Courtroom Conflict: Spyro vs. Skaarf

Witness Testimony

The myths of dragons are ones that go back thousands of years, with several ancient cultures believing in dragon-like creatures that have given rise to modern interpretations of the monstrous species. And though dragons may or may not have existed in the real world, they’re everywhere in media. Just look at Lev!

Yes, dragons can come in many shapes and sizes, a truth to which I can attest. However, not all draconian beasts are created equal, and today we’re pitting two dragons from the realm of video games against each other in a fight for supremacy.

Spyro, the Dragon Realm’s legendary purple defender…

…And Skaarf, the Halcyon Fold’s flame-spitting dragonling! I’m Starlow, she’s Squigly, and he’s Leviathan, and one of these two will join their dragon ancestors in the afterlife on this Courtroom Conflict!

Credit for Spyro research: DeathBattleDino’s DA bio

Have you ever heard of the Dragon Realms? Legends conflict on the origins of these interconnected worlds, with some claiming that they were first inhabited by refugees of the Forgotten Realms while others believe that the dragons inhabiting these worlds were banished there by a powerful, evil sorceress. Whatever the cause for the dragons’ arrival, these worlds would become their home, and they would live among themselves in peace… a peace that was not infallible.

In this draconic society, many different breeds of dragons coexisted with each other, but none were more prestigious or powerful than the purple dragons, a breed of unique color and inherited magical powers. Dragons of this exceptional breed were destined for great things, and none fulfilled that prophetic destiny greater than the one called Spyro.

Sorry to interrupt the backstory, but it’s worth noting that we’re mainly going to focus on The Legend of Spyro and that line of games for this analysis. We’re considering the full composite in terms of the verdict, but the three main timelines for Spyro – Spyro the Dragon, Skylanders, and The Legend of Spyro – are difficult to intertwine in an analysis because of how wildly different they are. We’ll make it clear when we’re bringing up stuff from the former two, but otherwise, we’ll operate under the assumed pretense of the information coming from the Legend timeline. Okay, back to cool narration, please!

Yes, back on track. Spyro was set to hatch from a purple egg during the Year of the Dragon, but the temple his egg was nesting in was attacked by the forces of Malefor, the ancient Dark Master and one of the oldest recognized purple dragons. To save Spyro’s egg from assured destruction, Ignitus, the guardian dragon of fire, took it and sent it drifting down a river to what would hopefully end in its safety. And while this act did save Spyro’s life, Malefor’s forces were successful in overtaking the temple, and dragons who opposed the Dark Master were killed or forced into hiding.

Spyro floated down the river until he was found by a family of dragonflies, and when he hatched into their family, he would grow up as one of them for many years of his childhood. Mostly hanging out in the swamp with his dragonfly brother Sparx, Spyro grew up under the assumption that he was just another dragonfly… You know, a huge, scaly, horned, fire-breathing dragonfly. Totally normal.

Well, to be fair, he didn’t always know he could breathe fire. In fact, the first time he did breathe fire was out of instinct when a group of apes was threatening Sparx, and this accident led Spyro to the truth: he was a dragon! Upon realizing this, Spyro left his home with the dragonflies to seek out his true home and people, not knowing he was setting out on a journey that would see him become the savior of the Dragon Realms.

Largely thanks to his vast and varied pool of abilities with which to do battle. You see, purple dragons possess far more magical capabilities than an ordinary dragon, so while those of unexceptional breeds may be able to master one form of elemental manipulation, Spyro was able to master five over the course of his adventures. Ignitus taught him to further utilize his control over fire, Cyril showed him how to manipulate ice, Volteer lectured him in the ways of electricity, and Terrador revealed to him the secrets of controlling the earth.

And after he mastered these four elements, he was able to control the true power of the purple dragons: a magical energy source called Aether… or Convexity. Whichever you prefer. Light Aether is a powerful force Spyro can weaponize to fire purple energy beams, and it can purify others who are corrupted by dark energy like that of the Dark Master, like when he saved Cynder from Malefor’s control.

You probably noticed that whole “Light” Aether distinction. The reason for that is there exists a form of Aether that has its own kind of strength: Dark Aether. It’s an unbelievably strong source of power, but it’s violent and hard to control. If a purple dragon’s anger, hatred, and sorrow overtake them, and the Dark Aether seizes control of their body and mind… Well, you’ll see in a while.

Yes. After all, elements are not the only offensive tools Spyro commands. His horns and claws are good ways of dispatching his enemies at close range, bashing them down or cutting them up respectively, and he can use his wings to achieve flight. His magical powers aren’t limited to elements, either- he has a multitude of spells he can use in the field to manipulate his surroundings or channel powerful attacks, like the Movement Spell, the Teleport Spell, and the Banish Spell. And the Shadowstone is a mighty magic artifact that sharpens Spyro’s magical prowess, as well as allowing him to step between the real world and the Shadow World.

There’s also Dragon Time to consider, which is another facet of the purple dragons’ power. It allows Spyro to slow down time around him, letting him react to his opponents faster or get the upper hand with a burst of extra speed. He can only use it for brief intervals before needing to let its power recharge, of course.

And as if all those magical powers were somehow not enough, Classic Spyro apparently knows how to drive! He’s driven cars, tanks, planes, a UFO, and… a manta ray? Huh. I didn’t know Spyro was related to Steve Irwin. And with Snoop Dogg for an uncle… This family tree is getting a little confusing for me.

Perhaps such a legendary bloodline would explain the numerous super forms Spyro has access to. Skylanders Spyro has gained access to his Legendary Spyro form after conquering a gladiatorial arena, which boosts his physical and magical powers considerably, and as one of Master Eon’s Elite Skylanders, he is blessed with triple the power of his base form as a reward for exceptional bravery and leadership.

On the Legends side of things, though, the furthest extent of Spyro’s power isn’t quite so rosy. Remember the Dark Aether we mentioned before? Well, Dark Spyro is the result of Dark Aether overtaking him in a moment of emotional vulnerability, sending him spiraling into a violent frenzy. Dark Aether is all he can use in this state, but when you have the power to hypnotize others, blast dark energy in every direction, trap others in cages of darkness, and petrify your enemies by turning them to stone… Do you really need much more than that?

All that power has definitely helped Spyro in his adventures across his different incarnations! Classic Spyro saved the dragons from Gnasty Gnorc, stopped Ripto’s evil forces, and did battle with the evil Sorceress; Skylanders Spyro has stopped Kaos and other evil forces that threatened Skylands time and time and time again; and Legends Spyro not only saved the Dragon Guardians and Cynder but defeated Malefor once and for all. The power of Aether was even enough to stop the Destroyer from blowing the planet apart!

Spyro is not just a strong fighter, but he’s also incredibly fast, capable of dodging lightning across all three timelines and beams of light in the Skylanders games. His durability is also impressive, as he can survive island-eclipsing explosions, endure attacks from Malefor and his evil forces, and shrug off lightning-based attacks due to the insulation of his scales. It’s no wonder he’s such a legendary hero across his many timelines with that kind of power.

Well, Spyro may be strong, but it’d be dubious at best to say he’s invincible. He’s still a dragon in his adolescence throughout the classic, Skylanders, and Legends timelines, meaning he’s rather cocky and headstrong. His straightforward, never-say-die attitude towards confrontation puts him in the line of fire pretty often. And if he succumbs to the Dark Aether as Dark Spyro, he usually can’t regain control over himself without outside assistance from his friends. What’s more, most, if not all, of his magical powers have limited energy supplies behind them, and he can only use them so many times before being spent.

It’s still a safe bet that he’s dangerous without them, though! I’d say the Dragon Realms have nothing to worry about with a hero like Spyro ready to ward off evil!

Spyro: Looks like I’ve got some things to do!

Imagine, if you will, a world in flames. Families, animals, whole villages, societies and every indication that they ever existed… burned to the ground, left as a pile of ashes to be swept into the dustbin of history. The kind of devastation that makes your stomach churn and your head spin. Such handiwork of death and destruction is the legacy of Skaarfungandr, a colossal dragon that craved nothing more than to reduce the living world to kindling. This ancient monster had many names: The Ender of Worlds, His Dreaded Majesty, The Indomitable, and The Eater of All, but there was only one title its primal instincts cared for: the apex predator.

Legends of Skaarfungandr were passed down for millennia, telling the tale of the massive winged creature that wrought a violent reckoning upon the indulgences of man. In modern times, most dismiss the tale of Skaarfungandr as nothing more than an old wives’ tale, but in reality, the legend of Skaarfungandr was one of nothing but fact, including the legend of how Skaarfungandr would reincarnate every one thousand years to lay waste to the world once again… and that it had been exactly one thousand years since the last recorded sighting of such a dragon.

So when some completely inexplicable arson cases started popping up around the land, and huge pieces of broken eggshell were discovered in a field… well, you can guess who was back for more. It was the dreaded life-ender himself… just not quite as intimidating as the legends might have led you to think.

Oh! He’s so small and cute! He’s like a puppy with wings and fire breath! Lev, can we keep him?

One dragon in this recording studio is more than enough, milady. Besides, he would burn the place down in a heartbeat as soon as we looked away. Skaarfungandr, or Skaarf for short, is an utter pyromaniac, caring and craving only for the flames of destruction.

But… just look at him! He’s too small and innocent to be an arsonist!

Well, that’s because Skaarf is just a baby. He’s nowhere near his full size yet. In fact, ancient recordings of Skaarfungandr suggest that he could grow to the size of a mountain!

Oh, really? Probably too big for a leash, in that case…

Quite. Anyhow, despite his flight-capable wings and claws, Skaarf’s main form of offense in battle is his ability to shoot flames from his mouth. This is furthered in potency by his Heroic Perk, Fan the Flames, which sets his enemies ablaze upon being hit by Skaarf’s attacks. These flames linger on the foe and deal damage over time, and their intensity is increased the more Skaarf hits them with his flame-based attacks.

This includes his first ability, Spitfire, which lobs a huge fireball from Skaarf’s mouth in the direction of an enemy. It explodes on impact with a major enemy, lighting them on fire, but it will pass over lesser obstacles, dealing damage to them while consequently decreasing in strength. It only flies so far before it burns out, but its short cooldown between uses means Skaarf can blast fireballs all over the place pretty frequently!

Fire isn’t the only thing Skaarf can project from his mouth. With Goop, his second ability, he lobs a huge amount of bodily sludge onto a target location, creating a sticky and bubbly pool of slop that slows down anything that has the misfortune of stepping in it.

…Yes, on second thought, I’m not really interested in cleaning that up.

Oh, cleaning that up would be the least of your worries! See, the goop that Skaarf spits is super flammable, so if he spits flames anywhere near it, the goop will catch fire and burn everything in its vicinity. It’s even hot enough to burn enemies that try to fly over it, so this greasy bile gives Skaarf pretty good control over the field of battle.

And once he gets his foes in an unfortunate position, he goes in for a high-temperature finish: Dragon Breath. As Skaarf’s ultimate ability, he sits in place and sucks in a huge breath before blasting a massive wave of fire from his mouth. This monstrous blaze lasts for as long as Skaarf can exhale, and he can move freely while using it. What makes this freedom of mobility a key part of the attack is that the force of Skaarf’s inhaling at the start will suck enemies toward him, meaning that if Skaarf has you cornered, there’s almost no escape from this devastating attack.

Yikes, that sounds like a pretty toasty way to go out. It’s a good thing he’s still a baby, or else the world would probably already be going up in flames.

Right, Skaarf is still a pretty recent hatchling, and he isn’t really any smarter than a wild animal, so instincts kinda take the place of any cunning strategy for him. And that’s not even mentioning that he’s pretty much exclusively a ranged fighter. His defenses are still pretty flimsy, so if an aggressive enemy manages to get close, that’s bad news for Skaarf. But hey, he’s still capable of holding his own on the field of battle! He’s strong enough to overpower trained police officers, fast enough in flight to dodge gunfire, and his flames are hot enough to burn down entire houses and melt steel structures!

The threat Skaarf poses in battle is anything but a myth. You would do well to be wary of Skaarfungandr’s spawn, for the second you warm up to him… he’ll warm you up into a charred pile of ash.

Skaarf: Hrarhaghrr!

Cross-Examination

The research is completed and the combatants are all fired up. The battle for the Halcyon Fold can now begin.

Then let’s get on with it! Get ready for some dragon dueling, everybody!

Setting: The Halcyon Fold

A calm rush of wind breezed across the bricks of the Halcyon Fold’s upper lane, blowing across the ground and around the huge military turrets mounted across it. Despite the field’s status as an occupied battleground over the Vain Crystals at each end of the arena, this fine, sunny morning beheld an unusual calm that put the Fold under a natural hush. In the jungles, large beasts were at work patrolling their territories, and small grunts stayed within their fortresses on either side, relaxing in the safe fortifications.

However, there was just one small minion that was nervously making his way down the lane from the left camp. His helmet, discarded in the center of the lane during the morning’s preparations for any conflict that happened to arise, was sitting between the two front turrets, and the minion made his way toward it, ducking between the turrets and the brush in fear of what might be waiting for a simple minion like him in this dangerous battlefield.

Above the Fold, there was a streak of purple movement darting through the clouds, looking around the oceans that surrounded the Fold. All he could see from the sky was water in every direction, and as he continued to fly around at high speeds, Spyro sighed to himself in boredom. “Man, why did I have to follow that portal?” the purple dragon complained. “Ever since I went through that thing, there’s been nothing but oceans everywhere! Am I ever gonna find someplace to-“

Before Spyro could finish his sentence, the clouds below him slowly parted to reveal the small strip of land in the middle of the sea that was the Halcyon Fold.

“-Land!” Spyro concluded, looking excited to finally come across any kind of land in this world. Turning down in midair, Spyro rocketed down toward the Fold to check it out, and just as he was making his descent, the lane minion was making a hasty exit from behind the cover of the furthest allied turret, shaking with fear as he approached his helmet as his eyes remained glued to the motionless barrel of the enemy turret. Terrified of stepping into range of its targeting system and plasma shots, he bent down, quivering across his entire body, and grabbed his helmet with a yelp before leaping away from the opposing turret. He stayed motionless for a moment, bracing himself for a plasma shot to the face, but he soon realized it wasn’t coming, and he relaxed with a sigh and a relieved smile.

As he went to put on his helmet, a purple blur descended from above and slammed onto the brick road of the lane just in front of him, nearly making him jump out of his skin. The minion screamed in terror and fell on his rump, staring with terror as Spyro shook himself off after the abrupt landing.

“Ahh, man, it feels good to be back on the ground!” Spyro remarked, shaking himself off and stretching his extremities as his wings rested from their lengthy workout. “Anyway, let’s see… Where am I?” he went on to wonder, lifting his gaze to inspect the turret in front of him. He recognized the gun-like qualities of it, but its apparent lack of activity befuddled Spyro, and he stepped closer to its steel structure in order to examine it more thoroughly, unaware of the terrified minion just behind him.

What Spyro wasn’t aware of was the turret’s proximity activation, and as he took a step toward it, its mechanisms suddenly lurched to life and trained its barrel directly on Spyro, letting loose a powerful blast of energy. “Woah!” Spyro yelled before leaping out of harm’s way, and as the turret’s shot missed its mark, Spyro exhaled a large fireball that struck the turret, melting its steel body upon impact before the heat ignited its inner mechanisms and triggered a small explosion, forcing the turret to shut down and attempt to repair its internal systems from the damage sustained.

As Spyro watched the small blast go off with a sour look, the minion behind him yelped in shock at the sound, and this was enough to draw Spyro’s attention. As the purple dragon turned around to look at who had made the noise, the much smaller and less impressive-looking grunt’s eyes grew as wide as dinner plates, and he scurried behind his friendly turret to hide from the intruder.

“Oh, uh, hi!” Spyro remarked, slightly taken aback by the small creature’s apparent terror. “It’s alright, I’m not gonna hurt ya,” he assured, taking some careful steps forward as he attempted to converse with the cowardly minion. Seeing that he was still afraid of him, Spyro continued, “I’m, uh, not from around here, so… Mind telling me where I’m at? I would really appreciate it.”

What neither Spyro nor the minion were aware of was that there was something besides the typical beasts lurking in the jungle at that time, and the loud, abrupt sound of the turret explosion had drawn its attention away from the small woodland creatures it had been feeding on. This creature discarded its meal and slunk through the tall patches of grass that covered the jungle like a natural patchwork, darting up to the bushes beside the lane and observing Spyro trying to talk the minion out from cover. Its wild eyes looked past Spyro and zeroed in on the minion, salivating at the thought of chewing on some minion meat. It began to stalk its way out of the grass, sneaking toward the other two in the lane and preparing to strike. Flames burned inside its mouth as a form of salivating, and it slowly began to open its mouth in preparation for its attack.

Spyro, still trying to ease the minion’s fears, did not notice the creature’s approach, but as it was facing the direction that the beast was coming from, the minion most certainly did, and its eyes went even wider as terror gripped its tiny heart. Recognizing that its prey was aware of its presence, the approaching creature suddenly opened its jaw fully and unleashed a large fireball that shot at the poor minion, who threw up its arms and began screaming in terror as it sprinted back to camp as fast as its legs would carry it. Spyro looked confused for a second, but then the fireball from the approaching predator slammed into the ground where the minion had been standing, alerting him to the new presence.

“What the-!? Who’s there?” Spyro exclaimed as he whirled around, striking an aggressive-looking pose to ward off any incoming attacks. But where Spyro had expected to see a vicious-looking monster, all that stood in front of him beside the smoldering turret was a small little dragon, poised on its fours with its wings spread over its back in a display of dominance. Where Spyro was accustomed to seeing an angered look of readiness on the face of a challenger, all that was on this creature’s face as a doe-eyed expression that bordered on playfulness, with its fanged mouth turned up in a childish grin and its tongue lolling out between its teeth. It almost seemed to Spyro that this thing was more of a puppy than a dragon, but this was Skaarf, one of the Fold’s inhabitants, and he launched into the air with his wings before letting loose another flame blast from his mouth, which Spyro flew into the air to avoid.

“Sheesh, this place is nuts!” Spyro remarked before giving Skaarf a serious look. “I don’t know what your problem is, but if you’re looking for a fight, you just found one!”

Skaarf’s rather unintelligent reply to Spyro’s threat was a garbled “Hreghraaaghr!” Both dragons looped in the air before flying at each other, ready for battle.

Time To Turn Up The Heat!

Spyro’s head collided with Skaarf’s with a painful-sounding THUNK, with Spyro gritting his fangs and Skaarf letting his tongue flop around in excitement. Their wings beat at the air with great ferocity as they flew against each other for several moments, straining against one another in the air until Spyro swung his head to the right, clocking Skaarf in the temple with his horn before swiftly flipping and swatting the dragon hatchling with his tail. Dazed, Skaarf crashed to the ground, and Spyro tilted his head back as he readied a fireball. Before he could unleash it, Skaarf picked himself up, shook himself off, and registered the imminent threat. With a guttural “Hyerghraghr!” Skaarf took to the air again, dodging Spyro’s first volley of flame as it torched the concrete of the lane.
With reasonable distance put between one another, Spyro and Skaarf began exchanging rounds of fire, each circling the other in the air as their shots exploded against each other or went veering off into other parts of the Fold. With blinding speed, Spyro was easily able to maneuver around Skaarf’s attacks as he sized up his opponent, looking for an opening to capitalize on. Skaarf seemed much less concerned with the battle in comparison, leisurely rolling around mid-flight as he evaded Spyro’s own blasts of fire. Finally, Skaarf answered Spyro’s fireballs with a careless blast of his own flames, and Spyro’s analytical gaze saw his opportunity.

“Got ya!” Spyro remarked as he darted to the ground, speeding just over the stone pathway and underneath Skaarf’s torrent of flame, out of his enemy’s line of sight. Spyro was underneath Skaarf in the blink of an eye, and he proceeded to perform an inverted Headbash, flying into Skaarf’s vulnerable underbelly with his horns outstretched for an impromptu uppercut that sent Skaarf reeling into the sky.

Regaining his composure after the devastating maneuver, Spyro sucked in a deep breath, exclaiming, “You’re toast!” just before a huge wave of fire exploded from his maw. This blaze rushed skyward in pursuit of Skaarf, who saw it coming just in the nick of time. Rather than attempt to out-flame this attack like before, Skaarf opened his mouth and contorted his gut, spewing a vile expulsion of black goop that blanketed Spyro’s flames as it fell. This scorching combination formed a falling rain of burning tar than showered around Spyro, who winced as the drops of super-heated sludge fell on him. He quickly dashed forward to escape from the concentrated mass of burning slop, which fell directly on top of his previous location in a slimy heap.

Spyro came to a halt after avoiding the burning goop, his claws digging into the stone path to anchor his body. Just behind him was one of the large lane turrets, and as Skaarf noticed this from above, he got an idea and spat a small fireball in its direction. Spyro watched its shallow arc as it landed on top of the turret, its small flames lingering atop the machine, and it suddenly whirred to life in reaction to being attacked, its laser tracker and cold steel barrel scanning the environment for an attacker. Having turned to look as the automatic weapon came alive, Spyro’s pupils widened in surprise as the laser pointer trained itself on the center of his face.

“Oh boy,” Spyro muttered before hastily taking to the air, narrowly avoiding a concentrated blast of energy that the turret fired in his direction. Skaarf, seeing his enemy approach from below, eagerly flew down to meet Spyro halfway, only to be swatted in the chest by Spyro’s tail when the latter did an evasive twist just as they passed each other. Skaarf didn’t have much time to recover from this unexpected strike, as Spyro as already hot on his tail with claws out and fangs bared. Guttural screeches of pain rang out over the Fold as Spyro repeatedly slashed Skaarf through the air, tailing him over the lane and cutting him off when he tried to evade by accelerating past speeds that Skaarf’s wings could handle.

Eventually, Skaarf ducked beneath Spyro and flew close to the ground, barely skirting over the center of the lane, and Spyro aggressively followed suit. Just as he flew over the center of the circular stone fixture adorning the ground, however, a shot from the turret initially fired at Skaarf slammed into his side with a powerful energy explosion, making Spyro shout with surprise as he was sent tumbling into the turret from earlier on the other side of the lane. This reactivated the other turret as well, and Spyro was again forced to fly away from it in a panic as it activated its offensive procedures, his hide still smoldering from the impact of the concentrated energy round.

“Jeez, what’s the deal with all these guns?” Spyro wondered aloud, watching the twin turrets track him as he flew up and into the air. Eventually, he was level with Skaarf, who was flying to and fro while making excited growls and grunts.

“Just my luck… I follow one weird portal and I end up in a war zone, fighting this guy.” Spyro sighed to himself before shaking himself off, smirking and beating his wings even harder as he prepared to launch into action again. “At least this should be some fun practice! Let’s get this party going, weirdo!”

“Grheeraghrghe!” Skaarf agreed, waving his tongue around as flames rose from his open mouth. With that, both dragons broke out into a rush as they shot toward each other, ramming into each other multiple times in midair while the turrets below shot round after round of concentrated energy at them both. As they darted past each other at high speeds, Spyro lashed out with his claws and Skaarf stuck out his neck to bite at his enemy, all between rapid-fire exchanges of their flame breaths that set the air around them ablaze.

Skaarf, pursuing Spyro through their midair battle with a childlike sense of enthusiasm, blasted round after round of fireballs from his mouth, trying to keep a fair distance between them while also preventing Spyro from placing himself in advantageous positions. The purple dragon was too fast for Skaarf to tag, however, and he swiftly flew from one place to the other while answering Skaarf’s blasts with flames of his own. The turrets were still pursuing both of them with their compressed energy rounds, so staying still during their firefight was not an option.

After a scorching back-and-forth that raged on and on with neither dragon backing down, Spyro flew high into the air, shooting past Skaarf and blowing him off-balance with the gusts of wind his wings created with every movement. “If you think fire is all I’ve got, pal,” Spyro called from above as blue energy began to swirl around him, “Then you’ve got another thing coming!”

Skaarf tilted his head in confusion, but it soon became apparent what Spyro was talking about, as the air temperature suddenly began to plummet and Skaarf’s scales bristled with a cold shivering. Wisps of snow and chunks of ice formed from thin air as Spyro channeled his elemental control over ice, all circling around him as the blue energy grew in power, and once it had grown large enough Spyro unleashed it, creating a large grey cloud that lingered over the Halcyon Fold and began to drop snow and hail upon the battlefield.

Skaarf squealed and cried out in protest as his exposed body was pelted with ice-cold chunks from the cloud overhead, and he flew to the ground and crawled underneath the nearest turret to escape the precipitation. It was then that Skaarf picked up on the sound of crackling electricity just a small ways away from his hiding spot, and when he peered out from under the turret he saw Spyro perched atop the turret opposite the one he was taking shelter beneath, his head reared back and yellow sparks of electricity bursting from his mouth as he charged up a large blast of electrical energy.

“Eat THIS!” Spyro shouted as he lowered his head with great speed, lowering his jaw as he unleashed the electric energy he had built up in his mouth. The blast rocketed forward like a bolt of lightning, ripping through not just the turret that was shielding Skaarf from the hail, but the two behind it as well. The bolt zoomed all the way to the citadel in the far encampment, and just as the three punctured turrets overloaded with damage and exploded in three simultaneous fireballs, so too did the citadel come crashing down with a deafening collapse of stone and mortar. Smoke and dust rose up from the impacted spots of the Fold, and Spyro smirked to himself, proud of the display of his power.

That pride proved to be short-lived, as much to Spyro’s surprise, Skaarf came flying out from the burning smoke cloud surrounding the wreckage of the front turret. The dragon hatchling was injured by the blast, as evidenced by burn marks on his back and some cuts on his wings, but he was still ready to fight, as he showed by plowing into Spyro’s chest with a ferocious headbutt. Spyro let out a surprised wheeze as the wind got knocked out of him, and he was helpless to fight back as Skaarf flew him up into the air, tossed him up, and spat a fireball the size of a car directly into his face, the intense heat of which dissipated the hailstorm Spyro had created. Carried by the mighty blast, Spyro crashed into the encampment on the other side of the Fold, grounded in the center of a huge black scorch mark that charred the soil beneath it.

Spyro was quick to recover from the unexpected attack, standing up on all four legs and coughing as air returned to his lungs, but he wasn’t given much time to recuperate as the turret just inside of the camp entrance swiveled and focused its sights directly on him. The depths of its barrel began to glow, and Spyro groaned, annoyed.

“I’m getting pretty sick of you guys, y’know,” Spyro declared to the turret, which had no answer other than to shoot its load in the purple dragon’s direction. With speed and precision, Spyro whirled around and parried the shot with his tail, sending the energy blast flying off to the side and exploding against a steel barricade. Then, in the pause between the turret’s shots, Spyro clawed at the ground and lowered his head before dashing forward with his horns facing forward. Gold energy rippled from his horns as they plowed through the thick steel hide of the turret, and he kept the momentum of his charge going as he raced back to the center of the lane.

The second turret in the line fell in much the same way that the far one did, and as he prepared to demolish the center-most one in a similar fashion, Spyro prepared to launch into the air and scope out the environment for signs of Skaarf. As he felt his body plow through the last turret in the lane, Spyro lifted his head and prepared for takeoff, but much to his surprise, something thick and slimy promptly caught his feet as they touched on the ground just beyond the last turret’s position. Spyro let out an awkward cry as his feet were stuck in a pile of black goop, and it pulled him back to the ground the moment he tried to take to the air, sticking even more of his body to the pile of slime.

“AGH! H-hey, what is this stuff!?” Spyro shouted, agitated as his struggling only got him more stuck in the goop. Strands of the black mass clung to his feet, wings, claws, and face, and no amount of resisting was getting him free. As he resisted its incredibly adhesive grip, he heard the sound of rustling come from a patch of grass to his right, and Skaarf eagerly leaped from the foliage to shoot a blast of flame at the trapped Spyro. The sticky pile of goop caught fire the moment Skaarf’s shot came in contact with it, and Spyro cried out as his body was exposed to the boiling liquid, simmering and scalding against his scales.

“Crap… He’s trying to boil me alive!” Spyro thought, and he began to attempt to take flight as he felt the goop’s tensile strength begin to weaken as the flames made it melt. Just as freedom began to seem feasible, though, Skaarf was suddenly on top of Spyro with a delighted “Herrhaghrglgrlg!”, pressing down on Spyro’s back while flapping his wings to press Spyro against the pool of boiling goop. The purple dragon grunted and shouted as he strained against the scorching-hot slime and Skaarf’s oppressive pushing, and as burning-hot pain surged across his chest as the boiling goop seared against his tough scales, Spyro opened his mouth and channeled the element of earth, forming a spiked green flail in his mouth that he swung up over his head. The weapon clubbed Skaarf in the head, tossing the hatchling dragon away and thus allowing Spyro to finally shake himself free of the goop. He collapsed a short distance away, panting and regathering himself as the goop pile burned itself out.

After Spyro shook the remains of the scalding goop off of his body, he turned his attention back to Skaarf, who was laying against the short rock wall separating the Halcyon Fold’s lane from the jungle. The baby dragon was whimpering and grunting as he nursed the wound left by Spyro’s Earth Flail on the side of his head, but Spyro was not moved by the pitiful display and instead opted to return the favor. The purple dragon planted all fours on the ground and concentrated, manipulating the ground of the Fold and twisting it to his will. The rock formation Skaarf was resting against began to shake, and the stone suddenly leaped up, growing in height and snaring Skaarf in a blanket of jagged outcrop. The hatchling dragon squeaked and squirmed in protest, but the stone held fast, and Skaarf was powerless to do anything as Spyro positioned himself in front of the rock formation.

“H-heh… Not bad, jerk,” Spyro said with a hint of exhaustion, bracing himself against the floor in preparation for his next attack. “But up until now, I’ve just been showing off what I can do. Let’s see how YOU like it when I don’t hold anything back!”

Spyro then began to charge up an Aether blast, lowering his head as bright purple energy began to amass in his mouth. Seeing the incoming threat, Skaarf continued to struggle against the grip of the manipulated rock, eventually attempting to interrupt Spyro’s concentration by spitting fire at him. However, the raw power of the Aether rushing through Spyro’s body was enough to dispel the fireballs upon impact, hardly even getting a flinch out of the purple dragon as the power of Aether grew more and more. After a few seconds, Spyro felt its power hit a breaking point in his chest, and his eyes flared with determination as he raised his head, opened his mouth, and unleashed the power of light Aether.

A colossal purple beam exploded from the purple dragon’s maw, plowing through Skaarf and the stone wall behind him. Skaarf screeched as the energy burned his body and shattered the tough wall of stone, throwing him into the depths of the jungle, and as the Aether blast hit its mark, Spyro confidently leaped over the smashed wall and the pit just behind it, landing in the center of the Fold’s lush, untamed jungle with his wings raised and his head held high. Skaarf was laying on the ground just a short distance from his position, and when he attempted to get up and retaliate, Spyro simply shot another Aether beam at him, sending Skaarf flying even further back. There were burns all across the hatchling dragon’s body, and while he hadn’t been killed by the power of Spyro’s Aether, he was visibly in great pain.

Ready to end their battle, Spyro prepared a final burst of Aether to finish off his weakened opponent. As he did so, however, the ground beneath his feet abruptly began to shake, throwing him off-balance and breaking his focus. “W-woah, what’s going on!?” he shouted, stumbling about for a moment before taking to the air to escape the shaking. At first he believed it to be something Skaarf was doing, but one look in the baby dragon’s direction showed that Skaarf was in even more panic than he was, disproving that assumption. Instead, Spyro’s connection to the earth told him that the epicenter of the tremors was coming from the pit he had flown over when departing the lane for the jungle, from which an orange light was beginning to shine.
From the pit, a deafening screech suddenly rang out, far louder and more imposing than anything else in the jungle. Skaarf, knowing what was about to rise, shook off the pain of tanking Spyro’s blasts and flew into the air, circling over the clearing in the center of the jungle and growling with anticipation. Spyro, meanwhile, flew in place and watched the pit as large chunks of rock from the magically grown stone wall flew out of it as if they had been thrown. All the while, the shaking was getting more and more intense.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Spyro muttered just in time for a giant clawed arm to raise its hand up from the depths of the pit and slam onto the ground surrounding it. The large claws on each digit dug into the soil like wet paper, and a second hand followed suit shortly thereafter as a massive monster rose from the hole in the ground. Bright orange light shimmered from the spines on its shell, and as its arms hoisted its gigantic bulk from the depths, its bright orange eyes flared with an animalistic rage. Finally, its legs rose from the pit, and it stood at full height at the crest of the jungle’s clearing, sizing up Spyro and Skaarf before thrusting its head out at them both and roaring once again.

The Kraken had awoken.

The Kraken took its first step toward the two dragons, and Spyro immediately understood that this beast was not intending on pulling its punches. Skaarf, who had been higher in the air ever since the tremors first appeared, flew to the back of the jungle and began to rain blasts of flame upon the Kraken from a distance, ignoring Spyro to assail their newfound opponent. Deciding that focusing their combined efforts on this new opponent was the smart course of action, Spyro joined Skaarf in unleashing his power upon the Kraken, hammering it with Aether blasts as he ran in to attack it up close. Feeling the sting of flame and convexity alike, the Kraken covered its face with one arm as it slowly advanced toward the dragons, shielding its vital areas from attack as it lifted its other hand and swiped at the approaching Spyro, who nimbly leaped out of the way and swiped at its wrist with his claws.

Despite having been at each other’s throats moments ago, Spyro and Skaarf’s teamwork against the Kraken was surprisingly synergistic. Skaarf circled over the Kraken in the air and pelted it with blasts of flame while Spyro attacked it with tackles and claw swipes on the ground, diverting the monster’s attention between two directions and keeping it from properly focusing on one or the other mid-battle. Despite this teamwork, the Kraken was a beast that would not be brought down by simply splitting the workload, and as it turned its attention skyward after warding off one of Spyro’s attacks, it reached up and managed to snag Skaarf by his tail, swinging him down and painfully slamming him against the hard, unforgiving ground. Then, using the captured hatchling like a club, the Kraken swatted Spyro with Skaarf’s body, injuring both and sending Spyro tumbling to the side of the jungle clearing.

“Owww…” Spyro moaned as he picked himself up, his head aching after the unexpected attack. As the purple dragon recovered from being smacked aside like a rag doll, the Kraken lifted Skaarf by the tail up to eye level and proceeded to roar in his face, the deafening screech shaking the jungle and forcing Spyro to cover the sides of his head with his paws. Skaarf, however, retaliated on a principle of instinctual self-defense by hocking up a serving of goop directly into the Kraken’s eyes, blinding it momentarily and making the monster even more agitated. Fed up with the small dragon in its claws, the Kraken wound its arm back before flinging Skaarf into the depths of the jungle foliage, kicking up a huge spray of dirt upon his impact with the ground that could be seen above the tree canopies.

Spyro, seeing this, realized that he would likely have to deal with the Kraken on his own now, and he bared his fangs before leaping into the air to do just that. Targeting the goop that Skaarf had left on the Kraken’s face, Spyro curled up in midair and channeled the element of fire to the furthest extent of his capabilities, unleashing a mighty inferno that not only blasted the Kraken with flaming intensity, but set the sticky residue stuck to its face alight, the boiling tar scalding the side of its face and extracting a pained screech from its throat. One of the Kraken’s hands went to its face to wipe the burning sludge off its face, while the other went about swinging in Spyro’s direction, who flew around at high speeds to avoid the monster’s blind rampage.

Once the flaming goop had been sufficiently scraped from the Kraken’s face, it turned its full attention to Spyro, who was circling it at high speeds and was nearly invisible as his flight speed increased more and more. Bellowing a furious cry, the monster resorted to simply swinging its fists around in hopes of hitting the purple dragon, and Spyro opted to enable Dragon Time to avoid its arms with greater precision. To Spyro, the Kraken’s movements were in extreme slow-motion, but to the Kraken and everything else around Spyro, he was moving like a blur, and a cocky smirk grew to cover the purple dragon’s expression as he blasted with Kraken with everything he had in him. Fire, ice, electricity, and even Aether were unloaded upon the Kraken’s tough body at blinding speeds, and it seemed as though Spyro was completely untouchable to the giant Kraken as for every failed attack that the beast threw out, Spyro would get in at least five more.

However, because of his heavily offensive front, Spyro failed to realize that his Dragon Time reserves were becoming depleted, and suddenly he was back to normal speed as his ability to use the time-slowing spell grew exhausted. In that moment of vulnerability, the Kraken swung its fist in a downward arc at Spyro’s location, and the purple dragon was smashed into the ground with colossal force. The Kraken’s orange eyes blazed with rage once it realized that its attack had landed, and it threw its full strength into a relentless beatdown that rained blow after blow upon the grounded Spyro. The ground beneath the purple dragon caved and sank into a deepening crater under the weight of the Kraken’s punches, and while Spyro was able to survive the onslaught, every strike registered stronger than the last, and he could start to feel the intense pain flood his body, as well as something else that began to rise from the pain – something that Spyro tried to keep suppressed, but in his vulnerable state, it was beginning to grow stronger and stronger. And then, as the Kraken raised both fists over its head to crush Spyro flat, it boiled to the surface.

With a strained “G-GRAAAAH!”, Spyro emitted a huge blast of powerful Aether energy from his body, knocking the Kraken back and interrupting its barrage of strikes. Compelled by the power that was rising inside of him, Spyro launched out of the crated and back onto solid ground close to the jungle clearing pit, shuddering as he did so with sparks of dark power bursting from his scales and shooting out in every direction. “N-no…” Spyro muttered as he tried to wrestle control back from the energy in his body, hunching over as the Kraken recovered from being blasted away from him. As it stepped between Spyro and the pit from whence it had emerged and prepared to strike the purple dragon down yet again, all Spyro could muster was, “Have to… Stay in… Control…!”

Spyro’s concentration was suddenly interrupted, however, by a familiar sticky substance being heaped onto his back with a loud belch, and before he could look up to see where it had come from, he was smacked in the face by a long tail that knocked him into the Kraken’s midsection, to which he stuck because of the goop on his back. The beast grumbled confusedly at this, and while Spyro was too busy trying to keep the power in his restrained to look, the Kraken did.

Skaarf was standing in the middle of the clearing, clearly battered from earlier but still on his feet, and his head was arched back as the skin of his neck bloated and inflated with the deep intake of air he was inhaling. Skaarf’s wings flapped with anticipation as flames trickled from the corners of his jaw, his body tense as he summoned the largest amount of strength he could muster in his bruised state, and once he had drawn in as much breath as his lungs could contain, he dropped his head and unleashed a mighty Dragon Breath. The torrent of flame emerging from Skaarf’s open maw spread across the entire jungle clearing, razing plants and setting the jungle foliage ablaze in the crossfire. The focus of Skaarf’s flames were on Spyro and the Kraken, however, and as the massive wave of scorching fire cascaded on top of them, the Kraken let out an agonized screech while Spyro, under the pressure of his growing power, groaned and grimaced as his body ached and burned.

Pushed back by Skaarf’s flames, the Kraken took an uneasy step back, edging closer to falling back into the pit beneath it, and Skaarf slowly flew forward to push it toward that fall. Skaarf knew that once the gargantuan creature had fallen back into the large hole in the ground, both of his enemies would be easy to incinerate under the heat of his Dragon Breath, and his beady black eyes narrowed intensely as the Kraken continued to step away from him under the pressure of his flame breath. Just as the Kraken was a mere one step away from falling in, though, Spyro’s control over his power broke at last, and he shouted at the top of his lungs as an explosion of Dark Aether swirled around the burning jungle, interrupting Skaarf’s attack and breaking him free of the goop that was sticking him to the Kraken’s chest. He fell to the ground, but instead of collapsing like he had before, he landed on all fours without issue, his head hung low as the dark power surged around him. And in that moment, Spyro began to change.

Alarmed and exhausted, Skaarf recoiled from the intensity of Spyro’s exploding power. Winded after such a large blast of fire and tired out because of the long-lasting battle, Skaarf could do nothing but watch as the Dark Aether blistering around Spyro’s motionless body began consuming him, covering his purple scales and turning them a deep black. The gold of Spyro’s horns, wings, body, and tail began to darken as an ominous haze collected around his body, and the tense air was split numerous times by the bolts of black energy shooting off of the purple dragon’s shadowy body. Finally, his transformation was complete, and what had once been Spyro opened its eyes to reveal that the sockets were now filled with glowing light. Skaarf may have been looking at Spyro’s body, but Spyro was no longer in control. Now all that remained was the manifestation of his anger: Dark Spyro.

In an instant, Dark Spyro moved at such a speed that it seemed to Skaarf as though he had simply vanished. Both Skaarf and the Kraken looked in all directions to figure out where the corrupted dragon had bolted off to, but that was quickly revealed as he appeared for a split second as the base of the back of the Kraken’s neck, claws raised and poised to strike. In speeds that defied comprehension, Dark Spyro slashed and disappeared as quickly as he as he had appeared, and a loud, squishing sound of flesh being rent, which was followed less than a second later by a death wail from the Kraken, filled the air. Skaarf stared at the beast as its limbs went slack, and as its body fell to its knees, its head slid from its shoulders and became completely severed, falling to the ground in a mess of blood and spinal fluid. Its last expression of pain and terror remained on its lifeless face, and Skaarf let out a frightened “Gheereeagh!” as he lurched away from the Kraken’s corpse.

As he retreated away from the giant monster’s dead body, Skaarf suddenly felt as though he was being watched, and Dark Spyro appeared at his back in a blur of dark motion to confirm his gut instinct. Skaarf didn’t even have time to turn around and look his transformed opponent in the eyes before Dark Spyro lashed out with his claws yet again, ripping through the muscle and bone at the stems of Skaarf’s wings to part them from Skaarf’s body without so much as breaking a sweat. As his severed wings fell to the ground, Skaarf’s eyes filled with a feral anger and he screeched in pain as his fight-or-flight urges kicked in. But with no fight left in him and flight quite literally no longer being an option, all he could do was brace himself.

Dark Spyro disappeared again, circling the flightless Skaarf at speeds so fast that he only appeared in brief blurs of movement. His attacks were swift and merciless, his claws and fangs puncturing Skaarf’s scaly hide and ripping into the hatchling dragon’s flesh. The cuts left by Dark Spyro’s attacks were deep, and the blood pouring from Skaarf’s body spilled across the ground like a fountain of crimson. Skaarf’s feeble attempts to bite at Dark Spyro or summon a fireball were met with brutal denials, and by the time Dark Spyro relented for even a moment, Skaarf was laying on the ground in a bloodied heap, wheezing and clinging to life despite the odds.

Appearing at his dying enemy’s side again, Dark Spyro lashed out with his tail, shooting Skaarf into the air like a bullet before taking off and pursuing him through the skies above the burning Halcyon Fold. With uncontrolled fires spreading around the jungle and the Kraken’s dead body festering on the ground, the effects of the dragons’ battle lingered as they disappeared above the clouds. With a flap of his wings, Dark Spyro rushed at the helpless Skaarf, darting through the air and ripping through his exposed body from each side as he raced back and forth. With each attack that Dark Spyro landed, Skaarf let out a despairing cry, but he was violently silenced after just a few strikes as Dark Spyro’s claws raked across his throat and turned his windpipe to ribbons.

After what felt to Skaarf like an eternity of torment and injury, his senses were beginning to fade, and Dark Spyro flew over him as he prepared to finally put an end to their strife. With a strong flip, Dark Spyro slammed his tail into Skaarf’s body, sending him rocketing back to the ground of the Fold with insurmountable force. The sound barrier shattered like glass as Skaarf flew down from above, his body limp and his legs slack as the ground got ever closer. After watching Skaarf become little more than a speck in the air below his place in the sky, Dark Spyro lifted his head up and opened his mouth as Dark Aether collected between his fangs, forming a mass of energy that rippled through the heavens and shook the clouds like an aerial earthquake. The concentrated ball of power grew and grew, swelling to the size of a building as Dark Spyro summoned more and more of the Dark Aether’s uncontrollable power. Then, as the Dark Aether finished collecting into the massive ball, Dark Spyro took in a breath as the outward direction of his power left him momentarily drained, and when that was done, he finally thrust his head downward to unleash the power he had amassed, offering just one pleasantry to the falling Skaarf:

“DIE.”

The ball of concentrated Dark Aether exploded into a wide and powerful beam that shot down through the air. Just as Skaarf hit the ground of the Fold and bounced on impact, the dark purple beam shot its way through his weakened body and into the heart of the Halcyon Fold. In the blink of an eye, far-spreading cracks formed from the point where the Dark Aether blast has penetrated the island, and under a second later, the entire landmass exploded with rubble, steel, foliage, and Dark Aether that incinerated everything that came into contact with it. The exploding island gave off a mighty BOOM as it went up in smoke and ash, bits and pieces of it flying around before plunging into the blue depths of the ocean below. Along with much of the fractured island, Skaarf was gone, wiped from the face of the planet under the power of Dark Spyro’s blast. The legend of Skaarfungandr’s wrath had finally come to an end.

High above the sinking rubble of the obliterated Halcyon Fold, Dark Spyro watched with cold, evil indifference as the island sank into the water. His movements to stay airborne were laborious ones, as much of his strength had gone into that blast, and with a great shimmer of Aether, Spyro was reverted back to his original state as the Dark Aether’s strength waned and receded into him.

“GAH! W-wuh… What happened?” Spyro wondered aloud, blinking rapidly as he took in his surroundings. Far below him, he could faintly make out the submerging remains of the Halcyon Fold, and the purple dragon sighed to himself, remarking, “Uhh… Looks like I got a little carried away, heheh.”

It was then that something occurred to Spyro, and as this realization set in, he groaned and hit himself in the face with one paw. “Gah, crap!” he cried. “Now I gotta find ANOTHER place to land! Man, I hate this place!”

With that, Spyro was gone, bolting into the horizon with a mighty flap of his wings. That lengthy battle had left him drained, and now more than ever he needed a place to relax and rejuvenate himself. Once that was done, he would see about finding a portal back to the Dragon Realms, since he had seen just about enough of what this realm had to offer.

After all, it wasn’t like this world would miss one island in the middle of the ocean, right?

Dang, talk about overkill!

Well, I’m not sure what you expected from this matchup. Spyro had every advantage he needed to dominate the battle.

Yes, Spyro’s advantages here were numerous and significant. The most Skaarf has shown to be capable of is destroying the safety spires, which are about the size of a small building. Not only was Spyro capable of matching and surpassing this kind of destructive capacity in his base form, but the power of Aether was simply too much for Skaarf to match. Recall that Aether was what Spyro used to stop the Destroyer from blowing apart the planet, and that much becomes apparent.

Spyro had no trouble outpacing Skaarf, either. Remember that the best feat of speed Skaarf has from his pieces of lore in the Vainglory universe are dodging standard bullets from police-grade firearms, which average speeds of around Mach 2. Similarly, Spyro’s dodged gunfire in all three Spyro timelines, so he’s at the very least even with that kind of speed feat, but we can tell that he’s much faster than that.

In the final battle against the Dark Master Malefor, Spyro had to dodge bolts of lightning coming from the clouds. Lightning speeds have different values depending on whether the character in question was dodging or reacting to lightning, but since Spyro was dodging it, we can conclude that he’s displaying reaction speeds of Mach 1294: over 600 times faster than Skaarf’s best known display of speed. Not even Goop could help Skaarf close a speed gap that wide.

That isn’t even bringing into account the speed at which the planet was pulled back together at the end of the Legends trilogy, which reaches into Sub-Relativistic speeds. Skaarf had no way to keep up with or outpace Spyro, and as a character with low defenses and an emphasis on out-maneuvering opponents, that alone was a death sentence.

And keep in mind that this is mainly looking at things from the Legends timeline for Spyro. Even when we shift gears and look at the classic and Skylanders timelines, nothing about this match really changes. Skylanders is just as strong as Legends, and while classic is far weaker in comparison to the other two canons, it’s still strong enough to trounce Skaarf.

“But Starlow, Vainglory has characters who can kill city level monsters and create stars! Skaarf should have stood more of a chance by scaling to them, right?” Well… No, that’s not really an argument. Scaling in MOBA games is usually a bit of a mess, but as a general rule, not all Vainglory characters can scale to one another just by being comparable in-game, because that abets the game mechanics in effect. Obviously Skaarf can contend with city and star busters in the game, because if he and the others couldn’t, then it wouldn’t be balanced. He’d need to be comparable to them in the lore, and nothing from that lore suggests that he is in his current state.

In truth, there’s only one specific version of this fight where Skaarf has a decent chance of coming out on top, which would be and pitting him against classic Spyro and aging him to the same point as the original Skaarfungandr. The one the legends spoke about and depicted as being the size of a mountain; you remember, surely.

Due to the sheer size factor in play and Skaarf’s species’s recorded feats of destructive capability, like burning down entire cities in an instant, it’s possible that this version of Skaarf could pull off a victory there, but even that’s questionable because of Spyro’s consistent advantage in speed and his more versatile abilities. And above all else, that’s a seriously focus-tested depiction of this battle, because Skaarf is still canonically a baby and nowhere near the level of his ancestors. Focusing on what we have from their respective series and abstaining from any assumptions, Spyro’s destructive power, speed, and abilities were more than enough to take the hatchling drake down.

Looks like Skaarf was too burnt out to make this fight drag on!

The winner of this Courtroom Conflict is Spyro.

Spyro (Winner):
+Physical superiority
+Higher speed
+More elements than just fire
+Dragon Time and spells
+More intelligent and experienced
+Likely resistant to fire-based attacks
-Less predisposed to lethal methods

Skaarf (Loser):
+Goop could limit flight and cut speed
+Intensity of flames matches Spyro’s flames
-Spyro’s scales minimize burn damage
-Completely outmatched in close quarters
-Stands no chance against Spyro’s super forms
-As a baby, not at his greatest strength