Sonic, unaware of the robot's origins, dubs the machine Emerl and adopts it as a sort of mechanical pet. As Emerl becomes increasingly involved in the affairs of Sonic's friends (and not-so-friends), he evolves from a soulless machine into a fun-loving robot with personality traits culled from all 7 of his "owners": Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Rouge, and Shadow. But while the gang has a jolly good time raising their new mechanical toy, there are those who recognize Emerl's true power. Now that the rusty Gizoid is working again, Eggman wants it back, and Shadow senses that, despite their efforts to humanize him, Emerl is still designed and programmed as a weapon of mass destruction...

   While each of the 10 playable scrappers has his own unique set of moves, basic controls are shared by all:

• Jump -- Press button A.
• Dash -- Tap any direction on the D-pad twice quickly.
• Guard -- Tap the L button to whip out an ethereal shield that momentarily blocks incoming attacks.
• HP recovery -- Press and hold the L button to regenerate HP and build up your Ichikoro gauge.
• Light Attack -- Basic, speedy attack. Press button B while on the ground.
• Combo -- Tap B up to 3 times in rapid succession to perform a Light Attack combo.
• Heavy Attack -- Press up, down, or toward + B to perform a slow but powerful attack that sends your opponent flying across the arena.
• Upper Attack -- Press away + B to perform a strong attack that sends your opponent flying into the air.
• Air Attack -- Jump, then press button B while in midair.
• Dash Attack -- Press button B while dashing.
• special move -- At the beginning of each match, players choose two character-centric special moves: one for the ground and one for the air. Press button R while on terra firma or after jumping to launch the designated attack. There are 3 types of special strikes: power, shot, and set. Regardless of which two tactics you choose, your character will automatically block all strikes of the third type.
  • Power: a close-quarters strength attack
  • Shot: a long-distance projectile attack
  • Set: an exploding trap that can be triggered at will
• Chase -- Immediately after landing a Heavy Attack, press the D-pad in the direction of your airborne opponent to close in and continue your assault.
• Pursuit attack -- Press button B while performing a chase move to attack your airborne opponent and slam him into the ground.
• wall counter -- After getting knocked through the air by a Heavy Attack, tap any direction on the D-pad the instant you make contact with the wall to spring to your feet and negate damage.
• Tap the L button twice quickly to rotate the camera.

   Just above your character's HP gauge you'll see a thin blue bar: this is the Ichikoro Guage (trounce gauge). The Ichikoro Gauge begins each match on empty, but can be slowly filled by taking damage, blocking attacks, or healing. When the blue bar reaches max, your character begins flashing: land an R button special move during this buzz and your unfortunate victim will suffer an instant death. Whether the attack connects or misses, the gauge drops back down to empty. If your opponent successfully blocks a loaded Ichikoro attack, his/her own Ichikoro gauge will instantly fill to max.

   Story mode consists of 8 chapters, each viewed through the eyes of a different character. Actual combat is sporadic: encounters are strung together with lengthy dialogue segments that chronicle the evolution of the game's star stooge, Emerl. As the mooching machine gleefully engages in blood sport with his friends, he learns techniques by observing his fellow combatants. At the end of each battle, players are awarded Skill Points based on performance along with a single random technique chip culled from each character involved in the melee. There are a total of 309 technique chips to collect - equip them with Skill Points to imbue Emerl with character-centric fighting moves, stances, or color schemes. For the impatient, acquired techniques can be exchanged with fellow Sonic Battle players (sufferers?) via the GBA link cable. (See below for a complete list of all 309 techniques.)

   The only playable chapter at the outset is Sonic's: new chapters open up as old ones are completed. Once all 8 chapters have been cleared, replay through each to unlock 8 of Pr. Gerald's journals chronicling the Gizoid study.

Sonic the Hedgehog -- Sonic's got plenty of speed and there's little delay time in his attacks, but he's relatively weak and his healing ability sucks. He fights mostly with acrobatic punching and kicking, and his double jump ability allows him to cover ground fast. Sonic Punch -- first attack Sonic Kick -- second attack Best Kick -- third attack Sonic Flare -- heavy attack Sonic Updraft -- upper attack Windmill -- dash attack Sonic Rocket -- air attack Sonic Eagle -- pursuit attack Sonic Wave -- ground shot Sonic Storm -- air shot Sonic Drive -- ground power Sonic Meteor -- air power Sonic Cracker -- ground set Sonic Air Cracker -- air set Eggman pounds mercilessly on a strange gold robot, frustrated that the contraption isn't following his orders. He demands that the robot return the Chaos Emerald it was given, but the machine stands motionless. The Doc finally gives up - since he's already used the android's data to create a robot that does follow orders, this aloof chunk of metal is useless. Emerald Beach Sonic, deep in the stifling grip of boredom, strolls along Emerald Beach and stumbles across the mysterious gold robot Eggman dumped there. The machine is covered with dust, and Sonic wonders if the thing still works. The bot perks up, and Sonic motions that the two of them take a trip to Tails' house so the wunderkind can analyze the contraption. The rusty mech mumbles some gibberish along the lines of "show me your power", so an amused Sonic facetiously throws a punch at thin air. One flashing screen later, the alarmed hedgehog figures he better hurry to Tails' house before his new techno toy blows Emerald Town sky high. As Sonic departs with android in tow, Rouge sneaks onto the scene, distraught that the robot has established a "contract" with Sonic. Tails House As Sonic and the robot arrive at Tails' not-so-humble abode, Shadow is already waiting. He disregards Sonic completely and tries to speak directly to the robot. The machine does not respond, prompting Shadow to conclude that it's already established a contract with someone else. Ignoring Sonic's attempts to intervene, Shadow becomes frustrated that the robot will not respond to him, and gets ready to smash it to bits with his mad ultimate life form skillz. Sonic steps in to defend his somewhat despondent robo buddy. Battle [ Sonic & Emerl vs. Shadow | Battle Highway | 3pt survival ] The robot doesn't fight at all during this battle, but stands around like an invalid. Shadow laments his defeat noting that he hasn't regained all his strength yet. He decides to let Sonic keep the "Gizoid" for the time being, instructing him not to let Eggman get a hold of it. Sonic wonders how the Doc is involved, but Shadow's already run off. Tails shows up and takes immediate interest in the mysterious golden robot. Sonic instructs him to have a look at it while he runs off back to Emerald Beach to inquire about a certain busybody bat. Emerald Beach Sonic encounters the rather stacked spy on the beach and coughs up a very curt "what's the dealio, yo?!" Rouge feigns offense at this lack of tact, to which Sonic replies that he's got enough girl groupies. Rouge jokingly inquires if the gold robot would be one of those, and wonders where the machine has gone off to. She offers a challenge: if she wins a round of combat, Sonic has to team up with her. Sonic remarks that if it's her ploy to get a date, she's still got to wait in line. Becoming uncharacteristically serious, Rouge points out that the "line" to see the robot includes such dignitaries as Shadow, Eggman, and even her boss the President. Sonic wonders what business master thief "Rouge-sama" might have with such a popular robot, but as usual, she ain't talkin'. However, since the Gizoid has already formed a contract with Sonic, Rouge has no choice but to partner with him if she's to get what she wants. Battle [ Sonic vs. Rouge | Emerald Beach | 3pt survival ] [ Sonic vs. Rouge | Emerald Beach | 5pt survival ] Rouge runs off, deciding that poor Sonic's had enough for one day. She's gone before Sonic can wring any answers out of her, so he decides he'd better check up on Tails. Tails Lab Upon arriving at Tails' lab, Sonic is promptly attacked by a monochrome version of his newfound robot chum. Battle [ Sonic vs. Phi | Tails Lab | 5pt survival ] Tails Lab Sonic dashes inside to make sure young Prower is unharmed. Of course things are just dandy inside the lab, but yon fox child draws Sonic's attention to the news. There's a robot that looks just like their golden buddy robbing jewelry stores. Sonic notes that he just fought one of the clones outside, so apparently there are a number of them on the loose. Tails mentions that their own robo buddy has some "amazing technology" under the hood, but an unimpressed Sonic remarks that you'd never be able to tell with such a stupid bag of bolts that can't even understand basic instructions. Tails assures him it's only because he hasn't seen the remarkable machine in action and instructs him to take a walk while he sets up a demonstration. After a brief trot around the block, Sonic returns to the lab where Tails initiates a battle. Sonic's instructions are to land 5 Heavy Attacks on the robot. Sonic is concerned that the old machine won't even be able to stand up on its own, but Tails insists there's nothing to worry about. Battle [ Sonic vs. Emerl | Tails Lab | land 5 Heavy Attacks in 2'00" ] Like before, the robot will not fight back. As soon as the battle is over, the machine automatically learns the Sonic Flare technique. Sonic is taken aback by the bright light emanating from the machine, and notes that the same thing happened while they were fighting Shadow. Tails then instructs Sonic to land 5 Upper Attacks on the hapless mech. [ Sonic vs. Emerl | Tails Lab | land 5 Upper Attacks in 2'00" ] As before, the robot will not fight back. After the battle, the machine automatically learns the Sonic Updraft ability. Tails is thrilled by the robot's abilities, but Sonic is more concerned with why so many different people are after this "amazing machine." Tails confirms 2 things: firstly, it is powered by Chaos Emeralds and as it collects the legendary stones, it will regain its former strength, including the ability to speak. Secondly, the robot possesses the ability to learn fighting techniques either by observation or by being attacked directly. Furthermore, it can create new moves by utilizing the captured data. Sonic, who is finally interested, notes that he'd better teach it how to run. Tails cautions that the abilities the machine can learn are limited by Skill Points, but the robot caused the computer to overload and crash before he was able to get any more info. [ Sonic vs. Tails vs. Emerl | Tails Lab | 10pt KO ] Sonic observes that the lab is too small to really cut loose, so he suggests they head down to Emerald Beach for some serious training. (From this point forward, you can bring up the robot's status screen by pressing R on any field map.) Emerald Beach The battling threesome arrive on the beach, but the robot's mind doesn't seem to be on training. Battle [ Sonic vs. Tails vs. Emerl | Emerald Beach | 10pt KO ] Satisfied that the golden mech is getting the hang of the combat gig, Sonic and Tails decide to consult Knuckles to gain some intelligence as to the whereabouts of any nearby Chaos Emeralds. Sonic addresses the robot as "Emerl", so-named because it uses Chaos Emeralds as fuel. Sonic is proud of the moniker and Emerl seems happy, but Tails is visibly unimpressed with Sonic's wit. Whatever the case, their travel plans are interrupted when Sonic sees another one of the fake Emerls in front of Tails' house. Tails House As the trio approach Tails' house, Sonic gets a bright idea: let the robot do all the damn work. Tails is against testing Emerl's abilities so soon, but Sonic assures him that he'll step in if things get ugly. Battle [ Emerl vs. Phi | Battle Highway | 1pt survival ] [ Emerl vs. Phi | Battle Highway | 3pt survival ] Sonic is thrilled with Emerl's performance, but Tails is still unconvinced and reminds him they need to go meet Knuckles up at Holy Summit. Holy Summit While crossing the plains, Sonic and Tails spot another one of Eggman's mechs. To their relief, it appears to be E-102 Gamma, defector from the Eggman army. Tails offers up a friendly greeting, but Gamma very impolitely responds with a physical assault. Battle [ Sonic & Emerl & Tails vs. Gamma | Chao Ruin | 5pt survival ] [ Sonic & Emerl & Tails vs. Gamma | Chao Ruin | 10pt survival ] Win this match and Gamma becomes playable in Battle and Training modes. Sonic and Tails determine that there's no way the belligerent robot could've been E-102, and so resume their quest to meet with sir Knuckles the brave albeit kind of stupid. Knuckles House Never one to get hinged on social conformity, Sonic barges right into Knuckles' pad and loudly asks to borrow his Chaos Emerald without even bothering to make eye contact. Knuckles pops out from the shadows and makes a beeline for Emerl, mistaking him for one of the jewel-thief robots on the news. Sonic attempts to explain, but the riled Knuckles will hear none of it. Battle [ Emerl vs. Knuckles | Chao Ruin | 5pt survival ] [ Emerl vs. Knuckles | Chao Ruin | 10pt survival ] Having lost the battle, Knuckles grudgingly agrees to hand over the Emerald and asks Sonic what the deal is with this mysterious robot. Sonic's answer is an admirably honest "beats me." The ever-suspicious Knuckles thinks he's lying and prepares to get violent again, but Tails steps in and assures the irritable red one that they really don't know anything about it except that it's powered by Chaos Emeralds and is sought by Eggman, Shadow, and Rouge. Knuckles notes that if Eggman and Rouge are involved, something unsavory must be transpiring. He hands the Emerald over and gets back to his business. Sonic and Tails insert the Emerald into Emerl, who gains 10 Skill Points and musters a slow but understandable "a-ri-ga-to" followed by some more gibberish and the word "tatakau" (battle) repeated several times. Gerald's journal 1 Pr. Gerald uncovers a strange robot sitting in a warehouse and, thinking it an ancient puppet or similar device, disregards the contraption. As he's experimenting on a Chaos Emerald, however, he notices the robot move. Curiosity piqued, Gerald begins researching old papers on ancient civilizations and learns that this rusty machine might be something amazing. He suspects the unassuming contraption could have caused the collapse of the "4th great civilization" over 4,000 years ago.

Miles "Tails" Prower -- Tails is, as usual, a well-balanced character all around. He fights with punches, tail lashes, and various mechanical devices of his own creation. His ability to fly can give him an aerial advantage and allow him to safely cover large distances. IQ200 Attack -- first attack IQ300 Attack -- second attack IQ400 Attack -- third attack Magic Hook -- heavy attack Magic Upper -- upper attack Tails Cyclone -- dash attack Tsumujikaze -- air attack Tails Dunk -- pursuit attack Energy Ball -- ground shot Air Energy Ball -- air shot Dekopin -- ground power Air Dekopin -- air power ChuČ Bomb -- ground set Air ChuČ Bomb -- air set Emerald Town Sonic is eager to take his new plaything Emerl down to the beach to teach him some more techniques. It is in this way that the combat-primed Gizoid learns to equate fighting with "playing". Tails is uncomfortable with Sonic's trust of the mysterious mech, and is particularly concerned about the way it acted when it received a Chaos Emerald. Unfortunately, further research is impossible being that the contraption fried Tails' computer. Just then the fox child gets the idea to shuttle Emerl over to Central Lab, a large professional research facility that should have all the equipment Tails needs to crack Emerl's black box. Emerald Beach Tails meets Sonic at the beach and explains that they need to get Emerl to Central Lab. Sonic, however, isn't so quick to give up his playmate, nor does Emerl seem eager to wrap up this training session. Battle [ Tails vs. Emerl vs. Sonic | Emerald Beach | 10pt KO ] Tails insists that it's important to get Emerl to Central Lab asap. With Eggman after this mysterious robot, it's imperative that they find out exactly what it's capable of. Sonic's attitude is characteristically lax, so Tails volunteers to take Emerl there himself. Sonic gives in and agrees to join the entourage, but now Tails is insistent that he and Emerl go alone. He calls the bot over a few times, but Emerl flat-out ignores him until Sonic gives the order to obey. Miles has second thoughts about trying to drag the Gizoid across town. Central Lab Tails is relieved at having successfully made it to Central Lab with Emerl in tow, but he encounters an unexpected setback: the lab's security guards deny his request and shoo him off the premises. Just outside the lab, Tails ponders what their next course of action should be when who should slink out from the shadows but that most busty of bats. Tails doesn't react sociably to the uninvited company, and tells Emerl it's time to split. He hesitates when Rouge, who now knows Emerl's name, offers to help them get into the lab. Tails is naturally suspicious, but Rouge reminds him that she answers directly to the President, and so can easily get the permissions they seek. Tails ultimately decides against trusting the dark stranger and prepares to walk away when he's lured back by the prospect of a game: if he and Emerl can defeat Rouge in battle, she'll relinquish her lab pass. Tails is warm to the proposal, but wonders exactly what the lady thief's motives are. Battle [ Tails & Emerl vs. Rouge | Battle Highway | 10pt KO ] Rouge offers up the lab pass as promised, then coos at Emerl as though he were a child in an effort to speak to him. The robot ignores, and Rouge concludes that the Gizoid will only speak to its contractor. With that, she's off into the night. Tails wonders what Rouge means by "contractor" and asks Emerl, who doesn't respond. An exasperated Tails drags his mute companion back to Central Lab. As Tails and Emerl enter Central Lab, the security guard starts to get all pissy again when Tails somewhat sheepishly hands over the lab pass. The guard seems astonished that this kid is a friend of "Rouge-sama." Now that, indeed, is a horse of a different color. He immediately lets the duo pass and Tails wastes no time in getting down to business. First on the agenda is to check Emerl's structural data, which should theoretically contain information on who created him and what he was created for. The computer, however, is unable to locate any such data. Tails seems a bit surprised, as the lab's computers should be able to read even Eggman's machines. Not to be discouraged, the ever-resourceful Tails breaks out his mad hacker skills and bypasses some security protocols. He encounters some highly classified information, which states that the machine was unearthed from ancient ruins and was identified as a Gizoid. The Gizoid was constructed with lost technology, and was designed to read and record weapon data. In repeated experiments, however, the robot was frequently overloaded and went out of control. The experiments in question were performed by none other than Pr. Gerald Robotnik, and the Gizoid was subsequently sealed off by the government. Tails is speechless, but before he can pull his thoughts together alarms start blaring all around. Restricted data has been accessed, and Guard Robos are moving in to take care of the offending hacker. Battle [ Tails & Emerl vs. Guard Robo | Library | 10pt survival ] [ Tails & Emerl vs. Guard Robo & Guard Robo | Library | 5pt survival ] Tails motions for a hasty retreat, but just as he and Emerl leave the lab, their escape is interrupted by yet more Guard Robos. Battle [ Tails & Emerl vs. Guard Robo & Guard Robo | Battle Highway | 5pt survival ] Guard Robos are crawling along the direct route back to Emerald Town, so Tails suggests a detour through Holy Summit. As Tails and Emerl escape to the highway that will lead them to Holy Summit, they bump into another familiar face: Shadow, and he wants a fast answer. Now that Tails knows what Emerl is, why doesn't he destroy it? The Gizoid needs to be eliminated before it collects all the Chaos Emeralds and unleashes its true power. He offers to do the job himself, and of course Tails steps in to defend his mechanical friend. Battle [ Tails & Emerl vs. Shadow | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] Tails and Shadow are exhausted, but the battle clearly isn't over. Along comes Rouge to break up the fight. She warns that Guard Robos are on their way, and chastises Shadow for exherting himself before he was completely recovered. He insists he didn't push himself much as he winces in pain. With a provocative wink and a Shadow in tow, Rouge makes her exit. Tails seems astounded that she'd help them out so much, but takes advantage of the opportunity to escape. Battle [ Tails & Emerl vs. Guard Robo | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] Holy Summit Tails and Emerl arrive in the holy lands where they encounter Knuckles, who tries to make conversation with the childish Gizoid. Emerl ignores with fervor. The ever-jumpy Tails insists that they're in a hurry and suggests Knuckles run like the dickens. Emerl concurs by excitedly repeating, and that seems to get Knuckles' dander up. Tails tries to step in, but Emerl is thrilled at the prospect of combat. Battle [ Emerl vs. Knuckles | Chao Ruin | 10pt KO ] Tails explains to a calmed Knuckles that they need to get to Emerald Town to consult with Sonic. Knuckles, however, points out that the suspension bridge between them and their destination is being guarded by some uninvited company. Tails approaches the bridge and sees the robot that looks like Gamma. As before, the clone promptly attacks. Battle [ Tails & Emerl & Knuckles vs. Gamma | Chao Ruin | 5pt survival ] [ Tails & Emerl & Knuckles vs. Gamma | Chao Ruin | 10pt survival ] Gamma isn't going down easily, but Tails is in a hurry to get to Emerald Town. Knuckles offers to keep the marauding robot at bay while Tails and Emerl make their escape. Emerald Beach Tails and Emerl arrive at the beach where the ever-impatient Sonic wants to know what took them. Before Tails can explain his startling discovery, Rouge slinks in to give the report herself: Emerl is an ancient weapon of mass destruction. Tails confirms Rouge's claim, but Sonic still doesn't think it's worth making a big deal over. He suggests that, since Emerl is only a robot, reprogramming his innards should solve the problem. Tails points out that Emerl is not just any robot, as merely scanning data from it fried his computer. Furthermore, he adds that Guard Robos jumped them when they accessed the data from Central Lab. Rouge, of course, has a plan: if they collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds and insert them into Emerl, they can erase all his battle data and reset his programming. She does not, unfortunately, know how to reset him should they manage to collect all 7 jewels. But since they have no other leads, Tails figures they may as well gather the gems now and sweat the details later. Sonic demands to know how Rouge benefits from sharing this information and the lady thief feigns offense at having such aspersions cast upon her character. She makes up a weak excuse but Sonic accuses her of wanting Emerl for her own dubious hobbies. Rouge turns to Tails for aid in her cause and the young fox grudgingly admits that she did help them out earlier. Sonic seems convinced enough and Rouge requests that he give "Roboto-chan" the order to acknowledge her. Sonic obliges, and Rouge promptly retreats before testing her new authority. Sonic finds this behavior rather odd, but Rouge insists she'll be back when she's got more time to chat. As the enigmatic bat retreats, Knuckles arrives, quite suspicious about Rouge's presence on the scene. He asks Emerl if the bad lady tried to pull any sneaky tricks. Emerl, naturally, responds with dead silence. Knuckles becomes infuriated, and seeing the potential for big fun, Sonic gives Emerl the strict order to ignore Knuckles ("mushishite iizo!"). Emerl gleefully repeats "mushi, mushi" while a severely disgruntled Knuckles turns to Sonic and suggests putting an end to their rivalry for good. Naturally Sonic welcomes this provoked challenge, and Emerl cheerfully joins in chanting "asobu, asobu!" Young Miles can do naught but watch helplessly and long for the intellectual maturation of his companions. (This unlocks the Flying Get minigame.) Gerald's journal 2 Gerald discovers a stone tablet that confirms his suspicions about the strange robot. The tablet reads, "when the one falls from the heavens, and the stone of the gods is presented, all that exists will return." The robot has been watching Gerald and mimicking his actions. When the professor tried to scan the machine, the resulting reams of data caused even his most powerful computers to crash: data containing records of ancient combat techniques and weaponry. Gerald speculates that, if this machine were to be restored to its former state, it would recall all this data and would furthermore be able to absorb new weapon data from the modern age. He laments uncovering this deadly weapon.

Rouge the Bat -- Rouge is fairly well-balanced with good speed and more air time than any other character. Rather than fall straight back down from jumps, she descends slowly, offering plenty of opportunity for aerial strikes. (Press A in midair to abandon the flight and drop down like normal.) Rouge Kick -- first attack Rouge Side Kick -- second attack Rouge Savate -- third attack Charlie Kick -- heavy attack Secret Kick -- upper attack Agent Eagle -- dash attack Secret Spear -- air attack Homing Cutter -- pursuit attack Beauty Shock -- ground shot Air Beauty Shock -- air shot Silent Size -- ground power Spiral Dive -- air power Bat Cracker -- ground set Air Bat Cracker -- air set Flashback to 3 days ago. The President informs "Rouge-kun" that a Gizoid which was sealed away and lost 50 years ago has been recovered by Eggman. He instructs her to get more information at the Central Lab and gives her the pass needed to get in. Central Lab As Rouge is deciding whether to access the bypass code for the security system at the art gallery or the national museum, her insidious plot is interrupted: it seems the information she's trying to load is currently being accessed by another party. In addition to being somewhat annoyed, Rouge is also confused as to who else could have access to a government computer. She checks the login ID, which reveals the skilled hacker to be none other than Dr. Eggman. She traces the signal and discovers that he's accessing the system from the highway right outside the lab. She decides to rain on his parade. Central City Eggman's finally figured out how to form a contract with the Gizoid: he needs the 7 Chaos Emeralds and the key word. As he laments tossing the contraption, Rouge makes her presence known. Eggman makes it clear that he's too busy to be bothered, but Rouge comes on behalf of the government to question him about a certain item. Eggman scoffs and admits he already dumped the robot at Emerald Beach. Rouge is shocked that he'd throw it away, but the Doc insists that the machine was useless and wouldn't listen to orders. Instead, he used the Gizoid's data to create what he considers to be a superior model: E121 "Phi". He points to one of the gray Emerl clones and Rouge is quite unimpressed with the "ugly contraption." Eggman explains that each of the Phi robots is powered by a shard from a crushed Chaos Emerald, and they're programmed to find the remaining stones. Realizing the jewel-obsessed Rouge will also be looking for the Emeralds, Eggman warns her to stay out of his way. She makes a remark that basically amounts to "you wish" and Eggman feels it necessary to give her a demonstration of Phi #1's power. Battle [ Rouge vs. Phi | Battle Highway | 5pt survival ] Eggman is distraught over his robot's defeat, and the winged victor happily takes the Emerald shard from the rubble. The Doc realizes he needs the original Gizoid after all and makes his escape, vowing revenge on the way out. Rouge sighs that the mission could be more difficult than she anticipated if Eggman has already formed a contract with the Gizoid, and decides to unearth some more info on the machine. Central Lab As Rouge enters the lab she's almost nailed by a security guard, but the low-wage drone humbly backs down at the sight of her lab pass. Batwoman commences her research and checks out some highly confidential files on the Gizoid. The machine, discovered in an ancient ruin, was designed to emulate all forms of weaponry. However, according to experiments staged by the late Pr. Gerald, too much information cycling could lead to an overload. Experimentation ceased and the government sealed the Gizoid away, where it was eventually lost. Rouge entertains the thought of training this mechanical sponge into a master thief... Reading further, she discovers what she already knew: the Gizoid's functions can only be initiated by exterior contact, and once that contact has been made, the robot will not take orders from anyone but the person who awakened it. Rouge sees that Eggman never made it that far, but worries that by this point, it's likely that someone else has found the Gizoid and established a contract. Her concern subsides when she discovers that the Gizoid will still take orders from other parties if commanded to do so by its contractor. Information acquired, Rouge sets out for Emerald Beach and arrives just in time to see Sonic unintentionally establish a contract with the machine. Emerald Beach, 3 days later No sooner has Sonic given Emerl the order to obey Rouge than the wily spy scampers off and plots to steal the machine. As Sonic and Tails frolic with Emerl on the beach, along strolls Amy to crash the stag party. Fearing for his life, Sonic hastily instructs Emerl to do whatever Amy says, and with that, he's off in a blur. As soon as Amy arrives on the scene, she's shocked to see the gold Gizoid where she thought she saw Sonic. Tails introduces the robot as Emerl, mentioning that he's like a kid and is Sonic's new pet project. Amy, as she is prone to do, misinterprets the information and assumes that Sonic is using the robot as a practice child to prepare for their own. Naturally, this can only mean he's planning to propose to her very soon. Tails makes a feeble effort at gently breaking Amy's delusion, but she snaps back viciously, and the terrified Tails makes his escape by saying he'd better go look for Sonic. Amy introduces herself to Emerl... as his new mama. Emerl gleefully repeats "Mama! Asobu! Amy! Asobu!", much to Amy's delight. Seeing her opportunity, Rouge breaks in. Amy greets Rouge and wonders what dirty little deed she's up to today. Ignorning the snide remark, Rouge sweetly calls Emerl over and instructs him to follow her. Amy jumps in defense of her "baby", and Rouge suggests having her head examined. Amy reacts violently to the sound advice, and there is no way around the ensuing catfight. Battle [ Rouge vs. Emerl & Amy | Emerald Beach | 5pt KO ] [ Rouge vs. Emerl & Amy | Emerald Beach | 10pt KO ] The fallen Amy resolves to resume her fitness training as Rouge makes off with Emerl. Tails arrives and wonders what's become of the Gizoid, and the wailing Amy informs him that her "baby" has been kidnapped by Rouge. Tails trots off to pass the information on to Sonic. Central City As Rouge and Emerl enter Central City, Emerl expresses concern over Amy's condition. Rouge assures him that the pink firecracker is more resilient than she looks, but the conversation is interrupted by the mysterious Gamma clone. Battle [ Rouge & Emerl vs. Gamma | Battle Highway | 5pt survival ] [ Rouge & Emerl vs. Gamma | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] Rouge observes that the fallen Guard Robo looks like just Omega (suggesting that the events of Sonic Battle take place after Sonic Heroes). Night Babylon As Rouge and her captive arrive safely at her casino hideout, Club Rouge, Emerl goes off about Amy again. Rouge tells him to knock it off until she sees that Amy is actually present and had been waiting for them. Rouge demands to know how she found the place, to which Amy suggests woman's intuition. Rouge isn't pleased with the retort and prepares to kick her out by force. Battle [ Rouge & Emerl vs. Amy | Club Rouge | 5pt survival ] The twice-defeated Amy melodramatically gasps for air and makes a run for it. Rouge enters the club and calls out to Shadow to let him know that she's home. There's no response, which means one of two things: 1) he's still asleep, or 2) he's being his usual sulky self. Rouge assumes it's the former, and wastes no time initiating her training regimen to turn Emerl into the ultimate thief. She starts by explaining that if he's going to steal jewels, he'll often run into Guard Robos. Eggman created the Guard Robos, but apparently sells them as a side business. Rouge just happens to have one at the club to practice on. Battle [ Emerl vs. Guard Robo | Club Rouge | defeat 5 Guard Robos in 2'00" ] [ Emerl vs. Rouge | Club Rouge | evade Rouge for 2'00" ] After the second round of fighting, Emerl starts missing his old contractor Sonic and whines for a reunion. An exasperated Rouge explains to the bot that she's his contractor now. Emerl then refers to her as "mama" - Rouge decides it's an acceptable salutation for the time being. Battle [ Emerl vs. Rouge | Club Rouge | 5pt KO with no losses ] Pleased with her new toy's performance, Rouge wastes no time in taking her able student on his first field test. Their target is a jewelry shop in Emerald Town: apparently, there's a Chaos Emerald on display there. Emerl will hold off the Guard Robos while Rouge procures the treasure. Emerl, however, doesn't seem satisfied with the arrangement and continues feebly calling for Sonic. Central City As Rouge and Emerl make their way through the intersection on the way to Emerald Town, they encounter the relentless Amy once again. Battle [ Rouge & Emerl vs. Amy | Battle Highway | 3pt survival ] [ Rouge & Emerl vs. Sonic & Amy | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] Sonic seems to have disappeared and poor exhausted Amy wonders if she just hallucinated him before passing out cold. Rouge begins to understand Sonic's aversion to the uncannily persistent hedgehoglet and figures the snoozing Amy will be safe there in the middle of the street. Emerald Town As they approach the jewelry store, Rouge commands Emerl to pick the lock like she showed him. The hapless Gizoid hesitates, but Rouge repeats the order more sternly and the unwilling accomplice finally complies. Once inside, Rouge pilfers the Chaos Emerald and is enjoying her new treasure when Emerl mumbles "chikara wo... arata na..." (new power) and swipes it away from her. The infuriated bat demands that the fairly stolen gem be returned to her, but Emerl has already absorbed the power and gleefully notices Sonic's approach, much to Rouge's chagrin. The heroic hog demands to know exactly what manner of chicanery Rouge might have been up to, but even caught red-handed, the winged thief isn't willing to surrender her loot. Battle [ Rouge vs. Sonic | Emerald Beach | 10pt survival ] [ Rouge vs. Sonic & Tails & Knuckles | Emerald Beach | 5pt survival ] Emerl is overjoyed by the melee and gleefully begs "asobu, motto asobu!" (play more). Sonic commands the buzzed bot to calm down, explaining that the grown-ups are having a serious talk. A confused Emerl promptly requests to join in the "serious talk." An exasperated Rouge finally decides to give up on the Gizoid, reiterating to herself that she's not cut out to be a mother like "that girl". Sonic is curious to know "what girl", but Rouge simply wishes him luck, addressing him as "papa." Before Sonic can piece together the mystery of this ambiguous salutation, Amy shows up to smack Rouge around some more. When she notices Sonic, she excitedly assures him that she'll be a good mother for their future child. Rouge laments that she's gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. Gerald's journal 3 In the ancient language, the word "gizoid" meant "everything", hence the name of this ultimate weapon. According to the stone tablet, the Gizoid will only obey the first person to awaken it with a show of power. With slow, slurred speech, the robot speaks to Gerald: "Show me power and I will obey. I am everything and everything is mine." Gerald brings out his collection of model guns to show the robot, to which it responds: "I will stay by your side and loyally follow your commands." The Professor is confident that, so long as the robot remains under his control, it can't possibly be used for evil, but it won't be under his command forever and the next person to establish a contract may not be as benevolent.

Knuckles the Echidna -- Knuckles is slow and even his basic attacks suffer from delay time, but they pack a wallop if they connect. His healing ability is good and fills up the Ichikoro Gauge particularly fast. He's got a rotten jump, but can cover long distances with his glide. As might be expected, he attacks almost exclusively with punches. Knuckles Straight -- first attack Knuckles Chop -- second attack Knuckles Upper -- third attack Megaton Hook -- heavy attack Chabudai Gaeshi -- upper attack Double Punch -- dash attack Knuckles Air Hook -- air attack Meteor Punch -- pursuit attack Ganseki Otoshi -- ground shot Meteor Crash -- air shot Deep Impact -- ground power Daifunka -- air power Mogura Bakudan -- ground set Air Mogura Bakudan -- air set Upon learning that Emerl runs on Chaos Emerald power, Knuckles becomes interested in the robot. That spark of interest explodes into a flame when the guardian learns that the Gizoid captures fighting techniques through combat. The flaming- uh, I mean, the passionate Knuckles realizes that Emerl is a warrior after his own heart, and vows to help him reach his full potential. At the moment, however, Emerl is under the tutelage of Sonic, conditions under which, by Knuckles' reckoning, Emerl will "never grow strong." He runs off to Tails Lab to liberate the hapless robot. Eggman, meanwhile, has decided he wants the golden Gizoid back under his command, and has sent his new army of Phi robots to fetch it. Emerald Town Knuckles enters Tails' lab and is welcomed by Tails and Emerl, who is now capable of forming coherent sentences. But since he can only parrot phrases that he's already heard, the robot has picked up all of Sonic's speech patterns, much to Knuckles' annoyance. Emerl at least seems eager to have Knuckles train him, but first he's got to prove his worth. Battle [ Emerl vs. Knuckles | Tails Lab | 10pt KO ] Knuckles, wholly impressed at Emerl's ability to kick his ass, defends his own inferior skills by remarking that he "shouldn't have held back." Their conversation is interrupted by a news bulletin: a mysterious robot has appeared in Night Babylon. Tails recognizes it as one of the fake Emerls, and Knuckles decides to investigate with his new pupil. Emerl agrees by giving Knuckles the command: "Ore ni tsuitekoi yo!" (follow me!), which the ever-feisty red one does not take in stride. The two scrappers exit stage right, but a concerned Tails doesn't seem to think they'll make it on their own. Central City Amy catches Knuckles and Emerl as they pass by her apartment. She's excited at having found "Emerl-chan", but wonders where Sonic is because she thought he was coming with their "child" to propose to her. Unsure of what to do with this information, Knuckles excuses himself by saying he's in a hurry and makes a run for it. Emerl follows with a hearty "in your dreams" directed at Amy. She isn't listening, though, because now she's decided that Sonic must be too shy to propose to her and that she must go to him. The mysterious Gamma clone once again intercepts our heroes and, as usual, isn't wasting time with words. Knuckles instructs Emerl to prepare for combat, to which the Gizoid replies: "Eh?! Sanbyou de SCRAP ni shiteyaruze!" (The hell?! I'll scrap him in 3 seconds flat!) Knuckles is shocked at Emerl's harsh language, perhaps unaware that he's the one who (inadvertently) taught him such colorful vituperation. Battle [ Knuckles & Emerl vs. Gamma | Battle Highway | 5pt survival ] [ Knuckles & Emerl vs. Gamma | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] The Gamma look-alike has once again escaped before Knuckles can wring any answers out of it. He notes that it seems to be after Emerl, when out of the shadows slinks the terror that flaps in the night to confirm this suspicion. Emerl coughs up a very crude: "Hisashiburi da na, hoi!" (been a while, eh?), and Rouge seems displeased at the robot's new foul mouth. Knuckles tries to insist it's all Sonic's fault, but his plea is repeated verbatim by Emerl, so he concedes and vows to be more careful with his language around the impressionable contraption. Rouge ends the small talk and gets to the point: the robot who's been chasing them around probably isn't the one they know as E-102. As it turns out, "Doctor" (Rouge refers to Eggman only by his title) has been experimenting with Chaos Emeralds on robot cores. His test subjects are cobbled together with old robot parts, possibly including the remains of Gamma or similar E-series robots. Knuckles is curious to know why this patchwork bot is after Emerl, and Rouge speculates that it may want revenge being that "Emerl-chan" took the Chaos Emerald which Eggman was using for his Frankenstein experiments. She wishes the two of them luck, and with that, she's off. Night Babylon Knuckles and Emerl, though the former not legal age, stroll into a saloon and ask the bartender for information about the robot on the news. The bartender panics when he sees Emerl. Knuckles tries to explain that this is a different robot, but the bartender will hear none of it and calls the bouncer. A Guard Robo shows up to keep the business clean. Battle [ Knuckles & Emerl vs. Guard Robo & Guard Robo | Club Rouge | 3pt survival ] Knux and Emerl hightail it out of the bar, and Emerl observes that things are about to get messy. Brilliant deduction there, and he's running on the energy of only how many incomprehensibly powerful Chaos Emeralds? As they pass the casino, Emerl ignores Knuckles' commands to wait, turning his own bad French against him by insisting that he won't let anyone get ahead. Knuckles blows his lid and screams at Emerl to behave himself, which the fickle robot does immediately then starts calling for Sonic as he seems apt to do when he gets upset. Knuckles apologizes for losing his temper and kindly asks Emerl to wait like a good boy while he goes on ahead. Knuckles walks off to investigate the scene, and Emerl, utterly ignoring Knuckles' request, takes off. When Knuckles returns (complaining about the game he apparently just lost) he is not pleased to see that Emerl has disobeyed his orders and skedaddled. Knuckles walks into the theater and asks the clerk if a robot happened to pass through. Word apparently travels fast around Night Babylon, because the clerk accuses Knuckles of being the red echidna who wrecked the bar. The theater also seems to have its own pair of Guard Robos, and an infuriated Knuckles wonders why nobody ever listens to him. Battle [ Knuckles vs. Guard Robo & Guard Robo | Club Rouge | 3pt survival ] Before Knuckles can even ask for help from the hotel clerk, the guy panics. Knuckles laments that he is now notorious at Night Babylon. These guys have 3 Guard Robos, not an easy battle. Eggman must've made some money here. Battle [ Knuckles vs. Guard Robo & Guard Robo & Guard Robo | Club Rouge | 3pt survival ] Knuckles wanders into Club Rouge and, disregarding the fact that "rouge" is also the commonly referenced French word for "red", hastily (albeit correctly) assumes that the place is owned by the bat of the same name. The clerk informs him that it's a battle club for members only, and if he wants to join he needs to pass a test. Knuckles don't take no stinking tests, and demands to speak to the proprietress of the establishment. She shows up at that moment along with Emerl, who is verbally assaulting her with his favorite battle cry, "Sanbyou de SCRAP ni shiteyaruze!" Battle [ Emerl vs. Rouge | Club Rouge | 10pt KO ] Emerl, speaking with a strange mix of Tails and Knuckles' speech patterns, expresses relief at having finally found Knuckles. As the reunited battle partners head out, Rouge intercepts them with the issue of the entrance fee they didn't pay (she addresses Knuckles as "Harimogura-san", Mr. Echidna), but Knux isn't in the mood to discuss finances and flat-out demands to know what Rouge planned to do with Emerl. She insists that he was the one who went to her, probably because he missed her. She gets giddy at the thought of Emerl's new strength, but her swoon is interrupted by a break-in. The Phi bots are on the attack at Club Rouge, so Knuckles and Emerl dive in to lay some smack down, trash talking all the way into the melee. Rouge observes that the two of them are becoming more and more alike. Battle [ Knuckles & Emerl vs. Phi & Phi | Club Rouge | 5pt survival ] Emerl gleefully collects the Emerald shards that fell out of the Phi robots. Knuckles wonders why such a thing would be there, and Rouge explains that Eggman's Phi robots use the shards as fuel. She's got one herself, and hands it over to Emerl who expresses his gratitude by noting that she's good for something after all. She chastizes Knuckles for the horrible manners he seems to be teaching the robot, and he humbly apologizes. Rouge lets it slide, saying she's got no use for a measly shard, and promises she'll eventually take payment in the form of the Master Emerald. That gets Knuckles' dander up quite sufficiently. She suggests asking "Kitsune-chan" (li'l fox) about Emerald shards, which Knuckles agrees is a good idea. In parting, Rouge tells them they're welcome at the club anytime, an offer which Knuckles promptly turns down. Emerald Town Knuckles shows up at Tails' lab with Emerl, proudly announcing their return. Emerl greets Tails by asking if he was a good boy (a Rouge pattern). He says he was, and asks the same of Emerl, who responds with a hearty "Aah, gachinko daze!" (Yeah, I kicked ass!) Like everyone else, Tails is taken aback by Emerl's brash new speech patterns, and thinks to himself that while the Gizoid looks alot stronger, he doesn't seem to be getting much smarter... Knuckles insists that he was careful around the impressionable machine, and Emerl defends his new teacher: "Un! Sou da yo! Jyoudan ja naize, mattaku!" ("Yeah, it's true! Ain't no joke! Honestly!" - a very peculiar jumble of all 4 of his owners' speech patterns.) Knuckles quickly changes the subject by dishing out the Emerald shards the two of them found, and Tails immediately forgets the transgressions against Emerl's grasp of the language. Tails excitedly explains that if they could find 2 more shards of the same color, they could probably form a whole Emerald. Knuckles remembers what Rouge told him about all the Phi bots possessing an Emerald shard, and Tails deduces that Eggman is probably going to try to get Emerl back. Knuckles passionately exclaims that he'll make Emerl strong enough to defeat Eggman, and instructs his pupil to follow him to the beach for some hardcore training. The Gizoid takes off, furious that Knuckles would run ahead of him. Emerald Beach Knuckles explains that in all their previous skirmishes he was holding back, but now it's time to settle the score once and for all. Battle [ Emerl vs. Knuckles | Emerald Beach | 1pt KO ] Knuckles has never before and may never again be so happy about losing, but Emerl's smug attitude threatens to ruin the moment. Unfortunately, Eggman steps in to take that honor. The bad doc is here to pick up his long-lost child, but Emerl doesn't recognize him. Regardless, the Doc wants his robot and his Chaos Emerald back, and he sics Phi #4 on Emerl to force him home. Battle [ Knuckles & Emerl vs. Phi | Emerald Beach | 10pt survival ] Knuckles takes the Emerald shard from the fallen Phi while Eggman makes his retreat. Knuckles and Emerl pursue the escaping villain and finally catch up at the Central City intersection. The annoyed antagonist unleashes Phi #5 on his pursuers. Battle [ Knuckles & Emerl vs. Phi | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] Emerl happily swipes the Emerald shard from the fallen Phi. Eggman feigns distress at the fact that all the Phi robots he brought with him were destroyed, though in reality everything is going exactly according to his plan. Using a very loud voice so that Knuckles is sure to hear him, he exclaims that he's going to escape to Gimme Shelter located in Night Babylon, where they'll never find him. Naturally our ever-gullible echidna pal falls for the obvious ruse and tells Emerl they'll get back to Tails with the Emerald shards later, because they've got to chase Eggman. Emerl agrees with a hearty "Isshou koukai saseteyaru!" which prompts Knuckles to wonder if he really says things that corny. Gimme Shelter Knuckles looks around the warehouse and wonders where Eggman is, but of course the front door was unlocked for a reason. Eggman, lurking in the shadows, springs a trap that renders Knuckles totally immobile. He seems very pleased that the "Harinezumi Hoi-hoi" (hedgehog hold-up) trap he created to catch Sonic also works on echidnas. He explains that the device channels electricity through the body of its victim, rendering them immobile. Knuckles demands to know what Eggman's plot is, to which he replies, simply enough, to take over the world. I mean Jesus, red, what the hell else would it be? The idea, it seems, is to have Emerl absorb the power of Eggman's new secret weapon, the Final Egg Blaster. Which is not really secret anymore. Eggman excuses himself to go work on his now not-secret secret Final Egg Blaster, and leaves Chaos Gamma to deal with the prisoners. Before getting down to business, Gamma makes sure Eggman's clear on the price for his services: a Chaos Emerald. Eggman agrees, but instructs Chaos Gamma to bring the Gizoid, who is not yet fully awakened, with him. Gamma moves in, revealing his identity: this is the E-102 look-alike who's been chasing Emerl from the start. Knuckles tells Emerl to run for it, but Emerl is confident in his skill. Battle [ Emerl vs. Gamma | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] [ Emerl vs. Gamma | Metal Depot | 10pt survival ] Having expended energy beyond his capacity, Chaos Gamma overloads and shuts down. Knuckles congratulates Emerl on his win and suggests they blow that pop stand. Then he remembers he can't move. But even Knuckles is capable of some basic lateral thought, and realizes that if they shut down the power, the electricity will stop flowing and he'll be able to move again. He tells Emerl to go find a switch, but Emerl scoffs at Knuckles' lack of strength. An infuriated Knuckles vows to show his true power and struggles like an idiot against the electricity coursing through his body. Emerl, meanwhile, flicks a nearby switch. Knuckles, who has been building up some momentum from his stationary struggle, goes flying into a wall. Emerald Town Knuckles and Emerl strut back into Tails' lab. Tails comments that they were gone for quite a while, and then observes that they look like hell. Knuckles decides to leave out that bit about being tricked by Eggman, and simply dishes out the two Emerald shards they wrested from the Phi bots. Tails puts the 5 shards together and produces a whole Chaos Emerald, which Emerl promptly absorbs, making for a total of 4 Emeralds. Tails asks Emerl how he feels, and he responds with a coherent, almost intelligent, "Sugoku iiyo! Arigatou! Tails!" (Really good! Thanks, Tails!) Tails points out that Knuckles is the one he should be thanking, and Emerl offers up a hearty "Arigatou! Aibou!" (Thanks, partner!) Knuckles whispers to his new "partner" that they should keep that whole thing about being tricked by Eggman their little secret. Emerl readily agrees, but then promptly shouts: "Naishou dakedo aibou ga mata Eggman ni damasaremashita!" (It's a secret, but my partner got tricked by Eggman again!) Over and over again. Knuckles blows his lid once more, especially when Sonic shows up to hear Emerl's advertisement. (This unlocks the Mine Hunt minigame.) Gerald's journal 4 Gerald's growing uneasy about the future of "Project Shadow". Apparently things are getting tense in the upper levels of the bureaucracy, and he's worried the government is going to freeze the project prematurely, thus ending any hope of finding a cure for his granddaughter's disease.

Amy Rose -- Amy's abilities are similar to Sonic's except that she's a bit slower and a bit stronger. She attacks with basic punches (boxercise, her new hobby) and, of course, her Piko Piko Hammer. Otome Jab -- first attack Otome Straight -- second attack Otome Upper -- third attack Otome Crush -- heavy attack Otome Swing -- upper attack Otome Bomber -- dash attack Air Otome Crush -- air attack Otome Dunk -- pursuit attack Pinky Typhoon -- ground shot Air Pinky Typhoon -- air shot Otome Tornado -- ground power Air Otome Tornado -- air power Otome no Kokuhaku -- ground set Air Otome no Kokuhaku -- air set Tails House Amy has invaded Tails' house and is presently grilling the hapless fox for information on the whereabouts of the hedgehog she would like to call her lover. Tails tries to lie as per Sonic's orders, but his endeavor is unsuccessful because Amy has it from a higher authority (specifically, her tarot cards) that Sonic is on the premises. Tails finally concedes in an indirect sort of way. Sensing the impending threat, Sonic hastily escapes with Emerl who is eager to learn new deadly attack techniques. Amy responds angrily, steaming about how she and Sonic need to practice raising their "baby" together. She regains gaiety as she convinces herself that Sonic only ran off because he got cold feet. She deduces that he must be heading for the beach, so she starts off to meet him there when her pursuit is intercepted by Tails. Young Prower warns that Eggman is after Emerl, but the ebullient Amy doesn't feel like hearing the rest of the story so she continues her pursuit, mad scientist or no. Emerald Beach Amy catches up to Sonic at the beach and, needless to say, he isn't thrilled to see her. Emerl, on the other hand, addresses her as "mama". When she asks how he's been, he replies, quote: "Aah! Ore wa itsudemo bucchigiri daze!" (Hey, I'm always winning!) Amy promptly smacks Sonic, furious that he'd teach "Emerl-chan" to talk like that. Sonic wants to know what's up with the "chan" business, and Amy viciously asks if he's got a problem with it. Sonic lets up and whispers to Emerl to watch out for her. Emerl calls his "Mama" over and she gleefully asks what's up. He replies, and once again I quote: "Punch ni kiai ga haitte naize! Sore demo honki ka yo?" (Your punch lacks spirit! Was that for real?) Without saying another word, Sonic runs like the dickens. Amy is momentarily infuriated, but once again using her mad powers of self-delusion, realizes that Sonic left Emerl with her because he wants to test her ability to protect him from Eggman. Still feeling guilty about the Rouge kidnapping, Amy vows that she won't falter as a guardian any more. While she's busy giving herself this pep talk, however, Emerl runs off. Emerl has scampered down to the other end of the beach where he's discovered one of Eggman's Phi bots. He threatens "Sanbyou de SCRAP ni shiteyaruze!" when Amy runs up and slaps her "child" for using such language. The Phi bot starts to attack and is immediately counter-smacked by Amy who gives him a verbal assault that makes Knuckles' trash talk sound like an afternoon tea conversation. A thrilled Emerl goads his "Mama" on. Amy clears her throat and regains composure, instructing the Phi to send the message to the Doctor that they don't want to play with his robots. The Phi, needless to say, doesn't process this request. Battle [ Amy & Emerl vs. Phi & Phi | Emerald Beach | 5pt survival ] [ Amy & Emerl vs. Phi & Phi | Emerald Beach | 5pt survival ] Amy recovers a pair of Emerald shards from the defeated Phi bots and remembers that Emerl is powered by Chaos Emeralds. The Gizoid mentions that lately he's been able to detect when there are Emerald shards nearby. Ever the opportunist, Amy decides that if she collects enough Emeralds to turn Emerl into a full-grown robot, Sonic will have to accept her as his wife. Emerl is more interested in learning some attack moves from Amy, to her disapproval. She decides to head back to her apartment to work out with her "child." Central City Amy and Emerl arrive at the apartment where Cream and Cheese are waiting. Emerl introduces himself as "Sonic's robot" and and Amy explains that Sonic got it just so the two of them could practice starting a family. Cream, younger but somewhat more sensible than Amy, feebly points out that that probably isn't the case. When Amy angrily demands an explanation for the doubt, Cream quickly changes the subject by asking Emerl what brings him over to their neck of the woods. Emerl explains that he followed Amy so she could teach him some attack techniques. Cream protests, but Amy sugar coats the situation by saying that they're just going to work out together - boxercise, she calls it. Apparently the boxercise thing has happened before, because Cream panics and hastily concocts an excuse to split. Amy notes that the young rabbit has been acting strange lately, not considering that it is perhaps her own insanity that is at the root of Cream's distress. Battle [ Emerl vs. Amy | Amy Room | 5pt KO ] Amy goes weight-loss crazy and continues to overexert herself. [ Emerl vs. Amy | Amy Room | 10pt KO ] Emerl is eager to continue Amy's "boxercise" lesson, but the exhausted hedgehoglet needs a breather. Emerl runs outside to play in the street. After blowing some energy outside, Emerl returns to the apartment for some more training. Cream says that Amy's still resting, and explains that since Emerl was kidnapped that first time, Amy's been going crazy with the boxercise training to become stronger. When she discovered that it also helped her lose weight, Amy really took it over the top. It seems she's also dragged an unwilling Cream and Cheese into her strict training regimen. At this point, a spent Amy wobbles back in and says she's ready to continue. Cream implores her to give it a rest for her own safety, but Amy will hear none of it, and drags the protesting Cream into the fray. Battle [ Emerl vs. Amy & Cream | Amy Room | 10pt KO ] Emerl is impressed by the fighting skill these two little girls demonstrate, but poor Amy is ready to go off the deep end. To Cream's shock, Amy had been fighting with massive weights attached to her arms and legs. Now she's dropped them and is ready for the real fight. No wonder Sonic's scared to death of this girl. Battle [ Emerl vs. Amy & Cream | Amy Room | 10pt KO ] Amy finally gives in and, to Cream's horror, collapses. Emerl seems more concerned with a Chaos Emerald he's detected in the vicinity, though, and upon sharing this knowledge with Amy, the fallen Rose leaps back to her feet and runs outside to find it. She tells Cream to watch the apartment while they're out, and Cream & Cheese are awe-struck by her rabid tenacity. Central City Amy and Emerl encounter Chaos Gamma at the intersection. Amy mistakes him for her old chum E-102, but Gamma claims there's no such code-name in his database. Battle [ Amy & Emerl vs. Gamma | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] Gamma once again escapes with his mechanical life. Amy wants to pursue, but Emerl points in the direction of Night Babylon and says that's where the Emerald shard is. Amy doesn't feel the Babylon is an appropriate place for a mother to take her child, but Emerl's already on his way. Night Babylon Amy and Emerl discover their target loitering near a billboard. Battle [ Amy & Emerl vs. Phi & Phi | Club Rouge | 5pt survival ] [ Amy & Emerl vs. Phi & Phi | Club Rouge | 10pt survival ] Two Phis down, two more Emerald shards acquired for a total of 4. Amy points out that they're only 1 shard away from a complete Emerald. Using his mad Lassie skillz, Emerl senses another shard in the area... at Club Rouge. Club Rouge Amy is none too pleased about Emerl being exposed to such a vulgar establishment, and Rouge is none too pleased with Amy's assessment of her club. After a bit of hissing, the cats fight for possession of the Emerald shard. Battle [ Amy & Emerl vs. Rouge | Club Rouge | 10pt KO ] Rouge is impressed with Emerl's new skills, and Amy proudly proclaims she's been training him with boxercise. The bat is willing to part with the Emerald shard, but only if Emerl can score 10 K.O's against her without using any special attacks. Battle [ Emerl vs. Rouge | Club Rouge | 10pt KO ] Emerl cannot use special attacks at all during this battle. Rouge isn't happy to admit that she's been outdone by a robot, but she honors her word and hands over the Emerald shard. She goes on to mention that Eggman had 4 Emeralds, so one more and they'll have successfully acquired all the jewels in his possession, but of course he'd be too smart to take that lying down and probably already has a trick up his sleeve. Amy and Emerl don't seem concerned, but Rouge isn't so optimistic. Before the argument can go any further, Emerl detects another Emerald on the premises. Rouge says it must be the one in Shadow's possession. Amy's curiosity is roused at the mention of Shadow, but Rouge isn't keen on sharing the details. She only admits that Shadow is indeed at the club and that he's been asleep for a while. Amy demands to know more, but Rouge's lips are sealed. She points out that when Shadow does wake up, he'll head straight for the robot, so they can grill the answers out of him then. A frustrated Amy storms off. Emerl wishes "Rouge Mama" a fond farewell before following his younger mother. Emerald Town Tails, somewhat startled by Amy's arrival, promptly begins concocting excuses for Sonic. But young Rose, possibly for the first time in her life, has business in mind. She presents the 5 Emerald shards which Tails promptly converts into a whole Chaos Emerald. The jewel is bequeathed to Emerl, and Sonic arrives just in time to see his mechanical toy power up. Amy proudly asserts that she helped Emerl evolve into a full-grown robot, and now that she's proven herself a capable parent, Sonic has no further excuses not to marry her. Just as she looks like she's about to get forceful about it, Sonic hastily instructs her to close her eyes. Obviously expecting a smooch, Amy feigns modesty about making out in front of Tails and Emerl, but nonetheless follows Sonic's instructions. Of course Sonic uses this moment to make his escape. When Amy realizes there is no foreign tongue in her mouth, she opens her eyes to see that Sonic has left the building. Emerl explains that he's already taken off like the dickens, which the ever-ignorant Amy attributes to his shyness. Even Emerl is now intelligent enough to see the truth, and offers the commentary: "Chigau to omou..." (It's not what you think.) (This unlocks the Treasure Island minigame.) Gerald's journal 5 Government magnates are threatening to shut down Gerald's research facility, so in order to appease them he's agreed to hand over the Gizoid. Before handing the robot over, he gave it the command to never absorb any dangerous technology, but other researchers are already making the machine absorb new weapons. Apparently, the Gizoid will form a new contract if someone demonstrates power greater than that of its old contractor. Gerald is aware of the danger, but can't bring himself to abandon the research that may save his granddaughter's life.

Cream the Rabbit -- Cream is slow and weak, but sports the highest jump and best healing ability of any character. Her attacks have good range thanks to her indiscriminately loyal pet Chao, Cheese, and her flying maneuver covers even more distance than Tails'. Chao Arch -- first attack Chao Winder -- second attack Chao Slalom -- third attack Chao Tornado -- heavy attack Chao Upper -- upper attack Chao Dash -- dash attack Chao Circle -- air attack Chao Dunk -- pursuit attack Chao Cannon -- ground shot Air Chao Cannon -- air shot Chao Rush -- ground power Chao Revolution -- air power Cream Cracker -- ground set Cream Air Cracker -- air set Central City Amy and Emerl have just finished what we are left to presume (hope) was a round of boxercise, and Amy wants to know how much she's lost. The oh-so-diverse Emerl calculates that she's burned 1,000 calories, and further explains that if she continues at that rate, she'll lose 1 kilogram in 3 days. He further advises her to drink 2 liters of water each day, and to keep daily calorie intake below 700. Amy's impressed with Emerl's multitude of functions, but is even more thrilled at the prospect of reaching her target weight, so she runs off to purchase the "Sugoi Diet Machine" (amazing diet machine) she saw on TV. With Amy safely out of earshot, Sonic and Tails approach Emerl and Cream. Tails observes that Amy's getting much stronger, and Sonic, both impressed and concerned, agrees. Cream greets them with the politeness and wasteful energy of a hyperactive anime schoolgirl, and Sonic explains that they're searching for the Chaos Emerald which is supposedly in the area. Tails explains that they want to hide Emerl at the apartment because they don't know what Eggman's up to at the moment. Emerl isn't satisfied with this mandate, and insists on tagging along. His request is vetoed, and Sonic and Tails trot off on their jewel hunt. Emerl wonders why Amy is so hell-bent on getting thin, and Cream explains that Amy is madly in love with Sonic and wants to be attractive so Sonic will return the affection. Emerl tries to process this information and Cream assures him he'll understand when he gets older. The lesson is interrupted by Eggman, who concocted the fake news story about a Chaos Emerald to lure Sonic away from the Gizoid. With nobody to defend Emerl but helpless little Cream and her masochistic Chao, Eggman sics Phi #11 on them. Cream panics, but Emerl eagerly welcomes the challenge. Suddenly Eggman changes his mind, and instead disables Emerl with some Gizoid Hoi-hoi (powered-up Harinezumi Hoi-hoi), and commands an unseen robot to capture Cream and Cheese. The hapless pair are spirited away to Gimme Shelter, where Eggman instructs Chaos Gamma and Phi's #12, 13, and 14 to keep a close eye on them. Gimme Shelter Emerl is once again capable of movement, much to his relief, but Cream is extremely unhappy to be prisoner in Eggman's base. Emerl examines a dormant Guard Robo and deduces that they are in a robot factory. The Guard Robo suddenly is no longer dormant. Battle [ Emerl vs. Guard Robo & Guard Robo | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] Emerl is curious to know why Cream didn't join in the festivities. Poor tender-hearted, simpleminded Cream explains her philosophy of pacifism, which Emerl can't quite wrap his metallic head around. Cream suggests looking elsewhere for an escape route. Cream finds a Phi robot and observes that it looks just like Emerl. Like the Guard Robos before it, the Phi bot, completely oblivious to the fact that he is violating Geneva protocol by attacking Eggman's prisoner of war, goes on the offensive. Battle [ Emerl & Cream vs. Phi & Phi | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] Cream will not fight at all, opting rather to stand around like a long-eared punching bag. Emerl tries to convince her that she needs to fight if she doesn't want to get hurt, but she seems rather indifferent to her own demise. [ Emerl & Cream vs. Phi & Phi | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] As before, Cream just stands around waiting to be mugged or raped or whatever. The pair of Phi's disposed of, Emerl checks up on Cream to find that she is unhurt. He, however, has sustained a bit of damage which Cream seems concerned about. He takes the Emerald shards dropped by the Phi's and gives them to Cream as a present. Now the young rabbit feels great pangs of guilt for having let Emerl do all the work by himself. Emerl doesn't seem terribly vexed by the transgression, and instead runs off to invstigate some flashing machinery. Cream giggles and notes the Gizoid's similarity to Sonic. The flashing monitor turns out to be a receiver with a call from Dr. Eggman. Emerl instructs Cream to hide, and she complies like a good little girl. Eggman sees Emerl, but apparently the monitor is not in color, because he mistakes him for a Phi. He informs "Phi" that the rabbit is there as a hostage to lure Sonic. The robot is to make sure the bunny doesn't go hip-hopping down cottontail lane, and Eggman makes dually sure the robot keeps hidden the fact that there is an escape route through the air duct. He further instructs him to hide the key to the duct, which is in the workshop. The transmission ends and Cream scampers out of her hiding place and suggests, quite astutely, that they search for the duct key in the workshop. As soon as Cream and Emerl approach the workshop, they're attacked by Phi's #13 and 14. Battle [ Emerl & Cream vs. Phi & Phi | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] Cream still doesn't feel like fighting, so Emerl instructs her to get her masochistic ass out of the ring. [ Emerl vs. Phi & Phi | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] Emerl revels in his victory, laughing maniacally at his fallen opponents. He then somewhat ruthlessly beats the Emerald shards out of their broken mechanical bodies. Cream meekly protests, but Emerl is too busy enjoying the buzz of victory to heed any of it. Scared out of her wits, Cream turns on the waterworks and Emerl finally steps down off his high horse and apologizes for his behavior, remembering what Sonic told him about the inappropriateness of making girls cry. Cream gets over her little mood and grabs the duct key. Chaos Gamma is waiting at the duct, and this time he's out for blood (oil?). It seems Eggman gave him an Emerald shard, and now he intends to use the new power source to beat the Chaos Emeralds out of his usurper. He throws a couple of punches, but Emerl simply turns the other cheek. He continues to take his beating without any effort to defend himself, much to Cream's horror. When she realizes she's created a monster, all it takes is a bit of prodding from Cheese to ignite the fighting spirit in this little bunny rabbit. Battle [ Cream & Emerl vs. Gamma | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] Emerl won't fight at all, but follows Cream's example and stands around like a sack of wet rags. Gamma laughs off the insignifant damage inflicted by Cream and her kamikaze Chao, and initiates his recovery mode. Emerl suggests falling back, but Gamma stands guard at the duct, the only escape route. Cream's Brady Bunch lesson of the day is that sometimes others can get hurt by one's own irresponsibility, and she weeps over Emerl's injuries. Emerl insists he can recover immediately and demonstrates by running around like a lunatic, much to Cream's amusement. She agrees to let the Gizoid train her in the combat arts. Battle [ Cream vs. Emerl | Metal Depot | 10pt KO ] After the initial skirmish, Emerl thinks it's time to take Cream's training to the next level. Battle [ Cream vs. Emerl | Metal Depot | 10pt KO ] Cream notices that Emerl's going easy on her, and insists that he stop holding back. Emerl agrees, but first young wabbit cops a break. Emerl warns that this will be the last training session before the real event. Cream claims she's ready for field conditions. Cheese concurs. Battle [ Cream vs. Emerl | Metal Depot | 10pt KO ] Emerl seems satisfied with his student's progress, and the two are ready to take on Chaos Gamma. At that moment, a voice crackles in over the computer monitor. This time, it's Sonic. Sonic is demanding proof of Eggman's allegation, and the good Doc is eager to show that he does indeed have Cream and the Gizoid hostage in his lab. When Emerl realizes what's going on, he and Cream hide. Eggman is aggravated when nobody picks up on the other end and Sonic is not convinced. The transmission ends and Emerl and Cream crawl out from their hiding spot. Emerl runs up to the waiting Gamma, trash talking all the way. Cream follows suit. Battle [ Cream & Emerl vs. Gamma | Metal Depot | 5pt survival ] [ Cream & Emerl vs. Guard Robo & Gamma | Metal Depot | 10pt survival ] The short-circuiting Gamma laments his inability to exact revenge, and Cream shares her 6-year old wisdom, explaining that power should be used only to protect. Gamma disregards her speech and further laments that the Emerald shard is now leaving his body. The Emerald shards come together to form a whole Chaos Emerald, this time without Tails' help, and Emerl promptly absorbs the new power source. Just as Cream and Emerl prepare to make their escape, Eggman returns to the lab. Cream's attention is drawn to an interesting switch, and Emerl, remembering his excursion with Knuckles, instructs her to flip it. As Eggman struts in, he's rendered immobile by his own "Harinezumi Hoi-hoi." Emerl gleefully runs over to the computer and switches the monitor on. Sonic just happens to be on the other end, and is quite amused by Eggman's new "dance." Emerl and Cream run up to the screen and Sonic is shocked to see that Eggman was telling the truth after all. They seem to be unharmed, and he tells them to wait while he goes to pick them up. Cream insists that the escort isn't necessary, because Emerl is capable of kicking ass in a plethora of ways. The two make a run for freedom while Eggman curses them in his immobile helplessness. Gerald's journal 6 Gerald's fears have become reality: the Gizoid captured too much data and went out of control. The machine managed to destroy a good chunk of the ARK before it was finally apprehended and sealed away. Gerald, meanwhile, finished deciphering the rest of the stone tablet: "When the Gizoid learned everything, it became a god of anger, and all was destroyed." Fortunately, at the time this terror from antiquity began running amok on the ARK, it had only absorbed a single Chaos Emerald. Gerald speculates that if it had possessed all seven, the world would have been forfeit. Realizing that the Gizoid is too dangerous to keep around, Gerald attempts to destroy the core, but finds the lost technology used to construct it beyond his understanding. He intends to resort to plan B: reprogramming the AI into a free willed, emotion-based system.

Shadow the Hedgehog -- Shadow is a powerful choice. He's the speediest character in the game and has an excellent leap, so he can cover large distances fast. His attacks don't have much range and aren't too powerful, but they connect quickly with no delay time. He attacks with punches, kicks, and Chaos Control blasts. Shadow Chop -- first attack Shadow Kick -- second attack Shadow Back Kick -- third attack Chaos Nightmare -- heavy attack Chaos Upper -- upper attack Shadow Slider -- dash attack Shadow Rocket -- air attack Shadow Eagle -- pursuit attack Chaos Magic -- ground shot Air Chaos Magic -- air shot Chaos Burst -- ground power Air Chaos Burst -- air power Roaming Chaos -- ground set Air Roaming Chaos -- air set Eggman, now finding himself in a tight situation, puts the pieces together to formulate a plan. Sonic and his detestable do-gooder posse have procured 6 of the Chaos Emeralds, but the seventh is with Shadow. The Doc feels certain that Shadow will not willingly hand over his gem lest Emerl awaken to his true form. But even if that does happen, some choice nugget of info recently unearthed from Gerald's research log should allow the bespectacled villain to conquer the world regardless... Several days prior The pinstriped porcupine is having a heated argument with one of the voices inside his head. The voice mumbles something about a power which should not exist and a tragedy which must never be repeated. Shadow uses Chaos Control to zippedy-doo-dah over to where the voice seems to be emanating from. Gimme Shelter Emerl stands dormant near the Mother Computer while Shadow examines the ancient robot and doubts the reliability of his mystic intuition. Rouge, as she is apt to do, slinks out from the shadows and explains that the machine is a Gizoid, a legendary weapon from antiquity. Shadow demands to know how she knew about such a thing and Rouge answers by rambling about her underground information network. A largely uninterested Shadow interrupts her to get back to the point. Rouge explains that the Gizoid was known as the "Kyuukyoku no Sonzai" (ultimate being) 4,000 years before Shadow was the "Kyuukyoku no Seimeitai" (ultimate life-form). She'd followed a lead about some major discovery Eggman was hiding and this, she figures, must be it. Blaring alarms and menacing Guard Robos suddenly cut the discussion short. Rouge seems pleased to be fighting alongside Shadow again, and Shadow (who may or may not feel the same way) simply warns her to keep out of his way. Battle [ Shadow & Rouge vs. Guard Robo & Guard Robo | Metal Depot | 10pt survival ] The battle seems to be won, but one of the Guard Robos was only playing possum. As soon as Shadow turns his back, the Robo seizes the opportunity and takes a potshot. Rouge disables the offending mech with a wallop and marvels at the wound such a low-grade machine managed to inflict on the "ultimate life-form." Despite his insistence that he isn't hurt, Shadow seems to be in alot of pain, and Rouge offers her injured comrade a place to rest at her club. Night Babylon Shadow collapses at the entrance to the club, and Rouge is not amiable toward having to carry him in despite the fact that, according to her, he's a bit of a hunk (I guess we'll have to take her word on that). Shadow's slumber is restless, filled with flashbacks of the ARK, Maria, his reawakening at the hands of Eggman, and now this new voice that's been bothering him recently. When he finally comes to several days later, Rouge is on-hand to give him a characteristically snide greeting, but squabbles come second to finding the Gizoid. Rouge seems a bit upset that he didn't even thank her for taking him in, even after she dragged his unconscious body from outside. Shadow grudgingly but sincerely expresses his gratitude, and Rouge tells him Emerl usually hangs out at Emerald Beach. Emerald Town Emerl isn't at the beach, but Sonic is. Shadow demands to know where he can find the Gizoid, and Sonic points to Tails' house then asks exactly what Shadow has planned. Shadow explains that Emerl needs only one more Emerald - Shadow's own Emerald - to fully awaken as the legendary weapon he is. Allowing this to happen is not only dangerous, Shadow says, but madness. Sonic, never one to lose his cool, says he can't picture Emerl destroying anything much less the world. He believes that Emerl's power as a weapon is second to his nature: if he doesn't want to destroy anything, he won't do it. He uses Shadow as an example against himself, bringing up the ARK business. The oh-so-contrary Shadow, of course, insists that it's just a matter of time. If the people of the world ever want true peace, both he and Emerl must be destroyed. Seeing that there's no winning against Shadow's angst, Sonic approaches the argument from another angle: according to Rouge, there's some magic key word that will free Emerl from his primary function as a weapon. Shadow laughs the notion off, and Sonic finally concedes and tells him to take Emerl and go do whatever he wants. Shadow warns that his intent is to destroy the beast, to which Sonic confidently proclaims he doesn't believe Shadow has the guts to do it, and suggests he and Emerl trot off on a romantic date instead. At that moment, Emerl strays onto the scene, drawn to the Chaos Emerald he senses in the area. He viciously demands that Shadow hand the gem over, then snaps out of his momentary madness and wonders why Sonic is staring at him so strangely. Shadow triumphantly points out that Sonic was lucky to have encountered the Gizoid before its awakening, but there is clearly no denying its true identity. Sonic hesitates for a moment, then instructs the inquisitive Emerl to follow Shadow so he can learn about who he really is. Emerl asks how they're to achieve that, and Sonic suggests grilling Eggman for the answers. Shadow concurs (for once) and invites Emerl follow him on his road to oblivion. Before scampering off with his moody new friend, Emerl leaves Sonic with some diet and excercise tips to impart to his "Mama." Central City As Shadow and Emerl pass the intersection, they're assaulted by Chaos Gamma who has been reactivated and programmed to destroy them. Battle [ Shadow & Emerl vs. Gamma | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] Gamma is dumbfounded by his inability to win, even with the Emerald shard. Shadow scoffs that he himself is the only one capable of utilizing Emerald power, and the enraged Gamma redoubles his assault. [ Shadow & Emerl vs. Gamma | Battle Highway | 10pt survival ] The disabled Gamma lies in a heap on the ground, repeating "haijyo" (rejection) over and over. Shadow points to the incapacitated contraption as an example of what it means to be a weapon. Emerl, through Shadow's expert tutelage, learns to understand the concept of not being happy. Gimme Shelter Shadow and Emerl approach the Mother Computer and Shadow wonders aloud what their purpose is. If they are indeed weapons, why do they have souls that hinder their actions? The enigmatic Rouge appears from the shadows again, and without even her trademark "hiii~!" begins explaining what she learned in Pr. Gerald's research log. In his studies to create the ultimate life-form, Gerald hit upon a key energy output during an experiment with a Chaos Emerald. Using that energy, he was able to reactivate the Gizoid. Shadow wants to know about his own blasted sense of self-awareness, and Rouge explains that Gerald was never interested in weapons research. Those shenanigans were the result of pressure from the government and military. In order to pull one over on his superiors, Gerald imbued both Shadow and the Gizoid with personalities based on his granddaughter, Maria. His hope was that even if these ultimate weapons were completed, they would never fight. Rouge points out that, in the case of Shadow, he succeeded. With the Gizoid, however, he was unable to completely erase the original data. Instead, he programmed the machine to recognize a key phrase that would cause an override: "subete no jinrui ni kibou wo" (bring hope to humanity). The catch is that the phrase will only be effective after the Gizoid has awakened. With no further ado, Shadow hands his Emerald over to Emerl. With all 7 gems in his possession, Emerl undergoes a personality collapse and demands to be given a demonstration of power or he will not obey. Shadow, identifying himself as the Gizoid's new master, clearly enunciates Gerald's magic phrase: "subete no jinrui no kibou wo." Emerl immediately resumes his former personality, and advises Shadow to avoid getting mushy. Shadow, a bit disgusted by Emerl's similarity to a certain hedgehog of blue, explains to the Gizoid that he's now free of his homicidal duties. The grateful bot thanks Shadow and Rouge, who openly expresses that she values jewelry more than words. Shadow, however, has one final favor to ask: a duel, to determine who really is the ultimate. (Talk about insecure.) Battle [ Shadow vs. Emerl | Metal Depot | 10pt KO ] Having lost interest in the match, Rouge prepares to depart, utterly bewildered over the male fascination with gratuitous violence. Emerl quite innocently asks if he might visit her room again sometime, a request she vetoes with great prejudice. Shadow, although he has just won, is pumped for another round. Emerl asks him to wait a moment, eager to see his old friends again now that he's a free man (bot). Shadow complies, and instructs the Gizoid to meet him at Central Highway when he's ready for the decisive bout. The entire map is now open for perusal. Emerl must fight all 6 of his friends before Shadow will accept his return, but the battles can be taken in any order. Battle [ Emerl vs. Sonic | Emerald Beach | 10pt KO ] [ Emerl vs. Tails | Tails Lab | 10pt KO ] [ Emerl vs. Rouge | Club Rouge | 10pt KO ] [ Emerl vs. Knuckles | Chao Ruin | 10pt KO ] [ Emerl vs. Amy | Amy Room | 10pt KO ] [ Emerl vs. Cream | Library | 10pt KO ] Once you've fought all 6 heroes at least once, return to Shadow at Central City to finish your marathon. [ Emerl vs. Shadow | Battle Highway | 10pt KO ] Not satisfied with admitting defeat, Shadow only concedes that Emerl is his equal. Just then, however, Sonic arrives on the scene, having figured Shadow alone wouldn't be enough challenge for the awakened Gizoid. Emerl, as always, welcomes the confrontation with open arms. Battle [ Emerl vs. Sonic & Shadow | Battle Highway | 5pt KO ] A grateful Emerl profusely thanks Sonic and Shadow for helping him reach his full strength. Shadow is disgusted by the sticky sentimentality and moves out for dryer lands. Sonic, despite the fact that he has just been defeated, proceeds to offer Emerl further advice on the form of his punches. (This unlocks the Speed Demon minigame.) Gerald's journal 7 Gerald's just received word of the "accident" at the research facility. His comrades and beloved granddaughter are dead. The devastated doc learns that Maria's last words were "subete no jinrui ni kibou wo", and so he decides to use this phrase as the key word to activate the Gizoid's emotion-based AI program.

Emerl -- At the outset, Emerl comes equipped with a default array of basic techniques, but they're slow, weak, and not very functional in general. He can be equipped with the moves of other characters as you acquire technique cards and Skill Points. Take on Tails' virtual training in the last chapter to acquire Emerl's ultimate technique cards, which are based on other characters' attacks but several times faster and more powerful. If you equip the ultimate cards, Emerl becomes the most powerful combatant in the game by several orders of magnitude. ULT. First -- first attack ULT. Second -- second attack ULT. Third -- third attack ULT. Heavy -- heavy attack ULT. Upper -- upper attack ULT. Dash Attack -- dash attack ULT. Air Attack -- air attack ULT. Tsuigeki -- pursuit attack ULT. Ground Shot -- ground shot ULT. Aerial Shot -- air shot ULT. Ground Power -- ground power ULT. Aerial Power -- air power ULT. Ground Set -- ground set ULT. Aerial Set -- air set Eggman, finding himself once again on the losing side of the table, analyzes the situation. All the Phi robots have been destroyed, Chaos Gamma was useless, and the Gizoid has obtained all 7 Emeralds. Most prospective dictators would just give up, but Eggman, as usual, has a plan B. He seems to have discovered the catch-all in his grandfather's journals... Emerald Beach Sonic and Emerl are engaged in a training session when who should crash the party but Eggman himself. Neither hero seems particularly threatened by the villain's presence because, as far as they know, he's already lost this battle. The Doc isn't after Emerl anymore, though. Indeed, he seems to have lost all interest in the "piece of junk". He's here to brag about his latest ultimate weapon, the Final Egg Blaster. The Blaster is completed and has been installed on the Death Egg (!). His dictatorship assured, Eggman prances off with glee. Tails runs up and confirms Eggman's allegation: a giant battleship has been spotted flying above Holy Summit. Emerl, remembering that Eggman was the one who reactivated him in the first place, decides he's got a bone to pick with the bad Doc. Sonic agrees that they should investigate. The insightful young Miles, however, points out that there's something fishy about Eggman being so obvious, as though he were trying to lure them into a trap. Being, however, that there isn't much else to do, Tails runs to his lab to get a warp transporter so they can reach the flying battleship. He instructs Sonic to meet him at Holy Summit. Holy Summit Knuckles is already waiting at the Emerald altar. He notes that as soon as the battleship appeared, the estuary froze over and Chaos appeared. He explains that Chaos only shows up in times of great crisis, so Eggman must be serious about the Final Egg Blaster. Sonic, thrillseeking fool that he is, is just happy that things are picking up again. At that moment, Tails arrives with the promised transporter, but the machine only has a single charge and recharging takes a bit of time. Sonic decides that Emerl should be the lucky traveller and Tails fires up the transporter. The entire map is now open for exploration. There are new features scattered about, so here's a rundown of what goodies may be found: Emerald Town You can spar with Sonic at Emerald Beach or head to Tails Lab for the new virtual training game. While researching Emerl's innards, young Prower discovered a "virtual training" function that allows the Gizoid to reconstruct data from previous encounters and spar against virtual opponents. Tails explains that Emerl has some AI more amazing than anything they've yet uncovered, but the only way to access it is to put the robot through some high-stress combat situations. Talk to Tails again to initiate the virtual training program. It's basically a series of endurance bouts consisting of 1-on-3 survival battles against random opponents in random arenas. The number of points to KO in each bout increases as you proceed, corresponding to the battle number itself (ie, battle 1 is 1pt, battle 2 is 2pt, etc). If you lose even a single point, the training session ends and you have to start back at the beginning. The first time you play, the training ends after 5 battles. Next time, the ante is upped to 10, then 15 and finally 20 (battles beyond #15 stick with the 15pt KO rule). The reward for completing a training session is one of Emerl's ultimate battle cards, the most powerful techniques in the game. Central City Spar with Amy, Cream, or Shadow. Go to the Sonic Team building half-obscured at the bottom of the map and you'll find a secret terminal that can be used to access the Gizoid's forbidden data. Here you can input passwords to acquire rare combination cards: there's a separate combo card for each of the game's 9 characters, and each one imbues Emerl with a potent Ground Power technique. (Apparently, these passwords were meant to be distributed through events or on the website, as they are nowhere to be found in the game proper.) Night Babylon Spar with Rouge. Gimme Shelter Spar with Gamma. Holy Summit Spar with Knuckles or head to the estuary at the top of the screen to fight Chaos. Beat the legendary beast in a 10pt KO battle and he becomes playable in Battle and Training modes. When you're ready for the final confrontation with Eggman, point to the Death Egg. Death Egg Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles call to Emerl from a speaker in the ship's bridge. They're watching the action from a monitor and expect to soon be joined by the rest of the crew. Eggman, disregarding the transmission, notes that Emerl's appearance has changed: it's obvious that he's no longer a mindless war machine. Oddly enough, the Doc seems pleased with this change of character, and is eager to see how strong the legendary Gizoid really is. Battle [ Emerl vs. Eggman | Death Egg | 5pt survival ] [ Emerl vs. Eggman | Death Egg | 10pt survival ] Eggman, needless to say, doesn't fight hand-to-hand but hovers around in his multipurpose Eggmobile, dropping bombs and homing missiles. Every once in a while, he lands to attack from the ground. Eggman begs for his life, which Emerl has no intention of taking. As he prepares to make his noble exit, the triumphant Gizoid suggests Eggman put his masive IQ to use on something more constructive, but offers his gratitude for having been awakend in the first place. Just as Emerl turns to leave, however, the wily Eggman fires the Final Egg Blaster. Entire stars explode under the force of the blast, and seeing this overwhelming display of power, Emerl loses control to his carnal programming. Gerald's override overridden, the Gizoid begins absorbing data from the cannon and mindlessly spouts binary code. Sonic and co can do naught but watch in horror at Emerl's unexpected transformation. Eggman triumphantly explains the ace up his sleeve: the Gizoid is programmed to create a new contract if it encounters anyone with overwhelming power, which Eggman has inarguably just displayed. Power such that even the legendary Gizoid becomes overloaded with the new data, and the Emerl created by Sonic and co cries out in pain. Eggman's glee is stifled when it becomes apparent that the marauding Gizoid has no interest in establishing a contract with him: on the contrary, the robot's own plan is to aim the Final Egg Blaster at earth and destroy the whole planet. The cannon is set with 1 minute to discharge. Now even Eggman doesn't want this - how is one to rule over a world that doesn't exist? The hapless Doc, however, is walloped aside by the rampaging Emerl. Back down on earth, Sonic calls out in vain to his bedeviled buddy. Luck of luck, however, the Master Emerald happens to fall from absolutely nowhere. With the power of the Master Emerald to neutralize the 7 Chaos Emeralds absorbed by Emerl, they might be able to restore his senses. Tails announces that the transporter has amassed enough energy for one more charge, and the rest of the crew urge Sonic to warp to the Death Egg and save their collective baby. Sonic agrees to do the deed, but as he's catapulting through space, the Master Emerald shatters in his hands, unable to withstand the stress of the warp. An empty-handed Sonic arrives on the Death Egg to face a highly irritable Gizoid with only 30 seconds left until the Final Egg Blaster blows the earth to smithereens. Back down on the planet, Shadow finally lays on a thick "I told you so" while Rouge and Cream lament their impending demise. Tails explains to Sonic that Emerl has absorbed energy beyond what he was designed to handle, and is extremely unstable. If Sonic can inflict a great deal of damage on the rampaging Gizoid, he might be able to stop it. Unfortunately, Emerl would not likely survive the battle in such a state. Sonic chuckles at Emerl's ability to cause trouble to the very bloody end. Battle [ Sonic vs. Emerl | Death Egg | 10pt survival ] Emerl slowly regains consciousness, and Sonic is ready to head back down to earth with his companion. The Gizoid's glory days are over, however - the legendary weapon is about to process its final algorithm. With his dying breaths (if he breathes), Emerl thanks Sonic for his efforts. Poor Sonic, meanwhile, has gone into denial and commands Emerl to stop acting serious. He desperately makes plans for what they'll do when they get back: spar some more, hang out with Tails and everyone, trick Knuckles into doing more stupid stuff, etc. Despite Sonic's histrionics, Emerl has spoken his last and disappears into thin air. Back down on earth, Shadow explains that this was Gerald's final program: a self-termination command designed to kick in if the Gizoid went out of control. Young Cream seems to be having a difficult time coping with the loss. Sonic returns and assures the weeping rabbit that Emerl still exists in the Emerald shards. She doesn't seem to follow the logic (neither do I). Tails gets sticky with a long-winded speech about world peace and the rest is better not recounted. (This unlocks the Green Hill arena in Battle and Training modes.) Gerald's journal 8 Gerald writes this journal entry with the hopes that someone will eventually read it. Gizoid, an ancient relic from a lost civilization, and Shadow, the ultimate life-form created by Gerald, have both been equipped with virtual souls. The professor hopes that if all power is born from the desire to protect rather than the desire to conquer, conflicts will cease to exist. He's obviously becoming senile in his old age, but a dying man should be allowed to dream, so we'll let it slide. He closes this entry with a request to anyone reading: "subete no jinrui ni kibou wo."

E-102 Gamma -- This isn't actually E-102 proper, but a facsimile constructed by Eggman from leftover E-100 series parts. (He's known in-game as Chaos Gamma.) He plays an important role in the story, but doesn't actually have a chapter of his own. He's the largest character in the game and is consequently very slow. His basic attacks have suicidal delay time, but are extremely powerful. He's got a good, long jump thanks to his booster and can descend slowly by transforming his bottom half into a propeller. He's also blessed with a good healing skill and his body explodes after each KO, inflicing heavy damage on nearby opponents. Solid Knuckle -- first attack Elec Stab -- second attack Paralyze Dagger -- third attack Elec Shock -- heavy attack Upper Elec Shock -- upper attack Buster Drill -- dash attack Air Elec Shock -- air attack Air Solid Knuckle -- pursuit attack Devastator -- ground shot Air Devastator -- air shot Meltdown -- ground power Air Meltdown -- air power Blinker -- ground set Air Blinker -- air set

Chaos -- Chaos doesn't appear until the very end of Story Mode, and fighting him is completely optional. The lumbering liquid monster is the slowest, heaviest character in the game - his pitiful attempt at a jump is nigh useless. His healing ability, on the other hand, is excellent and his attacks are quick and powerful. There's almost no delay time after performing his basic combo, so it can be chained indefinitely. Like Gamma, Chaos has no Story chapter and is only playable in Battle and Training modes. Stretch Chaos -- first attack Elastic Chaos -- second attack Flexible Chaos -- third attack Double Chaos Stab -- heavy attack Upper Chaos -- upper attack Chaos Dolphin -- dash attack Chaos Rocket -- air attack Chaos Impact -- pursuit attack Chaos Shot -- ground shot Air Chaos Shot -- air shot Chaos Crush -- ground power Air Chaos Crush -- air power Chaos Splash -- ground set Air Chaos Splash -- air set

   Story Mode spans six barren map screens: Emerald Town is a seaside residential district where Tails has erected his rather gaudy house and equally tacky lab. Holy Summit is where Knuckles resides along with the Emerald shrine. Central City is the urban district where Amy shares an apartment with Cream. Night Babylon is the seedy casino district that Rouge calls home. Gimme Shelter serves as Eggman's base (apparently he's a Rolling Stones fan) while the Death Egg represents his latest celestial fortress.

   There are a total of 11 arenas: Emerald Beach, Tails Lab, Chao Ruin, Battle Highway, Club Rouge, Amy Room, Library, Metal Depot, Holy Summit, Colosseum, and Green Hill. (Clear Story Mode to unlock Green Hill.) There's also a Death Egg arena, but it's only playable in the final chapter of the scenario game.

   There are a torturous 309 technique cards to collect, though the rarest can't be acquired through random combat at all. Emerl's ultimate battle cards (the most powerful techniques in the game) can only be earned through Tails' virtual training in the final chapter of Story Mode. Secret character-centric abilities can only be obtained via passwords not given in the game proper. These passwords were presumably meant to be given out at public events and distributed with select merchandise, but the only such code made public is the Rouge combo listed in the official strategy guide.

   Battle mode is the obligatory versus game. Play alone or link up with a buddy or three (a separate cartridge is required for each player). You can choose from any characters and arenas unlocked in Story Mode, but note that Emerl is slow and altogether useless until he's been fortified in the scenario game. (If more than one person chooses the same character, the late comers end up as Emerl with off-color eyes.) Before initiating the melee, you may customize the rules to your liking:

• The connection Emerl makes with its master is originally referred to as a contract (keiyaku), and the person who initiates the contract is known as the contractor (keiyakusha). In the translated version, the contract is called a "Link" and the contractor is simply referred to as the master.
• The Gizoid is known in history as "Kyuukyoku no Sonzai", which literally means "ultimate being." It's a slightly different title than the one given to Shadow, "Kyuukyoku no Seimeitai," which means "ultimate life-form." In the translated version, they're both just called "ultimate life-form."
• In the Japanese dialogue, each character has unique speech patterns culled from the anime stereotypes they embody. Part of Emerl's evolution as he learns to speak is that he picks up on these. It's virtually impossible to translate, so this dynamic of Emerl's growth is lost in the English version.
• Emerl's dialogue is written entirely in katakana, the Japanese alphabet typically used for foreign words. There isn't any audible difference between that and other alphabets, but it's a visual way to differentiate Emerl's speech from the other characters. Again, it's a finer point that's impossible to carry over into the English version.

Romanized!	The most scandalous phrase in Sonic history.
Yes, and it's your fault, skank!	I'll bet you do.
Emerl pities the fool.	Be vewy, vewy quiet, she's hunting wabbits.

   Although the original Japanese version includes an English language option (screenshots above), the game was released in the US and Europe by THQ with some minor dialogue changes. (Can't have Rouge running around calling people dirty bastards all over the place.) Likewise, the Japanese voice clips were dubbed over by the usual English cast.

• Sonic Combination: 75619
• Tails Combination: OTrOI
• Rouge Combination: AhnVo
• Knuckles Combination: yU3Da
• Amy Combination: alogK
• Cream Combination: ZAhan
• Shadow Combination: ArmIa
• Gamma Combination: tSueT
• Chaos Combination: EkiTa