The Master

"Kuwaaaaa! Behold my fury, Mario!!"

- The Master

The Master is a powerful martial artist and the resident teacher of the Toad Town Dojo. He is a Toad who appears in the game Paper Mario. If Mario defeats his students Lee and Chan, the plumber will have the opportunity to challenge the Master himself in battle. In fact, Mario can fight the Master three times. However, each time Mario wins a battle, the next fight with the Master will become exponentially harder. The Master's appearance in the third battle is the same, except he is surrounded by a yellow fiery glow. With experience and skill (and maybe a few tricks), Mario can defeat the Master's third and most powerful form and earn the Diploma.

In his final form, the Master is actually stronger than the final boss, Bowser (in his powered-up state); while both have 99 HP, The Master has more powerful attacks than Bowser. Much like Bonetail in the sequel, the Master is the strongest opponent in the game and is completely optional.

The Master is also similar in many ways to the character Jinx from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Both Jinx and the Master are expert martial artists who train disciples in schools. Additionally, Mario has to fight both Jinx and the Master three times each, with every battle getting progressively harder in each case.

First Battle
Max HP: 50 Attack Power: 6 Defense Power: 0 Location:Toad Town Tattle: This is The Master. He owns the Dojo--and he's the strongest member. If he's the best in the Dojo, he must be pretty tough!

Moves: Punch (6)

Second Battle
Max HP: 75 Attack Power: 8 Defense Power: 0 Location: Toad Town Tattle: This is The Master. He owns the Dojo--and he's the strongest member. He knows both normal and advanced methods of attack. You'd better concentrate, Mario! This guy doesn't mess around at all!

Moves: Punch (8), Dashing Uppercut (5, then 6)

Final Battle
Max HP: 99 Attack Power: 10 Defense Power: 1 Location: Toad Town Tattle: This is The Master. He owns the Dojo--and he's the strongest member. He may well know a few moves I've never heard of... We can't expect mercy from this guy, so let's take the fight to him.

Moves: Punch (10), Dashing Uppercut (6, then 7), Dashing Kicking Uppercut (5, 6, then 7)

Trivia

 * Tayce T. is the Master's sister, as is mentioned by a certain Toad in Paper Mario. Additionally, this same Toad reveals that Tayce T. used to live in the Dojo alongside her brother before moving to her own home.
 * The Master's optionality and the fact that he's harder than the final boss is similar to optional bosses often found in the Final Fantasy series.