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{{trope}}
[[File:
'''Ragetti:''' [[Genre Savvy|That's a bad sign!]]
|''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End''}}
Two opponents, either individuals or armies, face off against each other, ready to throw down at a moment's notice, with [[Partly Cloudy
▲{{quote|'''Pintel:''' Have you noticed, on top of everything, that it's raining?<br />
▲'''Ragetti:''' [[Genre Savvy|That's a bad sign!]]|''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End''}}
▲Two opponents, either individuals or armies, face off against each other, ready to throw down at a moment's notice, with [[Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Death|clouds lowering overhead]]. Just as the fight is about to start, it begins to rain on the combatants, as if the tension in the air has wrung the moisture out of it.
Interestingly, [[Rule of Cool|hardly anyone in these fights ever slips because of the rain]].
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A subtrope of [[Empathic Environment]]. Sometimes combined with [[Dramatic Thunder]]. Often, obviously, [[Foreshadowing|foreshadowed]] by [[A Storm Is Coming]]. At the end, [[Sand in My Eyes]] may be expressed by blaming the wetness on their faces as rainfall. Characters often [[Dies Wide Open]], so the rain can fall into their open eyes and confirm [[He's Dead, Jim]]. (Though, this is more common in animation, because trying it in live-action would become [[Narm]] rather quickly due to the "dead" characters [[Corpsing|reflexively closing their eyes]].)
{{examples}}
* The second fight between Mugen and Sara in episode 21 of ''[[
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Both the aptly-named "Memories in the Rain" arcs in ''[[
▲* The second fight between Mugen and Sara in episode 21 of ''[[Samurai Champloo (Anime)|Samurai Champloo]]''. Given the animation and detail, viewing is a must.
▲* Both the aptly-named "Memories in the Rain" arcs in ''[[Bleach (Manga)|Bleach]]''. The first being where Ichigo fights the Grand Fisher to try to avenge his mother, the second being a flashback of Rukia's. {{spoiler|Though it didn't technically start raining until after she killed Kaien, but hey.}}
** Also done again in the Bount arc.
*** The Gotei 13 Invasion Arc has Kenpachi vs. Kenpachi in the rain.
* Fate's battle against the last six [[Mineral MacGuffin|Jewel Seeds]] in the first season of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', not surprising since she summoned a thunderstorm to activate all of them at the same time. When Nanoha joins in to help her, the rain had stopped.
* Surprisingly enough, very few fights take place in the rain in ''[[Ranma ½
** His first encounter with Kuno escalates into a fight as a thunderstorm starts.
* In the ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragon Ball]] Z'' TV special the History of Trunks, Future Gohan's final showdown with androids #17 and #18 takes place in the rain.▼
** Similarly, his second fight with Ryouga, when Ryouga attacks him in the Tendo home, takes place in a rainstorm.
** And most of the rest are against Pantyhose Taro, which [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|quickly turn very, very bad]] for [[Waif Fu|Ranma]].
▲* In the ''[[
* Played straight in ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' when {{spoiler|Athrun deserts and Shinn destroys his GOUF.}} Complete with [[Dramatic Thunder]].
* When, in ''[[
* Spike and Vincent's final battle in ''[[
* The battle against Wilhelm and his [[Blob Monster|Slime Trio]] in ''[[
* Seems to happen a lot in ''[[
* The notorious sword fight between Tamahome and Hotohori from ''[[
** The third gang fight in the series starts out with a cloudy sky, then gets rainy when Tamahome becomes ''really'' pissed.
* The last fight between Cure Peach and Eas in ''[[
* In ''[[
* Happens several times in ''[[Darker
* In ''[[
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* The final showdown in ''[[Monster (
* In ''[[
* This allows Seaman to use his powers against Kuwabara and friends in ''[[
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[The Mighty Thor]] ''summons'' rain during [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]' first bout with the [[Justice League of America]] in ''[[JLA-Avengers]]''.
* Dwight takes on a team of former IRA mercenaries during a rainy night in ''[[Sin City]]''.
* Happens at least twice in [[J.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* The final few days of the Battle/Siege of Crassus in ''[[Enemy of My Enemy (Fanfic)|
* ''[[
* ''[[Princess (fanfic)|Princess]]'': Julien, while running away from the zoo, [[Tempting Fate|makes a comment about how things couldn't be worse]] and it promptly starts raining. It's still raining when he battles the Rat King - he does, in fact, slip in a puddle at the beginning.▼
==
* The fight between the Beast and Gaston at the end of the [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney version]] of ''[[Beauty and
▲* The final few days of the [[Enemy of My Enemy (Fanfic)|Battle/Siege of Crassus]]. Particularly poignant in that it's the first rain in a decade.
* Disney's ''[[
▲* ''[[Finishing the Fight (Fanfic)|Finishing the Fight]]'' gives us this [[One of Us]] comment: "Yeah, all we need is a torrential downpour and the trope is complete." True enough...
▲* ''Princess'': Julien, while running away from the zoo, [[Tempting Fate|makes a comment about how things couldn't be worse]] and it promptly starts raining. It's still raining when he battles the Rat King - he does, in fact, slip in a puddle at the beginning.
* Subverted in ''[[Final Fantasy VII
▲* The fight between the Beast and Gaston at the end of the [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney version]] of ''[[Beauty and The Beast (Disney)|Beauty and The Beast]]''.
▲* Disney's ''[[The Great Mouse Detective (Disney)|The Great Mouse Detective]]'' has the final battle in a rainstorm, to the point where Basil and Ratigan can hardly be seen clearly.
▲* The fight between the Pridelanders and Outsiders in ''[[The Lion King]] 2''.
▲* Subverted in ''[[Final Fantasy VII Advent Children (Anime)|Final Fantasy VII Advent Children]]'': Cloud and Sephiroth are having their massive stare down before their epic battle on a particularly sunny afternoon. What does Sephiroth do? Summons heavy thunderstorm clouds that envelope the sky to signify that it's time to fight.
** And still no rain. In fact, it doesn't rain until after he's beaten, and it's because he was holding back Great Gospel.
* The opening fight between Ryu and Sagat in ''[[
* The [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]/Stegosaurus battle from ''[[
* The battle between Shifu and Tai Lung near the end of ''[[
* In keeping with the series' attitude of fulfilling as many tropes as possible, the (very) short film ''[[Scott Pilgrim
== Films -- Live-Action ==▼
* The final battle in Akira Kurosawa's ''[[Seven Samurai]]'' is arguably the [[Trope Maker]] for film.
** And, there is a great deal of slipping and sliding about because of it, unlike many examples.
* The Battle of Shrewsbury in [[Orson Welles]]' ''[[Chimes At Midnight]]''.
* A variation of this is seen in two films by Kihachi Okamoto, ''[[Samurai Assassin]]'' and ''[[The Sword
* The fight between Zatoichi and his [[Evil Counterpart]] in Takeshi Kitano's version of ''[[Zatoichi]]''.
* The Battle of Agincourt in Kenneth Branagh's version of Shakespeare's ''[[Henry V]]''.
** Which, to be fair, actually was fought in the rain.
** And, unlike most of the battles here, the rain turns the battlefield into a muddy
* ''[[Road to Perdition]]'' wrapped up with one of these, though 'silent slaughter in the rain' may be a bit more appropriate.
* The fight between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett in ''[[Star Wars]] Episode II: [[Attack of the Clones]]''.
* The Battle of Helm's Deep in the [[Film of the Book|film adaptation]] of ''[[The Lord of the Rings (
** But the brief upward eyeroll of the Rider directly behind Theoden as the rain starts is priceless.
* The final showdown between Neo and Agent Smith at the climax of ''[[The Matrix
** It took several months to perfect the right type of raindrop for the scene.
* The final battle in ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean
** Justified, since they just released the goddess of the sea, and asked for her blessing in the fight. She goes crazy, and its probably the result.
* The fight between Nameless and Sky in [[Zhang Yimou]]'s ''[[Hero (
* The famous T. Rex car attack in ''[[Jurassic Park]]''. The two sequels mimic this with similar scenes.
* Happened in the 1999 Hong Kong film, ''[[A Man Called Hero]]'', with an extra bonus of using the [[Making a Splash|rain itself as offense.]] (You can watch it [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCmYRSMtX4U here.] It starts at 1:43.)
* The fight between Leonardo and Raphael in the fourth ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (
* The final battle with the Wendol happens in the rain at the end of ''[[The
* Several movies featuring Rutger Hauer, among them:
** ''[[
** ''[[Blind Fury]]''
** ''[[Wedlock]]''
** ''Blood of Heroes'' a.k.a. ''Salute of the Jugger''
** ''[[Flesh
** ''[[Ladyhawke]]'' (rain and frozen lake)
** ''[[Split Second]]'' (frequent rain plus global warming flooding)
** And even if there isn't actual rain, there will be a waterfall, or a lake, swimming pool or large bath tub into which the two protagonists fall while fighting. No matter what it is, Rutger Hauer's character will end up soaking wet and looking [[Badass]].
* ''[[Godzilla|Godzilla 1985]]'' has the title character fight a bunch of army tanks in the rain.
** The 2002 ''[[Godzilla
* The cheesiest battle in an already cheesy movie in ''[[DOA:
* The movie ''[[In the Name of The King]]'' had the final battle take place in the rain. Though the good guys won the last battle, the army that they fight then is far larger and though they manage to hold the Krug off for a brief time, they eventually start getting overwhelmed.
* Korean action movie ''[[Volcano High]]'' climaxes with [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy|two telekinetic martial artists]] fighting in the rain, in an interesting aversion,{{spoiler|despite the main character's abilities being most effective manipulating water he doesn't try to use the rain to strike his opponent}}
* The final battle in the film ''[[Mongol]]'', where Temujin defeats his blood brother Jamukha to finally unite the tribes of Mongolia.
* ''[[Underworld Rise of the Lycans]]'' between Sonia and Viktor, as well as Lucian and a bunch of [[What Measure Is a Mook?|Vampire Soldiers]].
* Played realistically in ''[[Hamburger Hill]]'' the American Airborne soldiers try to fight there way up the hill in one of the last battles while it's pouring rain, a lot of them are slipping and falling from fatigue and the slippery mud making them perfect targets for the NVA also a quarter of the M-16's are jamming... it's
* The climactic battle between Riggs and the [[Psycho for Hire]] [[The Dragon|dragon]], in the first ''[[Lethal Weapon]]'' movie.
** A busted fire hydrant actually. Still counts if only for [[Rule of Cool]].
* Used in ''[[
* The entire premise of ''[[Hard Rain]]'', a1998 film that stars Morgan Freeman as a villain. [[Exactly What It Says
* The final battle between Steed and Sir August in 1998's ''[[The Avengers (1998
* The 2003 German film ''[[wikipedia:The Miracle of Bern|Das Wunder von Bern]]'' (''The Miracle of Berne'') tells the story of the West German team that won the [[The World Cup]] in 1954. The win against the greatly favoured Hungarians (at that point it had been four years since their last defeat) would probably not have happened if not for the heavy rain on the day of the final (and the newly developed screw-in spikes on the German team's boots).
* It rains when Swamp Thing fights the leech mutant for the second time in ''
* The entire battle sequence in ''[[
** Again, a fair example, as Passchendaele was very muddy and very wet.
* In ''[[The
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* In [[James Swallow]]'s ''[[Warhammer
▲== Literature ==
▲* In [[James Swallow]]'s ''[[Warhammer 40000 (Tabletop Game)|Warhammer 40000]] [[Blood Angels (Literature)|Blood Angels]]'' novel ''Deus Sanguinius'', when Rafen is cornered in the factory by Sachiel's honour guard, it starts to rain. Then, during [[Combat By Champion|the single combat between Rafen and Arkio]], rain starts, shortly after Rafen drew [[First Blood]]; when Sachiel [[Heel Realization|realizes from the blood that they are tainted]], Inquisitor Stele murders him and uses it to start a general battle.
* In [[Michael Crichton]]'s ''[[Congo]]'', the killer gorillas attack the expedition's campsite during a rainstorm.
* The only memorable part of the Roge Zelazny collaboration novel ''The Mask of Loki''(?) is a do-over of the Battle of Hattin. The Army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, having trapped itself in a waterless valley, is surrounded by Saladin's much more numerous army. The Saracens close in and overheated, dehydrated Crusaders start to drop as they did in reality. Then, by manipulation of some sort (Science? Magic?), it clouds up and starts to rain. Revitalized,the Frankish army wins the day, or at least
* ''[[Jack Reacher|Echo Burning]]'' by Lee Child has Jack Reacher stalking his opponent in a desert shootout in the middle of a rainfall so intense, {{spoiler|it takes him nearly fifteen minutes to realize his opponent isn't hiding, one of Reacher's stray bullets hit them.}}
* At the end of the first book in the ''[[Shadowleague]]'' series, the battle with the [[Our Vampires Are Different|Ak'Zahar]] takes place in the rain.
* The breakout from Efrafa in ''[[Watership Down]]''. The sudden downpour provides a usesful distraction at a crucial moment, though General Woundwort's more disciplined rabbits are able to cope better with the storm.
* The eponymous Strange in ''[[Jonathan Strange
* In the ''[[
** Also, in the climax of ''[[Warrior Cats the Original Series|Into The Wild]]'', the final battle takes place in the midst of a massive storm.
* In ''[[The Hunger Games]]'', there's an implied epic showdown between Cato and Thresh that happens over two days of rain. [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome|The reader doesn't get to see it]] because Katniss is busy smooching Peeta in a cave.
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* The [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] novel ''[[X Wing Series|Wedge's Gamble]]'' had a Dogfight in the Rain. Rogue Squadron made use of Coruscant's justifiably extreme weather patterns to bring down a section of the inner layer of the planetary deflector shield with an enormous thunderstorm. Then Corran Horn flew a fighter into the thunderstorm (and was followed by [[Suicidal Overconfidence|TIE fighters]]) to [[Attack Its Weak Point|blow up the power supply]] [[Airstrike Impossible|of the shield's outer layer]].
* The fight at the end of the first episode of the
* [[Subverted Trope|Subversion]]: In the ''[[
▲* The fight at the end of the first episode of the reboot of ''[[The Bionic Woman]]''.
▲* [[Subverted Trope|Subversion]]: In the ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'' episode "Five by Five", a fight that looks like it's going to be a Battle in the Rain quickly turns into [[Redemption in The Rain]].
** Of course, according to an episode commentary, the rain just happened while the scene was being filmed. Early scripts called for rain-making equipment, but these did not fit into the budget.
** Their [[Bolivian Army Ending|final battle]], which we don't really see, looks like it's about to be in the rain.
* Ethan and Jack's fight in the ''[[
** Not to mention the final battle between Jack and {{spoiler|the Man in Black/Smoke Monster/Fake Locke}} in the series finale.
* ''[[
* The final battle between Clark and Zod in ''[[Smallville]]''{{'}}s
* ''[[NCIS]]'':
* Fourze in [[Super Mode|Cosmic States]] vs Aquarius Zodiarts in ''[[
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The final mission of ''[[Bully (
* Extreme overkill example: The final battle in ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** The battle against Argorok, in ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** Ditto for Bicolyte and the final battle in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]''. Except in the latter case, {{spoiler|the storm gets ''[[Lightning Can Do Anything|weaponized]]''}}.
* The first Dante vs. Vergil fight in ''[[Devil May Cry
* Inversion: Snake and Olga in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'' begin their gunfight almost immediately after a lull in the ongoing downpour. When the fight is done, it starts raining again.
* ''[[Streets of Rage
* The majority of the Virmire mission in ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Donkey Kong Country
* The final battle of ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]'' has Wander facing down the final colossus atop a sea-side plateau in the midst of a torential thunder storm while the most hauntingly solem music on the soundtrack plays away in the background.
* Variation: in ''[[
* ''[[Capcom vs. SNK 2 Mark of the Millennium
* Part of the battlefield in ''[[Metroid
** [[Fridge Brilliance|She was with the Pirates. The Pirates made the Hazard Shield. So...]]
** In ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', the entire Tallon Overworld is always covered in rain, resulting in many mini-battles in the rain in addition to the rain during the Ridley fight at the Artifact Temple.
* The secret ending to ''[[Kingdom Hearts (
* This happens in the opening in ''[[Backyard Sports|Backyard Football]]''.
* Happens in ''[[Dragon Age:
* ''[[Crysis (
* ''[[
** The Passing, meanwhile, puts you on a nighttime city with a rather strong rain. This rain, however, varies from game to game; from a light rain, to a Hard Rain-styled monsoon.
* Any ''[[
** A few routes in ''[[
* ''[[Fatal Fury]]'': Tung Fu Rue's stage has a nice gimmick to it in that the battle background starts out clear, then gradually changes to a storm as you advance in rounds.
* Played for laughs in ''[[
* The [[Final Battle]] between Starkiller and Darth Vader in ''[[The Force Unleashed]] II''.
* In ''[[
* ''[[
* The final case of ''[[
* Fighting a [["Wake
* ''[[
** [[Exactly What It Says
* ''[[Eternal Sonata]]'' has a sequence in Agogo Forest where it's raining and all encounters take place in the rain. Particularly notable, though, for the [[Hopeless Boss Fight]] against Fugue in which he decimates Frederic and Polka each with one hit (two at most) then continues on his way.
* Thanks to the (mostly) dynamic weather, any outdoor boss battle can become this in ''[[Xenoblade Chronicles]]''.
** No matter how clear the weather is before you warp there, it'll ''always'' be raining when you get to {{spoiler|Prison Island, presumably for the purpose of increasing the drama of the events (Battles included) that unfold there}}.
** If it's not already raining when the battle starts, the Sani Telethia usually ends up calling a rainstorm as one of its first moves so it can [[AI Roulette|(potentially)]] unleash water based ether attacks later. On the other hand, the opposite tends to occur if it's already raining.
* ''[[Turtles in Time]]''; halfway through the 6th stage - a [[Gang Plank Galleon]] level - rain starts falling, worsening to a thunderstorm by the time the heroes get to the boss.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Hilariously lampshaded in a strip of ''[[
* ''[[
* It rains during the first battle in ''[[
* The Fava flashback in ''[[Juathuur]]''.
* In ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Parodied in ''[[
* In the ''[[
* In ''[[Kim Possible]]'', the final fight scene in ''[[The Movie|So the Drama]]'' is one of these.
** "Job Unfair" has one of these between Kim and Shego too, but with snow and lightning instead of rain. But in this case, it's justified by the fact that they're fighting on top of a weather machine.
* In ''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]'', it conveniently starts to rain during a faceoff between Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress. Cue a dramatic pause where they both stand still while raindrops hit their lightsabers and turn into wisps of steam.
* In ''[[Star Wars:
* The 2003 ''[[
* The final battle in ''[[
* "Haunted", an episode
== [[Real Life]] ==
* [[Alexander the Great|The Battle of Hydaspes]] according to most sources was fought during a torrential downpour
* The Battle of Evesham (1265) was fought during a fierce thunderstorm.
* The Battle of Agincourt, for which it's speculated that the heavy mud was a key factor in allowing the badly outnumbered English forces to win.
** And also
* Part of the battle of Preußisch Eylau (8 February
* Heavy rains over Germany affected the outcome of three major battles in August 1813. The rains badly affected the soldiers' ability to shoot their flintlock muskets (which made infantry more vulnerable to cavalry, especially lancers) and slowed down movements.
** At Großbeeren (23 August), where the Allied Army of the North stopped the French advance on Berlin, the men of the freshly raised Prussian Landwehr (militia) found that their inferior firing drill no longer put them at a disadvantage and used their muskets like clubs, saying "So flutscht dat bäter!" (It goes off the hand more easily that way).
** During Napoleon's defeat of the Allied Main Army at Dresden (August
** In the battle of the Katzbach (August 26), Blücher's Russo-Prussian Army of Silesia smashed the French Army of the Bober. Part of the latter was driven into the Wütende Neisse ("Raging Neisse"), normally a pleasant small river, but swollen to a dangerous torrent due to the heavy rains.
* It rained heavily the night before the battle of Waterloo (1815), which worked to the advantage of the defending Allied army.
* To watch any film set on [[World War
** This common image of the war stems from the Battle of Passchendaele, in the long, wet summer and autumn of 1917. A mixture of the unseasonal rain and constant shelling had reduced the terrain to a vast bog in which men drowned before ever seeing the enemy. The horror of Passchendaele so deeply imprinted itself on the public consciousness that rain and mud are assumed for any [[WW 1]] setting except for Gallipoli.
*** This trope is also fully justified for the last part of the Battle of the Somme a year earlier.
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[[Category:Interesting Situation Duel]]
[[Category:Precipitation Index]]
[[Category:
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