Clank Hughes

Clank Hughes is the pilot of the Dragon Bird EX in F-Zero Climax. He's the extremely young boy, and a talented hacker. He is also the son of Roy Hughes, the anime counterpart of Mighty Gazelle.
He was not a pilot until the year 2207, as he inherited the Dragon Bird after Rick Wheeler became the new Captain Falcon.
An energetic young boy with an extensive knowledge in technology.
Clank Hughes (Tek Hughes in the dub) makes his first appearance as a hacker from a war-wrecked planet, known as Forno (Heiru in the JP version), that hijacked the Dragon Bird, only to be stopped by Captain Falcon (Andy Summer/Burt Lemming). Clank then found a home at the Falcon House as its bookkeeper. The 9-room complex also houses Burt, Rick, and Jack. And in Ikran's timeline Tinsel.
He later discovered many secrets because of his bravery and everlasting curiosity, including lost ruins from Sand Ocean, discovering a classic car during Rick's day off and suggesting to Rick that it should be named the Dragon Ghost.
At some point, while he was getting a drink late at night in the Falcon House, he uncovered a vault that led to the basement. He spotted the Blue Falcon, and then was trusted to keep the secret of Bart Lemming's identity as Captain Falcon and would help Bart in the Falcon House while Bart's shoulder healed from an injury caused by Miss Killer.
Clank also made a site dedicated to the F-Zero pilots, including Rick.
He's known to be very resilient even in the toughest times. He had lost his father, Roy Hughes, twice: one was during an infiltration of a spaceport overrun by pirates and Zoda, and another was when he, as the Mighty Gazelle, sacrificed himself after protecting him from an attack led by Zoda. Clank also went through the loss of Captain Falcon after he gave up his life by using the Falcon Punch which sent him and Black Shadow into the Dark Reactor Core.
== Quotes ==
* Let's just say I'm a data retrieval expert; it sounds a whole lot more legal.
* I did it! I did just what Captain Falcon told me to. Now I'm here in Mute City, and I'm gonna follow my dream! Someday, I'm gonna be an F-Zero racer!
==Ikran's F-Zero timeline==
Indeed, Clank was the orphan from Planet Forno and was taken in by Burt. He eventually gave up as a hacker, and he had encountered the ruins of Sand Ocean and rediscovered an ancient automobile for Rick while Tinsel was away at the Hovercraft Hub in Tortiz 3. Clank did become a junior data expert analyzing enemies for the team. And on one fateful day, he and Burt grew worried of the Task Force never returning; they did keep encouraging Tinsel to win races against Dark Million and never giving up on looking for the squad, especially Rick.
He did become close friends with Leon who can relate to Clank's plight on being an orphan and have your world war-torn. He was very ecstatic when Tinsel brought Rick to the Falcon House, though he was alarmed after seeing the sinister look on the Dragon Bird. So, while Rick was under anesthesia having his mind cleansed by the experimental formula Dr. Stewart made, Clank restored his machine to its original settings, and even used some parts from the Dragon Ghost they found earlier. After the Aeropolis race against a brainwashed Jack, he was able to restore everyone's machines to normal, excepting Clash who committed suicide. He was also able to watch Rick as he was strenuously training against Capt. Falcon and learning the Booster Fire technique. He was also allowed into the central computer in the Task Force base, after Jack reluctantly accepted.
After the Cosmo Terminal quarterfinals, he met the Mighty Gazelle, who actually recognized his necklace with him and his dad running with each other. He analyzed the data and remembered him as his son! Clank denied it, but Rick mentioned it was him, as a robot; only his brain survived the explosion at the space transport Zoda invaded, thus was converted into a bot. It was also revealed that Clank's parents got divorced, since the Horrific Accident which impaired his father. He was unable to see him often, all because his mom was alarmed of all the cybernetic implants. Clank tearfully reunited with his dad and was considered no longer an orphan! He was still able to be an analyst and engineer preparing everyone for the Championship. He even was able to find Haruka's lost diary, thanks to Alias, enhance Rick's vehicle as the Dragon Bird EX, and restore Jody's lost memories of Burt and joined in on the fight against Deathborn as he boarded the Galaxy Runner. He also identified a planet, Uma-51, being destroyed by Deathborn's orbiting sensors, and finding Miss Killer's corpse.
By the time the evil lair was destroyed, he grieved greatly over Falcon's sacrifice.
Months later, he was also joined the Task Force on Planet Giant during Rick's 51st bounty-hunting mission as Young Capt. Falcon. He was also enlisted as one of the advanced junior students at Prof. Yazoo's university along with Alias and met his rival, Digi-Boy; he was glad he can stay in Mute City and never travel south to Bianca City. Then he was soon invited with his dad and Alias for Rick and Tinsel's wedding. He even used his robot assistant, Tek, to fly and take footage and pictures during the ceremony. He then made friends with Dai Goroh.
Fan Song: The Brazilian (Genesis)
== Trivia ==
* In Lap 42, Bart said he's born on July 28, which happens to be the same as Rick's. His blood type is O, much like Jack's and Zoda's. He also loves to eat curry, and Bart stated that Clank happens to like a girl. In 2207, he finally became the pilot of the Dragon Bird, and revamped it as the Dragon Bird EX, while Rick was using the Blue Falcon GT. Roy Hughes was a human again by that time.
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