Webcomic / Super Effective

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A Pokémon-based Webcomic by Scott Ramsoomair. The series was not updated on a set schedule. The comic is a humorous take on the plot of the (remakes of the) first generation of Pokémon games (specifically, being based on the creator's run through his own Pokémon Fire Red game).

The series went on an unscheduled hiatus along with VG Cats in 2018. In 2020, Scott stated that Super Effective would not continue. The website that hosted the comic does not work as of 2022. Archives can be found here: 1 to 40, 41 to 68, 69 to 86. However, it has since been resumed, albeit sporadically.

There is a nascent character sheet; please place tropes pertaining to characters shown in this work there.

Tropes used in this work:

• Accidental Misnaming: Professor Oak is gaslighted into thinking his grandson's name is Douche.
• Adaptational Villainy: Pikachu is reimagined into an Ax-Crazy serial killer. Earlier, Red encounters a normal Pikachu, so it appears it's just that specific one.
• All Just a Dream: Red's kidney getting stolen was just a dream.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: The infamous Shorts Boy appears like this, trying to tell Green she's cute. He instead spouts his infamous line, causing his own Face Palm.
• Blatant Lies: Viridian City's Gym Leader is not trying to conquer the world, he's just getting his milk.
• Brick Joke:
  • On page 14 the old man that shows you how to catch Pokémon falls asleep. Five pages later he wakes up and finishes what he was saying. Fifty pages later, there's a story about this old man in the newspaper
  • On page 26 the clerk at the Pokémon Mart reveals that repel is actually his pee. A mere 42 pages later on page 68, Red uses this bit of trivia against Blue/Douche, who had coated himself in the stuff.
  • The serial killer Pikachu that escaped Prison is caught by Green.
• Distracted by the Sexy: The lame dialog the Youngster spews about shorts is him making an idiot out of himself by Green's prettiness.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: "If we came from Mankeys... THEN WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MANKEYS?!"
• Downer Ending: Unintentionally, but the last page of the comic before it was discontinued is all of Red's Pokémon fainting and him blacking out, then waking up in a bathtub full of ice and two lines of stitches on the sides of his body where his kidneys were stolen.
  • Subverted, as it was All Just a Dream. He's being kidnapped by Gengar instead.
• Elemental Rock–Paper–Scissors: Brock thinks it's funny that some Trainers chose a Fire-type starter before coming to his Gym first (Both of Brock's Pokémon are dual-type Rock/Ground, both of which have type advantages over the Fire-type, which in short would make for a humiliating defeat to Red's Charmander). He's utterly humiliated when he finds out Charmander can learn Metal Claw, possibly due to Genre Blindness as Charmander can for FireRed/LeafGreen but couldn't in the original games.
• Emoticon: Nurse Joy's facial expression exhibits traces of the "Awesome Smiley" on this page.
• Enfant Terrible:
  • Green, who taunts older men with innuendo and mows the tall grass wild Pokémon hide in..
  • Also, rather than training her Bulbasaur she just forces a couple dozen Rare Candies down its throat.
• Fake Difficulty: Lampshaded. The comic pretty much points out how cheap it is of the game to have an encounter with Blue right outside of Mt. Moon, meaning that the player's Pokémon are all weakened and unprepared for battle (meaning that they get their asses kicked). It should be noted, however, that this doesn't happen in the games. The player's next battle with Blue in the games (after Professor Oak's lab and optionally, Route 22) doesn't occur until Cerulean City and the player can heal their Pokémon at the Pokémon Center first.
• Funny Background Event: In the first panel of strip #74, the word "penis" is spelled out in Unown writing on the chalkboard.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Parodied with Blue, or as Red named him, DOUCHE.
• Heroic BSoD: Red snaps from fury when he spots a Pikachu but notices that he's out of Poké Balls.
• Heroic Mime: Red, who never says a word.
• Innocent Innuendo: Brock wants to go with Red on his journey and breed. Red couldn't run away fast enough.
  • Not so innocent with Green, who does it to get a rise out of people and get them in trouble with Professor Oak.
• Insane Troll Logic: This strip has the old man believing that the theory of evolution is wrong because Mankeys still exist despite the fact that humans evolved from Mankeys.
• Kinda Busy Here: Red's attempt to sneak past a swarm of sleeping Zubat is interrupted by a call from his mother.
• Lampshade Hanging: Happens on page 68, with Douche remarking that it seemed like Red was in Mt. Moon FOREVER. It took Red three real life years to get through that cave.
• Late to the Realization: The Slowpoke News will report on subjects that happened over anywhere between half a year and 3 DECADES earlier. Somehow, its 2nd installment managed to be accidentally accurate by claiming that Steve Jobs was stepping down from head of the company for "health reasons".
• Level Grinding: Lampshaded and discussed. After watching him shuffle around the same patch of grass for hours on end, two NPC trainers wonder if Red has gone insane.
• Literal Metaphor: "Smell ya later!" Shortly afterwards, Blue suddenly comes back and does just that.
• The Load: In spite of Clefairy wanting to come with Red and catching itself and provoking a Team Rocket agent into battle, it only used Double Slap once and the other two times, ignored Red's orders in favor of using Metronome which gave it Rest the first time and Splash the second time.
• Mythology Gag:
  • ahem... "Prepare for trouble."
  • The Clefairy Red finds in Mt. Moon appears to be wearing a small Moon Stone, like the one Ash meets in The Electric Tale of Pikachu.
• "No. Just… No" Reaction:
  • Red's response to Brock's request to tag along on his journey so that they can breed.
  • Also— "It's my PEE..." a revelation of how Repels are made.
• Oblivious Mockery: Brock, while standing next to Red, who just happens to have chosen fire:
  Brock: You know, some people actually come here choosing FIRE as their starter Pokémon. Crazy, huh?
• Only Sane Man: To some extent, Red is the human character who seems to make the most sense. Prof. Oak is forgetful, his assistant is a pedophile, Green is an Enfant Terrible, the Old Man is a geezer who complains about the term "evolution", Brock is creepy, the Team Rocket grunt tries to enforce his decrees by Pokémon battles, the pokémaniac is all too willing to battle someone who just untied him, and Red's Pokédex can't get over its juvenile sense of humor. About the only characters that have more sanity than Red are those two kids on Page 32 (see Level Grinding above).
  • Douche has a moment here, pointing out how getting kids to do Pokémon research is dangerously irresponsible. But overall, he's a petty, obsessive asshole to Red. In addition, he also points out that it's perfectly clear Red isn't directing any of their rematch due to Clefairy actively ignoring Red's order to use Double Slap in favor of using Metronome and getting Splash so Blue's leaving until Red gets his act together.
• Organ Theft: In case you wonder what happened when all your Pokémon fainted, and how you're suddenly in a Poke-Center.
• Orphaned Etymology: The Pokedex lists Pikachu as a "Mouse", something that shouldn't exist given that all the living creatures in-universe are Mons. Lampshaded by Green.
• The Power of Friendship: Red tries to forcefully capture Clefairy, but it escapes and looks sternly back at him. Can't blame a guy for trying... Clefairy shrugs it off and willingly captures itself afterward. Too bad it only does something useful in battle once.
• The Silent Bob:
  • Subverted. Red may play this trope straight, but Word of God says that the addition of the Pokédex allows the main character to have a voice (even if it is one he very rarely agrees with). And other characters act like Red talked to them.
  Douche: We need to have a bit of a talk here, Red. So keep quiet.
  • This comic shows Red is perfectly capable of speech as he whispers to Douche about the nature of Repel Spray. We don't get to see what he says though.
• The Smurfette Principle: Green, the only female main character.
• Talking Is a Free Action: Subverted. While Douche is busy monologuing about their rivalry, Red takes the chance to win the battle.
• Tantrum Throwing: Red snaps when a Zubat keeps making his Pokémon confused and chucks a pokeball at it in frustration.
• Ungrateful Bastard: A mild example with the Super Nerd Red rescued from Team Rocket. He offered Red a fossil...only if Red battles him first. Naturally, Red tied him back up and made on his way. It helps that Red is very much an Audience Surrogate at this moment, as anyone who has played the games wanted to clock the guy in the jaw.
• This Just In!: As delivered by Slowpoke whenever a famous person dies, utilizing Delayed Reaction.
• Unsound Effect: This comic loves using them. It's Pokémon, after all.
  • *Wiggle* *Wiggle*
  • *Laughter* *Applause*
  • *Shake* *Shake*
  • SOCK!
  • *Shuffle* *Shuffle* *Shuffle*
  • *RAPED*
  • *Rock Blocked*. Now that's just pushing it.
  • BIDOOF!
  • Dee Doot Doo!
  • POOCH!
• Urban Legend of Zelda invoked: A famous one is referenced here.
  Scott: Down+A, Down+B, Up+b, etc... Personally I only pressed Down+B. In all it did nothing... But it felt like it did... To me. :(
• Younger Than They Look: Green is a bit more developed than her being 10 would suggest (though it's possible she's older, as her age is stated by the somewhat senile Professor Oak).