Line #2 Main/MoleMonster


1	[[quoteright:327:[[VideoGame/WarioLand4 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moguramen_6.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:327:[[{{Pun}} Sorry to undermine your plans.]]]]
3
4	The Mole Monster spends most of the battle underground, generally only leaping upwards to [[DigAttack attack you]]. Unlike the WhackAMonster, however, the Mole Monster often likes to home into your position from underground, as oppossed to popping up at predictable locations. The end result is that you often either have to force it out of the ground, or leap out of the way at the last second for a counterattack.
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6	May or may not come with WormSign. If they don't have a WormSign, they can easily develop into GoddamnedBats or even DemonicSpiders; in these cases, they will also overlap with AmbushingEnemy. Related to SandWorm, although Mole Monsters are not necessarily giant worms ([[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant or giant monstrous moles, for that matter]])
7	----
8	!!Examples:
9	[[foldercontrol]]
10
11	[[folder:Action]]
12	* ''VideoGame/{{Chipmonk}}'': Literal mole enemies attack by ambushing from beneath the ground.
13	* ''VideoGame/TheSuffering'' has Burrowers, Malefactors that burrow through the ground and emerge to attack by whipping chains at [[PlayerCharacter Torque]]. The basis of their form is people being BuriedAlive.
14	[[/folder]]
15
16	[[folder:Action-Adventure]]
17	* ''VideoGame/TheIncrediblesRiseOfTheUnderminer'' has one kind of robot that occasionally folds up and drills down into the ground, and then comes shooting back up elsewhere and tries to clobber you as it comes back down.
18	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
19	** Leevers are recurring enemies that burrow around randomly, remaining invulnerable to attack as long as they're beneath the surface and only exposing themselves when they pop out to attack.
20	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfAges'': The Moonlit Grotto miniboss, Subterror, is a mole-like creature with a drill for a nose. It chases Link around its room while burrowing in the ground, leaving a small raised trail to mark its position, and attacks with its drill when it's directly under Link. It cannot be harmed while in this state, so Link must use the shovel to dig it up and expose it to attack.
21	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': Moldorms are wormlike creatures that live in the sand of the Gerudo Desert and in quicksand pits in the Arbiter's Grounds, where they move around beneath the surface and periodically jump out to attack Link.
22	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': The Lanayru Mining Facility boss Moldarach will burrow beneath the sand of its arena after its claws are damaged, striking at Link with its stinger from beneath the surface. In order to defeat it, Link must use the dungeon's item to remove sand and expose the beast.
23	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Moldugas are giant monsters that live in the desert and tunnel underneath you before leaping jaw first out of the sand. Fortunately, they navigate by sound and can't tell the difference between footsteps and [[FeedItABomb a bomb being thrown]].
24	* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'': The colossus Dirge, a gigantic SandWorm, spends the majority of its time burrowing around beneath the sands of its arena, visible only through geysers of sand that it emits and only beginning to emerge when it approaches you.
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:[=MMORPGs=]]]
28	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Sand worms are centipede-like enemies that move swiftly underground and burst out only to attack players. They can only be tracked by bouncing rocks above them but can't actually be targeted until you enter within melee range of them, making them a headache for GlassCannon casters.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Platformers]]
32	* ''VideoGame/SuperCatboy'' has literal moles as enemies in the underground stage, where they randomly pop out the ground, hurls an exploding projectile at you, and slinks back in.
33	* ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'': Drill Man likes to dig into the ground and strike an unsuspecting player from underneath.
34	* ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'': Grizzly Slash/Crescent Grizzly can burrow into the ground with his large drill claws and either pop out of the background to slash at X/Zero or from the floor to stab them with his drill.
35	* ''VideoGame/{{Pankapu}}'' has [[SandWorm Sah'laks]], which burrow back and forth underground, emerging only to attack [[PlayerCharacter Pankapu]] when he gets close.
36	* ''VideoGame/PrimalLight'': One enemy encountered in the game are giant underground worms. They move back and forth along the ground with their teeth protruding from it. If [[PlayerCharacter Krog]] walks over them, they'll launch themselves upward to atack.
37	* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'': Mole Knight is thematically a humanoid mole and spends all of the fight attacking you from holes in the walls, ceiling, or floor.
38	* ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'': Moguramen are Drill Mole enemies that are often found moving around beneath the ground, where they throw spiked balls up at Wario while remaining safe from retaliation unless he uses a ground pound to force them to the surface.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Real-Time Strategy]]
42	* ''VideoGame/KingdomRush: Frontiers'': Dune Terrors are small SandWorm foes that tunnel under the sand, rendering them immune to attacks until they are forced into combat against barracks troops, which causes them to surface.
43	* ''VideoGame/MiniRobotWars'':
44	** The Driller enemies tunnel underground, making them immune to most attacks. They only surface when they encounter a Minirobot to attack, or if they're affected by the Radar. However, certain attacks (particularly [[DeathFromAbove bombs]] from the Dropper Bot) can damage them even if they're underground.
45	** The Mole enemies also tunnel underground, making them immune to most attacks. Unlike the Driller, they also count as a StealthyMook, attacking entire columns of Minirobots above it without surfacing, and most units cannot target them unless the player has means to remove the Mole's stealth.
46	* ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'': The Sandbelching Meerslug spends a good portion of its boss fight lurking beneath the sand, well beyond your reach and only trackable by the trail of raised sand it leaves behind as it moves. It's only possible to attack it when it emerges onto the surface to attack you and your Pikmin, or by [[FeedItABomb feeding it a bomb-rock]] when it tries to create a funnel of sand leading down to its mouth.
47	* ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'': Zerg Lurkers in ''Brood War'' can only attack when burrowed, sending out trails of spikes from underground (and burrowed creatures are invisible).
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Role-Playing Games]]
51	* ''VideoGame/BugFables'' has [[SandWorm Arrow Worms]], who spend the entire battle underground, lunging at party members from the underground to attack. Because they are always underground, they must be unearthed to become targettable, either by Leif's base attack or attacks that can hit burrowed enemies such as Kabbu's Under Strike.
52	* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': Mole rats are burrowing rodents that were created by a pre-[[WorldWarIII War]] US government program aiming to use them in China, survived the nuclear war and bred since. Most times you only know they're present when they burst from the earth right in front of you. Later games introduce other burrowing creatures with a similar M.O.
53	* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': The King Scorpion boss spends most of his time under the sand, and you have to force him out to fight him.
54	* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': The Rockbreaker is a rare worm-like machine monster that can dive around the ground like a fish in water, which makes it nightmarishly hard for damage. Typically, the best way to fight the beast is to first use tear blast arrows to remove its diggers, thus preventing it from being able to burrow underground. However, this does not prevent it from still being a dangerous opponent.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Roguelikes]]
58	* ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecroDancer'': Moles move around underground in cardinal directions and are only vulnerable right when they surface next to you before they attack.
59	* ''VideoGame/Spelunky2'' has Cave Moles, DemonicSpiders found in the ''first area'' that switch between digging around and emerging and running around the surface before doing it again. They have enough HP to tank an arrow, can't be damaged while (un)burrowing, and have the tendency to drop down right on top of you.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Shooters]]
63	* ''VideoGame/{{Majyuo}}'': The garden stages have plant-enemies that shoot out from the ground under Abel's feet to ambush him.
64	* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug 7'': The first level has tiny mole-like robots that periodically lunge out from underground and charge at the player. If they miss, they disappear back underground and try lunging out again and again until they either self-destruct after colliding with and killing the player, or get shot in mid-air.
65	* ''VideoGame/MutantNight'': There are spherical, mechanical critters with chains for tails that pop up from underground to attack Mutron-kun. As they appear from literally out of nowhere, with no visual indicators of the direction they're popping from, it's best to keep on jumping when in any areas infested with this particular enemy type.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Simulation Game]]
69	* In ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'', dustmoles are molelike aliens that [[ExplosiveBreeder breed rapidly]] and destroy fields to build their underground nests. One guard duty event has you and Vace acting as pest control for them, but Cal protests that the dustmoles should just be sent away because he believes they're harmless creatures.
70	* In ''VideoGame/PotionPermit'', Spook Diggers are mole-like monsters that burrow underground and ambush you by throwing Quality Nuts at you. They're featured the WhackAMonster minigame at the Arcade Centre.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Wide-Open Sandbox]]
74	* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'': Most of the wormlike monsters are found underground. They burrow within the dirt while homing in toward you, launching out to do damage before going back into the dirt.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	!!Non-Video Game Examples
78
79	[[folder: Comic Books]]
80	* Franchise/MonsterVerse: The [[Characters/MonsterVerseMUTO MUTO Prime]] mainly moves around the world by burrowing underground, and it usually only emerges from the earth once awakened to feed, or do battle with Godzilla, aiming to weaken the latter battle by battle.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Fan Works]]
84	* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': The savannah Fiora grew up in is home to ankhegs, insectoid predators who burrow through the terrain and hunt by bursting from the ground underneath their prey. They're so feared that when she's cornered by axebeaks, she scares them off by magically conjuring the scent of an ankheg under them to invoke SummonBiggerFish.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]
88	* ''Film/{{Tremors}}'': the monstrous Graboids, the series' primary antagonists, begin their life cycle as massive worms that can tunnel underground with dizzying speed; it enables them to snatch victims from beneath, dig trenches as traps, and even collapse buildings by undermining them.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	%%[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
92	%%* ''Franchise/KamenRider'': Happens sometimes with the occasional mole-themed MonsterOfTheWeek. Happens in the ''Kamen Rider Taisen'' movie, where a mole monster pops up occasionally.
93	%%* ''Franchise/PowerRangers''
94	%%* ''Franchise/SuperSentai''
95	%%[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder: Western Animation]]
98	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': One of the earthbenders at Earth Rumble 6, appropriately named The Gopher, uses tunneling attacks.
99	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / MoleMonster