Tropes A to D | E to J | Tropes L to O | Tropes P to S | Tropes T to Z
- Early-Bird Cameo: Lechonk appears in the Hoenn region in chapter 36, even before Pokémon Scarlet and Violet released. Sprigatito cameos as well, belonging to Leopold the dead gym leader.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In the first few chapters:
- Holly is more calm and analyzing compared to her pushy and headfirst personality.
- Tank is the more impulsive and energetic one, compared to his later calm and Team Mom status.
- Earlier chapters take their titles from movies, where later chapters use song references.
- Chapters 1-3 cover more areas, where later chapters are dedicated to one route or part one of a city.
- Earlier arcs had the trio scan Pokémon with their Rotom Phone. Later chapters drop this.
- Earlier chapters only show cats as members of Team Pastel. A later chapter shows animals of other species joining Pastel.
- Either/Or Offspring: Confirmed to be the case for this universe, as seen with Mornay Sussex (a chicken who has three confirmed children (two owls and a chicken)). Lionel (a lion) and Faith (a koala) had three children: Leopold and Bud (lions) and Melba (a koala).
- Establishing Character Moment: Kidd's snarky attitude is introduced as early as chapter one.
- Edible Theme Naming: The Sussexes have this with eggs— Holly is a pun on hollandaise sauce (while her deadname comes from eggs benedict), Monray is named after a variety of Eggs Benedict, and Tamako's is a pun on tamago (Japanese for egg).
- Emergency Broadcast: During the gang's second visit to Mauville City, Tank receives an emergency notification for a "Dangerous Wild Pokémon" spotted on Route 110.
- Enemy Mine: In chapter 21, the trio begrudgingly team up with Team Pastel to take down Team Cottage.
- Excessive Mourning: Frank is currently coping with the loss of his Croagunk. How does he cope? He takes up smoking and cuts out everyone else in his life.
- Extra-ore-dinary: Apollo and his family (except Frank) specialize in Steel-types. Holly has a Lairon on her team.
- Exposed to the Elements: Zig-zagged. Apollo wears both a revealing crop top and a trenchcoat at the same time.
- Everyone Is Bi: There's multiple bi characters in the story, including Tom Nook and the main trio.
- Everybody Must Get Stoned: In the middle of route 119, the trio accidentally get high off a bad batch of berries.
- Family Portrait of Characterization: After saving Professor Blathers from Team Cottage, Frank and the trio head into his house. Holly finds a photo of Blathers' family, revealing the following: Holly, Blathers and Celeste are half-siblings on Mornay's side, Mornay had another family at one point, and that he's a deadbeat and not coming back to Hoenn any time soon.
- Fan Convention: Chapter 38 is about the trio going to Crossing Rider Con, a Toku themed convention. It's also a Day in the Limelight chapter for Tank. The convention's given a positive portrayal and a cameo from the author.
- Fantastic Racism: While not generally acceptable, some animals do discriminate against others for their species. This includes Raymond who frequently bullied Kidd for being a goat, along with Dobie only hiring deer to work for Team Cottage.
- Fatal Flaw: Holly's impulsiveness gets him in trouble a few times. Notably, in the Petalburg arc, she forgets to heal her Pokémon and ends up getting curbstomped by Butch.
- Feathered Fiend: Wild Murkrow are violent compared to most bird Pokémon in Hoenn. There's two instances of them attacking trainers and Pokemon; a younger Frank and Apollo in Eterna Forest, and Professor Nook and his Xatu.
- Festival Episode: Chapter 37 is about a traditional festival in Oldale Town, but sadly gets interrupted by Team Cottage. The Verdanturf arc also includes one that ties into Kidd's Contest arc.
- Feuding Families: The Zangoose vs Seviper clans are at war, and a female Zangoose and male Seviper fall for each other.
- Four Is Death: Invoked at Hotel Corsola. There's no 'fourth' floor, but somebody dies above the trio' floor at 4:44 AM.
- Fight for the Last Bite: While visiting the Rolling Hearts Cafe, the trio order plenty of croquettes before fighting over the last one. Holly suggests a Pokémon battle in order to get the last one, Kidd snaps at her, then Tank sneaks himself the last croquette.
- Fighting in the Playground: Aries and a wild Skitty brawl on a Pokemon playground, fighting right below a climbing wall.
- Fishing Episode: Chapter six is a downplayed version— the chapter is mostly about Dewford Town as a whole, but fishing is prominent in the latter half (how Holly catches her Magikarp).
- Fire, Ice, Lightning: Chapter 27's antagonist, a wild Electivire, knows Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, AND Ice Punch.
- Fire, Water, Wind: Symbolically. Holly is the Fire (red feathers, has the Fire-type starter), Kidd is the Water (relaxed, has the Water-type starter, and his astrology sign is Cancer, has frequent scenes involving water), while Tank is the Wind (air-headed, easygoing, catches the flying-type Tropius).
- Floorboard Failure: On Route 120, the five main characters travel across a bridge. Due to their luck, the bridge gives out under them, having the group fall to their doom.
- Flower Motifs: Holly is symbolized with hollyhocks (represents ambition, can be found in Europe/Asia/North America, covering all of her heritage).
- Flowers of Romance: When Kidd asks out Holly and Tank, he grabs two flowers from the nearby vase: a hollyhock and a camellia.
- Later chapters have him gifting them flowers.
- Foreshadowing: While the fic is currently ongoing, there's several implications put out through the series:
- Tom Nook is a Pokémon Trainer and knows about Mega Evolution. The first part is confirmed in Chapter 29, revealing he has at least one Pokémon (that being a Xatu).
- One throwaway line suggests that Brutus (the urban legend purple bulldog) is set to appear. And indeed, he cameos at the end of the Meteor Falls chapter, and it's hinted that he's responsible for Belladonna's death. Later confirmed.
- The biggest event though is that Holly is a closeted transgender girl. There's several hints to this (Holly buying a hairclip for herself, mentions offhand that she'd dress up as a girl and her mom wouldn't care. In his dream in chapter three, a girl appears instead of her, while Champion Apollo dreams about battling a bird girl with red hair.) When talking about nicknames at the Pokemon Fan Club, it's suggested she already has a name decided for when she decides to comes out: Holly. Another hint is her looking away from a mirror, suggesting gender dysphoria. She's also seen reading a book about changing names. Chapter 32 ramps this up with Holly making a list of female names, most of them referencing canon trans characters: Erica, Madeline, Nova, Vivian and Rachel. She also shows no problem with crossdressing, in fact it's revealed he's done it before in Unova. In chapter 42, Holly finally comes out.
- However, the darkest thing foreshadowed is that all three of the trio were sexually abused at one point. A nightmare in chapter twelve heavily implies this, and this is later confirmed in chapter 44.
- Team Pastel and Cottage are going to repeat history's mistakes.
- Foil: "Cousins" (actually half-brothers) Frank and Apollo are this. Apollo (a Steel-type specialist) appears during chapters with Team Pastel while Frank (currently specializing in Flying-types) appears in Team Cottage chapters. Both are aloof to others for their own reasons (Frank for still grieving his starter's death., and Apollo for being fed up with fangirls.) This also applies to their battling styles (Frank is more protective and battles on his own, where Apollo fights alongside other trainers)
- Food Porn: There's frequent scenes describing food in great detail (notably, traditional Japanese food).
- Foreign Queasine: Downplayed. Coach (the bull in chapter six, and a Dewford local) thinks it's odd that the trio (two of which aren't even from Hoenn) willingly eat Magikarp roe.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Holly and Buck (the stallion from Chapter 17) meet. It's later revealed they met several years ago when Holly got lost on a field trip and was almost attacked by a wild Grumpig.
- Former Friends Photo: A romantic variant. Dobie carries a photo of him and Judy hugging on a boat. It's a romantic take since it's confirmed that they're exes.
- Fossil Revival: The Hawkwind Corp revives the fossils the trio got in the Route 111 desert. Unfortunately, said Pokémon are violent when revived for the first time, and need the trio to calm them down.
- Fun with Acronyms: Meow is a trainer the protagonists meet in Slateport City. Her nickname is short for Mabelline Eleanor Ottille Weimaraner.
- Furry Reminder:
- "Hello, I'm a bird? No teeth?"
- Rudy, a cat, coughs up a hairball during the group lunch. The trio don't mind at all.
- French Jerk: Kidd is from Kalos (equivalent to France) and more aloof and snobbish early in the story. He gets better though. Raymond, however, plays this straight.
- Friendless Background: Kidd has this, but it's zigzagged in chapter eight (he reveals he was friends with a girl named Aloe, but she moved to a different school, leaving him friendless again).
- Friendly Ghost: Sunny Grenounille is a polite explorer, who happens to be a ghost looking for someone to return her remains to her family.
- From Dress to Dressing: In chapter 31, Kidd uses his scarf to bandage up Tank's arm after the latter breaks his wrist.
- Furo Scene: The trio relax together in a furo while Sable mends their clothes and makes dinner.
- Gayborhood: Lilycove City is home to a large gay district called the Blue Rose. The protagonists, being three bisexual teenagers in a polyamorous relationship, end up having a great time.
- Gender Flip: In the story, bull villager Angus is a trans woman named Amber. She's treated respectfully by everyone around her.
- Genki Girl: Several of these in the story: Kidd's starter Pokemon Aquarius, trainer Flora, and contest coordinator Bluebear. They're all high-energy and very perky.
- Genre Shift: Chapter 26 shifts to a horror-based plot, instead of the usual action/adventure seen in most chapters.
- Getting Hot in Here: The trio take their jackets off in the Fiery Path, leaving them in sleeveless shirts.
- Good Parents:
- Butch is one to his daughter Dolly, making sure to play with her after an important gym battle.
- Kenneth is very supportive and caring to his daughter Phoebe, comforting and reassuring her after she loses her first gym battle.
- Both Rockwell and Camille are supportive of their sons. Camille stands up to anyone who insults or puts down her son, while Rockwell is cool with his son having two partners (of different species) at the same time.
- Goofy Print Underwear: It's noted that Holly wears Mareep-printed boxers.
- Go Out with a Smile: During the Petalburg Gym rematch, Zaitochi (Butch's Zangoose) smiles at Makoto before falling to the ground and fainting.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: Tank's goal is to catch as many Pokemon as possible, since he's revealed to be a research assistant for Professor Nook. Later chapters have him drop this trait.
- Glurge Addict: Meow is one. The Pokémon Fan Club is so overly sweet and decorated with kitschy decore that Holly and Kidd get disgusted at its aesthetics.
- Graceful Loser: Lucy is one after the first contest in the story; she simply smiles and congratulates Klaus. Kidd and Raymond don't take the loss too well. Holly loses to Butch in her first gym match, but takes the loss in stride.
- G-Rated Stoner: Haina-Haina Desert's owner, Bob. He's very relaxed, his store smells like heavy incense, has bead curtains and a tapestry with dancing Teddiursa on it.
- Grave-Marking Scene: In one chapter, the group visits Mt. Pyre. Here, Belladonna's ghost leads them to her grave, leading them to place flowers and makeshift incense to pay respects.
- Greasy Spoon: There's several scattered through the story:
- Sing Blue Silver cafe is a Galarian variant, serving traditional English food such as a Full English breakfast.
- Noctowl's is a more traditional Unova-style one, complete with all-day breakfast and burnt coffee.
- Green Thumb: Tank's hair is described as like a leaf, his last name is Pepper, and he catches several Grass-type Pokémon (including a wild Cacturne). Most of his Pokémon are named after botany terms.
- Grief-Induced Split: After Frank's Croagunk died, he and his boyfriend Rooney broke up. It's implied that he never got over her death and ruined all his relationships because he was unable to cope.
- Groin Attack: One of the Team Pastel grunts kicks O'Hare in the balls, so he won't fight back when they steal his boat.
- Group Hug: The trio get into one after their official Relationship Upgrade.
- Groupie Brigade: One appears in the Slateport City arc, squealing as they follow Apollo and shout crude demands at him.
- Guest-Star Party Member: The trio occasionally get joined by several characters in group battles:
- Frank tags along through the Team Cottage/Mt. Chimney arc, then leaves for Mt. Pyre. Except that last part's a lie; he was in jail.
- Static joins the trio in battling a wild Electivire in New Mauville
- A wild Ariados and a Swablu join to battle another trainer's Froslass
- A group of Tropius defend the trio from wild Vileplume. One of the Tropius ends up joining the trio permanently.
- Frank and Apollo return again, this time, joining the teenagers for a trip to Mt. Pyre.
- Gym Class Rope Climb: A positive portrayal. Holly’s knowledge of climbing ropes helps her and the group escape one section of Rusturf Tunnel.
- Hand on Womb: Sable places a hand on her stomach while talking about children. It’s later confirmed she’s pregnant with Tom Nook’s children.
- Hanging Our Clothes to Dry: After getting caught in a heavy rainstorm, the trio hang their wet clothes in a Secret Base.
- Has a Type: After some light teasing about her friendship with Flora, Holly teases Kidd by saying goats are more her type. After chapter 24, Holly's type is revealed: pastel-color mammals with horns.
- Hayseed Name: Buck (a cowboy who hails from the Unova region) names his Flygon "Daisy Duke".
- Hell Hotel: Inn n' Out is an absolutely disgusting hotel (broken appliances and lack of shower), and a hotel receptionist who doesn't care about his job. Karma strikes, however, when it's revealed that the place shut down weeks after the protagonist visits it.
- Hell Is That Noise: After Apollo falls unconscious, a war siren broke out across the entire Hoenn region.
- Hero Antagonist: Most of the opponents the trio faces are simply other innocent contestants with goals and ambitions like theirs. Except the criminal teams.
- Heroic BSoD: Holly snaps into a mental breakdown from the stress of caring for her sick friends, to the point that she throws rocks at the wall and has to be calmed down by Frank.
- Hidden Depths: Chapter eight reveals two of them: Tank is an artist and Holly is into writing.
- His Girlfriend's Jacket: In chapter 39, Kidd wears Holly's hoodie for a contest to boost his confidence.
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: Used throughout the fic:
- 'Pink Mareep' is used as one for Black Sheep
- A Humilau City iced tea is used for the Long Island iced tea
- Blue Alolan for the drink Blue Hawaiian.
- "Son of a Granbull" for "son of a bitch"
- "Look what the Meowth dragged in"
- "Go rot in the Distortion World" for "go to hell"
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: Downplayed. The three main characters read plenty of NSFW doujinshi/fanfiction when nobody's looking, but otherwise don't show much interest in sexuality.
- Horse of a Different Color: Holly rides her Gyarados during her battle against Dobie. She's also seen riding her Manectric in order to climb over a dangerous path, and her Lairon when escaping the Rusturf Tunnel.
- Hostile Weather: Petalburg Woods is coated in snow, and this blocks the trio from getting to Petalburg City. It leads them to battling the Pokémon that caused the blizzard.
- Hot Springs Episode: The trio go to an onsen in Chapter 23. Unfortunately for them, it's not as relaxing as expected. The main conflict is between Holly's Gyarados and Curt's Magcargo, while one of the older onsen visitors gets Kidd drunk.
- Human-Focused Adaptation: Inverted. The fanfic removes the Token Human player in order to focus more on the animal villagers and characters like Tom Nook.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Sunny Grenounille's fate? She was cannibalized by her fellow explorers after they ate their Pokémon.
- Immoral Journalist: Several journalists from the Hoenn News Network harass Phoebe just before her first gym battle.
- Incompatible Orientation: A large brigade of fangirls are attracted to Apollo, not knowing that he's gay.
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Nurse Shizue (the Nurse-Joy stand in). All of them look the same except for one detail: the hair accessory they're wearing for each city. This also applies to Copper and Booker (the stand-ins for Officer Jenny).
- Indy Escape: The trio have to run through a section of Rusturf Tunnel, narrowly avoiding a wild Golem in the process.
- Injured Limb Episode: After Holly punches a window, her arm's cut up and bandaged, leaving her unable to jump straight into a gym battle that day.
- Tank later breaks his wrist in chapter 31, leading to him changing his research-based goal.
- Instant Fan Club: Holly finds herself with a fan club; a group of kindergartners who follow her gym battles online. Several trainers know of her battles, including Mott and Scoot (two residents of Petalburg City), and the gym trainers at the Fortree Gym.
- Instant Illness: Downplayed. Tank and Kidd go from healthy to sick overnight, but the cause of illness (exposure to wild Koffing and Grimer) was two days before they turned sick. It takes them two whole days to recover.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Tom Nook (35 years old) is close friends with Tank (14), due to their love of Pokémon and interest in Hoenn entertainment.
- Interspecies Friendship: This is shown to be the norm in the Hoenn region, with characters of other species often having friends outside their species i.e. a kappa and a frog both easily trusting an eagle, or a tanuki and a rhino.
- Interspecies Romance: Used frequently in the story:
- Deconstructed in the past. It's revealed a romance between a human man and a wolf woman caused the two to summon Kyogre and Groudon years ago, leading to humans going extinct.
- Dobie (a wolf) and Judy (a bear cub) are exes who broke up before the story began.
- Played straight with Tom Nook and Sable (a raccoon and hedgehog, who are married).
- Static the squirrel is married to a tiger named Bangle.
- As of chapter 24, the three main characters, a rhino, goat and chicken, are all a throuple.
- A gaiden one-shot confirms that Apollo (an eagle) is dating Wolfgang (a wolf).
- Frank (an eagle) and Rooney (a kangaroo) are exes.
- Introduced Species Calamity: Several non-Hoenn Pokémon are introduced to Route 121's environment, most of them being peaceful species like Aipom or Poliwag. After the Safari Zone shuts down, dozens of Parasect run around terrifying trainers.
- Involuntary Group Split: The trio get separated inside Fiery Path after a rock slide. Flora and Nougat (her Grimer) get separated as well, leaving Nougat to tag along with several wild Grimer before being found by Kidd and friends.
- Jerkass: There's several characters in the series who are assholes to others around them:
- Chuck (the brown bull in chapter eleven) is one to the trio (refusing to rent bikes to them because they're minors, making their trip to Mauville City more inconvenient).
- Raymond is a Kalosian snob who puts down everyone around him, including his own Pokémon.
- Dobie is a callous team leader who doesn't care about his grunts.
- Kick the Dog:
- At Kidd's absolute worst (confessing his love to Aloe, then getting rejected), Raymond shows up to make fun of him for being rejected and to rub it in how much his life sucks.
- Aries was callously released by her last trainer for losing too many Contests.
- Kimono Is Traditional: Inverted. Frank wears a shortened blue kimono but he's a delinquent at heart (constantly smoking, swears more than the rest of the cast, was in jail for part of the story, and knows how to make a molotov cocktail).
- Knight of Cerebus: While the main plot follows the main trio traveling through the Hoenn region, the story gets darker with the presence of both Cottage and Pastel. Don himself is responsible for both teams, making him the biggest knight.
