Mutual Disadvantage: Difference between revisions

== [[Literature]] ==

== [[Live Action Television]] ==

* In an episode of the ''[[Superman]]'' TV-series, some random dude off the street ends up with a carbon-copy of Superman's powers due to [[Lightning Can Do Anything|lightning]]. Said random dude then starts a Hero For Hire business, charging people premium rates for applying his superhuman powers, in between using his X-ray vision to [[Power Perversion Potential|check out girl's changing-rooms]]. Supes gets fed up with this pretty quickly and starts actively interfering in the 'business' (and pleasure), causing the dude to lose his temper and start a fight. Both of them, of course, are super-strong, but entirely invulnerable - and they're more invulnerable than super-strong, resulting in a Type-1 brawl... the only possible loser being the surrounding area.

* ''[[Caprica]]'' at one point had Zoe and Tamara fighting in V-World. In this case, they can hurt each other all they want, but neither of them can die since they're both digital avatars. The fight only ended when Zoe talked Tamara into an alliance.

== [[Video Games]] ==

** Two Pyros will fall into this trope. Both are resistant to each other's signature ability (setting each other on fire), their unlockables are useless as the Flare Gun and Axtinguisher require their opponent to be on fire , meaning the winner is decided by either shotguns (if either has one equipped), flamethrowers (which would require either participant to move into the range of the other's flamethrower) or melee weapons (which do have some advantages over each other but don't make all that much difference).

** Demomen equipped with the Chargin' Targe might also qualify (since it increases their resistance to explosives and removes their ability to ambush enemies with sticky grenades).

** Wobbuffet is another example, as it learns no direct attacks whatsoever and is capable only of various [[Counter Attack|Counterattacks]]. Pitting one Wobbuffet against another Wobbuffet will result in a stalemate where neither one can harm the other in any way (and in Generation 3, neither could be switched out for another fighter due to the opponent's ability). However, once they both deplete their PP (which is going to be ''a while'') they will resort to Struggle as their attack of choice... except, if they both hold Leftovers (and they should), their damage will be outhealed. TL;DR: fight never ends. And this is actually why Wobbuffet is banned.

** And we musn't forget Ditto. His only move is the ability to transform into the opponent, copying their appearance, stats (barring HP), and their moveset. Now, let's pit two Dittos against each other...

* In ''[[Touhou]]'', mortal enemies Mokou and Kaguya, while not invulnerable as such to each other's attacks, are both immortal and will regenerate the wounds inflicted by the other. The result is a long-term stalemate where no matter who wins the individual battles (usually Kaguya), either of them will be back to start again in no time.

* Knalgan [[Mirror Match|mirrors]] in ''[[Battle for Wesnoth]]'' - a mirror match with a faction composed of highly defensive and slow dwarves, and fast but low-damage or frail outlaws. Neither side has and magic or poison needed to dislodge the other's defensive dwarves, and neither side has any Time-of-Day based powerphase advantage over the other. As a result, neither side has much incentive to attack.

== [[Film]] ==

== [[Video Games]] ==

** Due to the complicated nature of [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors]], Pokémon with dual elemental types can in fact become vulnerable to one of their own elements (like the Rock+Flying Aerodactyl being vulnerable to Rock attacks, or the Fighting+Steel Lucario being vulnerable to Fighting attacks).

** When you start dealing with dual-typed Pokemon, there are a lot of possible matchups between different Pokemon that are weak to one of their opponent's types and strong against another (like the Dark/Fire Houndoom versus the Water/Ghost Jellicent - Water beats Fire and Dark beats Ghost).

** Gastly's family is interesting in particular in that the only targets he deals super-effective damage with ghost attaks to - that is, Psychic and Ghost - do super effective damage to him as well. Poison attacks on the other hand - oh, wait, nevermind, he does not learn any without [[T Ms]].

* The Undead and Drake [[Mirror Match|mirrors]] in ''[[Battle for Wesnoth]]'' - most Undead units are vulnerable to the same faction's magical Dark Adept unit and its Arcane damage, and similarly all Drake units are vulnerable to that faction's magical Cold damage dealing Saurian Augur. Both the Adept and the Augur, however, are [[Squishy Wizard]] units vulnerable to the conventional attacks of their respective faction. The result is Mutual Weakness.

* In many ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games, the air/wind element is often vulnerable to itself, inflicting greater damage on flying enemies.

** Also, Fire and Ice elements are usually vulnerable to each other.

== [[Video Games]] ==

* ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' and [[Final Fantasy X 2|its sequel]], although the player characters were [[Non-Elemental]] by default, elements were arranged in pairs (Fire/Ice and Water/Thunder) with each doing increased damage to its opposite. The player could also find (or [[Item Crafting|customize]]) weapons and armor with elemental affinities, which could create scenarios of mutual weakness or invulnerability depending on what was equipped at a given time.

* ''[[The Legend of Dragoon]]'' had pairs of opposing elements (Fire/Water, Earth/Wind, Light/Dark) doing increased damage to each other, reduced damage to itself; the Thunder element had no opposite, but also shared reduced damage against itself. Every character (and most monsters) had an elemental affinity, and each character's strongest armor (the "DG armor" series) would completely nullify damage from their own element.