Black Shy Guy

"Slicing through the mist. Paint will be spilled here today. The shy ninja strikes."

- Black Shy Guy

Black Shy Guys are Shy Guys which wear black robes and white shoes.

Yoshi's Story
Black Shy Guys are first found in Yoshi's Story as a type of Propeller Shy Guy. They seem to have a horrible taste to Yoshis because after eating one, they look disgusted and lose three petals from their Smile Meter. This also nullifies the Super Happy Yoshi form when a Yoshi eats a Black Shy Guy. Black and White Yoshis seem to be able to tolerate these and gain two petals. These Shy Guys first appeared on Stage 3-3, Poochy & Nippy. On this level, the Black Shy Guys hovered around in the air and dropped bombs on top of any Yoshi passing by. Surprisingly, this could be used to the Yoshis' advantage, tricking the Black Shy Guys into breaking blocks instead of harming Yoshis. Black Shy Guys also appeared in Page 6, hovering about in the air holding a Togetoge Iwa, which they would drop on any unsuspecting Yoshi that passed underneath them.

Paper Mario series
Black Shy Guys appear in Paper Mario as Anti Guys, despite their masks being a dark shade of gray. This variety would have reappeared in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door if Shy Guys had not been cut from the game's roster.

In Paper Mario: Color Splash, they appear as a mini-boss in Violet Passage and as a regular enemy in Fort Cobalt, and will dodge any of Mario's attacks if they are not stunned, except thing cards. A Black Shy Guy also appears in The Emerald Circus, where it carries away the Unicycle Shy Guys' unicycle after their defeat. Their "Paper" design now matches their regular counterparts, compared to Paper Mario.

The most notable Black Shy Guy in this game is the Shy Bandit.

Mario Baseball series
A Black Shy Guy also appears in Mario Superstar Baseball as a playable character and reappears in Mario Super Sluggers as a coloration of Shy Guy. In Mario Super Sluggers, however, it is renamed Gray Shy Guy. The former game marks the playable debut of a Black Shy Guy.

Mario Kart DS
A Black Shy Guy appears as a playable character in Mario Kart DS, although it only appears in the DS Download Play mode.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
In Mario Kart 8, Black Shy Guys appear mining in both Shy Guy Falls and Wii Wario's Gold Mine. A Black Shy Guy can also be unlocked as a playable character if the The Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8 and Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 downloadable content packs are purchased.

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Black Shy Guy is included as an alternate color for Shy Guy within the base game.

Mario Kart Tour
Black Shy Guy appears as a separate character from Shy Guy in Mario Kart Tour, introduced as part of the Winter Tour on November 19, 2019.

Mario Tennis Aces
While Black Shy Guys appear as NPCs in Mario Tennis Aces, a "Mega" version appears as a boss at the end of Rounds 4 and 8 of Shy Guy's Train Tussle. When low on health, the large Black Shy Guy will throw Bob-ombs at the players (which are replaced Giant Bob-ombs during the Round 8 battle), which players must hit back at it to finish the round. In addition, normal-sized Black Shy Guys float around with balloons carrying crates with coins and power-ups that players can use against the Shy Guys.

Trivia

 * The Black Shy Guy's introductory quote in Paper Mario: Color Splash (shown at the top of the page) is a, a type of poem in which the first and last lines consist of five syllables, while the middle line consists of seven.