Pokemon Crossing / Tropes A to D

Tropes for Pokémon Crossing

Tropes A To D | Tropes E to J | Tropes L to O | Tropes P to S | Tropes T to Z

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• Abandoned Area: Route 119 is an abandoned route aside from the Weather Institute, including abandoned things like Secret Bases, a campground, railroad tracks, and a Draconid cemetery.
• Abandoned Camp Ruins: The protagonists come across one on their adventure through Route 119. Tank went to the campsite when he was a child, but left after his father tripped out on Oren Berries. The campgrounds were closed off and abandoned after a wild Ursaring mauled several campers to death.
• Abandoned Mine: Rusturf Tunnel is home to one of these, complete with old minecarts and dynamite that hasn't gone off. The main characters have to navigate the mine in order to reach Rustboro City.
• Absurd Phobia: The main characters reveal their odd fears to each other in chapter twelve:
  • Holly's is the scene in A Trip to the Moon where the moon gets hit in the eye.
  • Kidd's is of an old Daft Punk poster.
  • Tank's is his parents' basement (justified due to frequent earthquakes).
• Abusive Parents: Marie (Kidd's mom) is the emotional type i.e. guilt trips her son and yells at him frequently. Mornay, Holly's dad, is neglectful i.e. borrowed his kid's Poké Scout funds for gambling.
• Accent Slip-Up: Holly usually speaks in a Southern American accent, but slips into a Galarian accent when at her most hotheaded.
• Accidental Public Confession: When caught up in the joy of winning his first contest, Kidd confesses that he's in love with his two best friends.
• Actionized Adaptation: While Animal Crossing is a life sim, characters from the series are living in the Pokémon world and many of them are Pokémon trainers who battle others.
• Adaptation Expansion: For both franchises:
  • Several Animal Crossing villagers get individual fleshed out personalities, compared to the canon eight villager personalities.
  • For the Pokémon end, Teams Cottage and Pastel use more Pokémon than their Pokémon counterparts (Magma and Aqua).
  • Gym Trainers in Pokémon Gyms are seen interacting with their leader outside of work.
  • Several areas in the Hoenn region get more Pokémon residents than their games (notably, Rusturf Tunnel has a shiny Exploud, while New Mauville has an Electivire living inside and causing trouble).
  • Smaller towns get fleshed out with more areas than in canon, including several parks in Verdanturf Town, a restaurant district in Rustboro City and a contest hall in Lavaridge Town.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: Several NPCs get their backstories changed to fit the Pokémon world:
  • Tom Nook is still betrayed by Crazy Redd, but here he leaves him after the latter accidentally kills several Pokémon in a get-rich-quick scheme.
  • Timmy and Tommy aren't orphans, they were taken in by Tom Nook after their abusive mom was thrown in jail.
• Adaptation Personality Change: Except for Bob (a chill guy who runs a hippie store), none of the 'lazy' villagers in this continuation act like 'lazy' villagers from the games. Holly is also much more hotheaded and impulsive than her canon counterpart Benedict.
  • Sable is much more confident and outgoing than her canon self, even being brave enough to propose to Tom Nook in public.
• Adaptation Name Change: Several Animal Crossing characters get different names than in canon:
  • Isabelle is known as Shizue, her Japanese name.
  • Sable's last name is Nook, due to her marriage to Tom Nook.
  • Kapp'n and Grams are revealed to be nicknames: their real names are Kaisho and Kanako Kobayashi.
  • The superhero villagers get new names (their actual names are characters they play on a show): Kid Cat is Ichiro Mochizuki, Agent S is Hatsuko Fujiwara, Big Top is Kenzo Izuri, Rocket is Clover Hart and Filly is Kohaku Chiba.
  • K.K. Slider is a stage name, his real name is Totakeke.
• Adaptational Badass: Animal Crossing characters aren't generally known for fighting, but many of the cast are strong Pokémon trainers who can hold their own in battle easily. Special note for Kapp'n (expy of Captain Stern) who defends himself with just a chair and his own Pokémon.
• Adaptational Gender Identity: Angus (a cranky bull villager) is now a trans woman named Amber. Holly is also a transgender girl; she doesn't properly come out until chapter 42.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Plusle and Minun are generally nice Pokémon, but the ones on Route 110 are selfish jerks who happily steal a pearl from a Gulpin.
• Adaptational Job Change:
  • Sable is seen working at a Pokémon Day Care instead of her usual seamstress work.
  • Pavé works as a singer/entertainer at a gay bar rather than a Festivale host.
• Adaptational Protagonist: Benedict, Tank, and Kidd are only three out of hundreds of villagers in Animal Crossing. Here, they're the main protagonists and the story follows their journey through the Hoenn region. Tom Nook, Isabelle, and K.K. Slider only sporadically appear, while the villager is removed entirely from the story.
• Adaptational Sexuality: Most Animal Crossing characters don't have a confirmed sexuality, but here, all three protagonists are bisexual, and there's several gay and lesbian characters throughout the fic.
• Adapted Out: Several elements from both series are removed in the fanfiction:
  • Pokémon:
    • While most Hoenn characters have a counterpart in the series, there are several who don't. The following characters don't have a counterpart: Wally and his family, Brigette and Lanette, and the Trick Master.
    • HMs are removed for convenience, instead, showing the protagonist's Pokémon actively taking down obstacles like smashable rocks or riding around on a Gyarados to travel water.
    • The Trick House is removed from Route 110, along with the Safari Zone being closed down and abandoned.
  • Animal Crossing:
    • The player/human villager is nowhere to be seen. The author stated that she didn't include them due to being a blank slate compared to the animal villagers.
• Age Lift: Most Animal Crossing villagers are presumably adults, but several of them are aged down to teenagers.
• Agent Peacock: Kidd is a prissy coordinator who catches cutesy Pokémon and cares about his appearance, but is also a relentless battler when pushed to his limits.
• After Action Patch Up: In a fit of rage, Holly punches a window when enraged that she wouldn't get a gym battle. Tank calms her down and ends up fixing her stitches and removing the shards of glass from her arm.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Kidd mentions that Raymond frequently bullied him due to his species and being the only one in their grade to not have a Pokémon.
• All Webbed Up: Holly gets tied up by an Ariados's String Shot after she accidentally throws a rock at its head.
• Alternate Continuity: While this series takes place in the ORAS continuity (albeit with talking animals instead of humans), there's a few nods to the Emerald timeline:
  • Pastel (the Aqua counterpart) appears in the Rusturf Tunnel, Slateport City, and the Weather Institute.
  • Cottage (the Magma counterpart), however, appear in Meteor Falls and Mt. Chimney.
• Americasia: Lilycove City, a major city in Hoenn (based on the Kyushu island of Japan) takes heavy inspiration from the American city of San Francisco (including elements like the cable car system and a prominent gay district). This is due to Author Appeal.
• An Arm and a Leg: Rockwell (Tank's dad) had to get his leg amputated after having his leg muscles torn up from a Team Cottage attack.
• And I'm the Queen of Sheba: During their confrontation at Mt. Chimney:

  Dobie: Would you believe me if I said Meteor Falls has the key to revitalizing the world?

  Benedict: Revitalizin' the world? Yeah, an’ I’m the Champion of the Hoenn region!

• And Now for Someone Completely Different:
  • Chapter 5 puts more focus on Apollo and Samuel (one of the Team Pastel grunts).
  • Chapter 43 doesn't have the main characters appear, instead, focuses on the Hawkwind family and the fall out after a big family secret is revealed.
• And Your Reward Is Edible: The prize for beating all four Kachinekos in battle? A free lunch with the family!
• Annoying Patient: Kidd turns into a snippy jerk when infected with the Dokuvirus, leading to part of Holly's mental breakdown.
• Apathetic Teacher: Cashmere appears to be this at first (not caring about Pokémon despite teaching a school about them), but snaps after seeing the group battle while she's gone.
• A Pig Named "Porkchop": The Sussexes (a family of chickens) have this for their names: Mornay is named after 'eggs mornay', Tamako is a pun on tamago (Japanese for egg), and Holly is a pun on hollandaise sauce. The Chavignols (a family of goats) are named after a French goat cheese.
• Arc Words:
  • Flying. Flight is used as a recurring motif (several main characters are birds, one of which currently uses Flying-types after formerly using Fighting-types. Apollo is also seen flying away from Rustboro City on one of his Pokémon.)
  • Evolution. Mega Evolution is hinted very early in the fic, and the protagonists' Pokemon evolve to symbolize their trainers' character development.
  • Slateport chapters have 'beneath' in their titles.
  • Mauville City chapters have 'under' in their titles instead.
  • Petalburg City chapters have 'stone' in their title.
• Art Evolution: Earlier character designs for the series were crude and unpolished, but later drawings match the Animal Crossing style.
• Artifact of Doom: The Red and Blue Orbs are locked away in marble sculptures for a reason. When Dobie gets his hand on the Red Orb, he starts hallucinating fire. When Judy gets her hands on the Blue Orb, her vision turns blue and she starts hearing voices commanding her to summon Kyogre.
• Artistic License – Biology: Drinking alcohol in a hot spring is very dangerous, but this is ignored for comedic purposes.
• Ascended Extra: It's an Animal Crossing fic, and rather than focusing on Tom Nook or Isabelle or other major NPCs, the story focuses on three villagers: Benedict, Kidd and Tank.
  • The rumored glitch villager Brutus? He cameos in this fic too, as the one who murdered Belladonna the Croagunk.
• Ascended Meme: The Slateport museum is described by the narrative as having "too much water".
• Association Fallacy: Kabuki and Shino (the onsen owners) banned every single member of the Crossfire family because one of them was caught spying on the other side.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Judy has long hair tied in a ponytail resembling a mermaid's tail— fitting a Water-type specialist!
• Author Appeal: The following quirks are thrown into the story:
  • 80s music references, especially if it's Duran Duran
  • Snarky protagonists
  • Stylish outfits for prominent characters.
  • Multiple references to other anime, mostly to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
• Awful Wedded Life: Don and Amelia are married, but actively hate each other. Don actively cheats on Amelia with other women, and both of them refuse to get a divorce. Amelia ends up trashing Don's office in revenge
• Badass Adorable: Kidd (a pastel purple goat with his scarf tied into a bow) is the 'cute' one of the group and just as strong in battle as his friends.
• Badass Family: The Kachinekos are all strong Pokémon trainers who take pride in their battling skills. So are the Hawkwinds, who include the regional Champion as part of their family.
• Badass Longcoat: Both Apollo and Frank wear long flowing coats (a leather duster for Apollo and a kimono for Frank) and are very experienced in Pokémon battling along with regularly fighting Cottage and Pastel.
• Bad to the Last Drop: Noctowl's serves burnt coffee to its customers, to the point that Kidd nearly throws up said coffee.
• Bag of Kidnapping: The Team Cottage admins kidnap Professor Blathers in a knapsack before dragging him to Meteor Falls.
• Bag of Holding: The main trio's backpacks/messenger bag can hold pretty much anything without a problem.
• Barbarian Longhair: Holly has the longest hair of the trio, and she's an action-loving fighter with a hot-blooded streak. She even undoes her ponytail when fighting Gym Leaders.
• Bandage Wince: It's not the glass shards in her arm that Holly whines about, it's the disinfectant that hurts the most.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Frank used to train Fighting-types until his Croagunk was murdered by another trainer.
• Bathtub Bonding: In chapter 34, the protagonists share a bubble bath and learn more about Kidd's past.
• Bathtub Scene: After dealing with some stress, Holly draws herself a hot bubble bath to relax in. A throwaway line about her avoiding the mirror all but confirms her gender dysphoria.
• Beach Episode: Holly and Frobert have their Gym battle on the beaches of Dewford Town. Slateport City also has a beach scene where Holly fights a trainer with a Tentacool.
• Beak Attack: While flying to Mauville City, Professor Nook and his Xatu get pecked at by wild Murkrow.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Gender-inverted. Kidd is vain/aloof/style-oriented (Beauty), Tank's goal is to finish the Pokedex (Brains) and Holly is a hotheaded battler (Brawn).
• Berserk Button:
  • One of the Team Cottage grunts does not take kindly to being called a hipster.
  Hokage: How dare you compare us to those craft beer sipping, flannel wearing, irony-is-my-only-personality-trait FOOLS!
  • Do NOT suggest to Kidd that body spray counts as a shower.
  • Sable hates torn clothing, and tries to coax the boys to give her their clothes so she can mend them.
• Bicep Kiss: In chapter 30, a Machop shows off his muscles, kissing one of his biceps purely to show off. Unfortunately it doesn't win him the contest.
• Bilingual Bonus: Due to Kidd being Kalosian, he ends up speaking several French phrases early in the story to establish him as a foreigner.
• Big Blackout: All of Mauville City loses power in Chapter 27. The cause? A wild Electivire feeding off New Mauville's generator.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: An Ariados (a bug type Pokémon) that lives in Petalburg Woods serves as a minor antagonist.
• Big Eater: All three of the main protagonists, especially seen when eating ramen (clearing off three bowls. Each). Justified since they're teenagers that frequently travel by foot, so they're gonna need all the calories.
• Big Good: Apollo is the protective Hoenn League champion who looks out for ordinary citizens and fights Cottage and Pastel when possible.
• Brains and Brawn: Makoto the Gardevoir and Jojo the Blaziken, respectively. A Psychic-type who attacks with special moves like Psychic and Moonblast, and a Fighting-type who punches and kicks his opponents.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Deconstructed. Dolly is aloof and bored during the field trip, but after Kidd gives her a good talking to, she realizes what an ungrateful jerk she was and that others have it worse than she does.
• Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: There's a few here and there. But the most noticable:
  • The boys pick up a list of essentials from Dewford Town: snacks, sunscreen, Poké Balls, berries, and a porno mag implied to be featuring Apollo.
  • A trio of Team Pastel commit several crimes: kicking O'Hare in the balls, stealing his boat, and worst of all, taking his dirty magazine.
• Breather Episode: Several chapters delve into lighter plots, including a Mauville-themed chapter about the trio going to a convention.
• Bridal Carry: Tank catches Holly this way after saving her from some wild Ariados, without complaints from either party.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Tank has greenish hair (blond), Holly is a redhead, and Kidd is the brunette.
• Blow You Away: Frank currently specializes in Flying-types after Belladonna's death, symbolizing him wanting to move on from what happened.
• Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: Cesar is the wisecracking Boke to Cyrano's straightlaced Tsukkomi.
  Cesar: So, can I get you guys some tea?
  Cyrano: When I said 'let's offer our guests some tea', I didn't mean LITERAL HUMILAU CITY TEA!!
• Bouquet Toss: Once pronounced married, Reese tosses a bouquet to the crowd. What she didn't expect was the bouquet to fall on an uninvited guest (Kidd).
• Burner Phones: Don uses one to contact Dobie as part of funding Team Cottage. He snaps the phone in half before heading to a dive bar.
• The Bus Came Back: Several characters re-appear after their debut chapter:
  • Flora reappears in the Fiery Path chapter, revealed to have caught more Pokemon and earned her first Gym Badge.
  • Static reappears in chapter 27 for his day in the limelight.
  • Cousteau returns to pick up his mother's urn. It's also revealed Peeko evolved off-screen and is now a Pelipper.
  • Coco returns for chapter 31, as the one receiving an Anorith from Don.
  • Butch properly returns for the Petalburg arc.
• But Not Too Foreign: Holly Sussex, the main character, is half-Galarian and half-Hoennian. Culturally, she identifies herself as Unovan (born and raised in Castelia City, just moved to the Hoenn region in the beginning).
• But Now I Must Go: After joining the protagonists for the Team Cottage arc, Frank leaves the group for Mt. Pyre until he returns for the Fortree arc.
• Cast of Expies: Most characters take on roles seen in the Hoenn games, or other games:
  • Nurse Shizue: Nurse Joy line.
  • Tom Nook: Prof. Birch
  • Leif: Owner of the Pretty Petal Flower Shop
  • Cousteau: Mr. Briney (has a boat and a Wingull named Peeko)
  • Frank: Looker (determined to stop the regional villianous team, traveller whose been to Sinnoh, associated with Croagunk)
  • Apollo: Steven Stone
  • Butch: Norman (he's even a father, albeit to an original character rather than one of the protagonists)
  • Coco: Roxanne
  • Brawly: Frobert
  • Static: Wattson
  • Phoebe: Flannery
  • Celia: Winona
  • Chrissy and Francine: Liza and Tate
  • Team Cottage: Magma (Dobie for Maxie, Beau and Fauna for Tabitha and Courtney)
  • Team Pastel: Aqua (Judy for Archie, Julian for Matt and Filbert for Shelly)
  • Kapp'n: Captain Stern.
  • Flora: Rosa (a Unovan Genki Girl with odango hair)
  • Klaus and Bluebear: Wallace and Lisia, respectively.
  • Holly, Tank and Kidd aren't immune to this either. One is an impulsive battler, another wants to complete the Pokedex and the other is aloof/unsure of themself/associated with Eevee.
• Carnivore Confusion: The main cast are all anthropomorphic animals, and eating Pokémon is socially acceptable even with herbivorous species. Most Pokémon eaten are unevolved like Magikarp or Pidgey or Spoink, but there are exceptions such as Octillery. Some animals do eat other trainer's Pokémon (as seen in the Mirage Tower chapter), but only as a last resort for food.
• Call-Back:
  • Holly remembers when Static had his Pokémon use Volt Switch during battle. Guess which move Freiza learns after he evolves.
  • In chapter nineteen, Kidd mentions when he had to swim through Route 110.
  • Norma references Holly’s last gym battle, citing it as why the kids wanted to see a Gyarados at the Pokemon Day Care.
• Calling Parents by Their Name: Kidd frequently does this to Marie, showing the lack of respect he has for her.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Despite his former running gag of trying to buy alcohol, Kidd can barely tolerate it and is tipsy and woozy after one mouthful of sake.
• Cast Herd: There's a large cast in the series, all divided into different groups: the three main protagonists, Tom Nook and his family, Gym Leaders and their gym trainers and families, the Hawkwind family and their employees, Teams Pastel and Cottage (two bosses, two admins each, and plenty of grunts underneath), and characters not associated with any of the above. And that's not getting to the Pokémon owned by each individual character.
• Cast Full of Gay: All three protagonists are bisexual, and there's several gay/lesbian characters appearing throughout the fic.
• Cats Are Mean: Zigzagged. The Team Pastel grunts are cats, and not very nice animals. Raymond is also a cat and one of the biggest jerks in the story. Subverted with Meow and the Kachineko family, who are nice cats.
• Cats Hate Water: This is why Kidd throws Raymond over the dock after being taunted.
• Cell Phones Are Useless: While the main characters have Rotom Phones available, occasionally they'll get stuck in an area with no cell service, such as Route 119.
• Character Development: Kidd goes through the most out of the three protagonists:
  • He initially wanted an Eevee as his starter, but eventually grew closer to Mudkip. He even tells her how proud he is of her after she evolves.
  • He starts rude and snarky to Tank and Holly, but slowly grows nicer after battling alongside them in chapter five.
• Characterization Marches On: In the first three chapters:
  • Kidd was a snarky Neutral Male who wasn't interested in battling. He still keeps his sarcastic streak but is more headstrong and willing to fight by his friends' side.
  • Holly and Tank swapped personalities (calm vs impulsive).
• Chairman of the Brawl: When a stray Pastel grunt storms the Slateport Museum, Kapp'n grabs a nearby chair and whacks him in the back with it.
• Chick Magnet: Apollo gets swarmed by a pack of wolf girls early in chapter eight. Also doubles as a pun since Holly (a chicken) has a crush on him.
• Chirping Crickets: During the story's first contest, an audience member's Kricketune chirps during a contestant's performance.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Several of the main characters' Pokémon cameo before their proper capture:
  • Teddy mentions the Red Gyarados from Johto. Holly herself catches a shiny Magikarp four chapters later. And then said Magikarp evolves in Chapter 21.
  • A female Abra is seen following the boys in Granite Cave. Kidd catches her after the group battles some Zubats.
  • A female Pikachu is seen watching the Slateport City contest. After the contest ends, Kidd befriends and catches her.
  • A wild Swablu follows the main group at the end of Chapter 31, suggesting one of the main characters is going to catch said Pokémon. Holly ends up catching said Swablu at the end of chapter 33.
• Cipher Scything: The player character is removed from the fanfic due to being a blank slate with not much to work with character-wise.
• City Mouse: Part of Kidd's characterization is that he's a stylish city boy stuck traveling in rural Hoenn.
• Clashing Cousins: Frank and Apollo used to be close enough to battle together, but aren't as close anymore due to Frank wallowing in his trauma. Except they're not cousins, they're actually half-brothers.
• Class Trip: Sable has some visitors from a school: Miss Norman and her kindergarten class from Petalburg Elementary. Unfortunately the class trip ends early when several Day Care Pokémon get into a fight.
• Clothing Damage: The main characters’ clothes are torn up after dealing with a strong Garchomp, to the point that Sable insists they enjoy a furo just so she can sew them back up.
• Cobweb of Disuse: The Mirage Tower has cobwebs on two floors. Played for horror since it's implied these are the ghosts of Bug-type Pokémon who were eaten.
• Cocky Rooster: Both Holly and her Blaziken are both impulsive and highly confident battle-loving chickens.
• Cooldown Hug: Phoebe receives one from her father after losing her first gym battle.
• Common Crossover: Pokémon/Animal Crossing crossovers aren't new (most of these crossovers are drawing various characters in the 'Animal Crossing' style. But this is one of the first to do the other way around i.e. insert the Animal Crossing characters as Pokemon trainers.
• Composite Character: Has its own page here.
• Cosmic Motifs: Countless space references are peppered throughout the fic:
  • The subtitle for the main story is Fly Me to the Moon.
  • The main characters have ties to space: Tank once went to the Mossdeep Space Center and enjoyed it, Holly names her Gardevoir after a Sailor Moon character, and Kidd nicknames his Pokémon after western Zodiac signs.
  • Several chapters include cosmic themes, such as "Electrify my Heart Beneath the Same Sun".
  • The Team Pastel admins take their last name from space: Nebula, Galassia and Berenice.
• Creator Cameo: Several:
  • One of Cherry_Bomb_Bees' friends cameos as a trainer in chapter 34.
  • Cherry_Bomb herself appears in chapter 38, as an artist hosting a booth at Crossing Rider Con.
  • Another friend appears as well, as a Crossing Rider Go fan who interviews the show's cast.
• Crossover Cameo: While the series primarily focuses on Animal Crossing characters, a few characters from other Nintendo series have made brief appearances:
  • Rosalina (here a unicorn) is the Sinnoh Champion.
  • The pink bunny from Nintendo Badge Arcade appears as a bartender in Lilycove City's gay district.
• Creepy Cave: Fiery Path is home to dangerous wild Pokémon, hot temperatures and frequent rock slides. Rusturf Tunnel is the site of an abandoned mine and a rampaging shiny Exploud.
• Culture Clash: In-universe, this is bound to happen with two foreigners in the group:
  • Kidd tries to order wine a few times (justifying himself by saying that Kalosians drink wine at an earlier age than Hoennians and Unovans do). However, he's underage by Hoennian standards.
  • Holly, a Unovan, gets this several times. First, she tries to opt out of an onsen visit due to the public shower part (or due to gender dysphoria). Another chapter has her freak out over holding an urn (Unovan cremation rates are much lower than in Kalos or Hoenn).
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Frobert's Hariyama delivers one to Holly's Combusken, knocking him out in just two moves.
  • In the first contest of the series, Klaus sweeps the competition without even trying.
  • The wild Electivire in chapter 27 effortlessly knocks out the main character's starter Pokémon.
  • In the first Petalburg Gym battle, Butch effortlessly sweeps all of Holly's Pokémon.
• Cuteness Proximity: Tank talks to his Poochyena like this in chapter three.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Tank's Poochyena is a Dark-type but is a friendly and playful Pokémon when under his control.
• Dark and Troubled Past: When befriending a wild Skitty, Aries (Kidd's Pikachu) reveals her backstory in chapter 22: She was abandoned by her former trainer after losing too many Contests.
• Darker and Edgier: Downplayed. The story has characters dealing with heavier subjects such as trauma from past events, mourning the death of someone you loved, gender dysphoria, objectification, but retains an optimistic theme.
• Dance Battler: Makoto the Kirlia takes on a ballet style of battling with pirouettes to dodge moves, but loses this trait after evolving into Gardevoir.
• The Dandy: Kidd is a prissy city boy whose picky about his appearance and focuses on the aesthetic-based contests. He's a more snarky version but is the most fashion-conscious.
• A Day in the Limelight: Occasionally, characters who aren't the main three get a focus chapter:
  • Chapter twenty-five puts a lot of focus on Phoebe (the Lavaridge Town gym leader).
  • Chapter twenty-seven is about Static and fixing a power crisis.
  • Chapter fourty-three is all about the Hawkwind family and their drama.
• Deathbringer the Adorable: Frieza (Holly's Manectric) is the only one on the team to be named after a manga antagonist, yet he's an affectionate Pokémon towards his trainer.
• Death by Adaptation: Several characters from Animal Crossing are dead:
  • Leopold, a former Gym Leader, was brutally decapitated by Team Cottage.
  • Sunny, an explorer, was killed and cannibalized by her exploration team.
  • Rosie killed herself due to several factors, notably the stress of being in the entertainment industry.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Kidd is this in the first few chapters, until he takes on the idea of contests during his Dewford Town visit.
• Demoted to Extra: Timmy and Tommy are important NPCs in the games, but are delegated to just being Tom Nook's assistants. Same with Isabelle (delegated to being the Nurse Joy expy).
• Destroy the Security Camera: Amelia destroys the security camera in her husband's office so she can get away with trashing his office and stealing his Pokémon.
• Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Kidd realizes this soon after confessing he's in love with his best friends. It later leads him to having an anxiety attack on stage.
• Distaff Counterpart: Several of Holly's and Kidd's Pokémon are gendered counterparts to each other:
  • Makoto and Libra: Psychic-types "brains" of their group.
  • Asuka and Pisces: Water-type fish who are The Smurfette Principle and The One Guy to their groups.
  • Kenshiro and Scorpio: Bipedal defense-oriented Pokémon who ran away from their home.
  • Freiza and Gemini: Adorable pet-based Pokémon who get caught after challenging party members to a fight.
• Die or Fly: In chapter twenty, Libra the Abra struggles to lift up Holly before she plummets to her doom. Libra ends up evolving in order to save her life.
• Disappeared Dad: All three protagonists don't have their fathers around:
  • Tank's dad lives in another town due to a traumatic accident.
  • Holly's dad Mornay is away in Galar for a tournament until its revealed he's a deadbeat.
  • Kidd's dad doesn't even appear, but is implied to be as abusive as Marie. It's later revealed he went to the Alola region.
• Disco Dan: Tammi wears a stereotypical disco halter suit. Justified fitting the retro dance floor aesthetic of the gym she's in.
• Disconnected by Death: A non-lethal version. Apollo calls an emergency number after his attack on Mt. Pyre, but passes out just after he asks for a helicopter.
• Disguised in Drag: In chapter 34, the main characters crossdress as high school girls in order to get into a talent show. For context, the thrift store they visited ran out of male uniforms.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Coco is a Rock-type trainer, and her last name is a reference to her appearance.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Several instances:
  • In a flashback in chapter seven, Holly violently beats up one of her classmates for laughing at a girl for getting her period in class.
  • The entire Crossfire family is banned from the local hot springs because one of them was caught peeping on the other side.
  • Curt's Magcargo burns Holly's Gyarados over jealously of her getting more attention.
• Distressed Dude: Benedict is this when he gets captured by an Ariados. Justified since none of his Pokemon could battle at the moment. Kidd gets this treatment in chapter seven when the group is attacked by Zubats, but is later saved thanks to an Abra who joins his party.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Most villagers of the same personality act the same way aside from a few aesthetic differences. Here, several villagers get distinct personalities from each other:
  • Cranky: Apollo is a distinguished gentleman who looks out for the Hoenn region, while Frank is a chain-smoking rebel who kept to himself after a tragedy. Static is an overworked engineer and only close to his wife, while Butch is a reliable father who has several friends throughout his hometown of Petalburg City.
  • Lazy: Beau is beaten into submission by his boss Dobie, while Filbert is unwilling to commit crimes and is uneasy around his boss Judy. Benedict is more passionate and hotheaded, while Bob is a stoner who owns a hippie store.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: Tank is physically affectionate, but his friends feel crushed when he tightly hugs them. Flora is also the same, nearly crushing Holly's spine when the two of them hug.
• Does Not Like Spam: Holly eats everything in ramen except for the boiled egg. Justified since she's a chicken. Oddly enough she does eat Magikarp roe (fish eggs), later warms up to okonomiyaki and even eats curry with a boiled egg.
• Doomed Hometown: Fortree City, Tank's hometown, is one of these. Team Cottage invaded the city several months prior to the story beginning, stole some Kecleon, murdered the gym leader and traumatized multiple residents.
• Dragon Rider: In chapter 39, Apollo rides Latios in order to help save Latias from Team Pastel. The protagonists later fly back home on the Lati twins.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: The trio get these in chapter four— implying that Tank's gonna reunite with his dad and Kidd takes on contests. Benedict's is more vague, showing a girl instead of him in the dream, heavily foreshadowing his transition. Apollo gets one in chapter five as well with a bird girl in pigtails challenging him.
• Drink-Based Characterization: For the main characters:
  • Tank drinks more tea than anyone else, representing his Hoennian heritage.
  • Kidd gets cold brew (bitter cold coffee) but with Moomoo Milk in it (bitter and aloof but has a sweet side). He's tried to order wine (his Kalosian heritage) multiple times but fails, before ditching the trait of wanting alcohol.
  • Holly: Cappuccinos with lots of flavor added to symbolize her sweet personality.
  • Frank and Apollo: Whiskey, fitting their older and more masculine nature compared to the leads.

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