Dehydration Gun 

The inverse of a Chekhov's Gun.

A literary device that would be perceived as vital to the plot of a story, only to hold little to no actual significance later.

Not to be confused with a Red Herring, which are used intentionally to mislead or distract the reader. A Dehydration Gun would commonly result from poor writing decisions, or plot holes.

The term derives from an item of the same name, in the movie 'Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate', where it would have been a valid solution to many of the obstacles the movie provides, but is not used.

"Wait... Couldn't they have just used that thing from the beginning of the story?"

"I know, right? But no, it just turned out to be a Dehydration Gun."

Dehydration Gun by C.A.I.S.E_E May 15, 2024

Chekov's Dehydration Gun 

If something is introduced at the start of a movie/game/TV show/episode that can easily handle the main conflict, chances are that it will never be used for that purpose.

This is named after a massive freak out Schaffrillas Productions had in his "Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate" review after Megamind stops the Go Fish Gang using the Dehydration Gun, but he didn't use it on the titular Doom Syndicate, even though the plot would've been wrapped up much quicker with it.

"The movie never says that the villains' powers are preventing them from being stopped by a simple gun!" "That, sir, is what we call a Chekov's Dehydration Gun."

Chekov's Dehydration Gun by CherryBlossom91 March 23, 2025