Royal Guards

The Royal Guards are a mini-boss duo the protagonist encounters in the upper levels of Hotland. Shown by their names, they are members of the Royal Guard. Royal Guard 01 experiences romantic attraction towards Royal Guard 02, as portrayed in the dialogues during the battle.
== In Battle ==
=== Attacks ===
* The guards fight together using "Team Attacks" from the bottom and top of the screen. These attacks consist of:
** Projectiles that drop from top of the screen in a similar fashion to one of Vegetoid's attacks.
** Star-like bullets that move vertically from the bottom and top of the screen.
* If one guard is killed, the other's attacks double in intensity and become much harder to dodge.
* If 02 takes off his armor, the attacks from the top of the screen become erratic and fall out the side of the Bullet Board.
=== Strategy ===
* To spare this duo, the protagonist must clean Royal Guard 02's armor, and interact with the Green projectile five times.
** At this point, Royal Guard 01's attacks become shaky and easy to dodge.
* Once 02's armor comes off, whisper to 01 to be honest about his feelings. 
* Although the Royal Guards can be spared after this point, not doing so causes them to continue attacking the protagonist's SOUL as usual.
=== Quotes ===
==== Pre-Battle ====
; Normal
* Hey! You! Stop!
* We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a human wearing a striped shirt.
* They told us they were wandering around Hotland right now...
* I know, sounds scary, huh?
* Well, just stay chill. We'll bring you someplace safe, OK?
* ... Huh? What is it, bro?
* The shirt they're wearing?
* ... like, what about it?
* Bro...
* Are you thinkin... What I'm thinkin?
* Bummer. This is, like... Mega embarrassing.
* We, like, actually totally have to kill you and stuff.
; Genocide
* ... you're here.
* So that means Undyne... She's...
* Like, Undyne! We'll avenge you!
==== Battle ====
; RG 01
* Like, team attack! [Encounter]
* Like, give us the soul brah. [Neutral]
* Like, "you're dead" and all. [Neutral]
* Like, prepare to die, right? [Neutral]
* Like, perish and stuff. [Neutral]
* Like... what? I don't get it. [Whisper before successfully cleaning RG 02's armor]
* Like, hands off the merch. [Clean Armor]
* D... Dude... [After successfully cleaning RG 02's armor]
* I... I... [Whisper after successfully cleaning RG 02's armor]
* H-HEY, STOP THAT!! [Clean Armor to RG 02 after successfully cleaning RG 02's armor]
; RG 02
* ... team attack. [Encounter]
* ... ... ... sigh. [Neutral]
* ... ... heh. [Neutral]
* ... ... what? [Neutral]
* ... ... hmph. [Neutral]
* ... i won't tell. [Whisper]
* ... getting ... warmer. [Clean Armor]
* ... hello. [Clean Armor after successfully cleaning armor]
* [Clean Armor to RG 02, successful]
** ... can't ... take it.
** ... armor... too... HOT!!!
** ... much better.
; RG 01 (alone)
* 02... I never told him... [Encounter]
** 02!? B-but why!? [If could be spared before]
* 02... this is, like, for you. [Neutral]
* Like, 02... [Neutral]
* 02... are you really.. [Neutral]
* ... [Neutral]
; RG 02 (alone)
* 01... you...! ..!!!! [Encounter]
** 01...!? What the...!? [If could be spared before]
* ... [Neutral]
; Royal Guard (Sparing Method)
* [RG 01] D-dude ...
* [RG 01] I can't ...
* [RG 01] I can't take this anymore!
* [RG 01] Not like this!!
* [RG 01] Like, 02! I like...
* [RG 01] I like, LIKE you, bro!
* [RG 01] The way you fight... The way you talk...
* [RG 01] I love doing team attacks with you.
* [RG 01] I love standing here with you, bouncing and waving our weapons in sync...
* [RG 01] 02... I, like, want to stay like this forever...
* [RG 02] ...
* [RG 02] ....
* [RG 01] Uh...
* [RG 01] I mean, uh...
* [RG 01] Psyche! Gotcha, bro!!! Haha! [Normal]
* [If the protagonist called Undyne in the Laboratory Entrance when the guards were still blocking the path]
** [RG 01] Whew, bro! That human,
** [RG 01] Put me under, uh, mind control!
** [RG 01] What was I just saying?
** [RG 01] It's all a blur, dude!! Whoops!
* [RG 02] ... 01.
* [RG 01] Y-yeah, bro??
* [RG 02] ...
* [RG 02] ... do you want to...
* [RG 02] ... get some ice cream...
* [RG 02] ... after this?
* [RG 01] Like... [Unused]
* [RG 01] Sure, dude! Haha!
=== Flavor Text ===
; Royal Guard
* Royal Guard attacks! [Encounter]
* Sweat pours from 02's armor. [Neutral]
* 01 is polishing his face. [Neutral]
* 01 stands guard. [Neutral]
* 02 watches your movements. [Neutral]
* Smells like a military zoo. [Neutral]
* 02 seems to be bothered by his outfit. [Neutral; unused]
* You tell RG 01 to be honest with his feelings. [Whisper to RG 01]
* You tell RG 02 your favorite secret. [Whisper to RG 02]
* You attempt to touch RG 01's armor. Your hands slip off. [Clean Armor to RG 01]
* You clean RG 02's armor. Its cooling dirt begins to wash away. [Clean Armor to RG 02]
* You pat RG 02's chest like a muscular bongo. [Clean Armor to RG 02 after successfully cleaning RG 02's armor]
* RG 01 looks bothered by something. [After Clean Armor to RG 02]
* 02's breathing intensifies. [Low HP]
* 01 and 02 are looking at each other happily. [Spare conditions met]
; RG 01
* Royal Guard member with shining, polished armor. [Check]
** I see two lovers staring over the edge of the cauldron of hell. [Genocide Route]
* 01 holds his head in his hands. [Neutral]
* Anguished noises come from inside 01's armor. [Neutral]
* 01 stands still. [Neutral]
* 01 doesn't know what to do. [Neutral]
* 01's breathing intensifies. [Low HP]
; RG 02
* Royal Guard member with stuffy armor. [Check]
** [Genocide Route]
*** Do they both wish for death? That means their love will end in hell.
*** I couldn't stop laughing.
* 02 is clenching and unclenching his fists. [Neutral]
* 02 is shaking his head. [Neutral]
* 02 is striking his sword against the ground. [Neutral]
* 02 is coughing. [Neutral]
* You were repelled. [Clean Armor]
== Gallery ==
Royal Guards tarot.png| Royal Guards' official tarot card as Major Arcana VI, "The Lovers".
Royal Guards artwork concept.png| Sprite sheet from the UNDERTALE art book depicting different sprite concepts for the characters, and even some concepts for 03 and 04.
Famitsu screenshot Hotland.png| Artwork from Undertale's 5th anniversary.
== Trivia ==
* Their sprites are named with the word "bara," which is a misnomer of a Japanese genre of artwork and fictional media that features homosexual men and traditional masculinity made by men for men.
* A call from Undyne informs the protagonist of their species—RG 01 a bunny, and RG 02 a dragon—and that RG 01 requested to patrol with RG 02.
** Their in-game sprites (spr_royalguard_rabbit_d_0 and spr_royalguard_dragon_d_0) also prove their species.
* If the protagonist calls Undyne and Papyrus in the first room they see the Guards in, she goes on to talk about how she believes humans have mind control powers due to an anime that Alphys showed her, and ordered the Guards not to listen to her if she ever defended a human. Later, in battle, after 01 confesses his feelings to 02; instead of saying he was just joking, he blames his confession on human mind control.
* If the protagonist kills 02 while he has his chest visible, he appears to have his armor back on for a split second before he turns to dust.
* RG 01 and RG 02 are the only sprites in the game that have bouncing animations when talked to.
* After sparing them, the newfound couple can then be found at the top of Hotland, just before the MTT Resort, having bought all of the Nice Cream from the Nice Cream Guy. The protagonist is unable to purchase Nice Cream from the vendor.
** If the Genocide Route is aborted by sparing them, they do not appear in this area because the Nice Cream Guy, like the other NPCs, is absent.
* The Royal Guards are the only monsters not to have an explicit description of their circumstances in the ending credits sequence. The description is simply "Use Your Imagination," and is up to the players to decide.
** In the credits, RG 01 starts to sweat as he did in battle. However, RG 02 still has his armor on.
* Their Genocide Route check descriptions are indirect quotes from Banana Yoshimoto's 1988 Japanese novel "Kitchen."
* There are two unused sprites for two more Guards, RG 03 and RG 04. 03 appears to be a bug-like monster similar to a praying mantis and 04 appears to be a feline monster. They have a similar sparing mechanic, being two women who used to be friends but had a falling out.
* In the artbook, Toby Fox mentions and shows "ASURA", a cut amalgamate of all 4 royal guards.
* Royal Guards have unused white description.
== References ==
de:Königliche Wachen
es:Royal Guards
fr:Gardes Royaux
ja:Royal Guards
pl:Royal Guards
pt-br:Guardas Reais
ru:Королевские стражи
uk:Королівські варти
zh:Royal Guards
Category:Boss
Category:Royal Guard