History BossInMookClothing / RPG

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the game introduces a new enemy type known as the [[GoshHornet Cazador]], which although very small and having the appearance of a much weaker enemy, the Bloatfly, can decimate low level players with its poison within a couple of hits and as nimble. Not to mention, they come in ''packs'' of up to five. They are often used [[BeefGate to wall the low level player in]], forcing them to take a specific route in order to level up first.

*** You can alternatively run into a pair [[NighInvulnerable Arahabakis]] in the Manipura Waterways as reinforcements if you defeat an enemy encounter there. Special note about the Arahabakis, they ''null everything except for [[NonElemental Almighty]], [[KillItWithIce Ice]], and [[LightEmUp Expel]].'' Second, they can use [[ThatOneAttack Gate Of Hell]], which deals massive Physical damage to everyone and has a chance to [[TakenForGranite turn you to stone]] [[NoSell if you are not immune to either death or Physical]].

*** For a more straight example, there's Samael in the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Karma Temple]] and Anahata Waterways. A Samael in this game has more than a thousand HP, [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]] MP, resists Physical, [[NoSell voids Earth]], repels Electricity, Expel and Death, and has some nasty skills like Vanity and Revelation. Two of them can appear as reinforcements if you defeat an enemy encounter in the waterways, but Samael is typically alone. You can alternatively run into [[NighInvulnerable Arahabakis]] in the Manipura Waterways. Special note about the Arahabakis: They ''null everything except for [[NonElemental Almighty]], [[KillItWithIce Ice]], and [[LightEmUp Expel]].'' Special note 2: They can use [[ThatOneAttack Gate Of Hell]], which deals massive Physical damage and has a chance to stone you.

*** For a more straight example, there's Samael in the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Karma Temple]] and Anahata Waterways. A Samael in this game has more than a thousand HP, [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]] MP, resists Physical, [[NoSell voids Earth]], repels Electricity, Expel and Death, and has some nasty skills like Vanity and Revelation. Two of them can appear as reinforcements if you defeat an enemy encounter in the waterways, but Samael is typically alone.

* A feature of every dungeon in the ''[[VideoGame/{{Neptunia}} Hyperdimension Neptunia]]'' series is at least one Risky Foe. These are identified by an orange dot and the minimap and will wait for you to start a fight, but are typically much stronger than the next few bosses you'll encounter after they first appear. It's worth coming back to defeat them later, though, as they're typically linked to sidequests and (depending on the game) are connected to some sort of progression system.
* ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'''s Battleship Re-classes have outsize health - double that of normal enemy battleships! - and can attack in every combat phase, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard something none of your units can do.]] More than one can appear in an encounter.

* The Black Knights in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''. Non-respawning enemies who appear slightly off the beaten path, they have a lot of health, defense, and are very hard to defend against with fast, powerful attacks.

* Heide Knights are [[Videogame/DarkSoulsII the sequel's]] answer to the Black Knights. They aren't as big or strong, but they are more agile. One can be found in one of the game's earliest areas. Defeating this one nets you a decent sword for the early-game that can still be viable in the end-game if it's properly upgraded.

* These are so common in ''ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis'' that they actually get their own battle theme and a special icon in the game's PreexistingEncounters system. Early examples include the Bear, Owl Bear, Sword Geist and Shield Geist. You also get twice the normal AP for winning a battle containing one or more of them, so they can be worth the risk. Yes, the game gives this much fanfare to ''regular enemies that are much harder than the norm''. Appropriately, ''actual bosses'', by comparison, have a downright epic battle theme and look about as intimidating on the map as a red blob can.

* ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'''s Battleship Re-classes have outsize health and can attack in every combat phase, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard something none of your units can do.]] More than one can appear in an encounter.

* ''TheDenpaMen'' series has several. In the first game, if it [[OhCrap looks like it's going to kick your ass,]] [[TotalPartyKill it probably will]]. There are many, many offenders (Golems, Windbugs, Dragons when at low levels), but among the worst offenders is the notorious Hydraplant. It attacks twice per turn, has tons of HP, can breathe various stat-affecting gasses, and absolutely ''loves'' to spam an Earth-type hit-all attack that can easily decimate all but the sturdiest Denpas in your party in one go--let alone ''two'' of them per turn! And they have ''upgraded versions.''

* Pi'illodactyls in VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam. They randomly spawn as a background enemy in battles on Mount Pajamaja or Somnom Woods (the latter of which gets their stronger recoloured versions), and can be mostly ignored. Except when you hit them with a Taunt Ball to bring them into the foreground, you realise the hard way they've got about three times the stats of anything else you fight in the area (except the boss), have about three or four hard to dodge attacks that can do plenty of damage and can theoretically wipe out your entire group. Heck, they're even harder than foes you fight about 10 hours later! Have fun.

* Ishtar from the Final Chapter of ''LiveALive'' can be described as a random encounter miniboss.
** ''LiveALive'' also has one in the Prehistoric Chapter and one in the Bakematsu Chapter. They warn you by using the boss music when you encounter them, though- and there's a rather small chance that you'd run into them without knowing.

* ''DungeonSiege'' has this to some degree: occasionally you'll see enemies lit by a PillarOfLight, with the same attack power but usually 3 times more HP than your average foe. The third game does away with the pretense and gives them the same onscreen health meters as normal bosses.

* ''ValkyrieProfile'' has several examples.

* The NintendoHard RPG ''The7thSaga'' has a variant: ''every'' random encounter is like this. The bosses themselves are often significantly less likely to kill you than the random encounters in the dungeon that contains the boss.

** ''Star Ocean 2: The Second Story'' has this pretty much at many points of the game. In many dungeons there will be enemies that will instantly petrify your party, and will require constant stunning to prevent the group-petrifying attack. Attacking so often the enemy can't do anything is a major tactic for most enemies. In the bonus dungeon, most of your characters will have a Star Guard, equipment that upon a successful block, will do an attack which releases multiple attacks that can do 9999 damage a piece, and even then, you will die if not careful.

* In the final dungeon of ''PhantasyStarIV'', you may run into a [[http://www.pscave.com/ps4/enemies/prophallus.shtml Prophallus,]] uber-monsters that bear a striking resemblance to the [[http://www.pscave.com/ps1/enemies/darkfalz.shtml final boss]] of the original game.
** ''PhantasyStarII'' had [[http://www.pscave.com/ps2/enemies/pulser.shtml Blasters]] in the Bio Lab and Nido Tower areas. If you met one, your best bet was to either run or nuke it with every single bit of firepower you had. Meet two? Pray you can run, OR ELSE.
** In ''PhantasyStarIV'', the first SandWorm you fight (usually) is a boss. However, when you get your first vehicle and cross the [[BrokenBridge sand pits]], you'll encounter them as regular mooks. That first sandworm is that it's an extremely difficult boss fight when you first get to where you can take the mission for it, often capable of killing or at least severely wounding a party member per round, before you have access to resurrection items-- and ''that one doesn't have all the regular Sand Worm attacks''. It can't use Earthquake, which will destroy an un-buffed party even twenty levels later. The kicker is that one of the types of little worms you fight in Motavia will run off and summon [[MamaBear another full-powered Sandworm]] if you even leave one of them alive. Surprisingly though, Sandworms do provide a hefty amount of Experience points, despite their difficulty, if you pull off the right combinations you can just set a Macro based off of that turn to toast it every time.
* It's a good thing ''{{Avernum}} 5'' only does a mild version of this, because it gets used ''constantly''.
* The Game Boy RPG ''Robopon'' has - erm, well, quite a ''lot'' of them. Perhaps the worst offenders, though, are [[SprintShoes Move-type]] [[{{Mons}} Robopon]]. They use attacks that [[StatusBuff increase their speed]] to insane levels, making it almost impossible to land hits on them. To make matters worse, they generally have either high Attack or Defense, meaning they'll either pulverize your team into the ground in seconds or take what hits you ''do'' land on them and shrug it off like it's nothing. To make matters more insulting, when ''you'' [[PlayerMooks use Move-types]], they often end up gimped because TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and has access to better moves and equipment than you do.

* In ''EternalRing'' there is a secret area [[spoiler:that is reached by going back through the starting cave and hitting the door on the beach with a dark or light spell.]] Inside are rats that are easily one-shotted, floaty orbs that die in three pokes of a sword, but go on a (long) self destruct timer, and the werewolves. They take several castings dragon summoning spells (dragon spells are as big as it gets here), and they take more than half the HP of a character who's already able to take on the final boss.
* The Black Rabbite of ''SeikenDensetsu3'' is just a palette swap of the conventional Rabbite. It's also the most deadly thing in the entire game.

* The Cyclops enemies in ''SwordOfMana''. They each have a 5% spawn rate in a single area on the correct day of the week. They are huge compared to most normal enemies, possess an enormous amount of HP, have very high stats, and will richly reward you with their high drop rate on aerolites. They're also a great source for leveling up weapon and magic skills.
* ''KingdomHearts 358/2 Days'' introduces a couple of these. Invisibles have had a major upgrade from the first game, but the game warns you ("Caution! A powerful enemy is near!") so they may not count. Living Pods, on the other hand...Crazy amounts of HP and they hit like a semi truck. What looks like an easy mission becomes a pain in the ass thanks to these guys.
** The [[MetalSlime Black Fungi]] from the first game count. They have low HP, but absurdly high defense, they don't flinch at your attacks, they release poisonous gas which will do pretty sizable damage to your party, and they spend about half the time encased in stone so you can't even hurt them.
** ''re:Coded'' has the Eliminator, a [[PaletteSwap recolored Defender]] that randomly appears in System Sectors. They can block any frontal attack or magic? Not too bad, normal Defenders can also do that. They can also teleport around the sector, and have crazy attack power. What makes them truly evil is their shield attack, which fires a fast-moving homing burst that can inflict any of the status ailments in the game. Better hope that it is not [[InterfaceScrew flip-foot]] or [[OneHitKill Level 1 Defense]]...

* ''DemonsSouls'' features at least one kind of super-nasty enemy in every world, and most of them have the ability to instantly or near-instantly kill you if you make a single mistake fighting them. Usually the dangerous enemies are Black Phantom variants of existing ones, easily distinguished by their black and red glow. The Boletarian Palace has red-eyed knights who can very easily break through your guard. The Tower of Latria has Mind Flayers, who can blast you from afar with strong magic projectiles, and shoot a paralyzing burst of electricity that lasts just long enough for them to walk up and slaughter you. The Shrine of Storms has four kinds of skeletons- long sword wielders that roll up to you and break your guard with overhead slashes, archers that fire magic arrows, golden-armored skeletons with huge swords, and black-armored ones with dual katanas. The katana skeletons are the meanest by far, since they swing their swords in such wide arcs. If you encounter a Black Phantom katana skeleton and try to block its leaping attack, you'll get to watch both your stamina and your health drop to zero in a heartbeat.

* This happened in the [=SegaCD=] game ''Vay'' near the end, since WorkingDesigns "adjusted" the difficulty to the point where killing a dragon enemy was boss level difficulty and yet would when killed only give the experience of a weak enemy.

* The flash game ''EpicBattleFantasy 3'' has the Monolith enemy class, which is nigh-unanimously considered ridiculous by any reasonable standard. All three of them have a ton of HP, resist virtually everything, have incredibly overpowered attacks in general, and have a move that is ThatOneAttack by that standard. The first one you encounter is the Viking Monolith, whose ThatOneAttack hits the entire party, can kill in a ''minimum'' of three hits, and inflicts the dangerous freeze condition at an obnoxiously high rate. Oh, and it can cause instant death with another attack. The second is the Ancient Monolith, which loves to pull out a move that heals 100% of the HP of the entire enemy party, including itself, right when you're on the verge of finally killing the damn thing. And then...there's the Cosmic Monolith. It can, and ''will'', abuse its Doomsday attack that nails the whole field for upwards of 10,000 damage. This includes itself; by the way, it ''absorbs the attack element''. ''And'' they have a random chance of spawning during the final battle. Have fun.

* ''{{Opoona}}'' is ''full'' of these, as part of the game's general love of toying with the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil[[note]]As much as can be done without throwing off the game balance, anyway.[[/note]]. Although many areas have enemies in them who are stronger than usual, here are the most fitting candidates, in order of doomitude:

** Thousand Year Door provides a decent way to beat them once you get the Ruby Star and gain Art Attack. By concentrating loops around the Amazee Daisy, you can hit it for enough ArmorPiercingAttack damage to beat it (or at least leave it just one good hit away).

** Amayzee Dayzees: They have lots of HP in both games, and have lots of Attack power. They can also run away a lot quicker than Bandits.
** ''SuperPaperMario'' features an enemy called Mega Muth, a white mammoth like creature found in Castle Bleck. ''Numerically stronger than the final boss,'' you have to fight ''a whole corridor full of these things.'' In fact, [[ExpositionFairy Tippi]] outright compares them to gods. Luckily, they're slow and can easily be dealt with by throwing them at each other. But there's an even stronger subspecies in Flopside's Pit of 100 Trials...

** The worst example of how powerful these can be is [[spoiler: Magestic Mordred. It has almost equal stats to something 29 levels higher then it and it's gigantic. It's got multiple dangerous attacks that can cause status conditions and do a lot of damage. In terms of it's Level it's stronger then the Unique Monsters in the next area of the game and is as high in level as the boss of the area when you have to visit that same area again.]]

** There is a complete reversal of this is in ''DigitalDevilSaga''. The final [[BonusBoss secret boss]] is the [[spoiler:Demi-fiend]] from Nocturne. His random encounter music plays during the battle, giving the impression that you're just a random bunch of mooks for him. And quite frankly, if you're not prepared, you ''are''.

* A feature of every dungeon in the ''[[VideoGame/{{Neptunia}} Hyperdimension Neptunia]]'' series is at least one Risky Foe. These are identified by an orange dot and the minimap and will wait for you to start a fight, but are typically much stronger than the next few bosses you'll encounter after they first appear. It's worth coming back to defeat them later, though, as they're typically linked to sidequests and (depending on the game) are connected to some sort of progression system.

** The {{Palette Swap}}s of the Hel Servant boss, the "Eye" monsters, hit hard, possess a nasty array of spells and attacks and can revive each other if encountered in groups of two or more. Thankfully, there are only one to two "Eye" encounters in most dungeons.

*** For a more straight example, there's Samael in the [[TheVeryDefiniteFinalDungeon Karma Temple]] and Anahata Waterways. A Samael in this game has more than a thousand HP, [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]] MP, resists Physical, [[NoSell voids Earth]], repels Electricity, Expel and Death, and has some nasty skills like Vanity and Revelation. Two of them can appear as reinforcements if you defeat an enemy encounter in the waterways, but Samael is typically alone.

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' adds the Banshees, which are probably the prime example of Bosses in Mook Clothing in the entire series. They are presented as rare but regular enemies, but are easily the strongest and most dangerous of all Husk forms. Made from Asari with a rare genetic anomaly, they are not only very tough and durable but also possess extensive biotic abilities which allow them among other things to cover medium dinstances almost instantaneously to pop up right next to you. To make things worse, they usually appear in groups of two or three. Accompanied by swarms of lower Husks. And then there's [[HellIsThatNoise their scream]].

* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' franchise has several repeat offenders - identical or similar monsters that appear in multiple games.
** The Brachioraidos is a recurring one in the series. Its looks and translated name have changed drastically with each installment, making it hard to notice. Its appearances in order have been:
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' as the Brachiosaur. Based on the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachiosaurus Brachiosaurus]]''. It casts Meteor, Ultima, Snort and has over 46,000 HP.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' as the Vlakorados. Square stops caring what the monster is shaped like.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' as the Th'uban. This one breaks the tradition by being a bonus boss.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Advance'' as the Brachioraidos. Not a random encounter but a roaming sprite.
** Later ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games usually have Behemoth in this role. This could also be considered a meta-example the DegradedBoss, as Behemoth debuted as a boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', but is a recurring ultra-strong "regular" enemy in the rest of the series.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' had a monster called the Grand Dragon in a certain place accessible around Disc 1 that exists for the specific purpose of screwing you over if you don't heed the nearby Moogle's warning. Adequate preparation (stock up on Phoenix Downs, equip everyone with Antibody and Auto-Reflect) can render these Grand Dragons quite beatable, and thus turn this early accessible area into a convenient high-speed level-up treadmill. (Doubly so if you realize the Grand Dragons are a multiple of level 5, you'll be able to defeat easily it with [[UselessUsefulSpell Lvl5 Death]].)
** One word: Tonberries. Loads of HP, and two signature attacks. ''Knife'' a deadly stabbing attack which the tonberry must usually spend time getting into range to use and''Everyone's Grudge'' (aka ''Karma''), which is based on the amount of enemies (or sometimes tonberries) that the target has defeated. If you're finding yourself in a place chock full of Tonberries, switching to a party that hasn't been used much can help.
*** Oddly enough, the Tonberries in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' (which were called Pugs in the original US translation) were much easier. You still had to have a fairly high level to beat them, but you were already close by the time you got to that part of the game anyway. However, they also punish you for level grinding, in that their main spell (which Strago can learn) is Step Mine. It does damage based on how many steps you've taken.
*** ''Everyone's Grudge'' in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' is based on the amount of Tonberries killed, and only them. Since you can't exactly switch out for another character solo, there's a quest in the game that allows you to reset the "Tonberry Hate". You'll need it, as some BonusBoss Tonberries can use ''Everyone's Rancor'', which hits for 50 HP for every Tonberry killed. While ''Everyone's Grudge'' can be annoying most of the time, not resetting hate before facing a Tonberry with ''Rancor'' any time is suicidal.
** In some cases, Cactuars can be a pain. They typically have the maximum evasion rate and throw 1000 needles at your party. Then they have the nerve to run away. But if you defeat one, you're usually well rewarded.
** Some Cactuars in the games, especially the ones in FFX are even worse than the regular ones. Qactuar for the weaker, 1000 needles at one of your party. Then the Cactuar for the actual pain in the arse. The Cactuars in FFX will do a ''10,000 needle'' attack that leaves one of your characters dead unless you broke the HP limit with a customized armor, which is nearly impossible to do as you will be facing one before you can get the items required...
*** And then there are the ones in the Monster Arena that use [[UpToEleven 99,999 Needles]]...
** Oddly enough, this is kind of averted in ''FFX'' when you use items that damage on them. Their maximum evasion goes on strike and you hit them all the time. This is probably why Rikku was placed in the game, her "use" ability allows you to single-handedly take these annoying little suckers down fast.
** If you're a ways into a Final Fantasy game and you find a one-eyed floating bat thing, run. While their names are never really consistent (Ahriman, Doom-Eye, Blood Eye, etc), they have one thing in common, they have instant death attacks. Thanks to [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the computer being a cheating bastard]], the [[UselessUsefulSpell useless useful spell rule]] usually doesn't apply. This includes straight up instant death, a form of Russian roulette (never lands on the caster for some reason), and some form of death countdown attack. There is a trick for taking them down safely in ''FFIX'', though. If you do nothing before they use their Roulette attack, it will [[HoistByHisOwnPetard end up targetting themselves]].
** Malboros and their more dangerous upgrade Great Malboros. They have a lot of hitpoints and usually have a powerful attack, but the thing that makes them most dangerous is their "Bad Breath" move. Bad Breath can inflict so many different status ailments with ''one move'' that an unprepared party can wind up killing each other instead, if they aren't outright defeated by something like [[TakenForGranite Petrify]] or an Instant Death countdown.
*** Great Malboros in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', particularly in the [[BonusDungeon Omega Ruins]]. All encounters with Great Malboros in the Omega Ruins will be "Ambushed!" encounters; if you don't have First Strike in any of your characters' equipment, prepare to face anything from a mere normal attack to the dreaded Bad Breath, which will leave you with a blinded, Berserked, Confused, and poisoned party that tries to kill each other but can't and ends up wiped out in four turns thanks to poison [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]] in ''X''.
* From the original ''[[Videogame/FinalFantasyI Final Fantasy]]'', one of the most notorious offenders is the [=WarMECH=] (later translated as "Death Machine", [[GrandfatherClause then back to WarMECH]]). He has as many hit points as the penultimate boss, and his attacks range from powerful regular attacks to literally [[NukeEm nuking the party]] on the spot. There is also the distinct possibility that you can run into '''''TWO''''' [=WarMECHs=] at the same time, which is pretty much a death sentence.
** The UpdatedRerelease version actually made it ''worse'' - they doubled its hitpoints and it regenerates 100 hit points per round (due to its high defenses, even knocking off 100 hit points per round is something you won't do until much later than your first potential encounter with it). In both the original and the rerelease, people find it more difficult than the FinalBoss. But you only have a 1/64 chance of encountering it, thus making it a BonusBoss in Mook Clothing.
** The Earthgift Shrine bonus dungeon has Abyss Worms. Higher Attack than the four bosses (and the four Fiends!), no magic weakness, and such a high M Def as to make your Mages practically useless. Good luck.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' has the Yellow Dragons. Harder than most bosses, but they can drop [[LethalJokeCharacter Onion equipment]].
** There are also green and red dragons. Both are stronger. The only thing stronger than red dragons is the final boss, and the Bonus boss added into the DS version.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' for the DS in general has a lot of these, adding to the already NintendoHard nature of the game.
** You may encounter a variety of dragons after you recruit Edge that possess a lot of HP and may have a nasty attack. One of the worst is the Thunder Dragon, which is slightly faster than your characters and uses a powerful attack. Good luck trying to revive your tank.
** There will be instances where an enemy will have a party-hitting spell (whether it'd be a normal spell or a special attack). At first these aren't too dangerous, but then it gets ridiculous to the point where two of these can kill a party that's ''overleveled''. Oh, and they love to come in groups.
** Trap Doors in the Sealed Cave. They cast instant death spells that are 100% guaranteed. But they have a weakness: reflect their death spell back at them!...which you can't do without Augments thanks to how their spell works. If you're not playing the DS version, good frigging luck.
** Everything in the final dungeon. The last two floors are also applicable to the original version. The really fun part? A lot of enemies in the final dungeon actually have the boss music playing during their fights. LampshadeHanging?
*** FridgeLogic: Many of those same enemies appear on the earlier floors ''without'' the boss theme.
** The most notably tough enemy in the final dungeon is the EvilMask/Deathmask. Deathmasks start off an encounter by casting Reflect on themselves, then on your party. They then bounce very powerful spells like Holy and Flare off of themselves, and bounce Curaga spells off of you onto themselves. They have a whopping 37,000 HP and decent evasiveness, and are very tough to run from. The DS version makes this worse by giving it Laser Barrage, an attack that deals large amounts of damage to your whole party. Oh, and they're incredibly common, too.
** Right near the beginning of the game, Sand Worms. Which you can encounter between Mist and Kaipo. At a time when Cecil's your only party member. Sandworms can take about ten hits from Cecil at this point in the game, and can deal ~200 damage to him when he'd only have ~300 HP. What makes this particular encounter worse is the fact Sand Worms are fairly easy in the original versions that you're likely used to by now, and you may not have realized yet how much harder the DS version is. You will when that Sand Worm completely annihilates you.
* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' has the Gray Coeurl enemy as a random encounter. It also has the Gray Coeurl enemy as a random encounter, which is considerably more difficult than the Gray Coeurl. They share the same name, sprite and location.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' has ''tons'' of examples. Super enemies in this game are usually characterized by exceptionally high defensive stats, forcing you to rely on otherwise unorthodox strategies.
** The Jackanapes (known as "Harpy" in the PSX version) is an example of one of these. The first time you can encounter it, its attacks will do several hundred more points of damage than you can take (even at higher levels, it will still eat your HP quickly), and it's fast enough that you're almost certain to lose one or two party members before you can run away. It also always back attacks the party, and it can also dodge almost ALL of your attacks and magic, so if-- no, ''when''-- you are unlucky enough to meet one, you won't be able to fight it out.
** There's the also the Prototype, which has a couple of glaring weaknesses, but is very hard to hurt otherwise; the Dhorme Chimera, which outdamages you at the point of the game you fight it; and a group of five Mini-Dragons, which are upgraded Dhorme Chimeras. Also, at a later point in the game, in the Second World, a moogle advises you to avoid a desert; heeding such advice awards you an enemy-free journey, but disregarding it sends you against the Sandcrawler, an enemy with very high HP. While its regular attacks don't do a whole lot of damage, it ''frequently'' uses Maelstrom to reduce your entire party's HP to single digits, leaving you at the brink of a TotalPartyKill. Then there's the Landcrawler in the Merged World, which has even more HP and, in addition to using Maelstrom frequently, uses Crush to deal heavy damage and inflict confusion on a single target.
** The Tot Aevis from the Merged World brings this trope to mind. The enemy itself appears in a plot related, but ultimately optional dungeon. While most enemies have between 2 to 4 Thousand HP, rendering them kill-able in a short time, the Tot Aevis has 33,000 HP, more than the boss of the dungeon that contains it. It can make use of a Wind Attack that targets all of the party, and has a single target attack which can inflict Petrify. The reward when killing it is 7 ABP, more than the multiple enemy formations in the dungeon, second only to the boss, but otherwise gives nothing else, no EXP, Items, or Gil.
** The Shield Dragon in the Second World's Sealed Castle, and Exdeath's Soul in the Merged World's Sealed Castle are yet ''more'' examples of this trope. They have 20,000 HP (more than many enemies in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon) and exceptionally high defenses. Shield Dragon also has auto-Reflect, and its Knock Silly attack hits two party members at once and inflicts confusion on the targets. Exdeath's Souls always use instant death attacks and are just as difficult to kill.
** Also, the Tonberry in Istory Falls makes its debut appearance in this game...and it has as much HP as ''Leviathan, the boss of the area''.
* There's several from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''.
** A Tyrannosaur has 12,770 hitpoints and can cast Meteor, the strongest magic attack in the game.
** Mantodea's other stats aren't anything special, but its regular old attack can wipe out most characters in a single hit.
** There's also the Fiend Dragon, found in the final dungeon. It's rare, but if you run into it, you have to deal with a monster that not only packs high HP and powerful magic, but also is the only monster in the game (aside from the Final Boss) to have Heartless Angel, which reduces everyone's HP to 1. It then likes to follow up with Southern Cross, which also hits everybody, and will probably wipe out the whole party. Oh, and you can encounter ''two'' of them at the same time. Isn't that fun?
** The Intangir on Triangle Island in the World of Balance. It has auto-Vanish, a staggering 32,000 HP, absorbs all elements, and is immune to almost every status effect. Most of the time, it doesn't do anything, but if you try to get the Vanish off it so you can actually hit it, it'll smack your party with Meteor and disappear again. The only legitimate way to beat it is to cast Stop on it, beat on it, heal yourself after Stop wears off, and repeat as necessary. When you finally bring him down, he will hit whoever killed him with Meteo, which is a guaranteed kill if it connects. You gain no experience for beating him, but you do get a whopping 10 Magic Points. [[GoodBadBugs The Vanish/Doom trick]] works well against the Intangir since it's already invisible, though it will still hit whoever casted Doom with Meteo.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': The Unknowns in the Gelnika probably qualify, as do the Ghost Ships in the Junon Reactor (which know an attack which removes a member of your party from the battle, and have to be morphed into items to stand a chance against one of the {{Bonus Boss}}es without using any exploits). It also had the notorious Midgar Zolom. It's tough to find unless you know where to look, and it uses an attack (Beta) that will nuke your party (literally), as well as normally potent attacks. The silver lining? Enemy Skill Materia can make Beta your DiscOneNuke (if you survive it, assuming you survived long enough for him to cast it).
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has [[TyrannosaurusRex T-Rexaur]]. The game even tells you that "It's better to run if you encounter one". However, if you hit it with Blind (or better yet, Death), it goes down pretty easily.
** There are a handful including Elnoyles and Ruby Dragons both have very high stats or any monster that could also be encountered in Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell.
* Yans from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. Cute little lambs that proceed to Comet and Meteor you to death. Thankfully, they're only found in one optional area. Unfortunately, if you want to be able to melee [[BonusBoss Ozma]], you're going to have to go there to get the last friendly monster encounter (who also happens to be a Yan), making the risk is necessary. Since Ozma is the simplest source of the pumice...
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has a lot of these enemies. In the final dungeon, about half of the enemies have either powerful party-hitting attacks, a lot of status immunities, the ability to inflict tons of bad status effects, or some combination of the above. And they all have over 40,000 HP.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has Azi Dahaka, which guards the electric gates that block the way to Vegnagun at the end of the game. Screw up on ''one'' note, get frustrated with the entire puzzle, and then try to go through the barrier thingy anyway? Yeah, bad idea. Only good thing about that monster is you can run away from it.
** A lesser example is Aeshma in the prior area. It has relatively high HP for that area, made all the more noticeable by its unbreakable barrier that prevents all physical damage, meaning no [[GameBreaker critical health Cat-Nip'd Trigger Happy gunner]] can save you. And while you CAN escape, it won`t help if it hits you with Emblem of Thanatos, which does boss-level damage (well over 1,000) and is the first sign that it's more trouble than it's worth as it appears as a normal enemy.
* [[http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Category:Uragnites Uragnites]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' hide in their shell the second you hit them, which has them acquire massive damage reduction and a powerful HealingFactor effect, and any further physical hits while in the shell will be countered with a deadly area poison effect. It's normally best to build TP and use a [[LimitBreak Weaponskill]] when the thing pops out again, while mages can just whack the shell once, then run away and nuke safely while it's in the shell, immobile. Even being level 75, one of these mobs at 30-ish take awhile to kill.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' had a whole slew of these called Rare Monsters. They showed up among the normal fights on the world map, but were boss-tough. Generally, though, they only came after you if you attacked them first.
*** There's also Wild Saurian (which shows up in the ''first open area of the game''), the Werewolf (second area this time), Dive Talon (shows up early, but you can get a DiscOneNuke from it), and the Entites.
*** Also, the Wild Saurian eats the wolves in the area which adds to its overall HP and ''actually allows it to level up.''
*** The Elementals can count since they're usually of a much higher level then the players in areas they are found in, and will aggressively attack the player if they so much as whiffed even a scent of magic in their area. Even White Magic will cause them to go Aggro. They also are immune to all elements, except their own, [[ElementalRockPaperScissors which they of course absorb]]. They also take around 1/2 damage from physical attacks. Though they are vulnerable to their opposing element.
* Starting with Chapter 11, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has a bunch. Ochus, Tyrants, and Juggernauts all fit the bill well enough, but the absolute perfect examples are the Adamantoise and relatives. If you attack one of them as soon as you get to Chapter 11, it will [[TotalPartyKill step on you]]. Thankfully, they're quite docile and easy enough to avoid.
** Another example from XIII is the King Behemoth. They're rather common in Pulse, often seen prowling around and sometimes fighting other enemies. What makes them so hard? They have a TON of hp, and they also take quite a while to stagger. Get him down to half health, and he instantly heals up to full health and stands on his hind legs. He's even harder to stagger now, and does a brutal physical attack that will kill anyone but a guarding Sentinel, as well as casting an AreaOfEffect lightning effect that will probably kill your Medic or Ravager. He's possible to kill in Chapter 11, but only barely, and you need a lot of patience.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' has several. Raspatil, an Undying Cie'th appearing in Oerba 400 AF, definitely counts. It has over three million HP, hits incredibly hard, and can summon other monsters, including [[DemonicSpiders Wladislaus]]. If you go for completing the bestiary, it'll probably be one of the last fights you have.
** Pretty much anything that pops out of the spacial anomalies can easily wipe your party if you don't know exactly how to handle it. The Metal Gigantuar can easily wipe your party with 10,000 Needles, which in XIII-2, hits the entire party. Kanna Kamuy can Daze, Poison, and Deprotect at will, and then chomp you to death easily. Tonberries start out fairly manageable, but grow more and more powerful as the fight drags on, and ''will'' unleash a TotalPartyKill attack if you take too long.
** In TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, one of the final platforms contains a fixed encounter with a Proto-Behemoth and two Schrodingers. The Proto-behemoth unleashes devastatingly powerful physical attacks; even if nothing else in the dungeon gives your party any trouble, the behemoth is still a threat. Meanwhile, the Schrodingers will spam Deprotega until it sticks, and then join in the melee alongside the behemoth. Also, the Schrodingers have high HP, many resistances, and drain HP from you on attacking. If you can't evade them, this can be a tougher fight than the actual final boss.
* In ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'', every enemy in the large size group such as the Chocobo Eater, Cyclops, and Dreadnaught qualifies, having massive amounts of HP, and often possessing attacks that can potentially OHKO you if you don't guard them properly. A number of them are fought as mandatory battles at some point, but they appear as normal encounters in the same areas, as well.
** All of the Last Ones could be considered this, as well, being far stronger versions of monsters that only show up once you've defeated a huge number of their species, and visually only distinguished by their pure pink color scheme. Almost every monster species in the game has one including aforementioned giant monsters, who tend to be much tougher then most of actual boss fights in the game. They're also actually treated like bosses in that you're graded on how quickly you can defeat them.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', at certain points in the games roaming Legendary Pokemon appear. Which is fine...unless you're training up a lower-level team when you encounter them. Ugh.
** On top of that, the Vs Seeker. While normally it's just a simple rematch, your opponent can sometimes have tricky teams.
** And a special mention goes out to Bronzor, and its evolution Bronzong. The ONLY super-effective move types against it are Ground and Fire, and almost everything else is fairly useless. And you can only have one of those super-effective types at a time. If it has the ability ''Heatproof'', Fire is blunted. If it has ''Levitate'', Ground won't touch it. In later areas, they can be up to ''twice'' the level they were before, leading to a very sudden defeat if you don't have a really strong Pokemon as backup. They also learn some really annoying moves. Fortunately, they're [[StoneWall so slow]] you can usually run away from them. But God help you against [[ThatOneBoss Lucian's Bronzong in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum]].
*** Taken even [[UpToEleven further]] in Mystery Dungeon, where Pokémon have both of their abilities at once. Yes, that means that Bronzor and Bronzong have ''no'' weakness at all there, meaning you'll need Focus Punch and a lot of Elixir.
** Also, Ponyta. It's always encountered in grassy areas, usually where you expect Grass-types or, worse, Water-types (so that you're using Grass-type which is [[ElementalRockPaperScissors weak to Fire]]), has wicked high Defense for its level, and always has the move Stomp, which does insane amounts of damage for the low level Ponyta learns it at. Often decimates a low-level team you're trying to train up - and worse, is so fast it's hard to run away from.
** Ace Trainers/Cooltrainers and Veteran Trainers are often Bosses in Mook Clothing, because they tend to have good Pokémon that are often higher-level than most trainers in that area, and use better strategies.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', there's a female Cooltrainer named Jennifer on Route 120 that most players tend to ''desparately'' try to avoid making eye-contact with when passing through the route for the first time. The reason why? She carries a Milotic. Ordinarily a powerful Pokémon, thanks to monstrously high HP and Special Defense stats, this one also knows Refresh, Recover, and Water Pulse. It's tough enough to take Thunderbolts to the face and shrug it off with Recover, and Refresh prevents you from wearing it down with Poison or Burns (and any status that doesn't get wiped triggers the Defense-Boosting Marvel Scale ability). Water Pulse causes Confusion at a relatively high rate as a side effect and it's damage is basically supercharged thanks to Same-Type Attack Bonuses and the rainy weather in the area. Basically, either the thing goes down in one or two rounds, or you WILL get [[TotalPartyKill your party wiped.]] In Emerald that Milotic was replaced with a Sableye instead, but for the former games be wary of her.
*** In Emerald, at the very end of Victory Road, there are two Cooltrainers who are hidden beneath a bridge, so if you're not careful they can catch you and fight you in a double battle. They open with a Slaking (male) and Gardevoir (female), and Gardevoir has Skill Swap. Do the math. In addition, they then have Dusclops (male) and another Slaking (female). They will really mess with you if you aren't properly prepared for them. You can walk behind the male trainer and avoid them both, but they're well hidden and you may not even see them under the bridge, so be mindful of them. To give you an idea of their strategy, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJZa8bVmn00&t=77m35s here]].
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''/''Platinum'', there is a Hiker named Alexander on Route 208, who you can't reach until you get Rock Climb, and that is the only right thing. He has a level 40 Probopass, with the moves Block, Thunder Wave, Sandstorm and Rock Slide. If you have anything that is not Fighting-type/Ground-type or equipped with a Fighting or Ground move, you'll have a tough time taking him out, because Probopass have [[StoneWall gargantuan Defense]].
** Also, there's the duo of Ace Trainers Dennis and Maya at the north entrance to Veilstone City. They have high-powered Pokemon for their area, using mons like Gyarados and Drifblim in DP, and Lickitung and Gligar in Platinum, when you only have two or three badges at that point. And if you don't talk to them from the side and instead rush toward the city entrance, you have to battle both of them ''at the same time.'' Have fun.
** Let's not forget the infamous Level 16 Raticate in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''. While going through Mt. Moon, the player encounters a Team Rocket member with said Raticate that knows ''Hyper Fang''. At that point in the game, the move is most likely a one or two hit KO on anything in your party. Plus, Raticate is pretty fast as well, so pray it doesn't use Hyper Fang when it strikes first.
** Another one in Platinum, is the PI Carlos on Route 214, south of Veilstone City. He only has one Pokémon, but it's a Goldeen at level 30. "Pfft", you're probably thinking. Right? Well you won't be when it uses ''[[LuckBasedMission Horn Drill]]'', an OHKO move. Anything not at a higher level is prone to at least a 30% chance of being killed in one hit. What's worse is that it's not even supposed to have that move until Level 41 as a normal Goldeen. And if you're doing a Nuzlocke run, well...long story short, if it kills one of your Pokémon with that, cue RageQuit. He's also in Diamond and Pearl with three of the same Goldeen, but only Level 23, still packing it. While they're at a lower level, that's still not right.
** In ''Pokémon [=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', on Route 47, after coming out the north exit of Cliff Cave en route to the Safari Zone, there awaits a Double Team with a duo of Level 25 Electabuzz and Magmar. While that might not seem like all that much, they have ''Thunderbolt and Flamethrower'', their STAB [=HPSAs=]. And they have moves like Thunder Wave and Confuse Ray to mess with you. You can avoid them completely if you don't want to battle them, so be mindful of their tactics.
** There's also Wild ''[[InfinityMinusOneSword Dragonite, Metagross AND Tyranitar]]'' in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''.
*** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' gives a rare chance of finding wild ''Hydreigon'' in Victory Road.
** Also in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', post-game you gain access to a location known as the Challenger's Cave. Aside from a few items, some higher-leveled Pokemon from non-Unovan regions, and a few trainers, the place is nothing special on the surface. However, while going through the cave you can encounter the trainer Veteran Shaun. He has a party of six powerful Pokemon,which are [[MagikarpPower Gyarados]], [[FragileSpeedster Cro]][[GlassCannon bat]], [[StoneWall Druddigon]], [[KickedUpstairs Excadrill]], [[MightyGlacier Gigalith]], and [[StoneWall Snor]][[MightyGlacier lax]] - all of which are probably about ten to fifteen levels above your current party (63 for Snorlax, 62 for all others), assuming you dive right into the cave after beating the main story.
*** Challenger's Cave may be gone in the sequel, but Shaun simply packed up and moved to Wellspring Cave. ''With the exact same team.'' (Snorlax lost its extra level, oddly.) If you want that Focus Blast TM behind him, you better hope you know how to get past him.
** You don't even need to wait till the postgame to find absurdly tough Ace Trainers. Ace Trainer Stella at the lowest floor of Chargestone Cave has a Liligant that knows Mega Drain, Teeter Dance and '''Quiver Dance''', the latter being possibly the single most [[GameBreaker Game Breaking]] StatusBuff in existance, essentially turning it into a LightningBruiser '''AND''' special StoneWall ''at the same time!'' Worse, its main offensive move drains your HP and ''heals it''. And she'll confuse you with Teeter Dance first, giving her free time to set up while [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard you most likely hurt yourself every turn.]] If you don't have something that can knock it out in one hit, get ready for a TotalPartyKill.
** There is a '''''literal''''' Boss in Mook Clothing in Undella City in the post-game of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. Entering one of the houses gets you challenged to a Pokemon battle by the woman inside... [[spoiler: [[BonusBoss Champion Cynthia of Sinnoh]]]]. She challenges you just like any of the countless other NPC trainers you've curbstomped along the way. Her leitmotif might tip you off that something is different, but nothing else seems amiss. But if you challenge her without any idea of what you're up against, ''may Arceus have mercy on your soul.''
*** In the sequel, she's still there, but it's obvious who she is, seeing as your Rival tells you (and warns you). Still, it doesn't make challenging her any easier.
** Similarly, there's a seemingly harmless boy in one office in Castelia City who can be battled after beating the main story. He asks if you want to battle him. May Acreus have mercy to those who don't know what they're up against- GAME FREAK Morimoto. (This guy is actually based on one of the game designers, by the way.) All of his mons are in the '''mid 70s'''. Good luck.
** In the sequel, Morimoto can be challenged much earlier in the game, and his team is much lower-Level then (but still challenging for your likely Level). There's another trainer in the same room named Nishino (also based on a game designer) who's similar. After you defeat the Elite Four, Morimoto's team becomes much like it did in the previous game, and Nishino's also becomes much more powerful.
** However, one of the most commonly acknowledged Bosses in Mook Clothing is Wobbuffet. It is a blue punching-bag looking Pokemon which can learn only ''seven'' attacks total and has offensive, defensive, and Speed stats that are pathetically low...until you look closer. Its only good stat is HP, which is the third highest in the game, and two of its moves are Counter and Mirror Coat, which do ''double'' the damage of the respective physical or special attack it received. It also has Encore, which makes you use the same move every turn, eliminating the need for Wobbuffet trainers to predict if the opponent will use a Physical or Special move. Even if you do knock it out, its fourth move, Destiny Bond, ensures your Pokémon is going down with it. Lastly, Wobbuffet has the ability Shadow Tag, which stops you from escaping.
** In ''Videogame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' a early trainer of the usually easy nursery aide class packs a level 11 Dunsparce, who knows ''Rollout'', a move that gains power every turn until it can curbstomp ANY mon you use with its sheer power. You have no revives and only a set of basic pokemon, so she can easily roll over you. Literally. Of course this one is downplayed given you ''might'' be able to take it out quickly or if the Riolu you caught at Flocessy Ranch is Level 15 (learning its first STAB fighting move) by then. At least she is easy to avoid.
** In Pinwheel Forest there is a double battle with two veteran trainers who have a Ludicolo, Electivire, Forretress, Crobat, Magmortar, and a Leafeon, and while you have Cheren with you, two of his three Pokémon aren't very good and get knocked out quickly, leaving it a two against one battle. Mind you that Veterans have an increased AI compared to other npcs.
** Another double battle with two Veterans that is just as bad (which you have to fight alone) occurs in Victory Road. Veteran Claude uses a [[MightyGlacier Braviary and a Carracosta]], while Veteran Cecile uses a [[StoneWall Mandibuzz]] and an [[GlassCannon Archeops]]. (To give you an idea of how powerful Archeops is, it has the Defeatist Ability, which makes it weaker if its Hit Points are reduced by half, a liability given to it because its Attack and Special Attack are through the roof when it's at full health.) You ''can'' avoid these two trainers completely if you want (and honestly, you have to kind of go out of your way to get to them), but you have to get past them if you want the Wild Charge TM that's behind them.
** Black 2 and White 2 added Triple and Rotation Battles all over the place, with one of the worst being the Triple Battle against Parasol Lady Tyra at the Moor of Icirrus entrance. Surprisingly for a mid-class trainer, she actually fields a weather team to take advantage of the constant rainfall on Route 8; a Swift Swim Ludicolo (meaning it will almost definitely get the first strike with a 150% power Hydro Pump), as well as a Jolteon and a Castform, both using 100% accurate Thunder. All at Level 60. However, it's possible to encounter her when the weather is ''not'' rain; if that's the case, consider yourself lucky.
** And even worse, if you use Memory Link, there's a 1-5% chance of encountering ''a level 35 Zen Mode Darmanitan'' in the Desert Resort, when your team is probably in its mid to late 20s. You're basically trying to fight and catch something that's incredibly powerful from the beginning, and turning even stronger at half health. And since it will likely outrun you, expect to be visiting the Nurse in that area to have your mons revived.
** In certain generations, this trope is inverted with certain trainer classes using overworld sprites that belong to the more advanced ones. It's rather relieving that the "Ace Trainer" that spotted you is sporting rather forgettable ComMons like Hoothoot and Noctowl.
** Slaking. They have absurdly high Attack and HP, with good speed and physical defense to boot. They also learn really powerful moves like Hammer Arm (which lowers their speed when they use it, thankfully), and a ton of other different moves due to its Normal typing. Fortunately, if you know what you're doing, you can exploit their handicapping Ability, which causes them to skip every other turn, but if you don't... expect to be taken down ''very'' quickly. You can even encounter them in the wild in ''Black 2/White 2''.
*** Even worse, some trainers have strategies to nullify their Ability, [[LightningBruiser allowing them to destroy you twice as fast]]. [[ThatOneBoss Norman's]] rematch teams in ''Emerald'' have this strategy, as well as [[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Cipher Head Evice]].
** Route 18 in ''Black 2/White 2'' has ''[[FourIsDeath four]]'' Veterans, each of which are flatly insane (and guard valuable items). Gina has a Rotation Battle with a [[JackOfAllStats Kingdra]], [[StoneWall Skarmony]], and [[MightyGlacier Donphan]], all of which are level 68 (73 in Challenge Mode). Chester has a [[LightningBruiser Staraptor]], [[MightyGlacier Relicanth]], and [[LightningBruiser Krookodile]] in a Rotation Battle at level 68 as well. But then there's Vincent and Maya, who have psuedo-legendaries at a whopping level '''70''' (75 in Challenge Mode). Vincent's [[MightyGlacier Tyranitar]] will shrug off whatever you throw at it, even its weaknesses, EXCEPT [[ForMassiveDamage Fighting-type attacks]]; its Special Defense spikes because of the sandstorm it creates upon entry. Maya's [[GlassCannon Salamence]] will most likely outspeed whatever you've got, weaken your Attack just by being sent in, and slam you with the outrageously powerful Draco Meteor; unless you've got somebody with a strong Ice-type attack, it's most likely going to wipe at least half your team, even if they're at the same level. Oh, and you can fight all these Veterans as soon as you beat the Champion.
** In ''Black 2'' and ''White 2'' on Route 12, you have a 15% chance of running into Heracross (''Black 2'') or Pinsir (''White 2''). [[note]]Yes, you can encounter them in the previous set of games, but they're about level 50 and you can handle them by then. But then again there's Rapidash to worry about...[[/note]] They have endgame stats, combined with very high offensive power and good speed and defenses. Plus, they pack powerful Fighting-type moves and strong Bug-type moves, including ''Close Combat'' on Heracross which gets STAB, which means one could very well wipe a few of your team members. About this point, your starter may have ''just'' evolved to its final form if you spent lots of time grinding, and these bugs are about that level when ''not'' in dark grass- in which case they're level 40-42 and there's a chance of running into two of them at the same time. If you have a Ghost-type you should be fine against them, but otherwise, hang on for dear life.
*** You also have a 5% chance of running into them in the Lostlorn Forest, which you can access as soon as you reach Nimbasa City. They're only Level 24 and their movesets aren't as powerful at the time, but they can still catch you by surprise.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', upon returning from Parfum Palace, players can challenge a Poké Family in a Double Battle with ''two'' Furfrou. They're at level 14, likely to outspeed anything you've got, only take half damage from physical attacks, flinch-lock you with Headbutt, and lower your Attack with Growl and Baby-Doll Eyes. Even with Pokémon at their same level, they are very difficult to take down.
*** Another [[SarcasmMode fun]] encounter when returning from Parfum Palace is Tourist Takemi, who only has a single Pokemon, a Volbeat. Looks like an easy battle, but unless you get incredibly lucky, appearances are very, very deceiving. It's very difficult to take out in one or even two shots, which becomes a major problem when you consider its moveset: [[LuckBasedMission Confuse Ray]], [[GameBreaker Double Team]], [[HealingFactor Moonlight]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Tackle]]. It'll confuse you and spam evasion all day, and if you manage to land a hit it'll just heal it off. You can't even constantly switch to PP stall it because of Tackle, so you'd better have a string of good luck before this thing manages to wipe out your whole team through confusion damage.
** Another one is Rising Star Manon, who you encounter in the Cyllage City Gym. Unlike the other trainers, including Grant, she sports two Rock types that can take a hit and set up: Lunatone and Solrock. They lack a crippling 4x weakness, have solid defenses to survive whatever you throw, and will likely use Hypnosis to knock you asleep. Then, once your mon is rendered asleep, they will likely utilize [[StatusBuff Cosmic Power]] to buffer up their defenses even more. The only saving grace is that they don't have any healing items.
** And the Victory Road. Plays similar to that of the Gen V games (particularly Black and White 2) in the sense that the cave branches to outside where there are trainers waiting at big levels. With a total of 22 trainers to take on, including a double battle, Veterans and your rival, you're likely to get caught off-guard here. Not only that, but the wild Pokémon are as high as Level ''59'', which is high as the Gym Leader that you just beat to get here. Definitely a place you want to be on guard while exploring.
** On Route 18 is the Inverse Battle House. Once a day, you can challenge Inver, who inverts type effectiveness. For example, Fire-type moves would be not very effective against Grass-type Pokémon instead of the other way around, and Fighting-types can hit Ghost-type Pokémon for super-effective damage (normally no effect). That's not what makes it difficult. Inver's Pokémon are all high-leveled (55 before beating the Champion, and ''65'' afterwards), have perfect stats, and have good movesets/items. ''That's'' what makes it difficult.
** Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire introduces [=DexNav=], which can turn random wild encounters into this. If you persist with one Pokémon long enough, there's a chance it will be up to 10 (or, if encounters are all in a row, it can be even up to ''30'') levels higher than normally, have an Egg Move, a Hidden Ability or perfect [=IVs=]. This could make ''Wurmple'' dangerous.
** Every single Psuedo Legendary. They have the highest base stats out of any Non-Legendary Pokemon and have very large attack and speed. A special contender goes to Garchomp and Mega Salamence which both got banned in the generation they were introduced in. Thankfully most Psuedo Legendaries have been nerfed by a considerable amount due to Fairy types.

** A Tyrannosaur has 12,770 hitpoints and can cast Meteor.

*** Taken even [[UpToEleven further]] in Mystery Dungeon, where Pokémon have both of their abilities at once. Yes, that means that Bronzor and Bronzong have ''no'' weakness at all there.

*** Even worse, some trainers have strategies to nullify their Ability, [[LightningBruiser allowing them to destroy you twice as fast]]. [[ThatOneBoss Norman's]] rematch teams in ''Emerald'' have this strategy, as well as Cipher Head Evice.

** The first ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' features the four Anti Guys. Take regular mooks, give them 12 attack (where par is 2 or so and your HP limit is 50, though you're more likely to have 30 or so) and maybe twice that in HP. Oh, and in the second fight you fight three at once. At least [[BonusBoss none of the fights are mandatory]].

*** The Elementals can count since they're usually of a much higher level then the players in areas they are found in, and will aggressively attack the player if they so much as whiffed even a scent of magic in their area. Even White Magic will cause them to go Aggro. They also are immune to all elements, except their own, [[ElementalRockPaperScissors which they of course absorb]]. They also take around 1/2 damage from physical attacks.

** Later ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games usually have Behemoth in this role. This could also be considered a meta-example the DegradedBoss, as Behemoth debuted as a boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', but is a recurring ultra-strong "regular" enemy in the rest of the series. **''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' had a monster called the Grand Dragon in a certain place accessible around Disc 1 that exists for the specific purpose of screwing you over if you don't heed the nearby Moogle's warning. Adequate preparation (stock up on Phoenix Downs, equip everyone with Antibody and Auto-Reflect) can render these Grand Dragons quite beatable, and thus turn this early accessible area into a convenient high-speed level-up treadmill. (Doubly so if you realize the Grand Dragons are a multiple of level 5, you'll be able to defeat easily it with [[UselessUsefulSpell Lvl5 Death]].)

** Later ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games usually have Behemoth in this role. This could also be considered a meta-example the DegradedBoss, as Behemoth debuted as a boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', but is a recurring ultra-strong "regular" enemy in the rest of the series. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' had a monster called the Grand Dragon in a certain place accessible around Disc 1 that exists for the specific purpose of screwing you over if you don't heed the nearby Moogle's warning. Adequate preparation (stock up on Phoenix Downs, equip everyone with Antibody and Auto-Reflect) can render these Grand Dragons quite beatable, and thus turn this early accessible area into a convenient high-speed level-up treadmill. (Doubly so if you realize the Grand Dragons are a multiple of level 5, you'll be able to defeat easily it with [[UselessUsefulSpell Lvl5 Death]].)