K-9

K-9s are weak wolf-like enemies that wear red shoes and live in Bandit's Way during the events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. They are relatives of the Chows from Land's End.

In the overworld, K-9s tend to walk very slowly, either in random paths or slowly honing in on an intruder. In the second area of Bandit's Way, two K-9s wander the grounds underneath the flying Board path. If one is destroyed by Mario, another one will replace it at the edge of the area, meaning there will always be two K-9s in the area regardless of how many Mario eliminates. A K-9 in the third area guards a Treasure Box, while four K-9s in the fourth area of the level will actually pursue Mario, albeit very slowly. Like the K-9s of the second area, any defeated K-9 will be regenerated near the edges of the screen. Mario can also acquire an invincibility Star in the fourth area, which for some reason causes all the K-9s to become extremely fast. Curiously, instead of running away from the invincible Mario, the K-9s will foolishly continue to home in on Mario, running right into him and being instantly destroyed. Moreover, since any defeated K-9s will be regenerated, these fresh K-9s will also rush Invincible Mario at high speeds, perishing like the ones that came before them. While Mario is invincible, he can earn a lot of Experience Points and perhaps even a couple Level Ups due to high number of K-9s he can potentially destroy.

In battle, a K-9 attacks by biting with its sharp teeth. Additionally they do have a couple of special attacks. K-9s can use the Howl attack to instill fear in their opponents, weakening their attack and defense. K-9s can also use the powerful Fangs attack, a vicious bite that causes 50% more damage than usual. A successful Howl followed by a Fangs attack can be devastating. K-9s fight in groups of two or three and are often accompanied into battle by Spikeys or Frogogs.

Trivia

 * The enemy's name "K-9" is a pun on the word "Canine".
 * The unused enemy, Juju, mentions a K-9 in its psychopath.
 * Its name is a reference to the robotic dog "K-9" from the Doctor Who television series..