anyone who hurts Switeuk is in for a world of pain from Clopin.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Quasimodo is usually just as sweet as his namesake. But if you hurt his friends...
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Clopin. Every time he's in battle. Also, do not mess with Switeuk.
  • Big Bad: Team Folklore, the villanous team of the Feluv region. As is explained in the "Bells of Notre Dame" Filk Song of their debut chapter, they want to capture the Legendary Pokemon of Feluv and use them to bring the entire region into peril.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Quasimodo nearly defeats Lepida's Mothibell with the super-effective Acrobatics move after said Mothibell seemingly knocks Clopin out.
  • Big Eater: Couafarac, so much so that some of the French he speaks consists of French food idioms. In one of the much more dramatic examples, after Rancorpujin cuts all funds for the Kalosian school, Couafarac moans, "Bien... les carrotes sont cuites." note 
  • Bilingual Bonus: "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" is absolutely full of these. There is French dialogue spoken throughout, but the biggest example by far has to be the end singing of "La Marseillaise."
  • Bilingual Dialogue: Clopin's usage of PokéLatin words and phrases.
    • Usually, whenever Clopin and Couafarac have a French conversation, it falls into this.
  • Bittersweet Ending: In the chapter "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" Unfortunately, due to the people of Feluv mainly rejecting the beauty of the French language, Clopin and Couafarak are unable to create the first French school in Feluv. However, it doesn't mean that they haven't inspired some people and Pokémon along the way, and after seeing Clopin- The Pollyanna- break down in tears, all the Pokémon and people in Lumiose City, led by Quasimodo, sing "La Marseillaise" in order to help raise his spirits and inspire him to keep fighting.
  • Break His Heart to Save Him: In the episode "An Electric Genius," Clopin is pressured by Frollo into making Tesla see the ways of his arrogance. How does he do this? By telling the poor Sparkadger that he's not his friend anymore and coldly walking away from him. The behavior shocks everyone and leaves Frollo extremely guilty, having not intended at all to pressure Clopin into doing something he didn't want to do. But in the end, it works, and it is this very event that earns Tesla the virtue of intelligence, making him the sixth holder.
  • Breakout Character: Clopin.
  • Break the Cutie: Quasimodo suffers from this in "An Evolutionary Justice." He mistakes Esmeralda's advice to battle more often as her calling him a coward to his face, and he runs off in tears.
  • BSoD Song:
    Quasimodo: I wouldn't dream that I could battle if I try
    And as I sit out here tonight
    This fire inside's not burning bright
    I'll never see that burning light...
  • Bully Hunter: Esmeralda and Frollo are this: they're willing to stand up for anyone. For Esme, it's justified: she was bullied herself.
    • Surprisingly, even Clopin has shown aspects of this, as he defended Switeuk twice in "The Medela City Feast of Fools."
  • Burning with Anger: Three words from "The Medela City Feast of Fools": "Clopin saw red."
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Rocky, to his abusive father. In PokeLatin, no less.
    Rocky: Neut, tok ecout ta MOK! Tok kumpte dit ca parqe jok we frok Cinderite Citi, jok wo sjuzjusjon PokeLatin. Chok au drek tok coerc mok ta sjuzjusjon weut rectpit jok de NEUT hanc gre kot! Clopin sois gutter kirumetuk cu tok! Lob sois au gut kirumetuk jok pit etern pitet! Et tok, Pudre... SOIS AU DESPUT! note 
    • Later on, in the chapter "All Fired Up," Quasimodo does this to Dominic, his old Pokémon Trainer, for abusing him constantly. This is complete with a Hunchback reference and a parody of "Burn."
  • Character Tics: Whenever he harms another Pokémon, Quasimodo has been known to nervously stutter and apologize to that Pokémon.
  • Charity Motivation Song: Quasimodo's cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It's even described by Frollo as the "ultimate funeral procession and charity donation" song.
  • Chekhov's Gun: You know Clopin's obsession with the song "Court of Miracles" he develops in the first episode? Yeah, you know how he uses it now. (In case you've been living under a rock, it's his battle style.)
  • Chekhov's Skill: Clopin's knowledge of PokeLatin.
  • Conlang: The language of PokeLatin was created specifically for this fanfic. Ro sois dïzjrïzj! (It is insane!) note 
    • To be more specific, archaic PokeLatin had a specific grammatical style that was not like English. Not only was there conjugation for every verb, but there used to be a "you" plural- the word "vok." (Derived from the French vous.)
    • Later on, the language was given a more "official" name: Kyrellik, and was further solidified when it was transferred over into WAAPT as UBese.
  • Cosmic Keystone: The seven known virtues: kindness (Quasimodo), fun (Clopin), honor (Frollo), loyalty (Phoebus), tolerance (Esmeralda), intelligence (Tesla), and dedication (Rocky) are these. The seven Pokemon that Kaylie owns are the chosen ones. There are fourteen total virtues, but only 7 are known.
  • The Cover Changes the Meaning: The cover of "Out There." The original expressed Quasi's desire to leave Notre Dame; the cover expresses his namesake's desire to see the other regions of the Pokémon world.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Clopin. He's so much of this that his battle style involves singing "Court of Miracles."
  • Crowd Song: DÏZJ-KÜT-RÏZJ-KÜT! (IN-SA-NI-TY!) note 
  • Dark and Troubled Past:
    • Kaylie's father died from cancer when she was just five. She wasn't able to fully come to terms with her father's death until her Pokémon helped put together the Medela City cancer fund.
    • Esmeralda was horrendously bullied due to her being born with a swollen leg, so she took to the Graswinemodo Tower for sanctuary and stayed there for 2 months until Kaylie caught her.
  • Death Glare: Plenty. They're mainly done by either Esme or Frollo.
  • Despair Event Horizon: At the end of the chapter "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" Despite their best efforts, Clopin and Couafeyrak fail to bring a Kalosian school to Feluv. This conversation ensues:
    Clopin (desperately trying to keep it together and practically forcing a smile into his face): Oh, well. Look on the bright side. At least... we got to inspire a few people... ( he is now completely broken, and looks down at the floor in despair) But now... we failed... and there's nothing else we can do about it, is there, mok am?
    ( Clopin breaks down crying, and all the others look at him in concern. Cut back to Clopin.)
    Quasimodo (o.s.): Allons, enfants de la Patrie...
  • Disappeared Dad: Kaylie's father died from cancer when she was five years old.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: "Just How Huge Is the Galaxy?". The entire freaking chapter. It's a blantant reference to the current presidential administration and is meant to convey to the audience that the current president is not fit to be one.
    • Also, during the trial, Gumshoos hires a bunch of lying idiots just like himself to serve as his defense attorney. Not unlike what Trump is doing with the members of his Cabinet...
  • The Eeyore: Couafarac can sometimes be this, especially in the much more saddening moments of "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" In that episode, he says both "C'est la fin des haricots" and "Les carrotes sont cuites." Both of these are French food idioms, and the former figuratively means "It's the end of the world" while the latter figuratively means "That's it; we failed and there's nothing else we can do about it." The latter is said after Rancorpujin cuts all funds to the Kalosian school in Feluv, meaning Couafarac and Clopin can't set it up anymore.
  • Establishing Character Moment:
    • In the very first chapter, Quasimodo's shyness is displayed when he hides behind a chair leg to avoid being seen as ugly. In fact, he's so shy he doesn't even enjoy Trainer interactions until he meets Kaylie.
    • Frollo hating his own namesake.
    • As soon as Clopin meets Quasimodo, he calls him "mok am" (my friend) in PokeLatin/Kyrellik despite them only having just met, setting up his friendly and charismatic nature.
  • Evil Me Scares Me: Frollo (the Emberhund) hates Frollo (the judge).
  • Expy: The five Hunchback-based Pokémon and Kaylie all seem to be based off of the Mane 6. (You know, from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic?) Specifically:
    • Kaylie= Twilight Sparkle
    • Quasimodo= Fluttershy
    • Frollo= Applejack
    • Phoebus= Rainbow Dash
    • Clopin= Pinkie Pie
    • Esmeralda= Rarity
      • Also, those mysterious medals are strongly reminiscent of the Elements of Harmony...
      • Additionally, the Graswinemodo Tower is based on Notre Dame.
  • Expressive Ears: Quasi has these. They droop when sad, and perk up when he's happy.
  • Extreme Doormat: By FAR, Quasimodo. The poor Graswinemodo is yielding to everyone else's demands, and is not in the least bit assertive.
  • Fictionary: Modern PokeLatin falls into this: its grammatical structure is the exact same as English, with the notable exception that the article "a" is not a word (for example, "cürügra" can mean both "hunchback" and "a hunchback").
    • This was eventually averted when the language was given its official name of Kyrellik, after which it became a much more set-in-stone language.
  • Foil: Frollo is this to Quasimodo: while the latter is a timid Apologetic Attacker, the former is bold and determined, and enjoys watching an opponent faint.
    • Additionally, Frollo serves as this towards his own namesake, as he deeply cares about justice and will defend anyone, unlike his namesake who is a Knight Templar judge and an emotional abuser. No wonder Frollo hates his namesake and strives to not be like him.
    • Clopin serves as this to his Furfrou friend Couafarac- while the former is exciteable, charismatic, and optimistic, the latter is panicky, overly-dramatic, and (mostly) pessimistic. It's well-displayed in "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?"- while Clopin celebrates the fact that their fund for the Kalosian school finally has a donor, Couafarac bemoans the fund's first opposition.
      Clopin (with delight): Our first donor!
      Couafarac (moaning): Our first critic.
  • For Happiness: Clopin's main motivation for everything.
  • Funetik Aksent: This would have happened to Clopin in the fanfic had it not been for a decision made by the creator: the accent was too crazy to write phonetically. It has been referenced, however.
    • It's played straighter with Alph the Houndoom (who has a Brooklyn accent) and Trapper the Hydreigon (who has a German accent).
  • Fun Personified: Clopin. He loves parties, and has tons of fun at the carnival... until they mess with Switeuk.
  • Genius Ditz: Despite Clopin being a Cloudcuckoolander, he is extremely knowledgable when it comes to the PokeLatin language, as well as French pronunciation ("kloh-PAH~n," anyone?).
  • Genki Girl: Kaylie. She is so excited when she finds out about the new technology that has been invented.
  • Gosh Darn It to Heck!: Quasimodo and Frollo; although the former can't curse because he's an extreme nice guy and the latter is afraid to curse because he thinks he might end up like his namesake.
  • Gratuitous French: As shown in "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?", Quasimodo only knows about 50 Kalosian words and is unable to hold a conversation with Couafarak. When he starts singing "La Marseillaise," he sings it in poorly pronounced French.
  • The Grotesque: Quasimodo and Switeuk. The latter, however, is much more so than the former, as Quasi only has the hunchback. Switeuk, though, has a cleft lip and a gigantic wart on his head Joseph Merrick style (not his eye, à la Quasi's namesake).
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Frollo, which makes sense since he's the most Hot-Blooded of the team.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Drac, a Flareavamp who is a member of Team Folklore, gets this by hanging out with the demure Quasimodo. Kaylie later on catches him.
  • Heroic BSoD: Quasimodo gets this in "An Evolutionary Justice." After Esmeralda advises him to battle more often, Quasi misinterprets her advice and thinks that instead, she is calling him a coward to his face. He runs off in tears. Frollo snaps him out of it, and this sheer act of honor is what earns Frollo his virtue.
    • Tesla has one in "An Electric Genius" after being rejected for his arrogance. Clopin, who is deeply concerned, goes to comfort Tesla. It's Clopin's words that snap Tesla out of it.
      • In the same episode, Clopin also has a minor one after he acts coldly towards Tesla. He never wanted to do it, but felt pressured by Frollo's actions into doing so.
    Clopin [sadly]: Well, I did it. And that was the hardest thing I've ever done.
  • Hidden Depths: Clopin- a zany Cloudcuckoolander who is also a genius when it comes to PokeLatin and is also able to use a one-hit knockout move while knowing all the lyrics to "Court of Miracles"... Heck, he probably has more of these than his namesake.
  • Hold Your Hippogriffs:
    • The phrase "Oh my Arceus" is used in place of "Oh my God." Also, you don't speak French. You speak Kalosian instead.
    • Anti-herbs are Pokémon terminology for cigarettes. Yes, you read that right. note 
    • In Clopin's cover of "Court of Miracles," the word "dead" (as in "But the dead don't talk") is changed to "fainted." "Hornets"="Combee," and "Paris"="Feluv."
    • Also in "The Medela City Feast of Fools":
    Pokemon in the crowd: [shocked] He's like the Donphan Man! note 
    • The Distortion World is the Pokémon equivalent of Hell. It's most notable when Frollo quotes his namesake:
    Frollo: But let my name not be associated with my character, for I am nothing like the cruel judge who said that He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the Distortion World. note 
  • Homage: Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Clopin are all homages to the Disney characters in HOND persona-wise.
  • Hot-Blooded: Frollo. Out of the entire team, he is the most aggressive and prone to fighting.
  • I Am a Monster: In "The Medela City Feast of Fools," this is Switeuk's belief.
  • I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham: Quasimodo initially does not like battling- until he has a one-on-one match against Frollo in "An Evolutionary Justice." Then he likes it.
  • I Just Want to Have Friends: This is the reason that the Capyarge in "Court of Virtues" was acting like such a bully.
  • Image Song: Each of the Pokémon on Kaylie's team have two: one is a cover of a song by another artist, and the other is a Disney song.
    • Quasimodo has "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri and "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
    • Frollo has "The Vengeful One" by Disturbed and a cover of "Hellfire" from the same Disney film as Quasi's theme. (It's now directed at Frollo's namesake.)
    • Phoebus has "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down and "Go the Distance" from Hercules.
    • Esmeralda has "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift and "God Help the Outcasts" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
    • Finally, Clopin has "Keep the Party Alive" by Family Force 5 and "Topsy Turvy," ALSO from The Hunchback of Notre Dame... Now that's a lot of Hunchback songs!
  • In-Series Nickname: Like in the Disney film, Quasimodo is called "Quasi" by his friends. He's also called "mok am" by Clopin a lot.
  • Insufferable Genius: Tesla. He admits he's extremely intelligent. And he is.
  • Ironic Name: The name of the Emberhund who is the moral code of the series and dislikes injustice of any kind? Frollo. As in the cruel, hypocritical, no-sense-of-moralistic-ideas-at-all judge from HOND.
  • Irony: Frollo hates his own namesake.
  • It's All About Me: Tesla is pretty much the embodiment of this trope at the beginning of "An Electric Genius," continually bragging about his accomplishments. He gets better after a conversation with Clopin.
  • "I Want" Song: "Out There (duh)." It's a cover of the original song from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but here it's about Quasi's desire to go to the other regions of the Pokémon world.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Tesla can be snobbish and arrogant about his intelligence, but when times get hard or when a problem needs to be solved, he's always there to pull through for his friends.
  • Joker Jury: From the opposing Pokémon's perspective, this is essentially Clopin's "Court of Miracles" routine.
  • Just Friends: Both Kaylie and Patrick insist they are this, despite their Pokémon believing otherwise.
  • The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Clopin has this reaction upon meeting the IPPA in "The Medela City Feast of Fools."
  • Large Ham: Clopin. It's evidenced by this scene from "Esmeralda Takes Flight":
    Clopin: [excitedly] It means that WE HAVE BUISNESS! That's right, païkan, BUSINESS IS BOOMING AND WE'RE STARTING TO GET WALKERS! IF ANYONE ELSE IS INTERESTED PLEASE JOIN US IN THE FIGHT FOR CANCER! IT WILL BE TRULY AMAZING! HAVE FUN!
    • He's so much of this that his own battle style involves singing "Court of Miracles" and then finishing it all off with a Guillotine move while singing the final line: "SO YOU'RE GOING TO HANG!"
  • Literal-Minded: Rocky. After Clopin mentions the nasal cavity, he goes wild and believes that there is actually a tooth stuck up his nose.
    Rocky: Nasal cavity? (gasps) THERE'S A TOOTH UP MY NOSE!
  • Lovely Assistant: As with their namesakes, Esmeralda is this to Clopin; after the latter gives the intro at the FoF carnival and defends Switeuk, he calls for her. Cue dancing.
  • Love Redeems: Quasimodo seeing Drac, a Flareavamp member of Team Folklore, as a friend and treating him as such is what eventually leads to his Heel–Face Turn.
  • Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number:
    Full Cast: When they fight you with their moves
    Fight them back with the fire within
    Tomorrow this Gym Battle starts
    • Also, from Chapter 13: "AUX ARMES, CITOYENS..." And every Frenchman knows the rest.
  • Meaningful Echo: Perhaps the biggest in the entire series goes to "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" At the beginning of the chapter, Clopin mentions that he knows all the words to the Kalosian national anthem. He then proceeds to dance around and happily sing "La Marseillaise" before being stopped by Kaylie. And at the end of the chapter? Clopin and Couafarac have lost all hope that they will ever bring a Kalosian school to Feluv after their failure to do so. However, their loyal followers haven't forgotten what Clopin and Couafarac taught them, and to raise their spirits... guess what song they sing?
  • Meaningful Name: Every single Pokémon on Kaylie's team. Even FROLLO, but ironically.
    • Switeuk has one of these. His name is the English pronunciation of the PokeLatin word swïtiyuk, meaning "deformed."
  • Mood Whiplash: PLENTY at the carnival.
    • Clopin has just finished singing the first verse of "Topsy Turvy"- or at least its PokeLatin cover- when he is suddenly interrupted by the IPPA members denying Switeuk access into the association because he's deformed. The members quickly learn: don't mess with Switeuk.
    • Switeuk is about to be crowned the King of Fools at the carnival, but before Clopin can crown him, the humiliation begins. Switeuk is tied up and insulted by both people and Pokémon. Shocked and distraught, he runs away in sadness, and poor Clopin has nothing left to do but comfort him...
    • ...before immediately running back out and delivering a huge "Reason You Suck" Speech to the crowd. The IPPA attacks Clopin in protest, before they are then stopped by Switeuk, who couldn't bear to see Clopin get hurt. The members quickly learn: don't mess with Clopin.
    • Finally, once the IPPA members are defeated, Switeuk looks back out at the crowd and sees a swarm full of regretful faces. Believing that the crowd will bully him again, he looks away... but then... "SWI-TE-UK! SWI-TE-UK!"
      • Cue Switeuk getting accepted, getting crowned the King of Fools, and becoming an official IPPA member.
  • Motor Mouth: Clopin. He's extremely talkative, as seen from the quote above.
  • The Music Meister: Clopin. He got an ENTIRE crowd to sing "Topsy Turvy"... or at least its PokeLatin cover. In addition, his "Court of Miracles" battle style has left many Pokémon baffled.
  • Music for Courage: In the episode "A Gym Battle Matchup Sanctuary," the parody of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" is this: it motivates the other Pokémon during training for their first Gym Battle.
    • Made much more dramatic in the chapter "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" when, at the end, after Clopin and Couafarac fail to create the first French school in the Feluv region, it's made clear that their followers still haven't forgotten what they were taught, and sing "La Marseillaise" to raise their spirits and inspire them to keep fighting.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: The entire crowd at the carnival gets this in "Feast of Fools" after Switeuk defeats the bullies.
    • Tesla gets this BIG TIME in "An Electric Genius" after Clopin, the one Pokémon he'd ever considered a true friend, berates him for his arrogance and tells him that nobody wants to be his friend anymore. Tesla, stunned, realizes that his arrogance does harm to others rather than good, and runs off in tears from having lost his only friend. A concerned Clopin later on comforts him in the middle of the night, and his words break Tesla out of his Heroic BSoD. It also earns Tesla his virtue: intelligence.
      • In the same chapter, Frollo has a minor one when he pretty much pressures Clopin into doing the above- something that Frollo did not intend to do.
  • The Namesake: Quasimodo, Frollo, Phoebus, Esmeralda, Clopin, and Tesla.
  • National Anthem: When Clopin reaches his Darkest Hour in "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" (sing it with us): "AUX ARMES, CITOYENS/FORMEZ VOS BATALLIONS/MARCHONS, MARCHONS..." Not since Casablanca has "La Marseillaise" been so inspirational.
  • Never Trust a Title: "Esmeralda Takes Flight" is NOT about Esme learning to fly. It's about The Topic of Cancer.
  • Newspeak: This is Orwell's main form of communication, which makes sense when you consider his namesake. Igneousio understands none of it, but Alph, strangely enough, does.
    Orwell: Do you unsee, comrades? It is the fivehundredwise makeyear of the Kalos region! Persons and Pokemons will be doubleplusunsaddened! They will be partyful! note 
  • Oh, Crap!: Drac's catchphrase- "Thapgacklerth!" ("Snapgacklers," without the lisp.)
  • The One Guy: More like one GIRL: Esmeralda is the only female Pokémon that Kaylie has.
  • Only One Name: For all of Kaylie's Pokémon.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
    • Kaylie is shocked when Quasimodo, of all Pokémon, decides to get into a battle. However, true to his nature, he becomes the Apologetic Attacker.
    • All of Kaylie's Pokémon are genuinely concerned for their trainer when the normally upbeat Genki Girl becomes suddenly quiet and reserved. Turns out it's the tenth anniversary of her father's death from cancer.
    • Part One of "A Very Rocky Start" displays a huge example of this. Kaylie's Shiny Yakocks Rocky is known for being bold, determined, and dedicated, not willing to back down from anyone or anything. The one time he did tremble all over in fear and essentially become Quasimodo? When his abusive father was about to burn him.
    • In the chapter "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?", Clopin and Couafarac unfortunately fail to set up the first Kalosian school in Feluv, because of the region's obsession with PokeLatin. Clopin, being The Pollyanna, tries to keep things on the bright side, but eventually, even he gives up hope, and all he can do is stare at the ground and wallow over his failure.
    • It's subtle, but check out what happens when Quasimodo attempts to lift Clopin's spirits by singing "La Marseillaise." He isn't too good at French pronounciation, and often the Kalosian citizens will have to correct him. Here, when he starts singing "La Marseillaise" with the same butchered French pronounciation, you know things are serious when those same citizens don't even care. Cheering up Clopin obviously matters way more to them than correcting someone's French pronounciation.
  • Perpetual Smiler: Clopin. With a few exceptions, the Touceet's essentially just as fun-loving as his namesake, and almost always has a huge smile on his face.
  • Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Subverted. Clopin does act coldly towards Tesla about his arrogance and states that no one likes him anymore. He was forced to lie to himself, because despite how arrogant Tesla may have been, Clopin always wanted to be his friend. Unfortunately, Tesla takes it seriously and breaks into a Heroic BSoD.
  • Pokémon Speak: Played straight and subverted. Without the usage of the Talking Spirits, this trope is played straight, except via PSP. With TST, however, the Pokémon are able to "speak": —like this.-
  • The Pollyanna: Clopin. Since he is the most upbeat character in the show, he will always try to look on the bright side of everything.
  • Portmanteau: The name Couafarac is a combination of Furfrou's French name, Couafarel, and the character Courfeyrac from Les Misérables (which just so happens to be Patrick's favorite musical).
  • Power Glows: Done whenever one of the characters evolves. Or devolves.
  • Powerpuff-Girl Hands: For Quasimodo, obviously.
  • Prone to Tears: Quasimodo. So much so that it was the reason that Kaylie chose him over the Watorse and Emberhund. He starts sobbing in Chapter 2 when the Capyarge asks him why he won't battle, then does it again in Chapter 4 when he confesses his feelings about battling to Frollo... Needless to say, if there is ever an episode in which Quasi learns Cruel to Be Kind tendencies, expect him to be bawling.
  • Psychic Powers: All Psychic-type Pokémon have this. The Talking Spirits also count (after all, it is called Talking Spirit TELEPATHY).
  • "Reason You Suck" Speech: Clopin gives the FoF audience a BIG one in "The Medela City Feast of Fools" after they bully Switeuk.
  • Reluctant Warrior: Quasimodo was this prior to Chapter 4.
  • Rousing Speech: In "Esmeralda Takes Flight," Kaylie gives us this:
    Kaylie: Hi, guys. My name is Kaylie Rodgers, and I am a beginning Pokemon trainer from Komoka Town. Out of all the relationships I have had with my family, I would say that the biggest one was with my father. He was such a kind man, and he was actually the one who taught me about Pokemon in the first place. Ten years ago, however, I got the news from my mom. My dad... He died. From lung cancer. I didn't even know he had it. I found out much later in life that my father- well, let's just say that he ate a lot of anti-herbs. I still remember my father. And I never even got to say goodbye to him. We never gave my dad a funeral, but every member of my family knows without a doubt that he should have had one. He was a great father, but he had to die so young... and it was all because of cancer. I'm sorry. I'm getting a bit emotional here. The point is, cancer is a very horrible disease. And it could happen to anyone. You may even have cancer right now. If you know someone who has cancer, I urge you: please help. Doctors still haven't found a cure for cancer, and we need your help in supporting cancer research. Esmeralda and all my other Pokemon created this cancer walk for a reason, and that reason was to help others and raise cancer awareness. So please, if you can, help us find the cure so that things like what happened with my father don't happen again. We are part of the change that leads to the future, and today we can be that change. Thank you.
  • Rule of Fun: This is basically what Clopin lives by.
  • Running Gag: Clopin's name continually getting mispronounced. (That's "kloh-PAH~n," not "klop-pin.")
  • Sad Clown: Clopin is usually extremely upbeat, but if he is ever broken, it's utterly depressing, as "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?" shows.
  • Seeking Sanctuary: There's a reason that Chapter 9 is called "A Gym Battle Matchup Sanctuary..."
    • And that reason ends up being that Quasimodo, who is weak to Bug-types, ends up letting loose the super-effective Acrobatics on Lepida's Mothibell, all the while yelling out "SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!" in referene to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This occurs immediately after the Mothibell seemingly knocks out Clopin, so Quasimodo is understandably enraged. Thankfully, it turns out that Clopin is not knocked out, and he uses his "Court of Miracles" routine to finish off the Mothibell and earn Kaylie her first Gym Badge.
  • Serious Business: There are multiple things that each character takes very seriously.
    • To Quasimodo, a battle is NEVER finished until he uses Bell Chime.
    • Phoebus takes his loyalty to Kaylie VERY seriously. Claim that he belongs to you and he'll tell you you're wrong.
    • Frollo takes ANY case of injustice very seriously. Also, he will constantly remind you that he is NOT like his namesake.
    • Esmeralda takes any case of BULLYING very seriously. Justified, since she was bullied herself. She also will do ANYTHING to help her Trainer's cause (ie. the cancer fund).
    • If you're throwing a party, you better believe Clopin will be there, and if you ever mispronounce his name, be prepared for the Genius Ditz to happily lecture you on French pronunciation and nasal vowels. note 
    • As for Kaylie herself, she is very serious when it comes to her Pokémon and Patrick.
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Tesla. Being the most intelligent, he uses long words and Shakespearean quotes a lot.
    • Clopin has this when it comes to the PokeLatin language.
  • Shrinking Violet: Quasimodo. In his debut, the poor Pokémon was so shy he hid behind a table and sang "Out There" to himself. He's also SO shy he doesn't want to battle other Pokémon, in fear that it will make him a masochist.
  • Smart Ball: Clopin, who is the best phonetics teacher ever.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Esmeralda is the only one of Kaylie's Pokémon to be female.
  • Song of Courage: "La Marseillaise," as sung in "Do You Hear the Furfrou Sing?"
  • Sour Outside, Sad Inside: The reason why the Capyarge in "Court of Virtues" was acting like such a bully? He had no friends. Quasimodo was his first.
  • Speech Impediment: Drac the Flareavamp hath a very, very pronounthed lithp.
  • Spell My Name With An S: Is it "Couafarac" or "Couafeyrac"? The former seems to be much more popular, but there are those who will spell it as the latter.
  • The Stoic: Lepida's Metapod always speaks in a deadpan monotone voice.
  • Suddenly Shouting: "Maybe you've heard of that mythical place called the Court of Miracles... HELLO, YOU'RE THERE!"
  • Technical Pacifist: Quasimodo is, after Chapter 4, willing to battle any Pokémon so long as he uses a move that does not strangle, knock out, or majorly damage the opponent. note 
  • That Reminds Me of a Song: "Now... for my battle style." Cue Clopin breaking out into "Court of Miracles" and everyone looking at him in confusion.
  • Third-Person Person: Clopin has slipped into this on occasion.
  • Thou Shalt Not Kill: Quasimodo. When he does cause a Pokémon to faint, he will apologize for it profusely.
  • Title Drop: "Just how huge is the galaxy of lies in your mind, you idiotic Gumshoos?"
  • Transformation Sequence: Every time a Pokémon evolves or Mega Evolves. They're often described in great detail in the fanfic, and can sometimes even sound painful, as in the Beedrill Mega Evolution.
  • The Topic of Cancer: The entirety of "Esmeralda Takes Flight" revolves around how Kaylie's father died of cancer, and her Pokémon come up with a cancer fund.
  • Turn the Other Cheek: Quasimodo is essentially willing to forgive anyone.
  • Undying Loyalty: Phoebus, so much so that when Patrick mistakes him for his own Watorse, Phoebus defends himself and says he will always be loyal towards Kaylie.
  • The Unpronounceable: Clopin's name, to Drac. When the former teaches the latter how to pronounce his name, Drac says it as "kloh-PAY" rather than "kloh-PAH~n." He continues to pronounce it that way for the rest of the series.
  • Verbal Tic:
    • Quasimodo's tendency to stutter a lot.
    • Clopin's continuous usage of PokéLatin words and phrases in English sentences.
    • Drac's Daffy Duck-esque lisp.
    • All of the main members of Team Folklore have one: Ignousio has a tendency to have NO INDOOR VOICE, Alph has a Brooklyn accent, Trapper has a German accent, and Orwell uses Newspeak note .
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Frollo rightfully gives this to Tesla in "An Electric Genius" for his arrogant and selfish nature. However, this eventually leads to Clopin feeling pressured to do it himself, and although it's still needed in order for Tesla to see the error of his ways, it's clear that Clopin didn't want to do it.
  • What the Hell Is That Accent?: Clopin retains the exact same accent that his namesake had, courtesy of Paul Kandel, in the 1996 Disney version of Hunchback. It was, in fact, for this reason that the decision to write said accent down phonetically fell out of favor- it was that dïzjrïzj. note 

As always, bïlokautik!

Top