Shyster

"Look at him! Can't even bounce! Hey, maybe we could bounce ON HIS HEAD!!!"

- Shyster

A Shyster (also known as Pogo Guy) is a Shy Guy that hops on a sword-tipped pogo-stick. They appear in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and work for the Smithy Gang. Shysters formed the bulk of Mack's forces during his invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom. After Mack conquers the peaceful kingdom, the Shysters are allowed to terrorize the townsfolk as they please.

A Shyster attacks by jumping on top of his opponent with his sword-tipped pogo-stick. Additionally, Shysters have limited proficiency in magic. As such, Shysters can use the weak fire-based attack Drain to shoot a small fireball at opponents. Shysters can be easily defeated with lightning magic, but they don't give out coins or experience points. During Mario and Mallow's battle with Mack, the knife monster summoned four Shyster Bodyguards. These Shysters are as strong as regular Shysters, except that they don't give out experience points or coins. However, they still can be defeated with lighting magic. Shysters seem love nothing more than hopping around all day long.

After Mack is destroyed, the two remaining Shyster Bodyguards will leave to inform Smithy of Mack's demise.

Several stronger varieties of Shysters exist, including the Springer and the Shyper. Shyster bodyguards are also one of the few generic enemies made into Machine Mades. Shy Guys riding pogo-sticks also appear in Yoshi's Story under the name of Pogo Guy. However, these Shy Guys took advantage of normal-tipped pogo sticks rather than the seemingly stronger sword-tipped ones.

Trivia

 * Shyster's name, in addition to being a pun on "Shy Guy", is likely derived from the actual term "shyster", which really means "conman".
 * The official Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars strategy guide placed an image of a Shyper where a Shyster should have been.
 * In the final fight with Smithy, a Shyster and Drill Bit come and tell him about the floor.