Skully

Skully
Artwork of Skully from Kirby Mass Attack.
Details
First game	Kirby Mass Attack (2011)
Latest game	Kirby's Dream Buffet (2022, reference)
Other game(s)	Kirby: Triple Deluxe (keychain) Kirby: Planet Robobot (sticker)
Similar entities	Dethskullk Grab Hand Gruegloom Skullion Skullseer

This article is about the enemy from Kirby Mass Attack, and should not be confused with Skuller.

“The Skullys used to hide in darkness. That is, until Necrodeus got his magic staff. Then the Skullys changed.”

— Daroach, in Kirby Mass Attack

Skully is an enemy in Kirby Mass Attack. They are members of the Skull Gang and they are skulls floating in a purple haze. In the skull key dimension, they float around and try to kidnap the Kirbys. According to Daroach, they used to live in darkness until Necrodeus got the magic staff. They patrol the Popopo Islands, so whenever the Kirbys go from one island to another, the Skullys attack them until only one Kirby is left, so Kirby has to gather Kirbys again every time he travels between the islands. When the Kirbys defeat Skullord, they stop patrolling the islands and start patrolling Necro Nebula, so until Kirby beats Necrodeus, he is reduced down to one Kirby every time he enters or leaves the Necro Nebula.

Game appearances

Kirby Mass Attack

Skullys typically appear in alternate spooky areas that the Kirbys are warped to whenever they pick up a skull key.

In the main Story Mode of Kirby Mass Attack, Skullys are typically only encountered and fought in the skull key dimension. Here, they will gather in a large horde and try to dive at the Kirbys to pull them away. If a Kirby is grabbed, the remaining Kirbys need to slam the apprehending Skully to free its captive before the poor Kirby is carried out off the top of the screen and destroyed. Defeating a Skully confers 300 points onto the player. In these encounters, there will always be a special red Skully that carries the treasure chest which the skull key fits. Defeating this Skully rewards the player with 500 points and ends the battle early, allowing the Kirbys to obtain the treasure inside the chest and return to the regular stage. It is not until later stages of Volcano Valley when Skullys can be found patrolling outside of these dimensions.

Skully also appears in the Strato Patrol EOS minigame. It appears holding kidnapped Kirbys and shooting it is how Kirby gathers more friends in this Sub-Game.

Skully can be found in the following levels and stages in Kirby Mass Attack:

Skully locations in Kirby Mass Attack
Stage	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Stage 6	Stage 7	Stage 8	Stage 9	Stage 10	Stage 11	Boss Stage
Green Grounds											N/A
Sandy Canyon
Dedede Resort
Volcano Valley
Necro Nebula					N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Skully appears as a randomly-obtained Keychain in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, using its sprite from Kirby Mass Attack.

Kirby: Planet Robobot

In Kirby: Planet Robobot, Skully appears as a randomly-obtained Sticker.

Kirby's Dream Buffet

Skully appears as a Character Treat in Kirby's Dream Buffet.

Adaptation appearances

It's Kirby Time

Skully in the book It's Kirby Time: Kirby's Tiny World

In the It's Kirby Time picture books and their video adaptations, two Skullys appear in Kirby's Tiny World, giving Kirby and his friends a fun scare in the creepy forest alongside Tedhaun, three Capers and a Spookstep.

Trivia

• According to Daroach, the Skullys felt comfortable in Volcano Valley, because the smoke protected them from the sun. They caused the eruptions and infestations of ghosts.

Gallery

• 
  Cutscene from Kirby Mass Attack showing the Kirbys attempting to fly away from the pursuing Skullys
• 
  Skully's sprite, as represented by a keychain in Kirby: Triple Deluxe
• 
  Skully's sticker in Kirby: Planet Robobot
• 
  Character Treat from Kirby's Dream Buffet
• 
  Halloween 2019 illustration from the Kirby JP Twitter, featuring Taranza wearing a Skully mask
• 
  Artwork for the Kirby x ITS'DEMO: KIRBY Boo! merchandise series
• 
  Washi Tape band from the "Kirby x ITS'DEMO: KIRBY Boo!" merchandise line
• 
  Gadget Case from the "Kirby x ITS'DEMO: KIRBY Boo!" merchandise line
• 
  Face Towel from the "Kirby x ITS'DEMO: KIRBY Boo!" merchandise line
• 
  Stickers from the "Kirby x ITS'DEMO: KIRBY Boo!" merchandise line
• 
  Mouse Pad from the "Kirby x ITS'DEMO: KIRBY Boo!" merchandise line

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ドクロン Dokuron	Derivation of「髑髏ドクロ」(dokuro, skull)
English	Skully	From "skull" and the diminutive suffix "-y"
Traditional Chinese	頭骨兒 tóu gǔ er	Skull
Simplified Chinese	头骨儿 tóu gǔ er
Dutch	Skully	-
French	Crânolo	From "crâne" (skull) and Italian diminutive suffix "-olo"
German	Schädli	A clipping of "Schädel" (skull)
Italian	Spriteschio	Combination of "spirito" (spirit) and "teschio" (skull)
Korean	해골이 Haegol'i	From "해골" (haegol, skull) and "~이" (-i, a Korean noun-forming suffix)
Portuguese	Crânico	From "crânio" (skull) and Portuguese adjective-forming suffix "-ico"
Spanish	Kráneo	Pun on "cráneo" (skull)