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Memetic Badass / Nintendo

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  • Nintendo's very hardware is virtually indestructible, as it is made of Nintendium, which is harder than diamond. note 
    • The most famous is the Game Boy that was found in a bombed-out barrack.
    • Back in the Game Boy Color days, their idea of quality assurance actually involved taking the machines to the roof of a three-story building and chucking them off.
    • Averted back in the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which had such shoddy quality assurance that literally 1 in 10 machines sold in its first Christmas were defective out of the box, and the VCR-like "zero insertion force" cartridge port was infamously prone to breakage.
      • Its cartridges, however, are fully proven to be TOUGH.
    • Out there in the Internet wilds is a video of some guys who dragged their Nintendo GameCube from a rope behind a truck through a rural neighborhood in attempts to disable it before they bought their shiny platinum GameCube. Despite the tumble, it still worked. Didn't survive the sledges and firepit, though.
      • There was a letter-to-the-editor in a 1990s issue of Nintendo Power: A old-school Game Boy had taken a bullet during Operation Desert Storm, and the owner sent it in to demonstrate that, though the screen was busted, it could still start up and play Tetris.
    • According to an issue of Nintendo Power, if you hurt yourself by dropping a GameCube on your head, the magical medical gnome housed inside the GCN will bandage the wound for you.
      • X-Play did experiments that showed the GameCube was the most durable of the consoles for its generation.
      • Of course, this generation, the PS3 takes that crown, with the Wii taking second place. However, the Wii Remote has become feared for its destructive power instead, being capable of obliterating anything a careless player flings it at. Looks like the greater concentration of Nintendium was put in the controllers.
    • Nintendo's games are notoriously badass for another reason.
      • And apparently the games by Atlus is purposely made to be even more memetic than Nintendo's for being being Nintendo Hard. In fact, the very first That One Boss subpage that wasn't a video game genre was for Atlus games. After all, one of their company spokespersons proudly admitted the following: We get off on your tears.
    • As one YouTuber so eloquently put it (all the while putting a spin on the Genesis's tagline), "Genesis does what Nintendon't... but Nintendo is what Genesisn't!"
  • Reggie Fils-Aime, the Nintendo of America president from 2004 to 2019. His introductory words during that year's E3? "My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games!" Cue the rejoicing on Console Wars forums everywhere.
    • When the Wii released, shirts were sold depicting Reggie as a shirtless, muscular man holding a Wiimote and a Nunchuk, to cement his "Reggienator" image.
    • His words after winning a Wii Sports Resort match? "That's why they call me the Reggienator."
    • "My body is ready."
    • On the Nintendo 3DS's one-year anniversary in the US, they distributed a Reggie Mii over SpotPass. If you venture forth with him in Find Mii/StreetPass Quest, he's level 5 instead of the usual level 1 or 2 StreetPass Miis or wandering heroes you get.
    • Though to be fair, the same applies to the Iwata Mii given to European and Japanese players similarly to Reggie. This is likely a feature for all "special" Miis received over SpotPass.
    • And now there are multiple online petitions to have Reggie added to the roster of the upcoming edition of Smash Bros. for the Wii U. Reggie had even said on Jimmy Fallon that he's completely up for it.
      • In fact, the trailer for Smash 4's reveal for Mii Fighters had Iwata and Reggie duking it out. And Reggie himself tops that with this line at the end of the Smash Bros. tournament, with the fandom immediately proclaiming that Reggie won E3.
      Reggie: "And I'm gonna come back [to the next tournament] and I'm going to kick your [Champion of said tournament] ass'!"
      • Even better than Reggie is his successor. Not only did his dad approve of his agenda, but he managed to hold an entire boardroom meeting while his dad was on a Rocky-esque training montage. Oh and he almost fired Bill Trinen.
  • The Villager from Animal Crossing is quickly gaining a fearsome reputation, thanks to his reveal for the next Super Smash Bros. games. It mostly seems to have to do with the fact that he smiles most of the time, even if he's dodging gorilla fists, and can catch anything out of midair, including fireballs, plasma balls, and missiles.
  • Diddy Kong. Period. In The Subspace Emissary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he fired two peanuts at a couple of Bullet Bills IN MID-AIR, and then he and DK stood doing an Ass Kicking Pose while the bullets EXPLODED BEHIND THEM!
  • Dragalia Lost has Pipple, a small, cute Plant Person. There’s just something about how cute and harmless he looks that makes people see him as this all-powerful being. It’s gotten to the point that people have taken on some of the game’s hardest bosses using nobody except him.
  • Jeff Andonuts has a cult following (a cult following within a cult following?) like this. The most famous example being found here◊. Mature content warning.
    • Also, Flint from Mother 3, who has earned nicknames such as Flint Norris and Flint Eastwood.
      • There are in-game videos that showcase Flint's awesomeness.
      • Flint is basically the epitome of mature Nintendo. He's the first Nintendo character to make Nintendo more mature and repeatedly stabs players if they think the MOTHER series is for kiddies.
    • One of the NPCs in MOTHER 3 looks exactly like Mr. T. And what does he do the first time he shows up? He drags your silly ass off the train tracks and tells you, essentially, "don't do that, foo'." Best of all, you can do that several more times, and he has different dialogue each time.
  • Fire Emblem:
    • In the Japanese fandom, Wrys from the original Fire Emblem is jokingly treated as a badass, despite/because of being a weak Cleric who can be considered borderline useless (recruited in the first chapter, but has bad stats and there isn't much need for a healer in the beginning, and you get a better Cleric in chapter 3), to the point the SNES remake didn't include him (the DS one did, to his fans' rejoice).
    • Genealogy of the Holy War
      • Ayra, the first female character in the Navarre archetype and the codifier of the popular Myrmidon class. She's working for the enemy to protect her nephew but she threatens to spear said enemy's head on a spike if he goes back on their deal. Her Astra skill lets her hit an enemy five times in a row and if you pair her with one of the two men who can give her a Brave Sword, that doubles, making her a potential One-Woman Army once she becomes a Swordmaster.
      • There's also Ced, who single-handedly defended a village from legions of wyvern riders. In gameplay proper, when wielding the Forseti tome, he can easily dodge-tank all day long and/or obliterate anyone who attacks him without getting hit. As one LP-player put it: "Anyone who attacks Ced deserves to die, period."
    • Thracia 776 brings us the penta-axe general, an unnamed enemy general infamous for carrying around five different axes◊.
    • Binding Blade
      • Rutger aka Critger, thanks to the fact he can get more than 100% chance to Critical Hit via his supports with Clarine and Dieck. Combined with the stat boosts he gets on Hard Mode and his reliability as a boss-killer in a game where accuracy is a major issue, he's considered to have a nigh-unassailable claim on the first Hero Crest.
      • Lilina is said to be the one wearing the pants in her and Roy's relationship and a Violently Protective Girlfriend to boot, thanks to her being the daughter of the massively ass-kicking Hector and being a powerful unit whereas Roy is a Low-Tier Letdown.
    • Blazing Blade
      • Glass, a level 3 mercenary, who gives us the famous quote "I am Glass! The gods fear my name!", as well as Batta, a level 2 brigand, with the quote "You think you can stand up to Batta the Beast?"
      • The paladin Marcus, almighty EXP THIEF, is considered to be Fire Emblem's equivalent of Chuck Norris.
      • Etruria's Mage General Pent is basically Marcus as a spellcaster, including his notoriety as an EXP thief. His Escort Mission just before he joins you isn't hard because he needs protection from enemies... but because the enemies need protection from him.
    • Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.
      • Memetic Molester Gheb. He's very unattractive and makes not-so-subtle advances to Amelia, and has had the game in which he appeared HACKED TO STAR HIM.
      • EPHRAIM DOESN'T PICK FIGHTS HE WON'T WIN!
      • Joshua. Even more so, Joshua's HAT. Joshua is so badass his hat has gained a cult following of its own.
    • Radiant Dawn
      • A faceless, nameless NPC that the fandom calls the 3-13 Archer. Has been called the best character in the game. Has had fanfics devoted to him. Is known for having entire strategies revolving around him. Statistically, he is considerably worse than your player characters, being only midway through his second tier, with average stats at best for said tier. This does not explain how he manages to instantly kill a tiger laguz every turn whilst taking no damage. It is the great mystery of Radiant Dawn.
    • Fire Emblem: Awakening:
      • Frederick laughs at your meaningless Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors. And if he's got his eye on you and you're his enemy, you better "PICK A GOD AND PRAY!"
      • Robin is the Grandmaster of Disaster. they killed an ancient, immortal dragon, and didn't even break their arm!
      • Any of the kids in Awakening have the potential to become extremely, extremely powerful, most of all Morgan. Being able to reclass to any other class in the game, they can net such skills as Renewal (+30% HP regen per turn), Pavise (halved tome/bow damage at a rate of skill), Aegis (halved any other weapon damage at a rate of skill), Armsthrift (doesn't consume a weapon use at a rate of Luck*2 [and you can get his/her luck to 50 pretty easily with an asset and the right partner]), Ignis (adds half of Strength/Magic to the alternate stat when attacking), and a collection of other skills that can allow Morgan alone to wipe out battlefields with naught more than a glance and a wave. Oh, and this is BEFORE his/her partner's stats are factored in.
    • Fire Emblem Fates
      • In Lunatic mode, Conquest Chapter 23 has a generic Master of Arms that you can capture who has four Rally skills, and he quickly became memetic as the Rallyman thanks to his insane usefulness.
      • Takumi, for being both That One Boss as an enemy in Conquest and a Game-Breaker as an ally.
    • Fire Emblem: Three Houses
      • Lysithea von Ordelia grew to this status thanks to two factors. One, she is one of the strongest magic users in the game and considered one of the best units overall, where she is able to one-shot enemies that have full health. And two, she is the best option to defeat the Death Knight thanks to her anti-cavalry spell that she learns quickly. This has in turn made the Death Knight a Memetic Loser due to him being easily defeated by a small child (don't tell Lysithea that, though).
  • According to TV Tropes, Kirby: he will destroy entire armies for a piece of cake and regularly kill Eldritch Abominations. Do not fuck with Kirby, for he is hardcore (IN AMERICA!).
  • F-Zero's Captain Falcon, amongst Nintendo fans. To be more specific, his Falcon Punch is said to match Chuck Norris' roundhouse kick, thanks to a YouTube video of a clip from the anime adaptation F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu that makes it look like it creates an explosion that can be seen from outside the galaxy.
    • Justified in the first Super Smash Bros. and its sequel Melee, since Captain Falcon is one the most dominating characters, and in the right hands he could be absolutely devastating against any other character, or even multiple characters at once. So much so that he was greatly de-powered in Brawl, reducing him to a merely below-average opponent. He ultimately received buffs in Smash 4, restoring him back to his former dominant levels.
    • Nuclear physicists around the world have based their entire research procedure◊ on the Falcon Punch. How badass is it? Too badass for a physical manifestation to not blow itself up repeatedly.
      • The Captain's badassery is established also in the fact that we can see his muscles from underneath his clothing. Also, he originated in a racing game. How did the developers get the idea to give him those moves? He can shoot fire from out of his legs and arms... without magic or any technological explanation.
      • From watching his behavior in The Subspace Emissary plot (driving a racecar with his arms folded, knocking over a giant robot with his paunch, carrying other characters, and summoning his spaceship by snapping his fingers) one could conclude that the developers themselves acknowledge his fanbase and may secretly want to be a part of it. In fact, Falcon's Memetic Badass status is justified even further in that, at the end of F-Zero GX, he owns a belt that gives him ultimate power over the universe (but chooses not to use it).
      • F-Zero's characters are a homage to comic book superheroes; Falcon was always intended to be ridiculously badass.
    • Captain Falcon is so strong that he was able to beat Chrom out of a slot in Smash Bros. using his bare hands. It took Chrom's daughter and his godlike friend to even lay a scratch on Falcon.
  • From Golden Sun, we have Briggs and Dullahan. Briggs for being a Badass Normal pirate as well as a nasty Wake-Up Call Boss, and Dullahan for being a gleefully Nintendo Hard Superboss.
    • Both of whom get canon badass moments in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: Briggs repeatedly attacks the most defensible city on Angara's east coast with a busted ship to rescue his son and dies of wounds sustained soloing against the superpowered monsters of the Grave Eclipse, and Dullahan gets a difficulty upgrade.
    • It doesn't matter where in Weyard they are or what they're facing, war zones, monster-infested wilderness, trap-filled dungeons... if there are teenage Adepts on a quest and in need of exposition, Kraden will find a way to them.
  • Beam Claws from Kid Icarus: Uprising. That's not the weapon he's using, it's his name. His particular weapon, however, has Paralysis properties. He can close gaps with his excellent foot speed and cure blindness by running really fast. He can turn a single slash into a brutal Combo. And he takes advantage of the fact that opponents on rails are easy targets. He's also the only one capable of firing Daybreak. To a lesser extent, everyone else in the multiplayer. It's thought that Masahiro Sakurai himself was playing as Beam Claws.
    • Anti-example in Fairy Orbitars, who didn't do a single thing to help his teammates out and just stood by looking like an idiot when Beam Claws fired Daybreak. And he had to call in Pit to replace him.
    • Black Club, too. He's Beam Claws' worthy opponent. Hell, he was the first to land a kill, and who died? Beam Claws, getting rammed by Black Club's giant steel balls.
    • Beam Claws' teammate, Twinbellows Cannon also counts. He knocks his opponents off the edge with AUTHORITY.
    • Insight Staff is divisive. He's either a coward who only runs away and gets a few cheap shots or he's a ruthless, cunning Cold Sniper.
    • In the single-player campaign, Magnus has quickly become an Ensemble Dark Horse. He helped you fight one boss, then you took control of him and defeated your own possessed body, then came a Boss Rush where he teamed up with the first boss against you, making the fight much harder. He never needed your help, angel-face!
  • The Legend of Zelda
    • Certain The Legend Of Zelda C Di Games characters are subject to this in YouTube Poops. Most notable is King Harkinian. Shopkeeper Morshu is also sometimes considered as a Memetic Badass: he has rope and bombs.
    • Also Gwonam, who uses SQUADALAH, DAI, and birds.
    • The Cuccos anyone? They are one of the most terrifying things in the Zelda universe.
    • Speaking of Zelda, we have Link himself and every reincarnation of him, seemingly the only guy you need when something bad happens. Silent but deadly.
      • Owing in part to the open world nature of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and thus the incredibly wide array of tools, mechanics and bugs at the player’s disposal, this incarnation of Link is a memetic unkillable feral goblin-man who can reflect a destructive laser beam with a pot lid, catapult 12-foot-tall Guardians miles into the air, surf off enemies’ heads to launch himself at ludicrous speeds, waltz up to Hyrule Castle completely nude and beat Calamity Ganon with nothing but a pile of wooden ladles, and jump.
    • And now, Groose and/or his pompadour join this elite club. This trope shall now be renamed Memetic Groosinator.
    • Teba from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild joined the group because, similar to Admiral Dane below, he also is one of the few to swear in a Nintendo game.
    • The shopkeeper from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for being the only NPC in the series capable of performing a One-Hit Kill on Link using his unexplained "Sith Lightning" powers. This occurs if you steal from him and come back. Not even GANONDORF is remotely close to capable of doing that. Ergo, fandom considers him the most powerful character in the whole series and wonders why HE doesn't face Ganon and save the world rather than just murdering thieves at his shop.
  • Metroid:
    • Admiral Dane from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Impressive, since he shares a universe with a woman that has (to date) blown up three planets, one which was a sentient parasite, and caused the near extinction of at least two major-threat species. This fandom was likely spurred on by official concept art portraying him with an eyepatch, peg-leg, cape, and laser sword. Besides, Dane's too manly to wear a helmet or filtration system while landing on the Space Pirate Homeworld to order Samus around. Note that no pirates have the balls to even try to snipe him during the briefing. That, and he does so on a planet ravaged by rain so acidic that even Samus has to use a special widget to survive. What does he use as an umbrella? His own personal flagship. Also notice that most space pirates stop appearing after he makes planetfall. This fact has been linked to his slightly "bulkier" appearance later in the game. So, what did he do to the pirates? Rounded them up, locked them in a huge cage, then bench-pressed it. Also, he SWORE in a Nintendo game.
    • Samus Aran needs no fandom to exaggerate her badassery. She is the intergalactic Queen of Badass. In-universe, too: some characters talk about her like some kind of war goddess, while others can't believe the stories (they're wrong). Hell, the Space Pirates actually treat stories of her as some sort of myth. It'd be like telling your kids about how Satan will come to blow up them and everyone they love if they act out... only Satan's a hot blond chick in power armor.
    • Ridley. Holy hell, Ridley, if not only because of his extreme durability. Shoot the living piss out of him? He'll turn up good as new. Cripple him beyond fighting capability? He'll be a Cyborg next time. Send him falling down a shaft? A dose of Phazon will patch him up. Happen to cause an entire planet to explode with him on the surface? He'll probably be cloned. Twice. At the very least. Like Bowser, Ridley is one tough, tough bastard to kill off, and would pretty much be invincible to anyone but Samus.
    • Anthony Higgs, from Metroid: Other M, has taken on a life of his own in terms of memetic badassery. He taunted Ridley to his face! It is said that if he and Armstrong Houston (the other memetic badass from Metroid) were to meet, the universe would implode from the sheer awesome.
    • But all of them pale to Raven Beak from Metroid Dread. According to ADAM who's clearly not Raven Beak by the way, his analysis indicates that there is zero chance of defeating Raven Beak at your full potential because he's that powerful and has no weaknesses. He single-handedly sealed away the X Parasites, and brought Kraid to ZDR with his bare talons before Zebes exploded. He killed Ridley permanently and that's why the Space Dragon isn't in the game. Phaaze was the rotting corpse of a creature that Raven Beak killed on his way to destroy an even more powerful creature. He has a higher item completion rate than you and will always beat you at speedrunning. He wasn't included into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate because the game couldn't handle his awesomeness. He's also utterly shredded with an eight-pack and handsome-looking. You were no match for him then, you are no match for him now. Accept your helplessness.
  • Grit can snipe with a revolver.
  • Pikmin: Despite being a Bumbling Sidekick to Olimar, Louie has made cooking notes on every enemy creature in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4 while being stranded on PNF-404 with little aid, and even tamed the Final Boss of both games. Fandom ran with it and speculates that Louie would also kill and cook far more dangerous monsters from other franchises by himself including the Elder Dragons from Monster Hunter, the Eldritch Abominations of Elden Ring, and more.
  • Pokémon:
    • Red. Only he can defeat a mafia, stand in a pitch dark cave, on a mountain, in the snow (with no jacket), isolated from man, and run like a ninja... and he's fourteen (eleven when he defeated Team Rocket and became Champion).
    • Cynthia also tends to be this for her asskicking ability when she isn't depicted as a Memetic Molester, to the point where just her Leitmotif showing up in Pokémon Legends: Arceus - which likely takes place at least a century before she was even born - was enough to make veterans of the Generation IV games cringe in terror.
    • Just like his anime counterpart, Blue from the games can be this due to his personality and the fact Gary is based off him. You usually beat him though. His new clothing◊ can also be used for this lately.
      • Gary Motherfucking Oak! Mostly because Blue/Green/Gary is always one step ahead of you and acts like a Jerkass throughout the game.
      • Blue was the Ozymandias of his time. He was always leaving behind breadcrumbs for you to follow. "What's that? You beat all eight of the Kanto Gym Leader/all of the Elite Four? I did it thirty-five minutes ago."
    • Leaf, Red's Distaff Counterpart, has become one of these to varying extents. She's on the level of Red, she's stronger than Red, she's their weakness, she wasn't in HGSS because she was too good for it or would have made the universe explode if both her and Red were in it, etc.
    • You were not necessary to shut down Team Galactic. Rowan would have subdued them with nothing but a steely gaze and ellipses. He just deputized you to do it instead so he could spend the weekend at a spa.
    • Youngster Joey's Rattata is in the top percentage of all Rattata. EVER.
    • Hilda, the female protagonist of Pokémon Black and White, has been portrayed — especially in artwork around the revelation of her — as a badass truck- or motorcycle-obsessed Ladette. To many, Hilda is actually more of a badass than even Red.
    • Youngster Tristan, a kid who is even younger than the main character, and who managed to beat the Elite Four. Many claim that he should have been the true Champion.
    • Given its status among fan interpretations as a reality-breaking Eldritch Abomination and the glitch Pokémon, it may be surprising to learn that Missingno. is actually quite harmless and benign in the actual games where it can manifest.
    • Garchomp is a hammerhead landshark dragon that can fly at mach speeds (at least according to the 'dex). His stats also place him in the top tier of non-Olympus Mons, and many gaming communities actually rank him higher than lower-tier legendaries. Not good enough for you? Look at Garchomp.◊ Now look at shiny Garchomp.◊ Notice the difference? No? That's because Garchomp is perfect as it is. It helps that Garchomp is most infamously associated with being the Signature Mon of fellow Memetic Badass Cynthia. The shiny one looks darker, but only because GARchomp scares light.
    • Don't fuckle with Shuckle. This magnificent entity can dish out the most damage possible in the game. Even without Power Trick, he can use Power Split to steal half your attack, and, with his incredible defense, set up Acupressure after Acupressure, shrugging off your attacks, until all his stats are maxed out and he is ready to wreck your shit.
    • Terrakion also gets this treatment, both because of its design and the fact that it's equally good as an attacker in the games and TCG. Its Boisterous Bruiser personality in the anime also helps somewhat.
    • Magikarp, for one reason: it's so common, but it evolves INTO THE STINKIN' LOCH NESS MONSTER! Because it's so common and so easy to catch (unless you happen to be in Unova, in which case be prepared to pony up to the Magikarp salesman or complete your dex and get to the nature preserve), you can easily raise an unstoppable army of GYARADOS! Also, see Magikarp Power.
      "I swear to God, when I evolve, I'm going to kill you all."
      • Then came Wishiwashi. When it achieves School Form, Gyarados runs from it!
    • And with Pokémon X and Y, we get Klefki the Killer Keyring, notorious for completely wrecking unprepared teams with the Prankster ability. As the saying goes: "Jingle jangle, motherfucker."
    • The Fairy type in general became this as soon as it turned out it was immune to, and super effective against, the Dragon type. Especially the cute, harmless-looking ones. Upon the type's reveal, it was common to see fanart of powerful Dragon-type Pokémon like Salamence and Hydreigon cowering in fear from Sylveon, or from even baby Fairy Pokémon like Cleffa and Igglybuff.
    • Pachirisu (previously known as "that annoyingly cute Electric-type rodent... no, not Pikachu, the other one") briefly became one after Se Jun Park won the 2014 World Championships with a team that made surprisingly good use of one.
    • Misdreavus in Colosseum. It took awhile, but its badassery was completed by the dumb computer opponents attacking it with Normal-type moves it's immune to.
    • Mega Rayquaza became one after it got banned from Smogon's banlist for being such a ridiculous Game-Breaker. You know this Mon's a Memetic Badass when it's considered more overpowered than God.
    • Espurr's Pokédex entries in Y and Alpha Sapphire say that it has enough psychic power to blast everything within 300 feet of itself. Fans like to depict it as barely restraining its desire to destroy the world, even though its special attack stat doesn't exactly back this feat up.
    • And of course Omanyte, better known as Lord Helix (originating from Twitch Plays Pokemon) is another almighty Pokemon God in the fanbase.
    • In the Hypothetical Fight Debate community, some Pokémon have become legendary for their impossible Pokédex entries:
      • Machamp can throw a thousand punches per second, a single one of which is strong enough to move mountains.
      • Magcargo is over twice as hot as the surface of the Sun itself.
      • Gardevoir can literally manifest black holes. While this was likely intended to be read as an Unrealistic Black Hole, some have taken it literally and (usually jokingly) claim that a single Gardevoir can easily wipe out the whole solar system.
      • However, the most extreme Memetic Badass Pokémon is none other than the humble Lanturn. According to the Pokédex, Lanturn's light can be seen from three miles under the sea. First of all, consider how bright a lightbulb would have to be for you to be able to see it from three miles away, and how hot it would be. Then take into account that water is exponentially more efficient than air when it comes to absorbing light, and the only way for this feat to be possible is if it emits several times more energy than exists in the entire universe. That's right, this cute, unassuming anglerfish is secretly an Eldritch Abomination capable of obliterating all of reality a dozen times over.
    • Only a few days after Sword and Shield were announced and the new region, Galar, was revealed to be based on the UK, the fanbase began to portray the female player character as a crass Scottish Ladette. This is before anything was revealed about the protagonists aside from their appearance.
    • From the Mystery Dungeon spinoff series, we have Kecleon who are far better than in main series (and you'll likely learn it the hard way), and Drifloon line, due to how absurdly well Unburden synergizes with its moveset, making it one of best choices for the dreaded Lv. 1 dungeons. Skitty also gets hyped up by the games' fanbase due to being far stronger than it is in the main series, inverting its original Memetic Loser status. Outside of playable Pokémon, there's also Guildmaster Wigglytuff from the Explorers games — he might seem friendly and childlike, but even in-universe, his power is feared, and fans will be quick to note how he dished out a Curb-Stomp Battle to the villainous Team Skull despite being ambushed and having to fight one against three. His reputation as one only grew when the Gen VI games changed Wigglytuff to a Normal/Fairy-type, and so made it weak to Poison-types like Team Skull — in turn, making his battle against them all the more impressive.
    • Quagsire has a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass reputation in competitive battling circles because, despite its weak stats and goofy appearance, it has consistently been used as a check against some of the most fearsome legendaries across the ages such as Raikou, Kyogre, and Zacian-Crowned.note  Many fans have claimed it's simply too dumb to understand tiers and shows up wherever it wants.
    • The Champion from Sword and Shield, Leon, is the undefeated Champion of Galar who uses a Charizard. This is a fact that the games remind you of at every opportunity, because it is very important that the player knows that Leon is the undefeated Champion of Galar who uses a Charizard. Did I mention that Leon is the undefeated Champion of Galar who uses a Charizard?
    • Tinkaton quickly achieved memetic badass status following her debut in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet due to the juxtaposition of her cutesy appearance with her apparently being such an efficient predator of Corviknight that the Bird Pokemon was deemed ill-suited to run the game's fast travel system as it does in Galar.
    • Chi-Yu, also from Scarlet and Violet, gets hyped up as the strongest special attacker in the game, with fans depicting this tiny, adorable fiery fish as able to One-Hit KO any other Pokémon — or, in some memes, literally anything — with Overheat. Smogon players like to post damage calculations demonstrating its power. Example
    • Bibarel (and by extension, Bidoof) skyrocketed to this status once they gained the Hidden Ability Moody from the Dream World, which proved to be so broken that the two were curbstomping Legendaries and Mythicals with the best of them and ending up getting the ability banned from Ubers. Other Pokémon also got the Ability and were arguably even stronger with it, but Bibarel and Bidoof were the most notable thanks to their unassuming design, with scenarios of the two facing on multiple Ubers Pokémon... and winning being extremely common.
  • Punch-Out!!: Super Macho Man's RELEASING THE BOGUS!
  • Splatoon 3: Big Man. He’s called that for a reason.
  • Wolf O'Donnell can't let you do that, Stah Fox!
  • Due to the lack of general logic within the series, practically ANY Super Mario Bros. character can be this at one time or another, when they do something particularly amazing.
  • Masahiro Sakurai, director of the Super Smash Bros. series, is hailed as "Daddy Sakurai" by Smash players. He's known for subverting fans' expectations at every corner in Smash pre-release trailers that drop Unexpected Character announcements, and then telling fans never to ask him for anything ever again◊.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles:

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