Imprint

**Synopsis:** Sonic and his gang speed towards a new venture, picking up the pieces from the blowback of Dr. Eggman's latest scheme and dealing with the occasional troublemakers.

### Air date

January 1, 2019

 Can I help you to fend off the Badniks? You may never know when you'll need someone to save your neck, after all!

Heh, you're right. Let's go, then!

— Miles "Tails" Prower and Sonic the Hedgehog

**"Imprint"** is the first episode of the first season of *Sonic Classix* and the first episode altogether.

## Story

### Imprint

* **Directed by:** Tyson Hesse
* **Written by:** Ian Flynn
* **Animated by:** Nathalie Fourdraine
* **Composed by:** Danny Burns

The episode begins with an introduction to the series: it explains that Sonic the Hedgehog has been battling the forces of Dr. Eggman for quite a lengthy while. Every time the portly megalomaniac has attacked, Sonic has showed up and thwarted his schemes, then relaxed until Eggman makes his next move. However, Eggman's most recent plot, which resulted in a full-out war breaking out, has left the world in a state of extreme disarray. The doctor himself had vanished without a single trace.

Back in the present, Sonic races to Greenflower Village to check on Tails and probably lend a helping hand in the village's reparation. Thinking to himself, he acknowledges that he didn't see Tails for a long time and briefly worries that the fox cub is overworking himself. Nonetheless, Sonic dashes in the direction of the townlet to assist however he can. Upon his arrival, Sonic is almost instantly greeted by a bunch of kids and Tails himself, who warmly welcomes Sonic. Spotting the bags under Tails' eyes, the hedgehog asks his friend if he slept properly since after the war. Tails replies that he'd like to, but there's much to be cleaned up and rebuilt, and remarks that Dr. Eggman's disappearance has made the world's affairs a bit easier to deal with. Much to Tails' bewilderment, Sonic agrees with him and expresses his wish for the world to stay that way. Tails initially questions Sonic's wish, but Sonic elucidates that he'd rather lay back and relax with his friends than fight a horrid war. Following that, the hedgehog notes that the rebuilding efforts must've been pretty extensive, which Tails confirms; he also says that he and and the village's horticulturists had put a great deal of hard work into restoring the village's defining trait - its status as a lush habitat for all kinds of flowers in the world.

Sonic then questions the fox cub about the status of Eggman's robot army, and Tails explains that due to Eggman's disappearance, the Badniks became completely directionless. While they no longer represent a unified threat, they still attack everything they come across because of their in-built aggression. Tails also reveals that a bunch of Eggman's devotees has surfaced, seeking to fill the void their idol has left as a consenquence of his sudden vanishment. Sonic is left bemused by the disclosure, fleetingly wondering about the reasons to idolize Eggman, but Tails requests the hedgehog to let him finish. Tails says that while they aren't able to fight on their own, they're able to take control of rogue Badnik gangs and have them attack rebuilding villages, and adds that the Resistance's security corps has already fought off several such attacks.

Suddenly. a panicked cat villager appears. He tells the duo that the village's watch has spotted a crowd of Badniks approaching the village. As Sonic jokes about the "convinient" timing of the invasion, Tails asks him to let him help to repel the Badniks, to which Sonic agrees without any hesitation. The duo then takes off to confront the robots.

Arriving at the village's outskirts, which already has a number of the Resistance's soldiers fighting against the assailants, Sonic and Tails immediately get attacked by a Badnik group. While Sonic tangles with a crowd of Egg Pawns and Crabmeats, Tails takes on some Rollers and Asterons, swiftly destroying the former by deflecting the latter on them. He subsequently gets distracted for a moment by one of his tails catching fire, failing to notice a Hunter Chopper rapidly descending right on him. Fortunately, the flying robot is destroyed by a Resistance soldier, prompting Tails to praise the soldier for his aim and thank him. Meanwhile, Sonic stands near a pile of busted robot parts, congratulating himself on a beating well done. However, his happiness doesn't last for long as he is unexpectedly attacked by E-102 Kappa, a Super Badnik. A voice begins speaking through Kappa, saying that he longed for this day to finally come, and Sonic sarcastically questions if he's just a fan of his whlist dodging Kappa's attacks. The voice retorts that it's quite the opposite, and introduces himself at Pike the Wolf, a member of the Egg Yolks. The wolf then launches into a long rant about the superiority of Eggman's machines over all life, but Sonic tells him to shut it and lands a flurry of Spin Attacks and Homing Attacks on Kappa, which creates a number of sizeable dents in it. Aggravated, Pike shouts that Sonic is no match for the Super Badnik's might; the robot begins to frantically box everything it comes across with its spike-laden hands in a last-ditch effort to perforate the hedgehog. Sonic narrpwly manages to avoid Kappa's punches and is saved by Tails just before the robot would've skewered him. Sonic says that the robot is surprisingly durable, and Tails reminds Sonic that they cannot let the Badnik destroy the town once again, to which Sonic agrees. Thus, the two friends decide to destroy Kappa together and and use the Rolling Combo to finaly defeat the robot by splitting its head in half. Exactly when Sonic and Tails take a respite, Pike crawls out of the burining rubble and attacks the heroes. Despite managing to land a few hits on Sonic, Pike is vanquished and left in the dust by the tandem in a minute flat. Sonic then demands that Pike notify his fellow Egg Yolks about his defeat. Pike instead hastily retreats.

Sonic elatedly remarks that the town is safe for now, as the Egg Yolks wouldn't dare to touch a town that they know a member of theirs was defeated in. Tails also adds that in case they will try again, the townlet will be sufficiently fortified to deal with them. Sonic responds by happily stating that he would never expect anything less from him and asks him about Amy's whereabouts, explaining that he hasn't seen her for a long time either and wants to make sure she's fine. Tails uses his Miles Electric in order to pinpoint Amy's location. The device determines it to be Sheffield, a neighboring town. With this, Sonic makes his leave, wishing Tails lots of luck and Tails responding likewise.

In the post-credits scene, an exhausted Pike uses his communication device to inform a colleague about his faliure at Greenflower Village, lamenting that he couldn't score a victory against the hedgehog. The colleague tells him not to worry too much, as they have apparently picked out a town which they think will be Sonic's next "detour".

#### Appearances

**Characters:**

* Sonic the Hedgehog ***(First appearance)***
* Resistance ***(Mentioned)***
	+ Miles "Tails" Prower ***(First appearance)***
	+ Knuckles the Echidna ***(Mentioned)***
	+ Amy Rose ***(Mentioned)***
* Dr. Eggman ***(Mentioned)***
* Egg Yolks ***(First appearance)***
	+ Pike the Wolf ***(First appearance)***
* Badniks ***(First appearance)***
	+ Moto Bug Imultiple) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Egg Pawn (multiple) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Slicer (multiple) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Roller (x4) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Asteron (multiple) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Crabmeat (multiple) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Turtloid: Ground Unit (x2) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Hunter Chopper (multiple) ***(First appearance)***
	+ Super Badniks ***(First appearance)***
		- E-109 Kappa ***(First appearance)***

**Locations:**

* Sonic's world ***(First appearance)***
	+ Greenflower Village ***(First appearance)***
	+ Sheffield ***(Mentioned)***

**Items:**

* Wispon ***(First appearance)***
	+ White Wispon ***(First appearance)***

**Misc.:**

* Eggman Empire ***(First appearance)***
* Homing Attack ***(First appearance)***
* Spin Attack ***(First appearance)***
* Rolling Combo ***(First appearance)***

#### Continuity

* Sonic and Tails save a village from a mob of Badniks controlled by a representative of the Egg Yolks. This would continue for several episodes.
* Dr. Eggman is revealed to have disappeared after Sonic and co. broke his hold over the world.
* Sonic begins to check up on the members of the Resistance. This would continue for several episodes.

#### Trivia

* The title of the episode alludes to the figurative "mark" (as in, *imprint*) Dr. Eggman left on Sonic, his friends and his world in the wake of the war.