History Main / TheChosenOne

** '''The Chosen Incarnation''', like [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Aang]] or [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], is a reincarnation of some past hero, and may have been born multiple times over history. They may either be reborn only when some crisis arises that they have to deal with or be reborn at regular intervals, in which case they may have some specific role to play in the world even in times of peace.

* One of the main stick figures in the ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'' series is actually named "The Chosen One". He wasn't chosen by gods nor does he have any quests, however. His name seems to simply indicate his power level and the animator intentionally created an over-powered stick figure to fight for fun. It took years of real time to see him do something heroic, which is stopping a virus from infecting every computer in the world, starting with the animator's computer despite the animosity toward each other they used to have.

--> '''[[Luz''': [[SarcasmMode A power of The Chosen One]]… [[BadPowersGoodPeople yeah, if they’re a villain]]….

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': After an ancient conflict between [[JerkassGods the gods]] and [[RageAgainstTheHeavens Salem]] leaves humanity a shattered remnant of its former glory, the God of Light tasks the great hero [[TheIdealist Ozma]] to guide humanity towards TheDayOfReckoning. [[spoiler:Uniting humanity in harmony will redeem the world, but failure will destroy it. The God of Light forces [[ResurrectiveImmortality Ozma]] to endlessly BodySurf into [[FusionDance living hosts]] whenever his body dies, making [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] the inheritor of this divine mission until [[LegacyOfTheChosen responsibility passes]] to Oscar. The catch is that Salem's existence makes unity impossible, and she [[CompleteImmortality can't be killed]]. After [[ForeverWar fighting for millennia]], Oz is [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne burned out]] and [[FarmBoy Oscar]] has to learn as he goes, so Ruby Rose has [[TheUnchosenOne taken command]] instead.]]

* It's a frequent Pokémon FanFiction cliche to have Ash be one of these, destined to wield Aura and command Legendaries.

** In the new timeline features in ''Fanfic/PokemonShadowOfTime'', Ash is specifically referred to as the Chosen of Arceus by [[spoiler:the entity that once posed as the King of Pokelantis]], although Ash makes it clear he doesn't like the idea of being some destined hero

* Creator/DinaMNealey, who has expressed her distaste for the trope and idea of a "Chosen One," parodies the trope in the first ''Erotic Adventures in Faerie'' comic, "Lady Vidia and the Chosen One," where a nameless and featureless POVCam FeaturelessProtagonist is greeted and named "Chosen One" by Lady Vidia, who sets up what seems to be a story about a Chosen mortal saving the realm of Faerie... only for none of it to matter in the slightest; the POV character spends the entire comic being seduced, hypnotized, transformed and toyed with, taking no active part in the story and having absolutely no say or agency in anything that's going on. [[spoiler: It's even casually revealed that Faerie was already saved by someone else long ago, and that the "Chosen One" title is totally meaningless and just given to victims of Faerie abduction to make them feel more special.]]

* Creator/DinaMNealey, who has expressed her distaste for the trope and idea of a "Chosen One," parodies the trope in the first ''Erotic Adventures in Faerie'' comic, "Lady Vidia and the Chosen One," where a nameless and featureless POVCharacter is greeted and named "Chosen One" by Lady Vidia, who sets up what seems to be a story about a Chosen mortal saving the realm of Faerie... only for none of it to matter in the slightest; the POV character spends the entire comic being seduced, hypnotized, transformed and toyed with, having absolutely no say or agency in anything that's going on, and it's casually revealed that Faerie was already saved by someone else long ago.
[[spoiler: It's even revealed that the "Chosen One" title is totally meaningless and just given to victims of Faerie abduction to make them feel more special.]]

* TheChosenPeople: A civilization, ethnic or religious group are collectively The Chosen One.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': After an ancient conflict between [[JerkassGods the gods]] and [[RageAgainstTheHeavens Salem]] leaves humanity a shattered remnant of its former glory, the God of Light tasks the great hero [[TheIdealist Ozma]] to guide humanity towards TheDayOfReckoning. [[spoiler:Uniting humanity in harmony will redeem the world, but failure will destroy it. The God of Light forces [[ResurrectiveImmortality Ozma]] to endlessly BodySurf into [[FusionDance living hosts]] whenever his body dies, making [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] the inheritor of this divine mission until [[LegacyOfTheChosen responsibility passes]] to Oscar. The catch is that Salem's existence makes [[DivideAndConquer unity impossible]], and she [[CompleteImmortality can't be killed]]. After [[ForeverWar fighting for millennia]], Oz is [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne burned out]] and [[FarmBoy Oscar]] has to [[DieOrFly learn as he goes]], so [[TheParagon Ruby Rose]] has [[TheUnchosenOne taken command]] instead.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': An ancient conflict between [[JerkassGods the gods]] and [[RageAgainstTheHeavens Salem]] has left humanity a shattered remnant of its former glory, so the God of Light tasked the great hero [[TheIdealist Ozma]] to guide humanity towards TheDayOfReckoning. [[spoiler:He must unite people in harmony and prove to the gods that humanity can be redeemed; if he fails, both humanity and Remnant itself will be destroyed. The God of Light decided to make Ozma [[ResurrectiveImmortality reincarnate over and over]] into the bodies of living men to ensure that [[BigGood Ozma]] would never be alone. Professor Ozpin was the inheritor of this divine mission until responsibility passed to Oscar. The catch is that uniting humanity is impossible as long as [[BigBad Salem]] exists... and Salem is [[CompleteImmortality impossible to kill]].]]

* ThePoorlyChosenOne: The Chosen One sucks at being The Chosen One

* ''Webcomic/{{Alice|Webcomic}}'': [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Alice]] is the One Chosen to [[http://alice.alicecomics.com/alicecomics/dragonslayer-1/ slay a dragon]] in a dream within a DreamWithinADream.

* TheAntichrist: A chosen one destined to bring doom and destruction upon the world, usually on behalf of {{Satan}}, a SatanicArchetype or some other AncientEvil.

** In Mahayana and Vajrayana, he ''was'' a chosen one of sorts, in the sense that he was the reincarnation of a previous boddhisatva (a buddha who acts in the world to help all the other beings) from eons ago. Being chosen or not, however, has little relevance on their cosmology as far as you're concerned, because they preach you can become yourself a buddha or a boddhisatva too.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': In season four, [[spoiler:Tucker]] becomes the chosen one for an alien prophecy after finding a sword (which he kicks ass with). The prophecy included a lot of Great things.

* The fourteenth Dalai Lama, as well as his predecessors, were all chosen because they were believed to be the reincarnations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Supposedly the current Dalai Lama was shown a bunch of household items at the age of two, some that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama and some that didn't. He was then asked to determine which of the objects were his. He got every one right.
* Most prophets appear to be somewhat arbitrarily Chosen; they certainly [[AntiHero aren't all picked for their purity of heart]].

* Jews believe themselves to be God's Chosen People. As such, they have extra responsibilities beyond that expected of the rest of mankind. This is why they make it so hard to convert.

* Made explicit in the Music/{{Genesis}} song "One for the Vine": "His claim was phrased quite simply...: 'I am he, the chosen one'" and later "'This is he, God's chosen one, who's come to save us from all our oppressors.'"

Compare GivingTheSwordToANoob, where someone obtains a powerful weapon, but is not able to wield it properly. See also StumbledIntoThePlot, where the protagonist instead of being chosen is simply someone who found the IncitingIncident by chance.

* ''Fanfic/TheGoodHunter'': TheOrder has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Heroes]], individuals blessed by the [[TopGod Chief God]] to fight against the MonsterLord. Wilmarina Noscrim is one of such individuals who is tasked to be the protector of the nation of Lescatie, the jewel of TheOrder.

* In the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'':
** Shining Armor's story strongly suggests that he has a special destiny. [[BigGood Mother Deer]] and her followers later confirm this, explaining that [[spoiler: as he's ImmuneToFate, he's the only one who can lead [[ClockRoaches the Blank Wolf]] to destroy [[HumanoidAbomination Makarov]] and [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong remove his taint from the timeline]]]]. His story also invokes this for laughs, as the DarkIsNotEvil cult that rules Massailand becomes convinced that he's ''their'' Chosen One, and then that he isn't (in both case, because of their InsaneTrollLogic); Shining is worried that, given his [[WeirdnessMagnet luck]], they might be right the first time. It turns out [[spoiler:the ''actual'' thing he was chosen for was to be [[ForWantOfANail the nail between the]] BadFuture Dark World timeline and the main timeline, he was TheUnChosenOne for beating Makarov.]]
** During the Rumors Arc, [[spoiler:The CMC are chosen by the Concepts to save the universe from Discord and companies' [[RewritingReality endgame]], as they were competent enough to get the job done, but Discord and his allies would never suspect them. They succeed. Button Mash is also chosen by Havoc, to spread rumors that would give the CMC a fighting chance and then to become their ally due to the video game powers said rumors granted him. It's implied Silver Spoon was also chosen, but would only have been brought in as a 'plan B' had the CMC failed, as she'd be the best chance of stopping Nightmare Diamond Tiara at that point.]]
** During the same Arc, [[spoiler:several ponies are chosen for the difficult task of keeping ponies ''alive'' and protecting them from the various rumors monsters and dangers. AK Yearling (who before this was JUST AK Yearling) was chosen by Pandora to become the ''real'' Daring Do, as she had qualities that made her a perfect fit. While we don't hear ''who'' it is, Pandora did the same thing with a filly who became Prancy Drew. Venus chose a mare named Lovestruck to merge with her deceased son Cupid's Shadow of Existence to resurrect his concept and become a Demi-Goddess, as she as Cupid's twice removed {{Reincarnation}} via the Lost Age. Notably, all of these are ''permanent'' changes (even if the Rumors are undone and everything is put back to normal) and the ponies involved had to accept before hand for that reason.]]
* Subverted and played like a fiddle in ''Fanfic/ThroughTheWellOfPirene'', where Daphne Ocean -- the real Chosen One -- isn't chosen at all. In fact, she has to go quite a ways out of her way in order to take her place as the Chosen One and make sure everything passes as it's supposed to.
* ''FanFic/QueenOfAllOni'': Kuro suggests that [[VillainProtagonist Jade]] is this for the Shadowkhan, being the final product of Hiruzen's last plan during Tarakudo's rebellion. And on top of that, [[EnigmaticMinion Blankman]]'s comments imply that she's ''also'' the reincarnation of the Ben Shui order's Chosen One (as was implied in canon).
** Karasu later confirms the latter, explaining that the Chosen One's job is to act as a focal point for the [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil Grand Design]], sustaining it and all the [[SealedEvilInACan seals]] connected to it. Though he also says that Jade's status as such is a moot point by now, since enough outside interference has damaged the Design to the point where it's doomed to collapse no matter what now.

* ''Fanfic/AgesOfShadow'': For an evil example, there's [[DarkMessiah Boaz]], who [[FallenHero Jade]] spends years secretly training and preparing for the day he could seize the position of [[HighPriest Himinion]] and lead the [[ReligionOfEvil Shadow Walkers]] to conquering the world in her name.
** A straighter example is King Cheherazad, who is trained since childhood to lead the battle against Jade and the Shadow Walkers.

* The Seraphim, the main antagonist of Fanfic/AngelOfTheBat, is most certainly ''not'' this, but was groomed to believe he is.

* It's a frequent Pokémon FanFiction cliche to have Ash be one of these, destined to wield Aura and command Legendaries.
** ''FanFic/AshesOfThePast'' spoofs this by revealing that Sir Aaron's Lucario knew that Ash (a descendant of Sir Aaron) was one when they first met ([[PeggySue in the new timeline]], after learning his lineage) because, according to him, it's ''hereditary''.
** ''Fanfic/ThePowerThatsInside'' calls this out when Ash mentions he doesn't want to be the one to save the world as it always ends up in a near-death experience for him. Pikachu ends up being the Chosen One.
** In the new timeline features in ''Fanfic/PokemonShadowOfTime'', Ash is specifically referred to as the Chosen of Arceus by [[spoiler:the entity that once posed as the King of Pokelantis]], although Ash makes it clear he doesn't like the idea of being some destined hero
** In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Arceus Himself chooses Ash to be the one to save reality after Arceus resets the timeline to stop Cyrus destroying existence, although the god in question chooses not to tell Ash that he was only Arceus's ''third'' choice after Lance and Cynthia were destroyed before they could be chosen.
* In Season 3 of ''FanFic/TheEquestrianWindMage'', Zelda states her belief, based on her prophetic dreams, that the Mane Six are meant to take up the mantles of the Six Sages.
* Invoked in ''Fanfic/TheFirstSaniwa'' in which the present-day saniwa is named Shiraha Yadachi (surname-first order) based on the Japanese expression ''shiraha no ya ga tatsu'' 白羽の矢が立つ – lit. hit with a white-fletched (divine) arrow – meaning the same thing.
* In the ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' universe, Franchise/HarryPotter is still this, not just for his prophesied showdown with Voldemort, but is also revealed to be the centerpiece to [[TheChooserOfTheOne Doctor Strange's]] LongGame to defend Earth from ComicBook/{{Thanos}}. He repeatedly makes it clear that [[IJustWantToBeNormal he hates all of this]], but his ChronicHeroSyndrome means that he feels that he has a duty to step up to the plate... though he won't be at all happy about it.
** Frey, Harry's ancestor and the First King of Asgard, was another chosen one, selected by the magic sword Van to wield it against [[spoiler: Surtur]]. Strange, who knew him, states that he was as happy about it as Harry is about his own destiny. But, like Harry, he felt that he had a duty to follow. And he did, even though it cost him his life.
* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'' has the Ben Shui Chosen One, [[spoiler: Jade]], the current reincarnation of the chi warrior Ben Shui, who was given the power to reincarnate by the Heart of Earth. In a later chapter, the spirit of a previous Chosen One, Joshua Norton, expresses the theory that they've been linked to the Earth in a way that causes the Chosen One of each age to be born as what is needed for that age instead of just reincarnating into people similar to the previous incarnations. For example, while Murasaki was a force against demons because her country needed her to fight the Oni, Rasputin was a politician and manipulator because that was the age of politicians and manipulators, etc.
* In ''Fanfic/DoYouBelieveInFairies'', the Harvest Sprite Finn chooses Evelyn to help save his county of Castanet because she's one of the few adults who can see {{Nature Spirit}}s. Evelyn is less-than-suited for the job and her friend think she's absurd for dropping out of college to become a farmer in a DyingTown that [[RetroUniverse doesn't even allow cars]], but she still goes to Harmonica Town nevertheless.

%% Former image moved to TheHopeBringer per same thread.

* In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse fic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/30354576/chapters/74829708 Z to A]]", the essence of the Infinity Stones each choose one hero and send their future memories back to the time of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' to change the future; Peter Parker (Soul), Wanda Maximoff (Mind), T'Challa (Power), Tony Stark (Time), Nick Fury (Space) and Thor (Reality), based on their relative level of contact with each particular Stone. However, [[spoiler:Peter is ultimately revealed to be ''the'' "Chosen One", as the Stones choose him to be capable of using a new Gauntlet long enough to destroy Thanos's forces without being killed by the effort himself; after Tony's sacrifice and Steve Rogers going back in time in the original timeline, Peter was the one with most contact with the Stones from both prior Gauntlets]].

''[[DescribeTopicHere Only you have been deemed worthy to describe the secrets of... The Chosen One.]]''

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': An ancient conflict between [[JerkassGods the gods]] and [[RageAgainstTheHeavens Salem]] has left humanity a shattered remnant of its former glory, so the God of Light tasked the great hero [[WideEyedIdealist Ozma]] to guide humanity towards TheDayOfReckoning. [[spoiler:He must unite people in harmony and prove to the gods that humanity can be redeemed; if he fails, both humanity and Remnant itself will be destroyed. The God of Light decided to make Ozma [[ResurrectiveImmortality reincarnate over and over]] into the bodies of living men to ensure that [[BigGood Ozma]] would never be alone. Professor Ozpin was the inheritor of this divine mission until responsibility passed to Oscar. The catch is that uniting humanity is impossible as long as [[BigBad Salem]] exists... and Salem is [[CompleteImmortality impossible to kill]].]]

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hope_bringer.png]]]]

-->'''Xander:''' I’ve seen the whole ‘One person in all the world’ system at work before and it is bullshit. Always has been, always will be. If everyone wants peace then EVERYONE FIGHTS!