Basic Trope: Unusual characters have their differences highlighted by having unusual pets.
- Straight: Jake is a quirky individual with a pet kangaroo.
- Exaggerated:
- Jake is the logical extreme of Cloud Cuckoolander and he owns so many unusual pets that his house may as well be a zoo.
- Jake has a pet unicorn in an otherwise realistic setting.
- Downplayed: Jake is a rather eccentric individual who has an animal such as a pig for a pet.
- Justified:
- Jake is a wealthy individual who can afford such unusual animals.
- Jake owns a zoo or animal sanctuary.
- Jake thought that having a pet kangaroo would prove how unusual he really is.
- Inverted:
- A completely ordinary character has an unusual pet, which is pretty much their only interesting trait.
- Jake is an eccentric individual with an ordinary pet.
- Subverted: Jake is a Cloud Cuckoolander who repeatedly tells other characters about his pet cat. Other characters expect the "cat" to be unusual, but it turns out Jake was telling the truth — he has a pet cat.
- Double Subverted:
- ...At least, it looks like a pet cat sometimes. It's really a shapeshifting creature that can turn into just about anything.
- … A Computed Axial Tomography scanner that is.
- Parodied: Jake's pet kangaroo even acts like a dog most of the time!
- Zig-Zagged: Some unusual characters have unusual pets, and some don't.
- Averted: There are no unusual pets.
- Enforced: "We need to show that this character is unusual right off the bat. Let's give them a Cool Pet!"
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: One of Jake's friends tells him that to exemplify his unusual traits, he should get an unusual pet.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Jake decides to get a pet cat instead.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "Why do so many unusual characters tend to have an unusual pet?"
- Implied: Jake often mentions having a pet kangaroo. It's never clarified whether he's really telling the truth or if it's just him making something up.
- Deconstructed: Jake is unable to care for his pet and ends up causing it problems.
Back to Unusual Pets for Unusual People.
