| “ | The Skullys used to hide in darkness. That is, until Necrodeus got his magic staff. Then the Skullys changed. | „ |
| ~ Daroach about the Skullys. |
| “ | The tougher Skullions guard the Necro Nebula. Skullys grow into Skullions over a hundred years. They must be fierce! | „ |
| ~ Daroach about the Skullions. |
Skullys and Skullions are supporting antagonists of Kirby Mass Attack, being enemies in both the main game and the sub-games Kirby Brawlball and Strato Patrol EOS. They are the servants of the death god Necrodeus and make up the majority of the Skull Gang, who seek to help in defeating Kirby and destroying all light. Skullys are the base form, while Skullions are what they become after one hundred years.
Appearance[]
Skullys are small white humanoid skulls with no bottom jaw that float in clouds of black and purple smoke. Most groups of Skullys have at least one member that has red and magenta smoke instead, as well as angry-looking eye sockets and a small pair of hands. Skullions are bigger, with the hands and different eye sockets of the red Skullys, as well as a short, pointy horn on their foreheads.
History[]
Skullys and Skullions used to hide away in darkness before Necrodeus got his staff, after which they became more hostile. The Skull Gang hated light, and aimed to blot out Planet Popstar, as it was the brightest star in the universe. To do this, they first built the Skull Tower on the island of Volcano Valley, as the smoke from the volcanos blocked out the sun and protected them. Necrodeus uses his staff to try and destroy Kirby, but instead splits him into ten weaker copies, which he destroys nine of. The Skullys and Skullions then seek to finish the job so that Kirby may not interfere.
During the game, Skullys don't directly attack any of the Kirbys, but instead try to grab them. If successful in grabbing one, the Skully will then float around with it for a bit, and the player must have their other Kirbys attack to free the captured one. If not, the Skully will then drag it offscreen, instantly KO-ing it.
Skullys dwell in large groups in dark locations, some only accessible with a Skull Key. Red Skullys are among them, and will drop chests that contain medals. To escape these areas, the player must survive until sunrise, after which the Skullys will flee, and a chest is left behind. During his boss fight, Skullseer will summon Skullys as one of his attacks.
Every time the player travels to another island, a swarm of Skullys will attack the Kirbys, defeating each of them until only one remains. If they go to another island with only one Kirby, the Skullys will fail in defeating that one. This happens until Skullseer is defeated, after which Skullys will not attack on the way to different islands anymore.
Skullions function similarly to Skullys, but are faster and will instantly KO a Kirby upon grabbing it. They patrol the Skull Gang's base Necro nebula, grabbing any Kirbys that come near until only one remains. During the final boss fight against Necrodeus, they'll make coverings to protect their leader's wrists. After these are shattered, groups of Skullions will attempt to repair them, succeeding after forty seconds, requiring the player to shatter the other before then. In the next phase of the fight, Necrodeus will start summoning Skullions to attack.
After Necrodeus' defeat, the Skull Gang flees from Planet Popstar.
In the sub-game Kirby Brawlball, while Skullys don't appear formally, there is a secret area with a roulette machine, where lining up three Skullys in a row gives the player one thousand points. In another Sub-game, Strato Patrol EOS, Skullys carry additional Kirbys that the player can shoot down to rescue and add to their total. Other Skullys will try to steal the player's Kirbys or powerups.
Trivia[]
- Like most of the Skull Gang, the smoke of Skullys and Skullions is black and purple, because those two colors represent the night and death respectively in Japanese culture.
- An enemy in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse known as Dethskullk is very similar to Skullys and Skullions, but it's unknown if there's any connection between them.
- There are two unused sprites of a Skully frantically speaking into a walkie-talkie and a skull-shaped cloud firing a large black and purple beam. This suggests that the Skullys may have had a scrapped attack where they call in a strike of energy.
