Pyrrhic Victory

''I won! (cue failure theme)''

A victory that is so costly that it harms the winner or those at their side for in a way almost paramount to a defeat. This can come in the form of leaving the winner scarred or injured after their face-off (let it be a battle or competition), having the winner's weapons or land heavily destroyed, or with them losing a tragic number of allies in the process. A Pyrrhic Victory in some contexts can be considered getting karma. The price of a Pyrrhic Victory is usually deeply damaging, sometimes to the point where the winners are forced into a state of desperation. The deaths of teammates, important individuals, or loved ones can nullify the real value of coming out on top in a battle like the Big Fight. They may additionally deprive the winner of someone they deeply care for and burden them with long-lasting emotional pain. Now living a hollow existence, the victorious party comes to resent their success as it ultimately took away too much to forget.

Pyrrhic Victory is a serious UnTrash that can gut the Good Guys of any feeling of accomplishment. Having somebody who acted as a key to the next big step in the team's journey be lost can raise a troubling obstacle. It forces the Good Guys to think creatively of how they can work around the Story Block and continue without their missing ally. During this stopping period, the Villain can be given huge leverage over their enemies and advance their Evil Scheme further, which saddles even more pressure on the protagonists' backs.