Skales

> "*No, we have no desire to meddle in the affairs above. As you can see, we stick to our own. We only want what's best for the next generation*"
> ― Skales to the ninja.
>
>

**Skales** is the general of the Hypnobrai tribe and the current Serpentine king. He is also the husband of Selma and the father of Skales Jr.. He was originally a warrior who overthrew the tribe's original general, Slithraa, through a battle in the Slither Pit, and became the new general of the Hypnobrai tribe. Following Pythor's supposed death, he became the new Serpentine King as well.

Skales and his tribe were the first to be freed from their tomb by Lloyd Garmadon, who attempted to unite the Serpentine to be his servants, only for them to turn against him. Soon afterwards, Skales allied with the Constrictai, Fangpyre, and Venomari tribes, as well as Pythor, who sought to claim the Fangblades and awaken the Great Devourer.

Pythor was successful in reviving the Devourer, which consumed him and Wu and began wreaking havoc on Ninjago. The Serpentine fled, and Skales declared himself to be the Serpentine King before Lord Garmadon seized the title. Skales allied with Garmadon despite opposing his leadership, before he betrayed Garmadon and deserted him on the Dark Island. Skales regained his title, leading the Serpentine underground to the tomb of the Stone Army. There, the ancient Stone Army was revived through the Devourer's venom. The warriors fought against the Serpentine before escaping the tomb and the snakes were sealed underground.

Sometime after the Overlord was defeated, the Serpentine managed to break out of the tomb, yet decided to make it their home, as they wished not to return to the ground above. During this time, Skales married Selma and had Skales Jr. When the ninja ventured into the tomb in search of a special hard-drive, they found Skales, who introduced them to the new way of life the snakes had begun. Skales and the rest of the Serpentine later helped evacuate the people of Ninjago underground during the Golden Master's assault. Sometime later, Skales and his allies also fought with the Elemental Masters against the Anacondrai Cultists.

During the following years, Skales only occasionally went to the surface and did not encounter the ninja, except when they encountered him in the sewers where he was tracking the Vermillion and when they came to ask for his help with the Serpentine sorceress Aspheera. Skales also attended Nya's memorial after the Great Flood.

During the final battle against the Crystal army in Ninjago City, Skales decided to break his decision not to take part in the surface-dwellers' problems, and together with several Hypnobrai went to fight in the city streets until the Overlord was defeated.

## History

### Background

More than forty years ago, Skales fought in the Serpentine War. Sometime during or before the war, Skales became good friends with Fangtom, the General of the Fangpyre tribe. Though Skales and the other Serpentine secured many victories, when the Elemental Alliance created the Sacred Flutes, the Serpentine were eventually subdued by them. Controlled by the Elemental Alliance, Skales and the Serpentine were sealed away in a tomb in the Glacier Barrens.

### Rise of the Snakes

#### Rise of the Snakes

Skales was among the Hypnobrai when their tomb was opened by Lloyd Garmadon. To his dismay, general Slithraa ordered them to obey the young human, due to accidentally hypnotizing himself, to which Lloyd took control of his mind. This ended up with the Serpentine raiding Jamanakai Village for candy. Skales protested that the attack was a waste of their talents, but Slithraa kept him in line.

When the ninja attacked in an attempt to stop the snakes, Skales tried to hypnotize Cole, only to be interrupted by Nya when she attacked him. The snakes were eventually forced to retreat when the ninja stole the Hypnobrai Staff from Slithraa, but Skales had secretly retained control over Cole, allowing him to spy on the ninja. As he schemed, Skales maintained a facade of loyalty to Slithraa but continued to question the competence of Lloyd. In private, Mezmo demanded to know why Skales refused to confront Slithraa directly, but Skales assured his subordinate that he had a plan that would be put into action when the time was right.

#### Home

Using his unknowing slave, Cole, Skales saw that the Hypnobrai Staff was hidden in the Monastery of Spinjitzu, along with the Sacred Flute. Before he could act on this knowledge, the Hypnobrai were led into Wildwood Forest to begin constructing an arboreal fortress for Lloyd. Skales complained about the menial task, earning another rebuke from Slithraa, but an opportunity arose when the ninja attacked in a bid to bring the fortress down.

After the ninja dealt significant damage to the fortress by severing two of its support ropes, Skales enforced his control over Cole, forcing the Black Ninja to attack his allies. With the ninja occupied, Skales led the Serpentine in a retreat—when Lloyd protested, the scheming Warrior used one of the fortress' traps to imprison him. While Wu arrived with Nya and Flame to break Skales's control over Cole with the music of the Sacred Flute, the Hypnobrai invaded the Monastery of Spinjitzu and burned it to the ground, reclaiming their staff in the process.

With the Hypnobrai staff in hand, Skales led his tribe back to the tomb, with Lloyd tied up as a prisoner. At the latter's urging, Slithraa demanded his staff back, but Skales refused, challenging his General to a Slither Pit fight over the leadership of the Hypnobrai. After a fierce battle, Skales' mastery of "Fang-Kwon-Do" allowed him to overthrow Slithraa and he became the new General of the Hypnobrai.

With his new authority, Skales ordered Slithraa to obey him instead of Lloyd, effectively undoing the effects of Slithraa's botched hypnosis. Skales also banished Lloyd from the tomb, but not before the would-be evil overlord stole a map on his way out.

#### Never Trust a Snake

A few days later, the Hypnobrai were attacked by the Fangpyre tribe, who Lloyd had released for vengeance. Skales led his tribe into battle, but when Fangpyre General Fangtom saw the change in leadership, the fight was averted—Skales and Fangtom were good friends from before the Serpentine's imprisonment. Skales expressed relief that the Fangpyre had been released instead of the Constrictai, the Venomari, or the dreaded Anacondrai, commenting that there would have been "a tussle" if the other tribes had been brought against the Hypnobrai. He and Fangtom began debating what to do with Lloyd, but the latter snuck off before they could come to a conclusion, heading for the Anacondrai Tomb to unleash the most powerful Serpentine of all.

#### Can of Worms

Skales eventually came into contact with Pythor, who had released the other two tribes and sought to unite them as part of a prophecy. Although Skales was skeptical, the last Anacondrai persisted, calling a meeting in the unused train station of Ninjago Metro in Ninjago City in an attempt to convince the different Serpentine tribes to join forces. Unfortunately, the ninja interfered by throwing insults among the crowd, tricking the snakes into arguing with each other.

Skales had noticed the ninja running around on the walkways and sent a group of Constrictai to capture them. The burrowing snakes caught all but one of the ninja, but that one—Zane—managed to free his comrades. Skales joined the horde of Serpentine pursuing the ninja but failed to prevent their escape when Zane froze the tunnel and rode away on his Snowmobile. As the snakes tried to maintain their footing, Skales again attempted to dissuade Pythor's attempts to unite the tribes, only for the Anacondrai to brush him off with fury.

#### The Snake King

Following this failure, Skales accompanied Pythor into the Sea of Sand, where the latter hoped to unearth the Lost City of Ouroboros. Skales again expressed his concerns that Pythor was chasing an unattainable dream, only for the Anacondrai to find a dial that caused the city to rise from the sand.

With the city rediscovered, Skales began gathering the Serpentine for an announcement from Pythor, enticing his subordinates with the promise of a fight. Just before setting off in the Serpentine Bus, Lloyd ran up, disguised as a Hypnobrai Scout. Despite the rather shaky resemblance, Skales was fooled, simply telling Lloyd to close the door before he sat down.

At Ouroboros' Slither Pit, Pythor told Skales about his plan to unite the tribes by becoming the Serpentine King. He promised Skales the position of second-in-command if he played his part, and Skales agreed, stuffing cotton balls in his ears before joining his fellow Generals on the opposite side of the arena.

When Pythor declared his intentions to force the tribes to obey him by defeating all four Generals at once, Skales hung back, waiting for the right opportunity. The said opportunity arose when the other three Generals pinned Pythor to the ground; while they beat on the Anacondrai General, Skales slipped him the Sacred Flute. Pythor immediately turned the tide by playing the flute—although Skales was immune due to the cotton in his ears, he pretended to be reeling in pain like the other three Generals. At Pythor's signal, Skales threw down his staff and subsequently joined the other Serpentine in bowing before their new supreme leader.

#### Tick Tock

With the tribes united, Skales joined Pythor in searching for a means of finding the four silver Fangblades, which would awaken the Great Devourer to destroy Ninjago. After a long, fruitless search, Skales warned Pythor that the tribes would begin asking questions if they didn't produce results soon—luckily, a brawl between Skalidor and Acidicus revealed the answer. When Pythor put all five Serpentine Staffs together over a piece of parchment, the combined anti-venoms created a Map of Fangs.

#### Once Bitten, Twice Shy

The Serpentine discovered the first Fangblade's location, which was located in an amusement park called Mega Monster Amusement Park. Not far from the park, therefore, Skales with Pythor and several other Serpentine came to the surface from an underground tunnel dug by Constrictai. Although Skales with the map suggested that they would wait until dark so as not to attract any unwanted attention from the ninja or Samurai, Pythor thought they would fit easily there. Once Serpentine arrived at the park, one family asked Pythor to be photographed with them for his "authentic costume," which he agreed and Skales took a photo of them. Unfortunately, the camera footage from that moment reached the ninja, who quickly realized why the Serpentine were in the park and quickly decided to go there.

Meanwhile, Skales and the other Serpentine managed to get to the Ghost Train attraction, where they dug the first Fangblade out of the ground. But then the ninja appeared and tried to stop them, although Zane accidentally froze his friends, allowing the Serpentine to escape by mistake. Right before the attraction, however, Samurai X was waiting for them, who tried to steal the Fangblade, but unsuccessfully, as he was pulled to the ground by the Serpentine. When Jay showed up to get a Fangblade and defeat the Serpentine, though he was slowly turning into a snake due to the Fangpyre bite, which led Skales and the other Serpentine to mock him. Jay wanted to attack, but when he saw Nya tied to the cart, he decided to save her, allowing the Serpentine to escape.

#### The Royal Blacksmiths

Skales was among the group of Serpentine who accompanied Pythor to the pyramid in search of the second Fangblade. He nearly triggered a trap before Pythor stopped him from moving on, and watched as the Anacondrai used their prisoner—Lloyd—to reach the center of the pyramid. Unfortunately for the Serpentine, Lloyd reported that the Fangblade had been moved from its resting place.

Pythor eventually discovered that the Fangblade had become part of the Blade Cup, a trophy awarded to the winner of Ninjago's annual talent show. Skales was among the Serpentine watching the show, having disguised himself with a false beard, and applauded the Treble Makers performance. During the ninja's performance he sent his minions after them in an attempt to try and hinder the ninja's act. Despite the snakes' interference, the ninja won the Blade Cup, but Pythor managed to retrieve the Fangblade anyway by preoccupying the ninja through attacking Cole's father, Lou.

#### The Green Ninja

Skales accompanied Pythor to the volcano behind the Fire Temple, where they uncovered the third Fangblade. Once again, the ninja interfered, this time accompanied by Lord Garmadon, who sought to save his son. After Pythor had a group of Constrictai destabilize the volcano, Skales led the Serpentine's retreat, lingering just long enough to snap Pythor out of his rage when Kai knocked the Fangblade from his grasp. Later, on his way down from the volcano, Skales witnessed Pythor retrieve the Fangblade from a river of lava.

#### All of Nothing

While Pythor was out searching for the final Fangblade, Skales waited with the bulk of the Serpentine forces in their new underground fortress beneath the Mountain of a Million Steps. He interrupted the other Generals' discussion about whether or not the Great Devourer existed, reminding them that their leader would be back soon. When the ninja arrived to try and steal the other three Fangblades, Skales led a group of Hypnobrai against Kai. His attempt to hypnotize the Red Ninja failed when Kai performed Spinjitzu with his eyes closed, but the ninja were captured anyway when they triggered a trap at the bottom of the fortress.

When Pythor returned with the fourth Fangblade, the Serpentine called for a Slither Pit to celebrate their impending victory. Pythor was about to refuse, but Skales convinced him to allow at least one night of celebration, promising that they would head back to Ouroboros in the morning. Although Pythor reluctantly agreed, he made it very clear to Skales that no one was to let their guard down.

Pythor's fears turned out to be well-founded when Lord Garmadon led the Skulkin army into the fortress to ensure that he alone would be the one to rule Ninjago. Skales joined the other Serpentine in fighting the skeletons but was knocked down by Kruncha after Nuckal distracted him with an odd dance. In the confusion, Lloyd freed the ninja, and they escaped with the Fangblades.

#### The Rise of the Great Devourer

After Pythor reclaimed the Fangblades, he jumped off the *Destiny's Bounty*, where Skales was waiting on the lower platform of a Rattlecopter. Pythor lamented that the helicopter was not fast enough to be able to reach Ouroboros before the ninja caught up, but Skales revealed that the Serpentine had already commandeered a tour bus for their use. When the ninja pursued the bus, Skales was the first to notice them, prompting Pythor to ready the Serpentine for battle.

Skales personally went to ensure that the ninja wouldn't reach the front car of the bus, confronting Cole one car back. He seemed to have the ninja trapped between himself and a group of Serpentine Soldiers, but Cole simply summoned his Tread Assault and blasted Skales out of the window using the vehicles cannon.

#### Day of the Great Devourer

Pythor finally managed to unleash the Great Devourer, only to discover that he had no control over the beast when it consumed him and Sensei Wu. Fearing for their lives, the Serpentine retreated to the Fangpyre Tomb, with Skales arguing with Fangtom over whether or not he had known that this was how Pythor's plan would have turned out. Much later, the Generals heard cheering on the surface—realizing that the Devourer had been destroyed, Skales declared that the Serpentine would need a new leader.

### Legacy of the Green Ninja

#### Darkness Shall Rise

Skales gathered the Serpentine under the small ledge near the ruins of the *Destiny's Bounty* to declare himself the new Serpentine King. However, Lord Garmadon arrived and enticed the Serpentine to become his minions, demonstrating his power by using the Golden Weapons to restore the *Destiny's Bounty* as the *Black Bounty*. Despite Skales' protests that Garmadon wasn't even a Serpentine, the other snakes quickly flocked to join the four-armed villain, leaving Skales with only his fellow generals.

Deciding that he needed a new approach, Skales and the other generals hatched a plan from their temporary lair in the subway tunnels of Ninjago City—while Fangtom, Acidicus, and Skalidor robbed a bank to distract the ninja, Skales would kidnap Lloyd for leverage against Lord Garmadon. The plan went off flawlessly, with Skales cornering Lloyd in the apartment he was using for training, but the arrival of Sensei Wu and Nya ruined the scheme. Skales was left in the local prison, although he claimed that the ninja hadn't seen the last of him yet.

#### Ninjaball Run

The other Serpentine Generals used a Serpentine Bus to break Skales out of prison. While evading the police, he ended up driving into the middle of the annual Ninjaball Run—after some initial confusion, Skales became obsessed with winning the race, to the point of knocking Spitta off of the windshield after the Venomari Soldier had made a failed attempt to attack the ninja's Ultra Sonic Raider. Unfortunately, the bus crashed into Ed and Edna's jalopy, the Darkley's school bus, and the Postman's bicycle, creating a large pile-up.

Eventually, Skales managed to get the bus out of the pile-up and drove to the finish line, where Lord Garmadon had lost the *Black Bounty* to Lloyd and the Ultra Dragon. Smugly noting that Garmadon was the one needing help now, Skales pulled up in the Serpentine Bus and helped the dark villain escape arrest.

#### Child's Play

Once again a second-in-command, Skales spent much of his time criticizing Lord Garmadon's failures against the ninja. He continued grumbling as Garmadon led the Serpentine to the Ninjago Museum of History, where he planned to use the Mega Weapon to revive a ferocious prehistoric beast known as the Grundle. The ninja attacked to try and stop the ritual, and Skales was forced to retreat along with the rest of the villains. He helped the other Generals snatch an ornate golden sarcophagus from the museum on their way out, but left it in the streets when it proved too bulky to force into the manhole that the Serpentine had escaped through.

#### The Stone Army

When Garmadon told the Generals about the fabled Island of Darkness, Skales scoffed at the notion but opted to accompany Garmadon on his search, taking a Rattlecopter out to sea.

However, this was merely to set up another plot; while flying over the Endless Ocean, Skales claimed to see the island in the distance. When Lord Garmadon went to look, Skales pushed him out of the open door and into the ocean far below. The other Serpentine Generals then declared Skales as the new Serpentine King.

#### The Day Ninjago Stood Still

After his coronation (complete with a new golden crown), Skales ordered the Serpentine to dig under Ninjago City, planning to bury its inhabitants like the humans had once done to his own. While digging, the snakes found an ancient tomb filled with strange statues. As the Serpentine inspected the room, some of the Great Devourer's venom dripped from the ceiling onto the statues, instantly bringing them to life.

Skales ordered the Serpentine to attack, but the Stone Warriors proved invulnerable. Acidicus questioned if they should retreat from the battle given the Stone Warriors edge, but Skales demanded that they hold their ground. However, Skales quickly realized that the door to the tomb was closing as the Stone Warriors left. Unable to reach the entrance in time, the Hypnobrai General could only scream in fury and dismay as the Serpentine were sealed underground once again.

### Prior to Rebooted

Following the Overlord's defeat, which the Serpentine were aware of but remained underground for, Skales and his people made the tomb of the Stone Warriors their new village. Skales married a pink Hypnobrai and the two had a son whom they named Skales Jr..

### Rebooted

#### The Curse of the Golden Master

After New Ninjago City's power was knocked out, Skales left the tomb to go grocery shopping and returned to find the ninja (minus Lloyd) waiting for him. Skales soon explained that the Serpentine had adopted a new way of life, seeking to take care of and look out for the next generation and having vowing never to return to the surface again.

Skales and his fellow Serpentine shared with the ninja the tale of the Golden Master, a feared being of legend who would possess the power of the First Spinjitzu Master. Their cavern was then attacked by the Nindroids, but the ninja defended the tribes and were able to defeat them after discovering that they were being powered by Electro-Cobrai. Learning that Lloyd was in danger, the ninja asked if Skales would be willing to help them, but the Hypnobrai refused. He did, however, inform them that he knew of only one Serpentine who utilized Electro-Cobrai: his former king, Pythor.

#### The Titanium Ninja

Skales, Slithraa, and some Constrictai warriors and soldiers helped evacuate some of the citizens of Ninjago underground to escape the wrath of the Golden Master.

### Tournament of Elements

#### The Corridor of Elders

Skales briefly appeared with his son, as Zane addressed a crowd they were apart of near the Titanium Ninja statue.

Later on, he took part in the battle at the Corridor of Elders. When an Anacondrai Crusher tried to slice him, the rebuilt *Bounty* anchor crushed it. A relieved Skales remarked that he never thought he would have been happy to see the ship again.

He continued to battle and presumably witnessed Chen and the cultists being banished to the Cursed Realm and celebrated the victory with the others. When the battle ended, he and his son helped clean up the mess in the Corridor of Elders.

### *Pythor's Revenge*

After Pythor stole the BorgWatch prototype from the ninja, he decided to show it to his fellow Serpentine. Upon Pythor's arrival in the Serpentine village, Skales was surprised to see Pythor and questioned his former king about his presence. Skales Jr. arrived and recognized the BorgWatch; begging his father to let Pythor show the Serpentine what he had proposed. When Pythor attempted to activate the BorgWatch's thermodynamic temperature gauge for all of the Serpentine to see, nothing happened, and Skales was unamused. After the ninja arrived and chased Pythor out of the Serpentine village, Skales Jr. asked his father if they could go to the surface to see the unveiling of the BorgWatch. Skales did not approve of this and told his son that "they're crazy up there."

### The Hands of Time

#### Secrets Discovered

Skales and Skales Jr., along with some Constrictai, tracked the Vermillion Warriors to the swamp and watched as Krux and Acronix dragged an aging Wu to their lair.

Later, Lloyd, Jay, Zane, and Cole picked up the signatures of Skales and his son on board the *Destiny's Shadow*. Thinking they were more Vermillion, three of the ninja attacked them. However, Lloyd recognized the snakes and ordered the others to stop. Skales then explained that the Vermillion warriors were the pure first progeny of the Great Devourer, and that, like the Devourer, they would consume everything in their path. When Cole revealed that they had discovered breeding tanks in Krux's lair in the museum, Skales said that the tanks were sufficient for breeding small numbers of Vermillion, but that breeding an entire army required a swamp; the same swamp that the Time Twins were using as their lair. When Lloyd asked if Skales could show them the way to the swamp, the Hypnobrai general said that he could not do so as he had a family to protect. However, he did give the ninja a map to the swamp and wished them luck.

### Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu

#### Ancient History

The ninja visited the Serpentine village seeking out Skales’ help on researching Aspheera. At first, he didn’t want to help them because of the many times he had before whenever they were at a loss on an enemy and even tried to question if they were friends after they call him such. However, he soon conceded and introduced them to Acidicus in the Serpentine library who gave them the knowledge that they needed, the ninja then discovered Aspheera was betrayed by a "deceiver" who they believed was Garmadon.

### Seabound

#### The Calm Before the Storm

When the Police Commissioner ordered Jimmy to evacuate the entire city, Skales and the other Serpentine were forced to leave their village and hide from the Great Flood caused by Wojira.

#### The Turn of the Tide

After Nya's sacrifice and departure, Skales and Acidicus decided to be the only Serpentine to attend her memorial in the very monastery Skales and the Hypnobrai once burned, where they honored her memory.

### Crystalized

#### Brave But Foolish

When Ninjago City was crystalized, Skales and several Hypnobrai managed to escape to safety, although they had to leave their village and leave some of their kind in a state of crystal zombies.

#### Dragon Form

When it came time for the final battle against the Crystal army in the streets of Ninjago City near the Paperboys' warehouse, Skales decided to break his long-ago decision to stay out of the surface-dwellers' troubles and overcome his fear of the Overlord. Together with several Hypnobrai warriors, they came out of the sewers and engaged in battle with the Crystal Warriors.

#### Roots

When the Overlord was defeated by the Golden Ultra Dragon, Skales remained in the streets, cheering for the great victory he had contributed to.

## In *Shadow of Ronin* (non-canon)

Skales is a playable character in *LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin*. He can be purchased for 250,000 studs after collecting his character token in Level 14: The Ice Temple. He is armed with a Hypnobrai Staff and possesses the Hypnobrai hypnotism attack.

## Relationships

### Family

* Selma - Wife
* Skales Jr. - Son

### Allies

* Serpentine - Subordinates
	+ Hypnobrai - Home Tribe
		- Slithraa - Second-in-Command and Former Superior
		- Mezmo
		- Rattla
	+ Fangpyre
		- Fangtom - Close Friend
		- Fangdam
		- Snappa
		- Fang-Suei
	+ Venomari
		- Acidicus
		- Lizaru
		- Spitta
		- Lasha
	+ Constrictai
		- Skalidor
		- Bytar
		- Chokun
		- Snike
* Ninja - Former Enemies
	+ Lloyd Garmadon - Attempted Hostage
	+ Kai
	+ Jay Walker
	+ Cole
	+ Zane
	+ Nya
* Wu - Former Enemy

### Enemies

* Elemental Alliance
	+ Ray
	+ Maya
	+ Previous Elemental Master of Lightning
	+ Previous Elemental Master of Ice †
	+ Previous Elemental Master of Earth
	+ Previous Elemental Master of Shadow
	+ Previous Elemental Master of Gravity
	+ Previous Elemental Master of Sound
	+ Unknown Elemental Master
	+ Krux
	+ Acronix
* Garmadon - Attempted Victim
* Stone Army
	+ Stone Warriors - Former Imprisoners
* Nindroid Army
	+ Cryptor †
	+ Min-Droid †
	+ Nindroid Warriors
* Overlord
* Anacondrai Cultists
	+ Chen †
	+ Zugu †
	+ Eyezor †
	+ Kapau †
	+ Chope †
	+ Sleven †
	+ Krait †
* Vermillion
	+ Machia †
	+ Blunck †
	+ Raggmunk †
* Crystal Army
	+ Crystal Warriors †
	+ Dragonides †
* Council of the Crystal King
	+ Aspheera
	+ Vangelis
	+ Pythor - Former Ally and Former Superior
	+ Mechanic
	+ Mr. F

## Personality

Skales is a very ambitious and proud general of his tribe. He was originally the second commander of the Hypnobrai tribe, but when Slithraa was mistakenly hypnotized by Lloyd, Skales disagreed with his general's childish practices and did not intend to be reduced to the level of a child. Therefore, as soon as possible, he ruthlessly burned down the Monastery of Spinjitzu just to get the Hypnobrai Staff for himself. He then challenged his general to a duel in the Slither Pit and won the position of new general. However, Skales still did not have enough power, so as soon as Pythor wanted to unite all the tribes, Skales willingly helped him, as it could help him become the second commander of the Serpentine King.

Skales often distorts the truth and manipulates his surroundings, as when he told the simple Serpentine that he should become the Serpentine King, because he was the only one who did not agree with Pythor about releasing the Great Devourer, although the opposite was true.

When Garmadon took power over the Serpentine, Skales did not join him, believing that he should rule the Serpentine. However, not giving up this hope, he eventually joined Garmadon, only to betray him later, and finally become the Serpentine King.

Once Skales had power over all the Serpentine, he decided to avenge the people and dig under Ninjago, destroying it forever. In the sewers, however, he found the tomb of the Stone Army, which he opened, and eventually locked himself in it with Serpentine, which led him to a desperate cry and a mental collapse, as he no longer wanted to be trapped in any tomb.

However, during his time in the tomb, Skales got together and completely reformed, even getting married and having a son. As a father, Skales changed completely and, after opening the tomb, fell into human pleasure, such as solving crosswords in newspapers. He began to take care of his family and care for his son, often taking walks with him to the surface and answering his curious questions. He was even willing to help the ninja several times until they called him his friend. He seems to have really liked them too, as he attended Nya's funeral and seemed sad.

Skales is also a bit cowardly, as he feared Garmadon when he held the Mega Weapon, just as he feared the Golden Master or Vermillion.

## Physical appearance

Skales has the same appearance and all the previous Hypnobrai generals before him. Originally, when he was still a warrior he had a large navy blue cobra-like head with a large collar with gray spirals. He had distinctive yellow markings on the top of his head that also covered his torso and legs. His very distinctive feature is the big red eyes with dark red pupils and spirals that spin when he is using the Hypnobrai hypnosis. He also had gray arms.

After he became a general, his legs grew into a long snake tail. The gray spirals on the collars changed to yellow and the markings on the head and torso became more detailed, with the addition of white and black.

When he became the Serpentine King, he wore a small gold crown with blue gem for a while.

## Weapons and abilities

### Abilities

* **Hypnobrai hypnosis:** Skales, like all Hypnobrai, is able to hypnotize opponents through sight and control their actions.
	+ **Hypnotic sight:** Skales is able to see through the eyes of those he control.
* **Fang-Kwon-Do:** Skales has trained in Fang-Kwon-Do. The only known maneuver of this martial art involves mesmerizing the opponent with swaying body motions and delivering a jumping kick to their chin when they let their guard down.
* **Intelligence:** Arguably, Skales' most dangerous weapon is his mind, as he is an ambitious plotter who constantly seeks new means of getting more power or subverting a disliked leader. He is also shown to be patient, limiting his insubordination to the questioning of orders and general grumbling until an opportune moment arises to make his move.
	+ **Expert strategist:** Skales generally comes up with effective strategies against his foes, exploiting their physical and mental weaknesses.

### Weapons

* **Hypnobrai Staff:** After becoming the general of the Hypnobrai, Skales often used the Hypnobrai Staff as a walking stick, but was also very good at using it in combat.
* **Dual swords:** Skales was skilled at using dual swords in the Slither Pit.
* **Naginata:** During the final battle, Skales used the naginata, a traditional weapon used by many Serpentine, against the Crystal Warriors

## Appearances

* 9446 Destiny's Bounty
* 853405 Snake Sword (pictured on weapon)
* 40429 Ninjago World (pictured)

*Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*
Season 1: Rise of the Snakes* 1. "Rise of the Snakes"
* 2. "Home"
* 4. "Never Trust a Snake"
* 5. "Can of Worms"
* 6. "The Snake King"
* 7. "Tick Tock"
* 8. "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"
* 9. "The Royal Blacksmiths"
* 10. "The Green Ninja"
* 11. "All of Nothing"
* 12. "The Rise of the Great Devourer"
* 13. "Day of the Great Devourer"

Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja* 14. "Darkness Shall Rise"
* 17. "Ninjaball Run"
* 18. "Child's Play"
* 20. "The Stone Army"
* 21. "The Day Ninjago Stood Still"

Season 3: Rebooted* 27. "The Surge" (TV screen)
* 30. "The Curse of the Golden Master"
* 34. "The Titanium Ninja"

Season 4: Tournament of Elements* 44. "The Corridor of Elders"

Season 7: The Hands of Time* 71. "Secrets Discovered"

Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu* 2. "Green and Gold" (painting)
* 3. "The Weekend Drill" (painting)
* 4. "Elemental Rider" (painting)
* 5. "Blue Lightning" (painting)

Season 10: March of the Oni* 95. "The Darkness Comes" (painting)
* 98. "Endings" (painting)

Season 11: Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu* 99. "Wasted True Potential" (painting)
* 108. "Ancient History"

Season 12: Prime Empire* 131. "Level Thirteen" (TV screen)

Season 13: Master of the Mountain* 145. "Shintaro" (painting)

Season 14: Seabound* 180. "The Turn of the Tide" (no lines)

Season 15: Crystalized* 204. "Return of the Ice Emperor" (TV screen)
* 205. "Safe Haven" (mentioned)
* 206. "Compatible" (TV screen)
* 209. "Dragon Form" (no lines)
* 210. "Roots" (no lines)

Books* *Pythor's Revenge*

Video games* *Viper Smash* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Ninjago: Tournament* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin* (non-canon)
* *The LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame* (non-canon)

## Etymology

His name a respelling of the word, "scales". This is also how his name is spelled in the credits.

## Behind the scenes

* Skales is the most frequently seen Serpentine in Season 1, appearing in twelve out of thirteen episodes. He was only absent from "Snakebit."
* Skales is the only Serpentine general to appear in multiple Rise of the Snakes sets. All the other generals only appear in one each.
* He is one of twelve Serpentine whose name was mentioned in the show. The others being Pythor, Skales Jr., Arcturus, Clancee, Raggmunk, Blunck, Machia, Aspheera, Char, Acidicus, and Mambo V.
* Before the Slither Pit battle, Skales' appearance was identical to Slithraa's current appearance, and vice versa.
	+ In "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "All of Nothing," a version with both his tail and original coloring is seen on the *Destiny's Bounty* bridge display.
	+ In *Spinjitzu Spinball Snake Invasion*, a tailed Hypnobrai can be seen with the warrior markings and a legged Hypnobrai can be seen with the general markings.
* Skales, Acidicus, and Pythor are the only Serpentine generals to appear in the WildBrain seasons.
	+ Unlike Pythor, however, Skales and Acidicus have the same design as in the WILFilm seasons, except for two-dimensional scales instead of three-dimensional ones.

## Trivia

* It is unknown if he can still do the jumping kick maneuver of Fang-Kwon-Do now that he has a tail.
* Skales has an especially pronounced emphasis on the letter "s" when he speaks.
* Skales is an unlockable character in *The LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame*. He can be unlocked if the player achieves silver medal status or higher in the training dojo "The Slithering Catacombs" (which requires the player to accumulate at least 10,000 studs).
* He does not like it when others are in charge of him, as shown when Pythor and Garmadon took control of the Serpentine.
	+ He does still seem to have a sense of loyalty or obedience, however, as he did seem to show loyalty to Pythor to some degree before the Devourer was awakened.
* His and Silthraa's Slither Pit duel appears on one of the TV screens at Borg Tower in "The Surge," "Level Thirteen," "Return of the Ice Emperor," and "Compatible."
* He claims to have an obsession with the crossword puzzles from *Ninjago City News*, as he once told the ninja that he's a sucker for it.
* In his second appearance in "The Titanium Ninja," he erroneously uses Slithraa's design.
* Skales has acted as a second-in-command for three other villains: Slithraa, Pythor, and Lord Garmadon.
	+ He has betrayed all of them in some fashion: he usurped Slithraa as general, denied any knowledge of Pythor's goals when the Great Devourer was unleashed (albeit after Pythor himself was eaten), and he pushed Lord Garmadon into the ocean to regain control of the Serpentine.
* Skales is the only known Serpentine to have a spouse.
* The reason why Skales didn't wear his crown after Season 2 is because it was acquired by Chen and placed in his palace.
* According to Tommy Andreasen, Skales is "most likely not" going to serve as a main character/antagonist in a future season.
* Skales is the Serpentine with the largest range of appearances in the show. He appeared for the first time in Episode 1, and for the last time in Episode 210.
* Despite the fact that Skales has a minimal role in Crystalized, his character arc that began in "The Curse of the Golden Master," where he refused to fight the Overlord and preferred to stay with the other Serpentine in their village, is finally completed here, as he decided to go to the surface in "Dragon Form" and to fight the army of the very enemy he had previously so feared.