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, and can earn (in order) the Third Degree, Fourth Degree, and Diploma cards. 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 golden aura. 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 and Wracktail/Shadoo in his sequels, the Master is the strongest opponent in the game and is completely optional, thus he is the game's superboss.

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.

Abusing the Stone Cap can allow Mario to avoid damage while using his partner to attack The Master. Alternatively, using Repel Gel allows Mario to dodge The Master's attacks and damage him with his and his partner's attacks. Using the Shrink Stomp and Chill Out to lower The Master's offense is also recommended, as well as equipping Mario with power- and defense-raising badges.

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 Culex from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Bonetail from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Shadoo from Super Paper Mario, and Bowser X from Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
 * The Master is the only Toad that Mario can battle in the entire Mario series.
 * In Super Paper Mario, Francis has comics featuring The Master.