Shy Ranger

A Shy Ranger is an extremely mysterious camouflaged Shy Guy that appears in the Pipe Vault of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. They only appear around Piranha Plants. Shy Rangers have absurdly high Speed ratings and as such, they will immediately run away from battle if encountered. However, if Mario and his party manage to defeat a Shy Ranger, the heroes will earn a total of sixty Experience Points.

Defeating a Shy Ranger is not an easy accomplishment. Since Geno has the highest natural Speed rating in Mario's party, he is the only party member that can actually attack the Shy Ranger before it runs away. However, not even Geno's natural Speed is fast enough to overcome the Shy Ranger. As such, the star warrior can only attack first if he has a Speed-increasing item, particularly the Feather, equipped. This will raise Geno's Speed rating, making him faster than the Shy Ranger.

In battle, Geno only has one chance to defeat the Shy Ranger before it runs away. Most attacks are not powerful enough to deliver the three hundred damage points necessary to defeat a Shy Ranger. Even the powerful Rock Candy, which instantly delivers two hundred damage to all enemies, will not defeat a Shy Ranger. Shy Rangers can be eaten by Yoshi when using a Yoshi Cookie, providing a KerokeroCola, however, the chances of it occurring successfully is 25%.

To defeat a Shy Ranger, Geno must be at a high level. Since the Shy Ranger has a high Defense rating, not even a powerful regular attack can defeat the mysterious creature, and with an evasion rate of 50, the chances of a physical attack actually hitting a Shy Ranger is 50%. As such, Geno should use one of his special attacks, particularly his strongest special attack Geno Flash, to defeat the Shy Ranger. Since the Shy Ranger has minimal Magic Defense, and a 0% chance of evading magic, a special attack should be able to defeat the camouflaged Shy Guy in one hit. Using Geno Whirl against the Shy Ranger to land a critical hit is not recommended as it is immune to that attack's property.

A Shy Ranger will occasionally attack before running away. To attack, the Shy Ranger takes out a slingshot and fires a rock at a party member. This slingshot attack has the powerful attack rating of one hundred points. Immediately after attacking, the Shy Ranger will run away as usual. If the player afflicts the Shy Ranger with a status ailment, he will stay and fight. He will use, in addition to his slingshot, throwing knives and shurikens.

Trivia

 * Shy Ranger is the only enemy in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars that is immune to all four "elements" (Jump, Fire, Thunder and Ice).
 * Shy Ranger is also the only respawnable enemy that is immune to critical hits from Geno Whirl.