Air Pirate

The Air Pirate is an Emblem Heartless found in , Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II.

Design
The Air Pirate dresses very much in a pirate-like fashion, wearing a blue-and-white striped head scarf, a light blue neck wrap, skull-shaped shoulder pads, golden bracelets, bright blue baggy pants tied with a yellow sash, a brown knee-pad on its left leg, and long, narrow black shoes with brown straps. On close inspection, appears to be a cousin of the Soldier-type Heartless, featuring the same yellow eyes, shadowed face, and jagged blue jaw. It also boasts a trim blue-skinned torso, fit for battle, and bright purple wings, enabling them to swoop down on enemies for an attack.

The Kingdom Hearts Final Mix version looks the same except for a palette swap, with the main color differences including a red-striped head scarf, brown pants, silver knee-pad and bracelets, red shoes, and bright gold wings.

The Heartless's name references the fact that it can fly and glide through the air in battle, and that its design looks very much like a stereotypical pirate.

Kingdom Hearts
Air Pirates are not a particularly difficult enemy if dealt with quickly. Since they have no resistances, all spells work well against them. Being an airborne enemy, the best strategies are to use Thunder or just attack it with the Keyblade.

Kingdom Hearts II
Air Pirates are generally easy to defeat. Sora can jump and use an aerial combo to destroy it, or use magic like Thunder, or airborne Blizzard. Back away when it stands still in the air or starts to circle—this means it's about to attack. Another good way is to use the Reaction Command Air Twister. To do this first hit the Air Pirate once, then get a lot of distance between Sora and the Air Pirate. Then after it does a pointing pose, it will attack Sora with its Rush Kick attack. That's the time to use Air Twister, which allows Sora to spin the Air Pirate around and attack surrounding enemies. If damaged at close range, it will instead retaliate with its Kick attack.

In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, the Air Pirate can use its Rush Kick attack outside of counterattacks.