Rare Candy Treatment is a Pokémon webcomic by Swedish artist Olle Johansson, also known as Bumbazzle/Bummer online. It's named after the Rare Candy item in said games, playing with the idea of it being an addictive drug (therefore requiring treatment). The first strip was uploaded in August 2010.
"But wait, how is this any different from all the other Pokémon fan comics out there?", you may ask. To answer your question, we'll present you the three key points of this webcomic: the first, its serious drawing style; the second, Black Comedy; and the third, the great focus on the trainers (instead of the traditional focus on the creatures). These three things together actually give the comic series a certain Mood Dissonance with the usual Pokémon friendly and nice atmosphere, which, all things considered, ends up being quite enjoyable, and has certainly contributed to the comic's great popularity.
But alas, all good things must come to an end, and as of 20 June 2014 the webcomic has ended, due to the author having done everything he wanted to do with it. This was then followed by the comic's original site expiring, and then by its Smack Jeeves mirror going down with the entire site on 2020. Thus, you can now only read the comic thorough the author's DeviantArt account, or though the original site's archive on the Wayback Machine.
This comic contains the following tropes:
- Agony of the Feet: The DexBusters attempt to test Ponyta's Pokedex entry claiming that its hooves are 10 times harder than diamond... by jackhammering at them. We didn't see the result of the experiment, but given that the Ponyta screamed in pain just off-screen, it likely didn't end well.
- Alt Text: Every strip has one that provides an extra punchline or commentary. They can only be seen on the official site uploads (which can now only be accessed via Wayback Machine).
- Cult: One comic features a cult that worships Missingno, the infamous glitch Pokemon. The cult members only refer to it as "The Glitch".
- Deconstruction: A lot of dark or silly things in Pokémon are analyzed. For instance, one Hypno with the "Insomnia" Ability will be doomed to a sleepless life.
- Similarly, breeding Pokemon until the one with just the right nature leads to massive ecological upheaval.
- Even darker, the Elemental Stones are said to give off a strange sort of radiation that causes certain Pokemon to evolve. What else does radiation cause? Cancer.
- Similarly, breeding Pokemon until the one with just the right nature leads to massive ecological upheaval.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Magnemite used Magnet Rise, which causes it to levitate! Even though it's already levitating!
- Dream Apocalypse: Spoink used Dream Eater! Which manifests as a destructive vortex in a Volbeat's nice dream, sucking everything into it.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: A Haunter meets your average skeptical teenager. Funnily enough, Haunter's ghostly attacks have no effect on the teen, thanks to Puff of Logic.
- Foe Romance Subtext: Zangoose and Seviper are mortal enemies, yet somehow produce an egg.
- A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: "Mindblowing" has a Medicham attempt to read the mind of a Shiftry using Nasty Plot. It's horrified at what it saw.
- Mundane Utility: The trainer in "Divine Purpose" has an Arceus, which he uses for lighting up a cave.
- No-Sell: Flying-types are immune to Ground-type attacks... even if said Ground-type attack involves chucking a large bone directly at its face.
- Power Incontinence: Snover's Snow Warning ability makes it summon hailstorms even if it doesn't intend to.
- Rake Take: "Tools of War" suggests using rakes as an entry hazard for battles in a similar fashion to Spikes and Stealth Rock.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: The Dexbusters' experiment concludes that Machamp can throw a thousand punches in half a minute. Too bad the Pokédex says it should be able to do it in two seconds.
- Required Secondary Powers: "Moving Tales" depicts what would happen if this trope is averted in the games. A Ditto can transform but cannot alter its size thanks to conservation of mass, a Pineco can't use Earthquake because it's too light, and an Electrode cannot use Sucker Punch because it has no arms.
- Shout-Out: Besides being obviously based on Pokémon, this comic is littered with pop-culture references here and there:
- The Ruins of Alph apparently has a statue of ALF.
- F.I.E.N.D.S, starring Chandelure Bing.
- The Dexbusters are basically just the Mythbusters applying their method to debunk ludicrous Pokédex entries.
- When there's something strange in the Old Chateau, who ya gonna call?
- The Ruins of Alph
- Take That!:
- Wag the Director: In-Universe with Rosa and the Pokéstar Studios director in "Scene it all".Rosa: Look. You're the director. I'm the lead actor. I believe it's obvious who's in charge here.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Alakazam can beat a computer at chess and solve a Rubik's Cube in seconds. Ask it to learn a fifth move, however...
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: "Baby don't hurt me" features a Cryogonal with this motivation to find out what love is, due to being a gender-neutral Pokemon who can be taught Attract. Sadly, it never learns what love is.
