CharCole
is a webcomic drawn by Kyrio, set within the Pokémon world.
It follows the misadventures of Cole Nero. Though the son of the local Pokémon professor, he was actually never that interested in becoming a Trainer. But on his 18th birthday, he finds himself dragged along on a Pokémon journey anyways- on the other side of the Pokéball.
An encounter with a badly-programmed reconstructor/teleporter leaves him stranded in the woods as a Charmander. Confused, he accidentally lets himself be caught by neophyte trainer Brian Wheaton, who makes up in enthusiasm what he lacks in competence.
Unable to communicate his predicament to the human world for the time being, he reluctantly goes along with Brian- and soon begins to fear just how naturally he takes to battling. Then a 2000-year-old psychopathic Mew gets wind of his situation, and things start getting complicated...
This webcomic provides examples of:
- Afraid of Needles: Cole is. One more sign that he's no pokemon.
- Anime Hair: Several of the human characters; comes from being Pokemon-based.
- Art Evolution: Don't let the first hundred or so pages fool you. The art gets much better.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Vivian Nepenthe, the "second" gym leader.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Bud to Kraker, after Kraker ignores Bud's concerns about Cole.
- Cutlass Between the Teeth: Tigris's stunt technically counts.
- Dangerous 16th Birthday: Played with when Cole's absentminded father wished him a "sweet sixteenth" the morning his troubles begin, not realizing his son was in fact turning eighteen that day. Taking that as the last straw, Cole decides to get revenge by sabotaging one of his dad's machines, mistakenly activating it instead...
- Defeat Means Friendship: Subverted a bit with Cole's initial capture, but otherwise true; comes from being Pokemon-based.
- Elsewhere Fic: The story takes place in the newly-created "Lassoh Region".
- Fake Ultimate Mook: Averted, in the literal sense at least; type advantages against a 3-ton boulder are purely theoretical.
- Instant Expert: Subverted, Just because Cole's now a Charmander doesn't mean he knows how to breathe fire. Aodan has to teach him how to do quite a few things that don't come instinctively.
- Get Ahold Of Yourself Man: In order to get Cole to calm down and think rationally, Aodan pins Cole to the ground with one foot and angrily asks if he's lost his mind.
- Ghost in the Machine: Cole has "Reason" and "Emotion" hanging around.
- It should be noted that the voice of reason is a Charmander.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: Cole does this most of the time, even after he learns to breathe fire.
- How Do I Shot Web?: After turning Cole's father into a Charizard and commands him use his fire on him, it turns out he genuinely doesn't know how as a result of Maoh suppressing his mind. The chapter this happens in even references the trope name.
- Just Eat Gilligan: Perhaps Cole is unable to speak, but shouldn't he still know enough about the English language to write "I am not a pokemon"? He eventually realizes the same thing.
- Lampshade Hanging: Occasionally done by the author in the Alt Text.
- Non Sequitur, *Thud*: Every time Bud gets knocked out (which seems to happen a fair bit), he tends to say something weird and food related.
- The Power of Rock: Sort of, Kraker lights up a cave with the horns gesture.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Many, but especially this one: "We have five minutes, Kraker. Make it quick." "Quick you say? That doesn't necessarily mean... painless."
- Precision Guided Bonemerang: averted, to Dante's frustration.
- Talking to Themself: Reason and Emotion. Becomes a particularly interesting example when they duel each other ala Fight Club.
- The Punishment: Maoh, to a degree: His curse of immortality left him desperate for "entertainment", which is what makes him a threat.
- Running Gag: Brian getting hit in the head by something a Pokemon he just captured threw at him.
- Cole being called a loony by various characters.
- Shout-Out: "Why? Slow sirius?"
- Sinister Scythe: "The Boss", a Scyther.
- Split-Personality Takeover: Whether or not Cole/Charlie will succumb to this is a large part of the main plot, and it's something he's very worried about. It may be what Maoh was attempting to instigate by futzing around with Cole's subconcious in the first place.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Aodan seems to love this trick. Being a Spirit Advisor, which would make this trick easier for him.
- Stepping Stones in the Sky: Against a Beedrill swarm.
- The Exit Is That Way: "To Marquee Town!" "Sensors indicate your destination is in the other direction."
- Theme Naming:
- Colenote , Prometheusnote , Nero note , and Aodannote are all linked to fire in some way.
- The towns of the Lassoh region, as well as the region itself, are all named after Photoshop filters or tools.
- Various other characters are theme named as well such as the Grass/Fire gym leading family, the Wheatonsnote . Including Ivalinenote , Mandragora, and Briannote
- Pokemon are generally named with their species or type in mind. Such as Charlie the Charmander, Kraker the Pikachu, or Bud the Bulbasaur.
- The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Cole's main internal conflict with Charlie, furthered by interference from Maoh.
- Tongue-Tied: Cole is limited to Pokémon Speak, preventing him from telling any humans about his condition. Or at least that's what he thinks. It turns out he's wrong.
- Transformation Comic: Somewhat: it caused Cole's predicament, and is the catalyst for the entire comic.
- Unstoppable Rage: Cole's power surge in his first gym battle, triggered by a memory of his apathetic parents, which nearly causes him to torch his opponent Ivysaur to death.
- Webcomic Time: Roughly two years out-of-comic cover a week within, with the second year covering approximately 24 hours.
- Wham Episode: Chapter 9, Psycho Safari. Cole tries to write a message to Professor Cedar and explain his situation, only to find out the Prof. had put two and two together and knew Cole was a Charmander all along. Cole then agrees to some stress tests, which consist of Prof. Cedar trying to shoot Cole's head off while he runs for his life. Dante tries to intervene, but this just leads to him getting shot at. To save Dante, Cole literally catches on fire and stops the bullet with his freaking hands, all while remaining in control unlike his previous tastes of power. Even Maoh was impressed.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: A major contributor to the friction between Cole and his father.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Maoh was supposedly granted a "taste of divinity", including immortality, according to a story in the comic. Now he's rather unstable, to put it mildly.
