Fanfic / Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: What Came After

"Their adventures would be plentiful, and their friendship would be everlasting."

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: What Came After is an in-progress Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fanfiction by C. Pariah, started on December 3, 2018. It follows a human girl called Alesia who wakes up in a dark cave as an Eevee and is discovered by a Riolu and a Popplio, who invite her to stay with them as part of their R.E.E.D. (Rescue, Exploration, Enforcement, Delivery) team dubbed Team Everlasting, kicking off many adventures on the Ice Continent, during which Alesia hopes to discover how she ended up here.

As of October 16, 2021, the fic has been cancelled due to a lack of interest in continuing by the author.

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This story provides examples of:

• Abandoned Laboratory: Rusted Complex turns out to be the home of Melmetal.
• Abusive Parents: While Riolu's parents were merely discouraging of his dreams to be part of a R.E.E.D. team (for his own safety), Popplio's parents are shown to have been emotionally abusing him, cheerfully telling him that he's useless and couldn't help anybody.
• Accidental Misnaming:
  • Popplio calls Gallade Wobbuffet and then "Galluffet".
  • A downplayed example; when the normal-colored Braviary twin first meets Alesia, he pronounces her name as "uh-lee-zee-uh". She corrects it to "uh-lee-zhuh".
• Accidental Pervert: Defied. After Alesia gets her rear end bitten by a Zubat, Popplio asks for permission before applying a band-aid.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Wigglytuff engages in a fair amount of physical abuse on Chatot. It is also hinted that the theory that Wonka deliberately planned the downfalls of the bratty children is true in this telling of the story.
• Added Alliterative Appeal: The business Flaaffy Fashions.
• A Dog Named "Dog": All Pokémon are referred to by their species names with the sole exception of Alesia since she was formerly human. The author's desire to be accurate to the games enforces this trope.
• Aesop Amnesia: Downplayed. The day after Riolu promises to be nicer to Alesia, he's having difficulty adjusting to that promise, frequently having to stop talking upon realizing he's dipping back into his old ways of bashing her.
• Affectionate Parody: A Chapter that is Very Legitimate is this of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
• After the End: The story is set in the same world as the canon games, meaning humans died out long ago.
• Alternate Reality Episode: A Chapter that is Very Legitimate.
• Always Someone Better: In Climbing the Ranks, Team Everlasting discover that their journey to defeat and apprehend Cacturne has already been completed by Team Guile (Tyrunt and Steenee).
• And That's Terrible:
  Popplio: I know what he's doing! He's buying a hat at one Flaaffy Fashions store and returning it for a full refund at the next Flaaffy Fashions store! HE MUST BE STOPPED!
• And Your Reward Is Clothes:
  • Team Everlasting receive scarves for forming a R.E.E.D. team.
  • Alesia discovers a box full of scarves and an Insomniscope in Rusted Complex.
• Animated Actors: A Chapter that is Very Legitimate reveals that everyone was taking part in a performance orchestrated by a Totodile named Castaway.
• Answer Cut: Parodied in Unexpected Approval. The sequence goes as follows:
  • Riolu asks his teammates if they think Trevenant will be okay with them going to save his son (he still holds a grudge over Alesia apparently stealing one of his books), and the scene cuts to Trevenant's bookstore where he yells at them not to.
  • Trevenant sarcastically asks Team Everlasting if they think Braviary will permit them to go on the mission, and the scene cuts to Braviary's courthouse where he says yes.
  • Popplio encouragingly asks Alesia, "How big can those woods be?", and the scene cuts to Izolo Woods where Riolu reads a sign saying that the woods are 400 acres.
  • Alesia asks Popplio why he likes his Special Band so much, and the scene cuts to Team Everlasting on the roof of Braviary's courthouse somehow where they understandably wonder how they got up there (but not before Popplio answers the question).
  • Alesia asks if it's safe to jump down from the roof into a pile of leaves, and the scene cuts to them back in Izolo Woods where Riolu affirms that it was.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • The full chapter Unexpected Approval was uploaded at the same time as First Interlude, a very short dream sequence, so that readers would not feel cheated at receiving an update in the form of something so small.
  • A Chapter that is Very Legitimate tells the reader upfront that the chapter is non-canon (although this was added later).
• Apocalyptic Log: Downplayed. Popplio shows Alesia a book that says humans died out centuries ago... but no one knows how or why.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
  • Popplio when he and his teammates confront the Klefki trio:
    Popplio: We're taking you in for illegal possession of explosives, illegal detonation of explosives, gross property damage, theft in the first degree, terrorizing citizens, and interrupting our dinner!
  • The above example is subverted when it turns out that the last thing is an actual crime that the Klefki trio will serve additional time for. Justified in that R.E.E.D. teams need to be at peak performance, and an important part of doing so is being able to eat properly and regularly.
  • Cacturne is said by the narration to have "robbed banks, terrified innocents, and returned already-worn clothes for a full refund".
  • What R.E.E.D. stands for (Rescue, Exploration, Enforcement, Delivery) also counts.
• Artifact Name: Gallade's dojo is called Wobbuffet Dojo because he inherited it from his grandfather, and he can't do a thing about the name or appearance because his grandfather's will says so.
• Artistic License – Engineering: The phone that the shiny Braviary twin uses to call the police (a rotary telephone that also has an external component with labeled buttons that can be used to call certain numbers faster) has never existed in real life.
• Artistic License – Law: Alesia's court session and sentencing go a lot simpler than what would be the case in real life.
• Ascended Fridge Horror: Remember Itemizer Orbs from Explorers? Anyone it's used on is turned into an inanimate object, and it's not clear whether they die or are still conscious but unable to do anything about their predicament. Well, Riolu once had a nightmare about them (although it's stated their existence might be a myth).
• At Least I Admit It: Or rather, At Least He Admits It. The wealthy Aurorus who Team Everlasting make a delivery to seems nice at first, but then refuses to allow them to take the safer way home because part of it is privately-owned by him. Riolu notes that Trevenant caused problems for them when they first met, but at least he was upfront about being a jerk.
• Backstory:
  • Riolu and Popplio used to live in Nispet Village before they ran away to form a team against their parents' wishes.
  • The Braviary twins were staying at the Ranks Tournament to watch five years ago, and one night, the shiny twin caught an Eevee trying to break into a safe. He attempted to subdue her, but she called for an accomplice who broke his wing, making him unable to fly.
• Bank Robbery: A trio of Klefki blow up Ferrothorn Bank in Three Klefki Versus the Law so they can loot the stash of Poké.
• Bathos: During Second Interlude while Riolu and Popplio are on the run, the narration talks to the reader to say, "unless the whole 'Gallade runs Wobbuffet Dojo' thing back in Chapter 4 made you suspicious" in regards to the name of Shuckle Inn.
• Bedlam House: Asylums in the Pokémon world are apparently this, since Riolu and Popplio advise Alesia not to mention her former humanity lest she risk being thrown into one.
• Big Bad Ensemble: The story has had Melmetal who tries to prevent Team Everlasting from saving the purple Kecleon and escaping as punishment for trespassing, the Klefki trio who blow up Ferrothorn Bank, and Seviper and Tyrunt who are planning something for the tournament, the latter bullying Steenee into complying by threatening to cut her and her family off financially.
• Bilingual Bonus:
  • "Izolo" is Esperanto for "seclusion". Fittingly enough, Izolo Village is a small village separated from the outside world by a wall of trees. Riolu chooses this place for him and Popplio to run away to in order to keep their chances of being caught to a minimum.
  • "Kaia" is Basque for "dock". Kaia Town is a bustling city with a sea port for the group of Lapras who run a cross-water transportation service.
  • "Nispet" is Turkish for "defiance". Riolu and Popplio defy their parents by running away from Nispet Village in the night to form their R.E.E.D. team.
  • "Ricco" is Italian for "rich". The Aurorus who lives on Ricco Beach turns out to be incredibly wealthy.
  • Two fictional languages, "Pisekian" and "Belarrian" are mentioned during one of Popplio's language classes with the shiny Braviary twin. "Písek" is Czech for "sand" (as in the Sand Continent) and "bellara" is Basque for "grass" (as in the Grass Continent).
• Bizarrchitecture: Like the buildings in the overworlds in the game series, Izolo Village consists of shops made in the likeness of the owner. Kaia Town has a Seviper-designed building for the head of the village, but all other buildings there are normal.
• Blatant Lies: Riolu covers his hand with his mouth when Alesia gets bitten in the rear end by a Zubat. He claims it was because he was surprised at the sight, but anyone can tell he was trying to hide his laughter.
• Brick Joke:
  • Riolu threatens to give Alesia a stupid haircut in her sleep in Climbing the Ranks. In True Colors, Alesia jokingly considers that Riolu hasn't done so yet when she decides to forgive him for being such a jerk to her. Then in the very next chapter, Riolu's Last-Second Word Swap compliments Alesia's hair and mentions that he'd never want to cut it.
  • In Competition, Popplio is able to read a poster written in an unspecified foreign language. Four chapters later, it turns out he's been taking language classes with the shiny Braviary twin.
• Butt Biter:
  • Riolu gets bitten on the tail by a Magikarp in Climbing the Ranks.
  • A straighter example occurs in In a Rich 'Mon's World when Alesia gets stuck in a narrow hole in the wall, providing a Zubat with the perfect opportunity to bite her on the backside.
• Calling Your Attacks: Mostly averted, but the ringleader of the Klefki bandits yells, "Fairy Wind!" before using just that move on Popplio.
• Call to Adventure: Her court business in Izolo Village and lack of anywhere else to go is what kickstarts Alesia's adventures, which she continues to embark on with Riolu and Popplio even after Braviary returns to the village and gets things cleared up.
• Canon Foreigner: Chatot in A Chapter that is Very Legitimate. Team Everlasting and Team Guile replace the five ticket winners, Wigglytuff replaces Wonka, the other members of the guild replace the Oompa-Loompas, but Chatot doesn't replace anyone.
• Cerebus Rollercoaster: On one hand, we have cartoon logic when it comes to electrocution, a trip to Wiggly Wonka's chocolate factory, and a nod to Pokémon Detective Pikachu, but we also have emotionally abusive parents, being permanently crippled, and only narrowly avoiding being left to die.
• Cerebus Syndrome: Double subverted; immediately after the Unexpectedly Dark Episode Second Interlude, we have a Willy Wonka chapter. But after that, we get Riolu being knocked unconscious and getting very lucky to be saved, Steenee revealing her tough home situation, and the shiny Braviary revealing he is permanently crippled.
• Chandler's Law: Trevenant angrily confronts Alesia when she first comes to Izolo Village, causing the plot to jump from her lack of knowledge of the Pokémon world to her in court.
• Charlie and the Chocolate Parody: The non-canon chapter A Chapter that is Very Legitimate.
• Clam Trap: In In a Rich 'Mon's World an angry Steelix traps Alesia, Riolu, and Popplio in his mouth for accidentally trespassing, intending to keep them there until his father shows up and decides on how to deal with them. They escape when Popplio makes him laugh.
• Cliffhanger:
  • Daylight Revealed: Trevenant accuses Alesia of stealing from him, and Riolu sarcastically asks if she's going to be taken to court.
  • Unexpected Approval: Three Klefki are secretly observing Izolo Village and planning something.
  • Lights Out: Riolu is knocked unconscious.
• Cock Fight: Gallade, Purple Kecleon, and the shiny Braviary antagonize each other over the affections of Kangaskhan. She is not amused.
• Comically Missing the Point: Shortly after ending up in the Pokémon world, Alesia asks Riolu and Popplio if there are any more Pokémon like them. We of course know that she means Pokémon that can talk, but Popplio thinks she means the species of Riolu and Popplio.
• Content Warning: A Chapter that is Very Legitimate has one at the beginning that the chapter is non-canon and has nothing to do with the main story's plot.
• Cool Shades: Riolu puts on an Insomniscope in Rusted Complex and says, "'Sup, baby?" Alesia is not impressed.
• Cross-Referenced Titles: Alesia Versus the Law and Three Klefki Versus the Law.
• Dance Party Ending: Averted. In Digging For Truth, a party is held in Izolo Village for Team Everlasting to celebrate their defeat of the three Klefki bandits and Alesia being found innocent, but it's neither at the end of the story nor the beginning.
• Day Hurts Dark-Adjusted Eyes: Alesia wakes up in pitch black darkness at the beginning of the story, so when light suddenly shines from the rocks that are being dislodged, she cringes.
• Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: If Riolu hadn't tried to get back at Team Guile for a perceived slight by knowingly completing a job they were planning to do, he wouldn't have been knocked out by a Boldore and rendered unconscious until later that night.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Riolu and Popplio get quite snappy with Melmetal.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Team Everlasting and Gallade defeat Melmetal in a fight.
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • The yellow Kecleon in Sunlight Chasm threatens to make Team Everlasting "pay the ultimate price" for accidentally stealing two berries and a seed from his shop.
  • In Climbing the Ranks, a Nosepass is said to have blown up a pizza parlor (fortunately, no one was hurt) because they served pineapple pizza. Riolu opts to pursue a different outlaw.
  • Team Guile defeat an outlaw they had no idea Team Everlasting were after, so Riolu decides to intentionally complete a job that Team Guile want to.
• Dissonant Serenity: Lampshaded and Played for Horror. Popplio's mother cheerfully tells him that he's useless and could never amount to anything.
  His mother had laughed when he had told her he was ready to leave. "Silly boy, you couldn't even help carry a bucket, let alone help others!" she had said jovially, the dissonance in her tone and words evident only to Popplio; to her and her husband, it had made perfect sense.
• Double-Meaning Title: The chapter Competition. The concept of the upcoming Ranks Tournament is introduced as a type of competition, and the first segment of the chapter focuses on Team Guile, who after beating Team Everlasting to a mission have been established as a competing team.
• Double Take:
  Popplio: Unless he's in that big huge chasm, maybe he's not around here…
  Riolu: Yeah, we may have to look beyond this place. [...] (shoots up) Did you just say there's a huge chasm?
• Dream Sequence: First Interlude is one for Alesia.
• Dreams of Flying:
  • Alesia is floating through the air in her dream in First Interlude.
  • Popplio's dream in Riolu in the Tyrunt's Den begins with him on a star soaring through the air.
• DreamWorks Face: Popplio is doing this on the cover art.
• Dream People: The Rowlet and Litten in Popplio's dream appear to already know him.
• Elsewhere Fic: The story takes place in the same world as the games (as evidenced by the presence of the Continents as named in Super), but primarily somewhere called the Ice Continent. The Magma Continent is also present.
• End-of-Episode Silliness:
  • A Mutual Cause: Popplio mispronounces "score" as "scoe" and Riolu corrects him.
  • Three Klefki Versus the Law: Braviary eats a donut he thinks was for him but was actually Riolu's.
• Extraordinary World, Ordinary Problems: Being falsely accused of a crime, losing your child, and having someone accidentally commit property damage on your home.
• Face Fault: Alesia falls over when a yellow Kecleon accuses her of stealing.
• Face Palm:
  • Alesia when Riolu tries to use a pair of sunglasses to look cool.
  • Riolu when they catch the Klefki bandits.
• Face Your Fears: Being on a R.E.E.D. team pretty much forces Alesia to overcome her cowardice.
• Failed a Spot Check: It looks like Melmetal kidnapped the purple Kecleon, but Melmetal was in fact completely unaware that Kecleon was even in the facility until Riolu says so.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: Popplio is furious about Cacturne doing the old "wear once, return for refund" on items from the chain of Flaaffy Fashions stores, but everyone else manages to remain calm about it.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Riolu's parents didn't like the idea of him being put in danger on his R.E.E.D. team adventures. This doesn't seem so bad in comparison to Popplio's parents, though...
• Felony Misdemeanor: Popplio's reaction to Cacturne returning already-worn hats for a full refund is this, what with him angrily swearing to stop him.
• Flashback: Answers, Please? has a rather humorous one about the shiny Braviary trying to get in touch with the police over the phone.
• Flat Scare: A rare non-feral Gliscor in Marble Cavern does this to Alesia. She freaks out, as you may have expected.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The first hint that the Braviary who puts Alesia on trial for petty theft isn't usually in charge of the village is that this Braviary is shiny, and yet the courthouse built in his likeness is painted in the colors of a regular Braviary.
  • Alesia is afraid to enter Rusted Complex because of what could be inside since the purple Kecleon hasn't come out of it. It turns out to contain Melmetal.
  • In the Willy Wonka parody, Tyrunt replaces Veruca Salt. In the story proper, he turns out to be both wealthy and a bully.
• Furry Reminder: Ironically, it's done by the one character who used to be human. When Popplio plays a practical joke on Alesia (specifically attaching a fake Sharpedo fin to his back and swimming around with said fin above the surface), she jumps out of the water and arches her back like a cat.
• The Ghost: Gallade mentions having a Porygon friend from the Air Continent.
• Gilligan Cut:
  • When Trevenant starts giving Alesia shit because he thinks she stole his book, Riolu asks, "What're you gonna do, take her to court?". End of Chapter 2. Chapter 3 starts out with Alesia in Braviary's courthouse about to be put on trial.
  • After discovering that a rival team have taken Team Everlasting's work, Riolu denies that he's mad about it. The scene then cuts to them at home that night where Riolu says, "Do you have any idea how MAD I am?!".
• Giving Up on Logic: In Daylight Revealed, Alesia is about to object to the idea that asylums for Pokémon exist, but decides against it.
• Guilt by Association: Trevenant decides that since Alesia is apparently a thief, Riolu and Popplio must be too (he previously accused Riolu of theft based on very flimsy evidence).
• Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Wigglytuff's Wonka costume omits the trousers and shoes.
• Help, I'm Stuck!: Alesia gets stuck in a narrow crevice in Scorched Passage thanks to her bushy tail.
• Hollywood Restraining Order: Trevenant tries to have (a nonexistent) one enforced on Team Everlasting to keep them away from his son. The shiny Braviary isn't having it.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Gallade allows Alesia to test out Tackle on him. She does a poor job.

• The Hyena: The Steelix that Team Everlasting encounter. Popplio exploits this by telling a joke. Before Alesia and Riolu can react in disbelief to what is apparently Popplio not taking their situation seriously, the Steelix laughs, releasing them from his mouth.
• I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: Cutthroat Maze. The stalagmites and stalactites are razor-sharp, and Riolu narrowly avoids getting one in his throat.
• Imagine Spot: Riolu has one when seeing Honor Stadium for the first time, imagining Pokémon filling up the stadium and cheering for his team.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: Double subverted; happens to Riolu in A Chapter that is Very Legitimate as with Mike Teavee in the original story. However, even after the chapter is revealed to have been an in-universe production by the author's Author Avatar, the narration says that Riolu is "back to normal size", hinting that he really was shrunken.
• Inflating Body Gag:
  • Subverted in A Chapter that is Very Legitimate. Unlike Violet Beauregarde in the original story, Alesia spits out the gum early, and gets off with only a partially-blue face. Popplio lampshades its anticlimacticness. It's implied that Bidoof underwent the full effects, though.
  • The one-shot Inflated Ego sees Riolu get puffed up into a blimp after eating a raw Watmel Berry and remain so for the story while he waits potentially a week for the effects to wear off. Popplio and Alesia force-feed a Watmel Berry to a Braixen outlaw to incapacitate her until the police arrive, and she is last seen being crammed into a holding cell with great difficulty. Popplio and Alesia join Riolu at the end, and provide shade for Izolo Village in exchange for payment.
• Inheritance Backlash: Gallade's late grandfather, a Wobbuffet, left him a dojo named Wobbuffet Dojo which is built to look like a Wobbuffet. Gallade considers this embarrassing.
• Insane Troll Logic: At dinner during the night in Unexpected Approval, Popplio mentions that Riolu once ate thirteen Mega Donuts in one sitting. When Alesia points out how blatantly unhealthy this is, Popplio tells her it was fine because Riolu ate a fourteenth one immediately afterward.
• It's Personal:
  • Riolu despises Popplio's Abusive Parents and encourages him to run away from them with him.
  • A Golbat bites Popplio on the nose, prompting Riolu to use a Focus Blast on it.
    Riolu wasn't having any of that treatment toward his friend. He fired a Focus Blast, knocking the Golbat off.
• Jerkass Realization: At the end of True Colors, Riolu decides that Alesia doesn't deserve the crap he's been giving her and promises to be nicer to her from here on out. He has difficulty adjusting at the start of the next chapter, though.
• Just a Kid: Riolu and Popplio get this from their parents, though in Popplio's case, he also gets told he's useless anyhow.
• Kangaroo Court: Braviary specifically the shiny twin covering for his brother does a poor job on Alesia's trial.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: For the first few chapters, nothing bad comes of Riolu being a dick to Alesia. Then comes Climbing the Ranks where he falls into water while trying to show off, gets bitten on the tail by a Magikarp, and is buried under a pile of chestnuts after triggering a trap.
• Knight of Cerebus: Popplio's parents. Melmetal and the Klefki trio fit fine with the story's lighthearted tone, particularly the latter for how not-threatening they are, but Popppio's parents are far more realistic with their abuse to their son that is in no way Played for Laughs (the encounters with the previous two threats had comedic parts mixed in).
• Lame Pun Reaction: Popplio laughs at how the Klefki trio look like rings and they have a ringleader. The aforementioned ringleader is "highly unamused" and chooses Popplio to attack first for the joke.
• Leave Me Alone!: Downplayed. In Rusted Complex, Alesia doesn't reject Gallade's assistance outright, but does say she'd like to try and handle the weakest opponents herself.
• Let's Split Up, Gang!: Riolu says this verbatim in Rusted Complex. He and Popplio go one way while Alesia and Gallade go the other.
• Lighter and Softer: The story has been noted to be relatively lighthearted compared to darker and grittier Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fanfictions, accurately capturing the spirit and charm of the games.
• Lost Food Grievance: Riolu is devastated in Three Klefki Versus The Law when Braviary eats his Mega Donut he thought was intended for him.
• Melancholy Moon:
  • Alesia wakes up from her dream-teetering-on-nightmare in the middle of the night and finds herself looking up at the sky.
  • It's nighttime when Riolu and Popplio escape from Nispet Village.
• Membership Token: R.E.E.D. teams receive badges that function as walkie-talkies. They have the team member's name and the team name engraved on the back.
• Mental World: Popplio's is directly based on Kirby.
• Minor Injury Overreaction: Being bitten on the tail by a Pokémon with no teeth couldn't have hurt that much for Riolu.
• Monster Is a Mommy: Inverted. The Steelix who catches Team Everlasting trespassing in Hollow Scarp and traps them all in his mouth does so with the intention of keeping them there until his father returns and instructs him on how to deal with them.
• Mood Whiplash: How do you follow up a dramatic flashback chapter about abusive parents, running away from home, and risking getting into trouble by helping two kids run away from home? With a parody of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory that has nothing to do with the rest of the story, of course!
• Must Make Amends:
  • Despite his initial anger at the idea of allowing them near his son, Trevenant gives Team Everlasting the promised 1,000 Poké for saving Phantump, and apologizes to them for all the trouble he gave Alesia.
  • When Steenee reveals she has an infant sister and bedridden mother she works to send money home to, Riolu feels so horrible about trying to steal her and Tyrunt's work that he pays for their entire restaurant bill.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After attempting to sabotage Steenee and Tyrunt's work, Riolu has this reaction to learning Steenee is working to send money home to her family.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Team Everlasting decide to go and save Phantump, but his father Trevenant doesn't want them to have anything to do with his son on the grounds that as far as he's concerned, Alesia, and by proxy, Riolu and Popplio, are thieves. Subverted when they bring Phantump home unharmed and Trevenant immediately drops his resentment.
• Non-Indicative Name: Played for Laughs with Wobbuffet Dojo, which is actually run by a Gallade who inherited it from his grandfather whose will prevents the name or appearance from being changed.
• Noodle Incident: The process by which points are applied to badges is never explained.
• No OSHA Compliance: As with the original movie, Wiggly Wonka's chocolate factory. Lampshaded:
  What we'll see
  Will defy
  Regulation
• Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: Braviary says it'll be fine for everyone to leave Izolo Village for a few days, on account of how insignificant it is to the economy as a whole to the point of not even being on the Ice Continent map until recently.
• Now You Tell Me: Popplio remarks that's he's surprised the team hasn't yet encountered any traps. Not two seconds later does Alesia trigger a Chestnut Trap.
• Offstage Villainy: We're focused on Team Everlasting eating dinner when Ferrothorn Bank explodes.
• Oh, Crap!: Alesia says this in A Chapter that is Very Legitimate after she thoughtlessly starts chewing some untested gum to calm her nerves. Fortunately, she spits it too quickly to undergo any severe effects.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Frequently lampshaded:
  • Popplio is nice and courteous up until Chapter 4 when he challenges Melmetal.
  • The idea of being stretched in a taffy-pulling machine has Riolu screaming and begging not to be subjected to such a fate.
• Orwellian Retcon:
  • Some chapters have been modified in response to criticism, mainly A Mutual Cause.^note Attacks are more descriptive and a new scene has been added of the group traveling to Rusted Complex.
  • The chapters before Three Klefki Versus the Law didn't always have names; they were simply numbered.
• Out of the Frying Pan: Alesia and Gallade don't have to fight any more wild Pokémon once Riolu calls them using his badge to come to the top floor of Rusted Complex... which turns out to hold Melmetal.
• Pain to the Ass: Riolu after being miniaturized in A Chapter that is Very Legitimate gets held up by his tail.
• Persona Non Grata: Inverted; initially, until she repays Trevenant his money, Alesia is not permitted to leave Izolo Village without permission (which she obtains so she can go on job requests).
• Plank Gag: Wigglytuff's recruits demonstrate the modified Warp Tiles' functionality as teleporters using a giant chocolate bar. It hits Chatot as it spins around.
• Police Are Useless: Subverted in Answers, Please? during the flashback where the shiny Braviary is on the phone to the police, asking them to come to Izolo Village and arrest the three Klefki bandits currently in a holding cell. The operator on the other end of the phone has trouble locating the village on the map, and is in fact using an outdated map that lacks the village. Braviary demands to know why the police don't have accurate information... turns out he dialed Feraligatr's Pizza Delivery Service by mistake.
• Port Town: Kaia Town is home to a beach where the Lapras Liner service operates to and from.
• Pun-Based Title:
  • Digging for Truth in which Team Everlasting take pickaxes to Marble Cavern to mine stone to help rebuild Ferrothorn Bank.
  • The very next chapter Climbing the Ranks where they climb up a mountain called Sweeping Rapids.
• Questioning Title?: The chapter Answers, Please?.
• Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • A Chapter that is Very Legitimate wouldn't exist were it not for April Fool's Day.
  • In True Colors, uploaded on May 10 2019, a movie about detectives is premiering in Meowth Theater in Kaia Town.
• Reconstruction:
  • Popplio being a Cloudcuckoolander means that Riolu's parents think he's "bizarre" and his own parents abuse him and tell him that he couldn't make it on a R.E.E.D. team. Riolu, however, knows how competent he truly is, and Alesia and the residents of Izolo Village find Popplio's ways endearing more than anything.
  • The Magnezone Police from Explorers would be ill-equipped to deal with certain elemental types of Pokémon since all seen members on the force are the same type. The police force on the Ice Continent has other elemental types, as evidenced when a Magnezone shows up to Izolo Village accompanied by an Aerodactyl and a Salazzle to arrest the Klefki bandits.
• Reference Overdosed: So many Shout-Outs and Mythology Gags that they're on separate subpages.
• Revenge: After Team Everlasting discover that the Cacturne they were pursuing has already been defeated by Team Guile, Riolu decides to get back at the latter team. His plan fails when a Boldore sends him flying into the wall, knocking him unconscious.
• Rudely Hanging Up: The shiny Braviary ends a wrong number call by yelling into the phone then slamming it down.
• Sailor Earth: The Ice Continent, where the story primarily takes place, and the Magma Continent, where the Ranks Tournament is held, are named in the same vein as the Air, Grass, Mist, Water, and Sand Continents.
• Scaling the Summit: In Climbing the Ranks, Team Everlasting must climb Sweeping Rapids.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Averted. Popplio is still present in Second Interlude (Alesia is the one to be absent) and the chapter is dark because of his nature rather than in spite of it.
• Silly Will: Gallade's grandfather, a Wobbuffet, left him Wobbuffet Dojo which is built in a Wobbuffet's likeness, and the will stipulates that neither the name nor appearance can be altered.
• Skewed Priorities: Popplio deduces that Cacturne has been buying hats at one Flaaffy Fashions store and returning them at the next, and is furious about it in spite of Cacturne's more serious crimes of armed robbery. Braviary even lampshades this by asking, "Do you also intend to stop the chain of robberies?".
• Space Whale Aesop: The arc lasting from Climbing the Ranks to True Colors: if someone completes a task you wanted to do, don't try to do the same to them out of revenge or you will be knocked unconscious by a hibernating wild animal and saved by a member of the group you wanted to get back at.
• Song Fic: A Chapter that is Very Legitimate features Pure Imagination and The Candy Man. The former has minimal changes, but the latter has completely rewritten lyrics.
• Stealth Pun: Why are three Klefki the ones who rob Ferrothorn Bank? One reason is that they're themed after keys, which open locks, and another is that they're Steel-type.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Popplio is the one who inherits Wigglytuff's chocolate factory.
• Stuff Blowing Up: In Three Klefki Versus the Law, a trio of Klefki blow up Ferrothorn Bank and attempt to make off with a sack of Poké.
• Suddenly Shouting: A Double Subversion of the Surprise/Fear variant. On the way out of Ambient Cave in Daylight Revealed, Alesia's angry insistence that she's actually a human prompts Riolu to sarcastically reply, "And I'm the king of GOLBAT!". Alesia turns around, expecting there to be Golbat behind them, but there are none, and Riolu suddenly shouted because he stepped on a thorn. Then Popplio peers into a hole in the wall only to get bitten on the nose by a Golbat.
• Take That!:
  • As Popplio is listing off the continents of the Pokémon world to Alesia, Riolu acts only mildly annoyed with him until he mentions the Mist Continent (the setting of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity), at which point Riolu turns around and yells at him.
  • Riolu threatening to give Alesia "a stupid haircut", specifically straight bangs.
• Taking the Heat: In Riolu in the Tyrunt's Den, Alesia and Riolu's argument wakes Steenee up, so Popplio says that he talks in his sleep (to be fair, he made a comment about banana peanut butter ripple ice cream before Steenee woke up).
• Team Shot: The cover art has one of Team Everlasting.
• Tempting Fate: Riolu dips into this when he tries to cross a river via wooden logs with his eyes shut. It goes about as well as you'd expect... plus he gets bitten by a Magikarp.
• Tendrils of Darkness: Several of them reach out and grab Alesia in her dream in First Interlude.
• This Means War!: Riolu's response to Team Guile wasting his team's time by beating them to a job.
• Too Hungry to Be Polite: We catch Popplio talking with his mouth full.
• Tournament Arc: The existence of the Ranks Tournament is first brought up in Competition and finally officially begins in Finally Here.
• The Triple: After hitting the leader of the Klefki bandits with a branch and sending her flying away, Popplio cheers, "Home run! Hit and run! Slam dunk!". The first two are, fittingly, baseball terms, but the third is from basketball.
• Unexpectedly Dark Episode: Second Interlude by far. The story was relatively lighthearted and comedic until this chapter (and for the most part, resumes being so afterward).
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: What happens after Riolu tells Popplio and Alesia his plan to get back at Team Guile? He fails miserably at it, of course.
• Vacation Episode: Even if the events leading to them coming weren't great, Team Everlasting spend True Colors in Kaia Town where they go to Meowth Theater, then Grumpig's Diner.
• Was Too Hard on Her: At the end of True Colors, Riolu decides to stop constantly berating Alesia. He struggles to uphold this promise the next day, but ultimately settles in.
• Watching the Sunset: A non-romantic example. Riolu in the Tyrunt's Den opens with Alesia and Popplio doing this.
• What the Hell, Hero?: After Riolu wakes up in Steenee's home, Alesia scolds him for endangering himself and causing trouble for her, Popplio, and Team Guile.
• Whole Episode Flashback: Second Interlude covers how Riolu and Popplio came to form their team.
• Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Riolu's opinion of the Klefki bandits who can't manage to carry their sack of stolen Poké anywhere near fast enough.
  Riolu: ...Wow. Worst. Criminals. Ever. (Face Palm)
• Written Sound Effect:
  • "Plink" is used for dripping water in Eevee Was Here.
  • "KA-BOOM!" is used for an explosion in Three Klefki Versus the Law.
  • "BANG!" is used for Chatot getting flung across the room after eating Exploding Candy in A Chapter that is Very Legitimate.
• Wrongfully Accused: When Alesia first arrives at Izolo Village, she is accused of having stolen a book (specifically Precise Concise World Atlas) from Trevenant's bookstore. The matter is taken to court and ends with Alesia being ordered by Judge Braviary to pay 5,000 Poké within a week. In Digging for Truth, it's revealed that the village is usually run by a (normal-colored) Braviary who was having his (shiny) twin brother run the village in his absence, and Alesia is pardoned due to insufficient evidence.
• X-Ray Sparks: Happens to Alesia when a Klinklang Thundershocks her.
• You Know What They Say: Courtesy of Popplio (of course):
  Popplio: When you see a Giratina crying because he only has raisin cookies, buy him chocolate chip ones and give him a hug.