Rough Mole

"I am currently reading a book on moles. Did you know they are very good at detecting friends? They are able to tell if you are friendly... or if you are a predator." -Toriel (Deltarune)

The Rough Mole is an enemy found in Lilliput steps in Section 2 - Oh, Mother, while a single one can also be found in Waterfall. Upon noticing Kris, it will start to follow them whenever they move; during the Obliteration Route, Rough Mole will instead stand still and only move away from Kris if they get too close. It will stop appearing after being defeated once.

An NPC version will appear after defeating Mondo Mole with no EXP collected, which will then start to follow the Delta Warriors around. It can eventually be brought to the Hint Man to obtain an Egg.

It originates from Earthbound, where it has the name Mole Playing Rough.

Attacks

Mole Rush

• Several mini moles will appear at the sides of the Bullet Board, traveling vertically and horizontally.
  • If the "Play Rough" ACT was selected, the attack will be more intense, with much more moles appearing and moving quicker.

Whack-a-mole

• A 3x3 grid will fill the Bullet Board, then several moles will come out from a spot in the grid, each one forewarned by a "[!]" symbol.

Occasionally while attacking, they have a chance to inflict a critical hit (indicated by "Smaaash!!" text appearing over a party member's Health bar), dealing double damage, so try to make an extra effort to dodge their attacks, just in case.

• 

  Mole Rush.
• 

  Whack-a-mole.

Mercy

The Rough Mole can be spared through sequences of ACTs to fill the Mercy Bar to 100% or making it reach Low HP. Each ACT will affect the Rough Mole in different ways. What each ACT will do is listed below:

• Play rough will increase Rough Mole's Mercy bar by 50%, and also making its attacks more extreme.
• Toss will make a horizontal bar with a white line on the far right appear on top of the screen, with a timer underneath counting down. By smashing the "Z" key, the bar can be filled until it reaches the same amount as indicated by the while line: The Mercy bar increase depends on how close it got to the white line at the end of the countdown (from a minimum of +1% Mercy, to a maximum of +100% Mercy if the throw was perfect.); to note that it's possible to smash the "Z" key enough to that the bar's progression will begin to overflow, which will then be described as the throw being "too strong". [Requires Susie to be present]
• S-Action will increase Rough Mole's Mercy bar by 35%.
• N-Action will increase Rough Mole's Mercy bar by variable values, depending on the current Mercy's bar progression (From a minimum +5% at 0% Mercy, to a max of 25% at 100% Mercy).

Strategy

The quickest and most efficient way to spare a Rough Mole is by selecting the Toss ACT, while sparing with Noelle in the same turn; with enough practice, it will be simple to throw perfectly consistently.

Another way that doesn't require a perfect throw but cost an extra turn is by selecting Play Rough, S-Action and N-Action to fill Rough Mole's Mercy bar by 100%, then spare it the next turn. Note however that because of Play Rough, Rough Mole's attack will be more extreme for 1 turn.

Flavor Text

• Rough Mole rushed in! [Encounter]
• Rough Mole rushed in...? [Encounter in Waterfall]
• Rough Mole and Mr. Batty came rushing in! [Encounter with Mr. Batty]
• A pair of moles cornered you! [Encounter with another Rough Mole]
• The underground deviants come in fiercely! [Encounter with another Rough Mole and Mr. Batty]
• The small mole and the big bear appeared! [Encounter with Mighty Bear]
• The cavern's beasts have all come after you! [Encounter with Mr. Batty and Mighty Bear]
• This bored mole likes playing rough. [Check]
• Rough Mole is clawing the ground with its claws. [Neutral]
• Rough Mole is getting bored. [Neutral]
• Smells like dirt. [Neutral]
• Rough Mole is running all over the place. [Neutral]
• You encouraged the mole to play with you. Its attacks became extreme! [Play Rough ACT]
• Susie roughhoused with the mole. [S-Action]
• Noelle gave the mole a big hug. [N-Action]
• Determine the power to toss the mole! [Toss ACT]
• Tossed successfully...? It wasn't impressed at all. [Toss Act when very far from the white line]
• Tossed successfully! The throw was somewhat too weak. [Toss Act when far from the white line]
• Tossed successfully! The throw was a bit too weak. [Toss Act when close to the white line]
• Tossed successfully! The throw was almost perfect! [Toss Act when very close to the white line]
• Tossed successfully! The throw was perfect!. [Toss ACT when close enough to the white line]
• Tossed successfully! The throw was a bit too strong. [Toss Act when passed the white line by a bit]
• Tossed successfully! The throw was somewhat too strong. [Toss Act when passed the white line by a decent amount]
• Tossed successfully...? The throw was way too strong. [Toss Act when passed the white line by a lot]
• You and Susie tossed the mole out of the battle! [Toss ACT after Rough Mole can be spared]
• Rough Mole has played enough. [100% Mercy]
• Rough Mole is starting to back away. [Low HP]

Trivia

Rough Mole in Waterfall

• You can find a Rough Mole in Waterfall.
  • This is most likely a reference to the Mole NPC's dialogues near Ice Wolf in Snowdin Town.
  • It may also be a reference to Mole Playing Roughs being used in Earthbound to trigger switches in the code, thus appearing in random areas.
  • According to the Deltatraveler Tumblr account, the reason why a Rough Mole can be found in Waterfall was because one went through a grey door. Although this may have been a joke.