History Main / ElementalFusion

* Air or Ice + [[PlayingWithFire Fire]] = [[ShockAndAwe Lightning/Electricity]]

** Originally, there were only the four primordial elements from which the world was shaped -- Fire, Ice, Electricity, and Earth -- and all elementally-aligned beings were tied to one of these. [[https://www.deviantart.com/dragonoficeandfire/art/Destiny-Intertwined-Page-6-904975766 Secondary elements arose later]], as the result of interbreeding between elementally aligned dragons. Intermarriage between Fire and Ice dragons sometimes resulted in children with the ability to manipulate water, while pairings of Earth and Electricity dragons, both of which manipulate wind to small extents, resulted in some children whose powers revolved around air alone. In the modern day, both types have become well-established enough that Water and Wind have become recognized as true, albeit secondary, elements.

* In ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia'' characters gain magic by equipping special Gems. There are Gems only for the main four elements, but there are four more elements that can be accessed by putting two Gems of the same level and of non-opposing elements next to each other. They are: Light (Wind + Fire), Darkness (Earth + Fire), Ice (Earth + Water), and Lightning (Water + Wind).

* In ''VideoGame/DoodleGod'', the player begins with 4 elements and must find different ways of combining them to create new things.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'', party members can layer their spellcasts on top of each other to combine their effects. While stacking multiple of the same spell simply produces stronger versions of the spell, combining different spells can result in radically different elements. Combining Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder produces the Graviga spell to flatten enemies with increased gravity. Combining Fire, Blizard, or Thunder with two casts of Life will instead cast Holyra to bombard the area with {{holy|HandGrenade}}light.

* Earth + Water = [[GreenThumb Wood/Plant]] or [[MuckingInTheMud Mud]]

* ''Webcomic/DestinyIntertwined'': Originally, there were only the four primordial elements from which the world was shaped -- Fire, Ice, Electricity, and Earth -- and all elementally-aligned beings were tied to one of these. [[https://www.deviantart.com/dragonoficeandfire/art/Destiny-Intertwined-Page-6-904975766 Secondary elements arose later]], as the result of interbreeding between elementally aligned dragons. Intermarriage between Fire and Ice dragons sometimes resulted in children with the ability to manipulate water, while pairings of Earth and Electricity dragons, both of which manipulate wind to small extents, resulted in some children whose powers revolved around air alone. In the modern day, both types have become well-established enough that Water and Wind have become recognized as true, albeit secondary, elements.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': {{Averted|Trope}} with elemental sub-skills. Rather than fusing two of the four ElementalPowers, the sub-skills are derivations that only advanced benders can generate. Benders however can adopt aspects of philosophy and style.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[{{Downplayed}} Played subtly]] over the course of the series, focusing more on the philosophies behind the elements rather than the elements themselves. Aside from the Avatar, benders have only a single element determined at birth. However, as bending is a ''[[SupernaturalMartialArts martial art]]'', characters exposed to other forms of bending have been shown to adapt some of its principles into their own style and begin using their element in more unusual ways.
--->'''Iroh:''' "Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want. \\
Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. \\
Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor! \\
Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."
--->'''Zuko:''' "Why are you telling me these things?"
--->'''Iroh:''' "It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole."
--->'''Zuko:''' "All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff."
--->'''Iroh:''' "It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too."
---->--Book 2, Episode 9 [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderBitterWork "Bitter Work"]]
** {{Invoked|Trope}} by Uncle Iroh, as he explains in the same episode. As a master firebender, he is capable of superexciting the "inner fire" of his stomach and sending it out through his fingertip as [[ShockAndAwe lightning]]. After studying waterbending (which focuses not on generating energy like firebending, but on ''redirecting'' it for healing or counterattacks) he develops this into a defensive technique - opening the channels for lightningbending in both arms at once, then ''catching'' an enemy lightningbolt with one hand and using waterbending-like motions to [[CatchAndReturn channel it backwards into his stomach and out through the other]]. Notably, this technique is usable even by firebenders who haven't mastered the full process of creating lightning themselves (such as Zuko, whose HotBlooded personality prevents him from controlling it properly).
** Jeong Jeong is a master firebender wary of fire's destructive potential, who views waterbenders as blessed. In battle, rather than focusing on conventional blasts of fire, he wields fire like a wave, creating vast, tightly-controlled walls which he can move around.
** {{Averted|Trope}} with elemental sub-skills. Rather than fusing two of the four ElementalPowers, the sub-skills are derivations that only advanced benders can generate.
*** Zig-Zagged with lavabending. According to the ''[[AllThereInTheManual Avatar Extras]]'' in the episode "The Avatar State", lavabending is a combination of firebending and earthbending that only the Avatar can use. In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', this is rectified in Book Three: Change by having lavabending be a rare sub-skill of earthbending, though this can be interpreted symbolically when Bolin, an earthbender who is the son of a firebender and earthbender, manages to learn lavabending.

* ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'': The Toa can combine their elemental powers to create new effects, such as Lewa (Air) and Gali (Water) summoning a storm, or Lewa and Tahu (Fire) trapping their enemies in a sand cyclone then turning it to glass.