History Main / MetalSlime

* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'' has Rappies (not to be confused with Nab Rappies, a common enemy in the forests of Naberius). They appear infrequently and are not hostile to players, being content to just waddle about the field and sing. They also have a higher chance to drop rare loot, such as Grinders, Photon Drops, or even rare weapons. Occasionally, the randomly triggered "Emergency Code: Arrest" will cause a large flock of Rappies to spawn. You better beat them quickly, though, as in this case, they move much more quickly and will disappear if you don't knock them out fast enough.
** Later updates added the Mesetan and Takamikazuchi, which grant absurd amounts of meseta and EXP respectively. Though there's no risk of them escaping (Outside of them despawning if not attacked for several minutes like any other enemy type), they're ''extremely'' rare.

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'''s Pig Noise. The pigs have high defense, and run after about ten seconds. Later variants can be invisible, invulnerable to all but one specific pin, or need to be erased in a specific order. At least they're easy to find.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' has a whole series of these monsters; they have 4-6 hp but only take 1 damage per hit and will run if they can be killed before their next turn, meaning they can't be taken out until you have certain specific items from later on in the game. Not only that, they is insanely fast, getting multiple turns in before your characters do. The worst part is, they are practically necessary to grind so one can get the [[InfinityPlusOneSword best gear in the game]]. At least when they do attack, they take off 1/10 of your maximum hp, so they really don't do THAT much-- except for one variant of these slimes named OOPARTS, who can insta-kill one of your party members before running away. If it feels like it, it can even stick around and nail another character.

* ''{{Gauntlet}}'' has the Thief, a ''very'' fast enemy who runs up to your strongest player and steals potions, keys or even points from him/her. If you manage to kill him you can loot up a 500-point gold bag from his body; otherwise you'll have to get back your loot on the next dungeon level.
* Fugitives in the third ''SengokuBasara'' game. Each map has one, they have a random chance of appearing every time you start the map, they appear on a few predetermined and out-of-place locations on the map (and unless you bring a max level HattoriHanzo, you won't know where) and run away about a minute after appearing. Fugitives only block and counter and have an extremely powerful block, making them impossible to kill without using a Basara art, Hero time or by loading your weapon full of Golden Centipedes. Each map's fugitive grants a permanent attack, defence or luck bonus when defeated, but only once for each character.

* This trope is parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}''. At one point, you have the chance to fight the rare Metal Monkey. It's got stupid high defense in order to compensate for its low HP, but instead of giving the player a lot of experience upon its defeat, the game instead tells the player that, roughly, 'they had a good experience.'

** Also, in ''EarthBound'' itself you can wander through either of the two deserts present in the game and beat the Criminal Caterpillar or the Master Criminal Worm (two randomly encountered enemies) in order to get A LOT of experience points. Even though they can easily defeat your party if they get to fight, most of the time you'll end up catching them from behind, getting an automatic victory.
** ''Mother 1'' has the Red Snake, which usually runs away the first chance it gets.

* ''CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' had the Tsuchinoko, which would flee as soon as you entered the room about 90% of the time. If you didn't kill it fast enough, it would flee anyways. Compounding this is the soul it RandomlyDrops which is, of course, needed for OneHundredPercentCompletion. Making it better: Tsuchinoko Soul decreases the buying cost of items, including the ludicrously expensive accessory that makes Souls easier to get. So, um, you can grind money for the Soul Eater Ring to make it easier to get Tsuchinoko, or you can camp Tsuchinoko to make it easier to get the Soul Eater Ring.

** ''PortraitOfRuin'' had an enemy called the Dodo. It appears on only one screen in the entire game, sometimes doesn't appear at all, has a decent amount of HP, and it runs away from you right when you enter. You have to kill it to complete a quest.
*** The Dodo originally showed up in ''SymphonyOfTheNight'' as well.
** ''CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'' had the Rare Ghost enemy that you'd need to find in order to complete your monster logbook.
** ''CircleOfTheMoon'' featured the Trick Candle, an enemy that also only appears in a dead-end room previously occupied by a boss. Although it looks almost identical to a regular candle, whipping it causes an enemy to fall to the floor and disappear. You have about two seconds to kill it for its very useful magic card, which allows you to summon baddies.

** ''DawnOfSorrow'' has three enemies which can only be found by deciphering tabloids you find lying around. Of the three one is more of a [[PuzzleBoss Puzzle Mook]] (use the right weapon in its room and it dies instantly), the second is a normal enemy that can only be summoned under certain conditions, but the one that qualifies as a Metal Slime is the Yeti. It can only be summoned by using the right power in a room that you have no reason to return to. At that point it'll jump into the foreground, then quickly jump back giving you one or two hits to kill it at the very most.
** ''OrderOfEcclesia'' has the Sasquatch (which is basically the same monster mentioned above). Once it sees you, it panics and leaps into the background. Getting a picture of it for a villager mission is easy enough, but killing it for the Bestiary is another story.

* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series has a few Metal Slimes, but it does have a number of Mons that have the ability to escape from battle before you can capture them:

* In the Capcom-produced ''Zelda'' games (''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames,'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'') there are extremely rare "Golden" versions of regular enemies, which not only have far more HP than regular enemies, but also move at crazy speeds. They only appear after certain events--but when defeated, they drop buckets of Rupees. They also appear in ''FreshlyPickedTinglesRosyRupeeland''.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', one of the sidequests involves you searching the whole of Hyrule Field for Big Poes. You can only find each of them in ''very'' specific spots, you have to be riding [[PowerupMount Epona]], and you have all of 5 seconds to kill them with arrows before they vanish and you have to try again. Hope your aim is good.

* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series has no true Metal Slimes, but it does have a number of Mons that have the ability to escape from battle before you can capture them:
** Not necesarrily true. The extremely useful Lucky Egg item which grants bonus XP to anyone who holds it is only obtainable in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Generation III]] from a Chansey in the Safari Zone, which is an extremely rare encounter, and will almost certainly flee from combat before you can capture it, and therefore get your hands on the item. And on top of that there isn't even a 100% chance that a wild Chansey you catch will have the item! Chansey meets all the requirements!

** In the [[VIdeoGame/PokemonBlackandWhite 5th Generation]], we have Audino, who combines this with [[TheMedic The Medic]]. Only appearing in the randomly appearing shaking grass, it gives massive experience points for its level. It has rather high defences and can take a few hits, however, some of them can learn Heal Beam, which [[ExactlyWhatitSaysonTheTin heals your Pokemon]].

A Metal Slime is a specific [[SubTrope variant]] of the GoddamnedBats--it is more annoying than deadly.[[note]]When you think about it, this is because the "standard" Metal Slime typically act in a relatively intelligent fashion, realizing that they are outclassed and fleeing with both their valuables and their lives.[/note]] Though most {{Metal Slime}}s lack significant offensive output, enemies are only excluded from this trope due to power level if they pose a significant threat to a party at the appropriate [[CharacterLevel level]] for the zone.

** The Flowbermeow in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D'' fulfills this role, appearing only in a select few special portals, and spending all of its living moments running away from you and teleporting around, eventually escaping if it's not defeated in time. However, the only noteworthy thing it drops is one of the synthesis items needed to create it, though it's not guaranteed, and said item can be obtained more reliably from other sources later in the game.

*** Although probably unintentional on the developers' part, the two non-legendary Gen 1 Pokemon generally regarded to be the most powerful, Tauros and Chansey, are both exclusive to the Safari Zone.

A Metal Slime is a specific [[SubTrope variant]] of the GoddamnedBats--it is more annoying than deadly.[[hottip:* :When you think about it, this is because the "standard" Metal Slime typically act in a relatively intelligent fashion, realizing that they are outclassed and fleeing with both their valuables and their lives.]] Though most {{Metal Slime}}s lack significant offensive output, enemies are only excluded from this trope due to power level if they pose a significant threat to a party at the appropriate [[CharacterLevel level]] for the zone.

Given the nature of the Metal Slime, it can be a major target for players working on an EliteTweak or HundredPercentCompletion. If an item/cash-type Metal Slime ends up having an esoteric weakness that gives the player a decent chance of killing it (or if the rewards are ''just that good''[[hottip:* :say, a DiscOneNuke]]), it can also become a PinataEnemy.

* ''{{Legend of Heroes VI}}'' and its sequel ''{{Zero no Kiseki}}'' have Shining Poms, which can dodge everything but S-Crafts and net you 1000 EXP per kill.

** Most Metalys encountered in the first ''DragonQuestMonsters'' have an attack which deals heavy defense-piercing damage to a random {{Mon}} on the field. Including the Metaly using said attack. Suddenly they're not so hard to kill.

* [[TropeNamer Named]] for the Metal Slime (or Metaly as it's called in some games) from the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series. It's actually a [[PaletteSwap regular old blue Slime with metal coating]], but defeating one of them will get the party (or just the player in [[VideoGame/DragonQuestI the first one]]) lots and lots of experience. Actually doing so is a pain because despite its low HP, its defense is high enough that some attacks will outright fail, it is completely immune to magic, it's also lightning fast, and as noted, it likes to run given half a chance. It is not uncommon to encounter a large group of {{Metal Slime}}s (and/or it's relatives) and have all of them flee before your party can kill even one; in fact, it isn't even that uncommon to encounter a number of them and have every last one of the cowards bolt ''before the party can even act''. Other variations of this monster appear in the later games, such as the Liquid Metal Slime (known as the Metal Babble or Metabble in some games) and the Metal King Slime.

* ''{{Terraria}}'' has "Pinky," a tiny, rarely appearing pink slime that drops gold coins--hundreds of times as much money as an average slime. It also has a lot of health, and if you hit it too hard, it may fly off the screen into oblivion. Have fun [[DeathOfAThousandCuts whittling]].

* In EtrianOdyssey 3, there is an entire class of enemies that play this trope straight. They [[PreExistingEncounters appear on the dungeon map]] just like the F.O.E.'s do so you can find them (but if you don't reach them in time they disappear), and while each variation has a somewhat different gimmick they all share the tendency to run away at the drop of a hat, and if you manage to kill them they're worth a metric buttload of experience.
* EtrianOdyssey 4 introduces the "Rare Breed" system which gives all (non-boss) enemies a (very small) chance of appearing as this trope. Rare breed monsters are recognized by their shiny, golden color and give additional experience when they're killed. On each round that they remain in battle they give the message that their "glow intensifies" meaning you'll get even more bonus exp for killing them. Of course, like all Metal Slimes there's a chance they'll run away each turn they're in combat, adding a new aspect to the system: you can either kill them immediately for a minor bonus or let them stay in combat a while for a massive bonus at the risk of them running away.

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* In the [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}} second game]], there's the chubby version of enemies, who are incredibly rare but drop more loot when killed. There's even an achievement for finding and killing one.