History Main / BeginnersLuck

** In ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'', during Ash's very first matchup in the [[TournamentArc Indigo League]], he relied on a Pokémon that he had no experience using in battle before: his Krabby. Krabby proceeded to evolve into Kingler and swiftly gives Ash his first win in the tournament. He does the same thing later when he used Muk (again, a Pokémon he had never used) in the fourth round, defeating his opponent's ''incredibly'' tough Bellsprout. (Although, that was one time he [[SmartBall actually planned it out a little]]; the battle was on the Grass field, he figured his opponent would likely use a Grass Pokémon - which she did - so he decided to use Muk, who being a Poison-type, would have type advantage to such a Pokémon.) [[CallBack Brought up again]] in "''Hello Pummelo''", where Ash chooses another Pokémon he has never used before, his Tauros, in his lineup for the championship match.

* Subversion: Shinji from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has a remarkable ability to sync with and pilot his HumongousMecha, even compared to those who have trained for months and been [[spoiler:cloned with the purpose of doing so]]. He's also the only one to cause his HumongousMecha to go berserk in the main series for significant amounts of time, including it moving when it has no power. However, this all has been carefully planned out in advance by the PowersThatBe, and it rarely translates well when the situation calls for finesse.

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', during Ash's very first matchup in the [[TournamentArc Indigo League]], he relied on a Pokémon that he had no experience using in battle before: his Krabby. Krabby proceeded to evolve into Kingler and swiftly gives Ash his first win in the tournament. He does the same thing later when he used Muk (again, a Pokémon he had never used) in the fourth round, defeating his opponent's ''incredibly'' tough Bellsprout. (Although, that was one time he [[SmartBall actually planned it out a little]]; the battle was on the Grass field, he figured his opponent would likely use a Grass Pokémon - which she did - so he decided to use Muk, who being a Poison Type, would have Type Advantage to such a Pokémon.) [[CallBack Brought up again]] in "''Hello Pummelo''", where Ash chooses another Pokémon he has never used before, his Tauros, in his lineup for the championship match.\\\
In the same vein in ''Best Wishes'' Ash's new rival Trip easily beats Ash's Pikachu with his Snivy. He lampshades how easy it was to beat Pikachu but the audience knows that Pikachu wasn't up for a battle because earlier in the episode, Pikachu was zapped by Zekrom and couldn't use his electric or speed attacks severely making Pikachu having a huge handicap. While Trip doesn't believe Ash when Ash explains that in their next battle, Ash clearly tells Trip that he got lucky their first battle.

* Yuuri in ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'' commits this trope when he manages to defeat Wolfram in a sword-fight despite having no sword training at all. He then proceeds to defeat him using magic too, with no training or even knowledge of his own ability, even though everyone else he faces have a lifetime of training and effort. To be fair, though, he almost never uses magic outside of his SuperMode, which comes complete with a SplitPersonality that ''does'' know the ins and outs of spellcraft very well.

* ''TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsSecondEdition'' sourcebook ''Greyhawk Adventures'' includes optional creation rules that involve starting as zero-level characters -- that is, as beginners before any specific CharacterClass is chosen. Among these rules are the "Luck" one, which consists in trying to perform a task you're not fully trained in by "trusting luck". On a lucky roll, you can attain Insight or Great Insight, allowing you to temporarily perform like a 12[[superscript:th]]-level character. The example given contrasts a trained cleric carefully attempting to TurnUndead on a vampire using the proper words and faith, with the overeager newbie who resorts to thrusting the holy symbol in the vampire's face and screaming [[FlatScare "BOO!"]], startling the undead so much that it can work.

* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. As a kid fumbling around with her staff for the first time, she destroys a monster within ''minutes'', she saves multiple universes multiple times at the age of ''nine'', completely shattering the learning curve in the process, and years later as a fully trained battlemage, she's not only a literal [[TheAce ace]] (well, "[[GratuitousEnglish A's]]") but has to have [[PowerLimiter limiter upon limiter]] attached to herself and her staff at all times so as not to GodMode her enemies to death in '''seconds'''. The in-story explanation for the limiters is that a single unit is not allowed to have that many high-level mages in it, for fear of mutiny.

* Like many anime before it, ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'''s main character starts as a simple human who can see ghosts. Turns out he not only has enough raw power to break magic, but then manifests a [[{{BFS}} Giant Sword of Doom]]. For the first few arcs, he continuously manages to not only gain powers and/or abilities that other people have to work centuries to gain IN DAYS, but then continues to show that he is better at it. He also has no talent whatsoever for performing hakudo spells or special moves though. While his spiritual pressure is tremendous, he's just as tremendously limited in its use. He only has one special move, and his bankai is just a massive speed boost.

* ''Advanced TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' (2[[superscript:nd]] edition) sourcebook ''Greyhawk Adventures'' includes optional creation rules that involve starting as zero-level characters -- that is, as beginners before any specific CharacterClass is chosen. Among these rules are the "Luck" one, which consists in trying to perform a task you're not fully trained in by "trusting luck". On a lucky roll, you can attain Insight or Great Insight, allowing you to temporarily perform like a 12[[superscript:th]]-level character. The example given contrasts a trained cleric carefully attempting to TurnUndead on a vampire using the proper words and faith, with the overeager newbie who resorts to thrusting the holy symbol in the vampire's face and screaming [[FlatScare "BOO!"]], startling the undead so much that it can work.

* In Robert Asprin's ''[[Literature/MythAdventures Little Myth Marker]]'', Skeeve (who has played precisely one game before this) plays Dragon Poker against the top professional player in the multi-verse, the Sen-Sen Ante Kid. Skeeve explicitly invokes this trope, stating immediately before betting his entire pot on the first hand that in a long term game he had no chance at all, but in a single hand he had a 50-50 chance of winning. He won.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', during Ash's very first matchup in the [[TournamentArc Indigo League]], he relied on a Pokémon that he had no experience using in battle before: his Krabby. Krabby proceeded to evolve into Kingler and swiftly gives Ash his first win in the tournament. He does the same thing later when he used Muk (again, a Pokémon he had never used) in the fourth round, defeating his opponent's ''incredibly'' tough Bellsprout. (Although, that was one time he [[SmartBall actually planned it out a little]]; the battle was on the Grass field, he figured his opponent would likely use a Grass Pokémon - which she did - so he decided to use Muk, who being a Poison Type, would have Type Advantage to such a Pokémon.) [[CallBack Brought up again]] in "''Hello Pummelo''", where Ash chooses another Pokémon he has never used before, his Tauros, in his lineup for the championship match. \\
\\

[[folder:FanWorks]]

[[folder:Film]]

** Rey from the Sequel Trilogy is able to fly the Millenium Falcon through wrecked Star Destroyers in a way that would leave its owner Han Solo staring in awe in order to escape several TIE fighters chasing her and her comrades, despite flat-out telling Finn that not only has she never flown it before, but the ship itself hasn't been flown in years. She also, despite having never wielded a lightsaber in battle or had any real experience with the Force, is able to fight and defeat Kylo Ren in their battle on the Starkiller Base despite her opponent having years of experience and training [[spoiler:from Luke Skywalker, his uncle]]. Kylo at least has the excuse of being shot in the side by Chewbacca and fighting Finn beforehand, but both of these had only slowed him down by the time of their battle, not crippled him.

* Played especially straight in ''Film/TheKarateKid1984''. Daniel stumbles on Mr. Miyagi attempting to catch flies with a pair of chopsticks ("Man who catch fly with chopstick - accomplish ANYTHING.") While Mr. Miyagi tries and fails throughout the scene, Daniel manages it within seconds of attempting it, prompting a disgruntled "You beginner luck," from Miyagi.

--> '''Lonestar:''' That was pretty good. For a girl.
--> '''Dot:''' That was pretty good for Rambo!

%%[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]
%%[[/folder]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: VideoGame/FireWarrior'', the main character, Kais, tears through an enemy base, takes down a helicopter (equivalent) with nothing but a pair of rifles, rescues the Ethereal, almost singlehandedly stymies a boarding attempt on his ship, fights off entire squads of [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]], fights off ''Corrupted'' Space Marines, takes down a HumongousMecha, and destroys a Greater Daemon... all during his first battle.
** However he does go completely insane after this.
** In the novel you find out that the Blood God Khorne was ''so'' impressed with Kais' bloodbath that he started backing the little blue guy.

* The Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} has several examples. ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' gives us Shirou, who's been admittedly training for 8 years so hard it could nearly kill him... except he does it ''wrong'' and therefore it was pointless. By the end of the routes he's generally taking on experienced Masters and Servants 1v1 and winning. Shiki in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' is even more ridiculous, killing the 1000 year old Nero Chaos and 800 year old Roa, both of whom were supposed to be unkillable. With a small pocket knife, the only weapon he has any proficiency for at all. Shiki is a bit of a strange case. He has a power that can kill anything including abstract concepts such as invincibility itself, as well as a SuperpoweredEvilSide that is vastly more competent than he is and seems to be somewhat more than human.
* In ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial 2 Substories: Dancing Summer Vacation'', Kaori Yae manages to get a perfect score on her first try at ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution''. The justification given by the storyline is that she has an innate sense of rhythm, and is in top-shape physical condition due to being a sportswoman.

* In the ''{{WesternAnimation/Arthur}}'' episode "Cast Away" D.W. catches a fish on her first try, much to the annoyance of Arthur who has been trying and failing repeatedly.

* Often happens in TabletopGame/{{poker}}, since beginners almost always [[StrategySchmategy don't know anything]] about poker strategy and play as they like. So, they're a) hard to estimate and b) also hard to bluff. Poker is still partly luck-based, so any beginner has a chance to beat the best poker players in the world. (If you're playing against a single opponent without a betting limit, simply betting all your chips immediately at the beginning of every hand - without even looking at your cards - will give you about a one in three chance to win a match against anyone.)

** US Chess Champion Wesley So laughingly tells a story of how he once taught chess to a class of elementary school students as part of an enrichment program. After explaining the rules to a class of 3rd graders, he chose one girl to be his opponent for a demo match in which he intended to further explain to the class how the game worked. The girl checkmated him in six moves, unknowingly baiting into the so-called "Fool's Gambit" that, normally, is such an obvious ploy and so easy to block that "no one but a fool" would ever try to use it against an experienced player. Mr. So relates that he didn't expect the girl to use ''any'' of the known gambits, and thus fell for the most obvious one of all.

* Misaki in ''Anime/KidouTenshiAngelicLayer'' is known as the "Miracle Rookie", beating her opponents with the simple power of PowerCopying and friend-magnetism when she's barely picked up an Angel. An interesting example because not only is this a game rather than world-saving heroics, it's just that, a ''game'', not SeriousBusiness - at least in the manga. (Even in the anime, Misaki [[CavalierCompetitor doesn't treat it nearly as seriously as others do]].)

* Kasuki Yotsuga from ''Anime/ParallelTroubleAdventureDual'' discovers his incredible talent for piloting Core Robots when he's accidentally sealed into one while trying to rescue its wounded pilot. [[spoiler: It turns out that his alternate-universe self ''is'' a Core Robot, and the psychic link between the two is what makes him so good.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial 2 Substories: Dancing Summer Vacation'', Kaori Yae manages to get a perfect score on her first try at ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution''. The justification given by the storyline is that she has an innate sense of rythmn, and is in top-shape physical condition due to being a sportswoman.

** Rei from the Sequel Trilogy is able to fly the Millenium Falcon through wrecked Star Destroyers in a way that would leave its owner Han Solo staring in awe in order to escape several TIE fighters chasing her and her comrades, despite flat-out telling Finn that not only has she never flown it before, but the ship itself hasn't been flown in years. She also, despite having never wielded a lightsaber in battle or had any real experience with the Force, is able to fight and defeat Kylo Ren in their battle on the Starkiller Base despite her opponent having years of experience and training [[spoiler:from Luke Skywalker, his uncle]]. Kylo at least has the excuse of being shot in the side by Chewbacca and fighting Finn beforehand, but both of these had only slowed him down by the time of their battle, not crippled him.

* Kasuki Yotsuga from ''Anime/ParallelTroubleAdventureDual'' discovers his incredible talent for piloting Core Robots when he's accidentally sealed into one while trying to rescue its wounded pilot.

[[folder:Live-TV]]

** US Chess Champion Wesley So laughingly tells a story of how he once taught chess to a class of elementary school students as part of an enrichment program. After explaining the rules to a class of 3rd graders, he chose one girl to be his opponent for a demo match in which he intended to further explain to the class how the game worked. The girl checkmated him in six moves, unknowingly falling into the so-called "Fool's Gambit" that, normally, is such an obvious ploy and one that is so easy to block that "no one but a fool" would ever try to use against an experienced player. Mr. So relates that he didn't expect the girl to use ''any'' of the known gambits, and thus fell for the most obvious one of all.

* When it comes to playing a FightingGame, such as ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', the more experienced player will know all the tricks to every move on every character while someone with little to no experience in the fighting game genre may resort to ButtonMashing. The newbie player may actually win a few rounds against an experienced player this way just because they managed to mash up enough buttons to pull off a series of moves to stop their opponent while the experienced player is frustrated since they can't find an opening to attack in or block against all the spammed attacks. Not all fighting games fall under this and may have counters against players who randomly mashes buttons.

* In many sports and martial arts, an individual has to pass through a curious phase where they have to surrender their natural athleticism in order to learn how to execute the movements of that art or sport. Consequently, a beginner performs better than someone who is just initiated because the beginner doesn't suffer the CentipedesDilemma. For example, a person who has never lifted an epee will have a certain natural athleticism which will help them make up for having no technique. After a few lessons, performance goes down as the beginner is frozen by thinking about what they are doing. Passing through this step is one of the necessary sacrifices for mastering the art.

Compare with AchievementsInIgnorance, FallingIntoTheCockpit, LikeADuckTakesToWater, and ReadingsAreOffTheScale (although this trope applies to a person rather than a machine).

[[folder:Tropes]]
* Inherent to the SixthRanger trope, often with TheWorfEffect later.
[[/folder]]

** US Chess Champion Wesley So laughingly tells a story of how he once taught chess to a class of elementary school students as part of an enrichment program. After explaining the rules to a class of 3rd graders, he chose one girl to be his opponent for a demo match in which he intended to further explain to the class how the game worked. The girl checkmated him in six moves, unknowingly falling into the so-called "Fool's Gambit" that, normally, is such an obvious ploy and one that is so easy to block that "no one but a fool" would ever try to use against an experienced player. So says he didn't expect the girl to use ''any'' of the known gambits, and thus fell for the most obvious one of all.

** Rei from the Sequel Trilogy, despite having never wielded a lightsaber in battle or had any real experience with the Force, is able to fight and defeat Kylo Ren in their battle on the Starkiller Base despite her opponent having years of experience and training [[spoiler:from Luke Skywalker, his uncle]]. Kylo at least has the excuse of being shot in the side by Chewbacca and fighting Finn beforehand, but both of these had only slowed him down by the time of their battle, not crippled him.

* Anakin and Luke Skywalker in ''Franchise/StarWars'': Anakin promptly gets into a starfighter that he's never seen before in his life and manages to fly it well enough to not only kick ass, but blow up a massive spaceship. Later in his life, while rescuing the Chancellor, he successfully lands planetside a ship whose controls he's never seen before, which is not designed for atmospheric , not designed for human pilots, has broken gravity generators, is missing about half its mass, and is on fire. He sticks the landing (right outside the Jedi temple, having a whole planet of landing sites to choose from) and walks away from the smoking wreckage. Luke, meanwhile, has at least some excuse. The Incom T-65 X-wing setup is almost a carbon copy of the Skyhopper's, which is a small air speeder that Luke practiced with throughout the majority of his life on Tattooine, allowing Luke to adjust fairly quickly.

* The Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} has several examples. ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' gives us Shirou, who's been admittedly training for 8 years so hard it could nearly kill him... except he does it ''wrong'' and therefore it was pointless. By the end of the route he's generally taking on Servants 1v1 and winning. Shiki in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' is even more ridiculous, killing the 1000 year old Nero Chaos and 800 year old Roa, both of whom were supposed to be unkillable. With a small pocket knife, the only weapon he has any proficiency for at all. Shiki is a bit of a strange case. He has a power that can kill anything including abstract concepts such as invincibility itself, as well as a SuperpoweredEvilSide that is vastly more competent than he is and seems to be somewhat more than human.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'', The Dark Ace has already killed several experienced Sky Knights, but the leader of a young, inexperienced group beats him in their second fight during the ''first episode'' and would repeat that feat multiple times throughout the series. Though it should be noted the Dark Ace [[NiceJobFixingItVillain had him dead to rights in their first fight, but made the mistake of letting him live and pointing out the flaws in his technique in his arrogance]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'', The Dark Ace has already killed several experienced Sky Knights, but the leader of a young, inexperienced group beats him. Multiple times.

* "Barbary Coast Bunny" had WesternAnimation/BugsBunny posing as a rube in order to get back the gold that Nasty Canasta stole from him. At Canasta's gambling palace in San Francisco, Bugs passes off his own skill and prowess as beginner's luck.

* From ''Manga/{{Saki}}'', Senoo Kaori from Tsuruga Academy is made of this trope. She's a complete noob, even going so far as to visually (and obviously) separate her tiles according to her winning hand. But she gets lucky many times, to the point where Yumi forbade her from playing {{Mahjong}} between the team competition and the individual so she could keep her luck. The result: First, in the team tourney, she slams Kiyosumi's [[{{Meganekko}} Mako]] with a Suuankou (4 concealed triples, a rare Yakuman hand worth max points). Then she goes on to win her first individuals match by scoring a Kokushi Musou (aka Thirteen Orphans, another rare Yakuman hand) off of Ryuumonbuchi's [[{{Ojou}} Touka]]. Finally, just for fun, she drops a Ryuu-issou (All Greens) Yakuman in practice. She never calls out her hand correctly, because she doesn't even know which combo is which (each of her 'victims' had to tell her which hand she really won with).

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'' when the gang is talked into betting on a horse at the track and he wins. Creator/BillCosby notes, "Beginner's Luck," to the audience. Suddenly, there is an announcement that the gang's horse is disqualified, which nullifies the gang's winning while a stunned Cosby notes "That has got to be the shortest streak of Beginner's Luck in ''history''!

* ''Literature/AshAndCinders'' When facing the Traveling Dark - creatures that disabled her brother and gave Orym a run for his money, Cinder trips and accidentally wills a burning branch to impale them when she throws up her hand to shield herself.