Skrill

"I give you, the Skrill. This elusive creature is highly secretive, it is known to ride lightning bolts. Found only during electrical storms; it can shoot bursts of white fire. If you get too close to a Skrill, your hair will stand on end."

- Hiccup talking about the Skrill

The Skrill is a medium-sized Strike Class dragon that was first mentioned in How to Train Your Dragon and first appeared in Book of Dragons.

Official Description
"One of the most mysterious and feared dragon species in the Book of Dragons, the Skrill is agressive, powerful and nearly untrainable. Skrills do not breathe fire. Instead, they channel lightning down their metallic spines, firing it from their mouths in a shower of destructive blasts. They can also store this electrical power in their bodies an release it later on. Because of this unique firepower, Skrills tend to gravitate towards stormy weather. If you find yourself flying through a thunderstorm, watch out! Skrills are also tough. They can take a lot of damage in battle, and give as good as they get. However, the Skrill has one weakness...it cannot fire its lightning from the water. Force a Skrill into the ocean, and it loses the upper hand. They can hibernate in icy glaciers for decades at a time, and emerge as fierce as the day they were frozen."

- Dragonpedia

"A jolt from the Strike Class, this Dragon is among the most feared Dragons. They can summon lightning to shoot electrical blasts. Quite a shock! Enemies Beware! The spiny Skrill attacks with balls of lightning more powerful than any natural storm."

- Dragons: Rise of Berk

"Skrills have the ability to stay frozen for decades. In fact, some were found in a seemingly inescapable block of ice. After the block of ice was destroyed, many Skrills were freed and in need of shelter. Since the School was accepting more dragons, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout and the Headmaster all decided to provide the Skrill a home and a place to lay their eggs. Skrills are famous for their ability to withstand flying through storms and use the electricity from the lightning to strike their enemies. That’s right, Skrills use the metallic spikes on their backs to gather electricity to shoot lightning! If you’re ever out during a thunderstorm, look to the skies – you might see a Skrill flying around hoping to charge up! With their large wingspans, Skrills are known to be excellent, agile and quick flyers. It has even been said that a Skrill can fly almost as fast as a Night Fury! As such, it is only fitting that they are classified under the Strike class. Skrills are known to be extremely independent and stubborn. This may make them initially very difficult to train, but with the patience and determination of a talented dragon trainer such as yourself, Skrills can be loyal companions!"

- School of Dragons Website

Development
Some pieces of concept art for the Skrill depict the dragon with shorter wings, sharper spines and a heavier built. One particular art shows the Skrill diving from the sky with its wings wrapped completely around its body, which could be an early ability given for the species.

Egg
Skrill eggs are round and usually come in shades of blue or purple. The color of the hatchling can be told by the color of the eggs. They are covered in what looks like lightning bolts zapping around it. Its center core glows very brightly, although it is unknown if the bolts are actually electric or if they are just ornamental.

Hatchling to Adult
The Skrill has large wings and a spiked back and tail. These spines are metallic in nature and conduct the arcing electricity that it uses as its unique firepower.

The Skrill possess a crown of spikes on its head which nearly all are the same length. The Skrill's crown can also be used to give it expression, as it is able to control them to be pulled back or forward. Skrills have three short spines on their chin. It also appears to have four shark-like gills on its neck.

Its head slightly resembles that of a Thunderdrum or a Flightmare. The proportion of its head, body, and wings are quite close to that of a Flightmare's. It apparently resembles a Night Fury in flight and rivals its speed, being only slightly slower. It's the size of a Deadly Nadder, but incredibly fast, comparing speed to size.

This dragon has been shown to walk and run on its two legs with its wings folded. A new model in School of Dragons was made for the Skrill, featuring the Skrill walking on two legs, instead of its original locomotion.

In How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular, the theatrical rendition of the first movie, an animatronic Skrill is seen. It appears smaller than its animated counterpart, and more colorful, having a blue back with dark blue striping, a band of red along the sides, and a white belly. The head is also narrower and much more bird-like, with a definite beak-like mouth. However, like the animated Skrill version, the live-action version has only a pair of hindlegs and spikes around the back of its head.



Titan Wing
Titan Skrills still resemble their younger counterparts. However, they are now larger and teal blue, instead of purple, and their mouth is light blue. Also, the spines on their back are longer and sharper, as well as appearing to glow green at the bases. The talons on their wings have grown significantly thicker, and start black at their base and lighten to a shade of green. Their wings are black, but fade to a light blue at the edges.

Electrokinesis
The Skrill is an electrical dragon. It can absorb and store lightning's electrical energy. Using its metallic spines, it can channel lightning through its body and fire out destructive blasts through its mouth. Skrills obtain their lightning blasts from absorbing electrical charges from thunderclouds. Since the electrical charges in thunderclouds are very active, Skrills can achieve very powerful firepower. Skrills also have the ability to direct multiple bolts of lightning, striking things around themselves, making them greatly feared by Vikings. They can also store the electrical energy in their bodies and use it at a later time. Its ability to harness and store electricity gives it a static field, making your hair stand on end if you get too close. The Skrill most likely has a powerful electrolyte in its scales, which it can use to create powerful electrical charges throughout its body with static electricity, and also create a conductor for electricity to travel freely on its body.

Riding Lightning
The Skrill is able to "ride" lightning bolts. It was first and only seen in "A Time to Skrill", after the Skrill was tamed and set free, it ascended upwards at hypersonic speeds through a field of lightning bolts. The Skrill was able to use the energy of lightning to accelerate very quickly and fly at hypersonic speeds. It was able to reach the clouds from the glacier it was on in less than a second, which would mean that the Skrill was traveling at least several times faster than the speed of sound. It is unknown why the Skrill only used this ability once, though it's possibly due to a limit. This move makes the Skrill far faster than any other dragon, despite the stats saying otherwise.

Electrical Field
Skrills are able to create an electrical field, that acts similar to a force field. It does this by redirecting energy through its wings, as the electricity forms together by closing its wings together and springing its tail upwards. It then forms a small electrical field that can be used to block itself from projectiles, similar to how a Seashocker does to protect itself from predators. This was shown when Dagur was in control of the Skrill; it used this ability to block Toothless' plasma blasts in "A View to a Skrill, Part 1". The Skrill can cover its wings for extra protection against a stronger blast. However, the electrical field was seen to be strong enough to deflect some blasts from Toothless, as seen in the third time Toothless fired, the Skrill did not cover its wings. The resistance power of the electrical field cannot be determined other than it was able to deflect weak blasts. It is unknown how a much stronger blast could affect the Skrill while using the electrical field. This, however, determines that this ability is the last line of defense for the Skrill. When the Skrill was under control of Dagur, it could not dodge the blasts or accurately fire back because it was tied up on ropes.

Firepower
"In ancient times, the Singetail was one of the most feared dragons. However, there was one dragon whose powerful blasts could neutralize the Singetail's fire. Meet our accomplice, Hiccup, the Singetail's only predator... the Skrill."

- Viggo Grimborn, about the Skrill Unlike other dragons' fire attacks, where it is a single blast projectile or a stream of fire, Skrills have the ability to shoot lightning in a beam over great distances, adding more power to it and more damage to whatever is unlucky enough to get hit. It is also said to be able to direct multiple lightning bolts at once. All the electrical power it gets to fire its lightning comes directly from the clouds by natural lightning. A side effect of getting hit by the electric blast causes people to talk gibberish.

When the lightning blasts of a Skrill and the plasma blasts of a Night Fury meet head-on, a massive energetic explosion will form and can knock dragons from the sky, as displayed in "A View to a Skrill, Part 1". Skrills can fire their lightning blast with extreme precision.

According to the Cartoon Network site the Skrill's lightning blasts are equally as powerful as a Night Fury's plasma blast. Skrills have a shot limit of 4, however, while in a storm they can recharge their shots very quickly at any time they want, and they can store four blasts of lightning ready to be released. With this advantage of continuous shots, the Skrill takes a huge advantage over their shot limit by constantly firing its blasts in a quick succession. It often does not need to take good aim before firing as it can afford to miss, seeing as its shots are easily rechargeable in a thunderstorm.

Shock wave Attack

As seen in Triple Cross and the King of Dragons part 2, Skrills have the ability to release all of the electricity stored in their bodies at once. This causes a huge wave of electricity to travel outwards in all directions, destroying everything around them. This attack is almost never used since it uses up all of the Skrills lightning reserves.

In "Triple Cross", it is revealed that the Skrill's lightning blast is the only known firepower type that can effectively neutralize that of a Singetail's.

Ice Hibernation
It was revealed that their hidden ability is their inner body heat, allowing Skrills to survive being frozen for decades. Dragonpedia states that once Skrills emerge from being frozen, they will be as fierce as the day they were frozen, as shown when Hiccup and Fishlegs revealed to Stoick that the Frozen Skrill could still be alive and dangerous.

Speed, Agility and Stealth
The Skrill is a very fast flier among dragons. Its speed is seen to be comparative to that of a Night Fury's, as the Skrill was always able to catch up and cling right behind Toothless every time in a chase. And the Skrill can also reach far greater speeds while riding lightning. It's also very agile as it is able to maneuver through sea stacks without much difficulty. The Skrill has a sleek, dark colored body, which makes it extremely difficult to spot in dark clouds and overcast weather. The only warning of their presence in these environments is the light given when lightning travels through the clouds and their electrical outline when it absorbs lightning prior to an attack.

Strength and Combat
Skrills are very strong for their size. The frozen specimen managed to knock away Stormfly with just one slap of its wing. It is said that the Skrill is one of the few dragons that can stand toe-to-toe against the Night Fury.

Intelligence
As a Strike Class dragon, the Skrill possess extreme intelligence. In "A Time to Skrill", the Skrill's intelligence was shown, as the Frozen Skrill recognized that Hiccup tried to lure him back into the glacier to freeze him, and it later tried to trap Hiccup and Toothless inside. Also, it was smart enough to follow Hiccup's trail back to Berk, and it even knew which house was Hiccup's.

Senses
The Skrill's sense of vision is shown to be strong enough to allow it to see through dark clouds or during the night.

Stamina and Endurance
The Skrill's stamina and endurance seem to be incredibly high, as the Frozen Skrill was able to emerge from hibernation, attack the Riders' dragons, go in search of food and then engage the Riders in combat with no pause in between. The Frozen Skrill was able to endure many attacks and still was able to fight. It was even seen to be able to take a plasma blast to the head and continue to battle with minor injury, where most other dragons would have been defeated at this point.

Singing
According to Dragons: Rise of Berk and Dragons: Titan Uprising, Skrill posses the ability to sing, although the sounds they produce are not always on the human taste.

Weaknesses
The Skrill's primary weakness is water. It cannot channel electricity and loses all firepower when it is wet. If you force a Skrill to fall in the water, it will lose its upper hand. However, the Skrill can quickly regain its ability to channel lightning and electricity after getting out of the water.

The Skrill may have another weakness, as it is said in the dragon info on Hiccup's map that "they channel lightning down their metallic spines, firing it from their mouths in a shower of destructive blasts." This could mean that if one were to disable a Skrill's spines, it could take away its ability to channel lightning.

Behavior and Personality
"For centuries the Skrill has represented our strength, our power, our ferocity."

- Dagur explaining the Skrill's significance to the Berserker Tribe One of the most mysterious and feared species in the Dragon Manual, the Skrill is aggressive, powerful, and nearly untrainable. It appears to be almost as feared as the Night Fury, due to the Berserkers who used to harness the Skrill and use it as a weapon. This reclusive dragon is belligerent and as unpredictable as lightning strikes. It is very territorial, despite following stormy weather.

They are known to be very elusive and are distrusting towards other species of dragons and humans. Skrills tend to gravitate towards lighting storms to defend themselves against potential predators or to quickly recharge their shot limit. They are known to be very fierce and will act recklessly without thinking when released if trapped in the ice for too long.

Skrills were said to be untrainable but that was proven to be false. To tame or train a Skrill, you would need to prove to it that you are willing to risk your life in order to save the dragon. That way the Skrill can trust you. The Frozen Skrill held a grudge against Hiccup and Toothless after they trapped him in a glacier. After he broke out, he was about to harm the duo as a revenge but after Hiccup saved the Skrill from the Dragon Hunters and later freed him, the dragon finally let go of its hatred towards them and bowed, before flying off in the clouds.

The Skrill, however, has been seen to prefer being free rather than being trained like other dragons. However, when trained, the Skrill displays immense loyalty towards its trainer, willing to fight alongside him or her even in the face of death. This was demonstrated in "Triple Cross", when the Skrill refused to leave Viggo's side despite the latter instructing him to do so.

Training
"Berserkers used metal daggers to lure Skrills into traps. The dragon is drawn to this due to its electrical properties."

- Viggo, training a Skrill with a dagger Training a Skrill is incredibly difficult, close to impossible. They are aggressive and stubborn, refusing to be trained even in times of crisis. However, by treating it with respect and showing it mercy instead of hurting it, thus showing that you can accept the Skrill for what it is, you can gain its trust. The Skrill would return its gratitude with a dignified bow.

In "Triple Cross", Viggo Grimborn revealed that Skrills are attracted to metal's electrical properties. Waving a dagger around slowly in front of a Skrill will soothe it and calm it down.

How to Train Your Dragon
The Skrill is mentioned briefly as Hiccup reads the Dragon Manual for information on Night Furies. As with most of the dragons in the Dragon Manual, it's listed as being "extremely dangerous" and the manual instructs readers to "kill on sight", although its name was only mentioned.

Book of Dragons
The Skrill was touched on by Hiccup, stating "The Skrill is said to be highly secretive and is known to ride lightning bolts like air torpedoes to reach supersonic speeds, and usually only comes out during electrical storms. It can shoot bursts of white fire as its entire body crackles with static electricity. Just being close to a Skrill is enough to make one's hair stand on end." Skrills are here shown to belong to the Strike Class of dragons. Bork the Bold and his sheep, Willie found one that caused their hair to stand on edge.

Dragons: Defenders of Berk
During the events of "A View to a Skrill, Part 1", the Skrill was said to be the symbol of the Berserker Tribe in which it appeared on their ships' sail, shields and their chief's belt. According to Stoick's grandfather, the Berserkers were said to use harnessed Skrills in their attacks, they would attack behind them after they rained lightning blasts upon their enemies.

A Skrill was found frozen in a solid block of ice, found by Berserkers who attack Bucket and Mulch to keep it hidden. After the riders seized it, Hiccup, Astrid and Snotlout flew it back to the Academy, where it was eventually blown open by the Twins, unleashing the Skrill. It is pursued by the gang and Dagur for awhile until it was captured by Alvin when it fell into the ocean. The Skrill was then locked up and put in a cage on Outcast Island.

As the events stretch into "A View to a Skrill, Part 2", Dagur hears of the Skrill's fate and secures a fake deal with Alvin and ultimately steals the Skrill, using it to battle Alvin, Hiccup and Toothless until he gets electrocuted after Hiccup tricks him into making the Skrill attack while he is standing in a puddle. The Skrill is set free. In the end, the Skrill is refrozen in a glacier once again when Hiccup and Toothless lure it into an iceberg and provoke it into knocking itself out when it charges Toothless's reflection, Hiccup melting the glacier with the aid of the Twins and Barf and Belch.

Season 2
In "A Time to Skrill", the Frozen Skrill awakes from ice hibernation due to lightning strikes destroying the ice it is in, and tries to find Hiccup and Toothless. It attacks Outcast Island and later Berk. The Skrill destroys Hiccup's and Stoick's house and later chases Hiccup and Toothless to the Ship Graveyard. After a failed attempt to trick the Skrill into entering an ice cave, the Skrill destroys Toothless's tail. Hiccup builds a new tail, leads the Skrill to Dagur, and allows Dagur to net it. The Skrill falls into the ocean and loses the ability to channel lightning. Hiccup's plan was to free it from Dagur and take the Skrill back to the glacier. But Dagur had his men shot arrows at Hiccup, knocking a sword out of his hand, and captured the Skrill. Hiccup and Toothless fly back to Dragon's Edge and the Riders team up, locate and free the Skrill.

The Skrill was placed in a cage in water, rendering it unable to fire. When the gang locates him, they quickly free them. In response, the Skrill destroys the entire Hunter base but leave the gang unharmed. Eventually, Spitelout shot it down with a Dragon Hunter arrow. The Skrill is taken back to the glacier and the Riders prepare to put it into a crevasse and seal it in. But when Hiccup saw the fear and sadness in its eyes, he recognizes that trapping the Skrill was no different than what the Hunters had done and set it free. After a goodbye bow to Hiccup and Toothless, the Skrill freely flies off into the sky.

Season 6
In "Triple Cross", Viggo reveals to Hiccup that the Skrill is the Singetail's only natural predator and he intends to train one individual to help him get his revenge on Johann and Krogan after the latter two tried to kill him. After a brief confrontation with the dragon, Viggo manages to gain the Skrill's trust and has it create a diversion by attacking the Dragon Flyers. Johann manages to subdue it with a crossbow bolt laced with Dragon Root and orders his men to lock it up in the stables. Later on, the Skrill is freed by Viggo from its imprisonment and it refuses to leave his side when being told to. The Skrill then charges the entire cave with lightning and is never seen again.

In "King of Dragons, Part 2", a Skrill is among the thousands of wild dragons that answer the Berserker Bewilderbeast's distress call and blasts a Dragon Hunter ship with its lightning.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Many wild Skrills were among the myriad of dragons in the Hidden World who bowed down in front of Toothless and the Unnamed Light Fury, showing respect for their Alpha.

The Stowaway
When Hroar goes to Dragon Island in order to enrage many dragons and lead them to Berk, he does so with several Skrills. However, after he is thrown off his saddle, the Skrills and all the other dragons return to their island.

Dragons: Rise of Berk
Skrills became available in Rise of Berk, along with several individuals including Frozen Skrill, Icebane, Hunterbolt, Brute Skrill, Sparkheart, Spark Guard, Fryrir, and Sleigher. The game also released a subspecies of Skrill called the Lavender Skrill.

A 'Singing Skrill' was also mentioned during the Second Gauntlet Event. The Twins had purchased a Skrill egg to start a band from the Northern Markets.

School of Dragons
Skrills also became available in School of Dragons and has a Viking Armor Pack adapted from its design.

Dragons: Titan Uprising
Several Skrill individuals, like Hide-Fryer, Shrill Boltbeak, Shadow Skrill, Revenger, and Marshland Skrill, and hybrids, like the Brooding Boltstamper, appear in this game.

Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders
Eir Stormheart has captured several wild Skrills and poisoned them with a concoction made of Grimora venom and dragonvine. Scribbler encountered some of them and freed them on Valka's Mountain, Blood Briar Island, and Glacier Island. The Skrills could later help Scribbler in fight, if he chose to call them with the 'Horn of Dramillion'.

Trivia

 * The Skrill is the second Strike Class dragon introduced in the franchise, with the first being the Night Fury.
 * According to the Cartoon Network site, Skrills are completely untrainable. Dragonpedia, however, says Skrill are nearly untrainable, which is the actual case.
 * The Skrill is the Singetail's natural predator.
 * The Skrill is the second dragon with the ability to sing, the first being the Terrible Terror and the third being the Snow Wraith
 * Berserkers can actually control a Skrill to shoot out lightning during electrical storms. The most likely theory is that the Skrill has sensitive organs along the side of its wings. These organs are able to absorb lightning better than any other part of its body. Once pulled down, the Skrill is not able to absorb lightning as easily. This is a similar movement to a Skrill absorbing lightning naturally.
 * Despite it being stated that the Skrill's electricity causes a Viking's hair to stand on end if they get to close, Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders, as well as Dagur and his men, have gotten very close to a Skrill and did not experience this side effect. This might be because none of them have a beard. Although at one point, after being fired at by the Skrill, Hiccup stated that it made his hair stand up.
 * This side effect was likely just forgotten during the making of the episodes.
 * It is possible that the Skrill's speed stats are wrong, it says it is 11/19 (19 whilst riding lightning) but based on what's been shown in the franchise this seems unlikely.
 * The one time a Skrill has been seen riding lightning, it traveled much faster than any dragon seen before, which further proves that 19 wouldn't be anywhere near its top speed.
 * The Dragon Tracker Part 4 says that the Skrill is an extremely fast flier, and is difficult to keep up with, even for a Night Fury. The scenes used to illustrate the Skrill's immense speed show the Skrill flying normally, without any enhancements. This further supports the fact that the Skrill's top speed would be above 19 while riding lightning.
 * It is possible that when riding lightning, the Skrill is the fastest dragon with its augmented speed.
 * From what's been shown it would make more sense that the Skrill should have the stats 19/?