King Croacus IV

"Trash is garbage, no matter how you dress it. This world is made for BEAUUUUUTY!"

- King Croacus IV

King Croacus IV is a boss in Super Paper Mario. The flamboyant king of the Floro Sapiens, Croacus adores beauty and spends most of his time brainwashing Cragnons to rebuild his castle full of jewels. He is also the possessor of the sixth Pure Heart. He was the regent for King Croacus III until he came of age, and when the young ruler wilted, Croacus IV, popular due to his stabilizing influence, was appointed King. He doesn't care for fighting, but when Mario, Peach, and Bowser enter his chambers, he decides to dispose of them.

He is defeated by jumping onto his smaller heads and then jumping on his normal head when it becomes exposed, or just throwing the smaller heads at the exposed head. His central head is invincible unless exposed, no matter what the heroes do. Then, he loses the rest of his body and floats around on his head, throwing sharp petals at the heroes who must dodge or destroy them and attack Croacus' flying head straight on. He could also be defeated by using Thoreau to grab a smaller head and throwing it at his normal head when it was exposed.

After he is eventually defeated, it is revealed that the Cragnons were polluting the waters that the Floro Sapiens drank from, and that King Croacus was trying to save his people by mind-controlling the Cragnons with Floro Sprouts. Upon witnessing the scene, Flint Cragley declares that he will show his tape to the Cragnons, ending the war between the two races.

Later, King Croacus is seen in healthy spirits and less insane than before. He jokingly threatens the heroes with another battle, but states that the waters have become less polluted while he was sleeping. He says that he hopes he can help the Cragnons in the future.

Trivia

 * He invented a method to brainwash Cragnons in the Flora Year 1625, and decided to brainwash them en masse in 1626.
 * Dimentio brainwashed O'Chunks and Luigi the same way that King Croacus brainwashed the Cragnons. It is also possible that King Croacus is the "acquaintance" of Dimentio, as he strangely managed to get two of Croacus' Floro Sprouts.
 * Croacus's appearance and obsession with beauty also makes him similar to Rosie from the first Paper Mario, except on a more insane scale.
 * King Croacus IV's name comes from the flower of the same name, Crocus.