Sonic Battle: Opening!!/Prize Fights

**Sonic Battle: Opening!!** (or, **Prize Fights)** is the forty-fifth chapter of Sonic X: Heroes Forever.

## Characters

* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Miles "Tails" Prower
* Knuckles the Echidna
* Rouge the Bat
* Shadow the Hedgehog
* Amy Rose
* Cream the Rabbit
* Cheese the Chao
* Bunnie Rabbot
* Maria Robotnik
* Silver the Hedgehog
* Sally Acorn
* Payback Fox
* Shade the Echidna
* Blaze the Cat
* Marine the Raccoon
* Ray the Flying Squirrel
* Mighty the Armadillo
* Sonia the Hedgehog
* Manic the Hedgehog
* Honey the Cat (First appearance)
* Fiona Fox
* Rotor Walrus
* Antoine D’Coolette
* NICOLE
* Shard the Hedgehog (Does not speak)
* Julie-Su
* Liza the Chameleon
* Mina Mongoose
* Charmy Bee
* Saffron Bee
* Big the Cat
* Froggy
* Vanilla the Rabbit
* Chocola the Chao
* Jules Hedgehog
* Queen Aleena Hedgehog/Bernadette Hedgehog
* Sir Charles Hedgehog
* Sleet
* Dingo (Does not speak)
* Emerl
* Hope Kintobor
* Jennifer Vasquez (mentioned, unnamed)
* Christopher Thorndyke
* Chuck Thorndyke
* Nelson Thorndyke
* Lindsey Thorndyke (Does not speak)
* Mr. Edward Tanaka
* Ella Rodriguez
* Scarlet Garcia
* Mr. Stewart
* Sam Speed
* Danny
* Frances
* Helen
* Doug (Does not speak)
* Jessie (does not speak)
* Michael K
* Christina Cooper
* Topaz McCarter
* Elmer Johnson
* Hawk
* Jerome Wise
* Next (Does not speak)
* E-77 Lucky
* Dr. Eggman
* Snively Robotnik
* Decoe
* Bocoe
* Bokkun
* Scratch
* Grounder
* Coconuts
* Brandon Mutt
* Blake Prisma
* Rachael Hops

## Plot

The episode starts with Eggman, Snively, Decoe, Bocoe, Scratch, Grounder, Sleet, and Dingo building something when the evil scientist realizes he’s out of supplies. Snively gives Decoe and Bocoe a shopping list and Eggman demands that the four robots go out to get the supplies “with great difficulty,” and mentions that Emerl has six of the seven Chaos Emeralds.

Outside the Thorndyke Mansion, Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, Chocola, and Bunnie are picking flowers outside and Emerl hands Cream a bunch of flowers. He thanks Cream for helping him to be gentle, but, there’s two others that also participated in helping Emerl out.

Two of the figures in question, Maria and Hope, are on the balcony with Amy, observing Emerl’s more emotionally connected personality. They do remember Shade’s warning about giving him the last emerald however. The seven emeralds managed to wipe Emerl’s memory and it’s revealed Maria knew Emerl on the ARK. Amy also mentions that the only people who wouldn’t appreciate flowers if they had an allergy and she apologizes to Hope about the peach cobbler she made on her birthday. Hope is grateful Maria was there to heal her and Maria mentions her grandmother was a pharmacist. Suddenly, a dragonfly comes in and Amy tries to knock it out, but, Hope and Maria get her to stop before she hits the window. Amy asks if Silver could fix it with his Time Stones, but, Maria and Hope explain that’s not the point.

Ella and Mr. Tanaka give Amy a chocolate-peanut butter pie and some tea to help calm her down, and the former assures Amy she’s not the best around bugs herself. Just then, Sonic zips back home.

Back outside, Cream gives Emerl a flower necklace and he changes colors to show him blushing. It’s a skill that’s advanced even for Gizoid standards.

Later, Scarlet is announcing Eggman’s escape and that Sonic, Sally, and Knuckles are to help out in a tournament battle to try and capture him again, but, they aren’t interested. Payback tries to explain the situation and the Mobians admit that they’d outmatch humans far too easily. They say they can’t use weapons or go all out on a human. Michael K. agrees to the conditions and offers them a Chaos Emerald - the Grey one as it was the only one they could find. Knuckles isn’t convinced, but, Sonic and Sally manage to persuade Knuckles into joining by getting him to demonstrate his abilities.

Scarlet and Michael put the announcement forward that the tournament with the three Mobians is going ahead and anyone can participate to win the Chaos Emerald. Knuckles shows off a demonstration on the TV and after two operators doubt that they can win (one’s named Tiffany), it's revealed that those at the Thorndyke Mansion are watching the commercial.

Chris is hesitant to partake in the event and Tails admits Knuckles has great control of his strength. Chris is about to not partake in the event when the phone rings and it’s revealed that his father is on the other end. Nelson entered both Chris and himself in the competition, along with Amy, Tails, Cream, Silver, Blaze, Ray, Chuck, Ella, and Mr. Tanaka as well. Mina and Maria raise doubts about the competition and Nelson hangs up on his son. Cream sees Fiona’s name in the brackets and thanks to some prompts from Amy, decides to go ahead with the competition to put Fiona in her place. Vanilla wonders what got Cream so angry and Rotor explains about what she did, Sonia adding that Fiona shot Julie-Su on Angel Island. Rotor hands Vanilla a data book and she’s shocked at what she finds, Antoine remarking it’s not pretty.

At the studio, the infomercial is run and Scarlet can take a break, much to her relief.

Back at the hideout, Eggman accidently hammers his thumb and while Scratch and Grounder return, Decoe and Bocoe do not. Bokkun is sent out to find them

On the big day, Bocoe and Decoe find out that Bokkun, Coconuts, and Lucky are participating in the tournament, much to their surprise.

Elmer Johnson is revealed to be the announcer and reveals that Silver is pitted against Emerl. Unfortunately, Elmer refers to Emerl as a robot, much to Shade’s frustration, and Jules and Mighty have to hold her back and NICOLE suggests that she and Shade do a slideshow on how Gizoids work after the tournament is over. Silver and Emerl leap into battle and since non-Prefect Gizoids can’t copy elemental attacks, it seems Silver has the upper hand. Unfortunately, he gets distracted, which causes Emerl to charge up an Energy Ball, knocking him out and Emerl wins the match. Silver manages to get up and follow Emerl out of the ring.

The next match is Ella - whose last name is revealed to be Rodriguez, much to Sonic’s surprise - and Big, who was persuaded by Amy to participate. The two start the match, when Froggy shows up unexpectedly. Ella is scared and tries to wave her frying pan while Big protects his pet. She whacks Big on the head and he’s knocked out of the ring, much to everyone’s shock. Ella is announced the winner.

Michael is up next against the “Black Knight” and Manic is particularly interested to see the battle pan out. Christina already has doubts about the battle and Michael also raises doubts. These turn out to be correct as the Black Knight tries to charge, but, Christina literally throws in the towel and the Black Knight is the winner. Michael protests, but, Christina manages to convince him to leave.

Charmy Bee is next - much to Saffron’s excitement - up against Mr. Edward Tanaka. Charmy seems to have the upper hand at first, zipping all around the place, but, in his shrunken state, Mr. Tanaka knocks him back with a flick and he grows to normal size, crashing into a wall. Saffron realizes he’s very dizzy and takes him to get medical treatment.

Blaze is up next against Topaz and though the latter is nervous, remains focused enough to battle. Blaze seems to have the upper hand at first with her Pirouette Dash until Topaz gives her a kick with her guard down. Blaze tries to pounce, but, Topaz dodges and Blaze lands outside the ring, giving Topaz her victory.

Next up is Chris pit against his classmate, Danny, and Helen and Frances are both watching from the crowd with their parents. Chris seems to be upset and doesn’t want to get hurt, but ,when Danny lets his guard down, Chris attacks. Chris smugly declares victory, much to the Thorndyke residents and the girls’ shock.

Chris goes backstage and sees Chuck, who was known as “Thorndyke the Throttler” back in the day, but, he gets an injury and is taken to hospital, making Lucky the winner by default. Decoe and Bocoe realize this in amazement and go out to battle each other next, much to their shock. Unfortunately for them, the police arrive and they rush away.

Next up is Sally against Mr. Stewart. Sally seems to do well, but, Mr. Stewart applies enough pressure to her shoulder to knock her out, declaring Mr. Stewart the winner. Sonic is concerned for his girlfriend and helps her up. Sally is so touched she gives Sonic a kiss, causing the crowd to aww.

Amy is next up against Sam Speed. Unfortunately, the battle ends before it begins because Amy pulls out her hammer and is disqualified, but, Sam doesn’t mind. Amy goes to join Manic and while he’s not happy with Amy’s actions, he’s happy that at least he and Amy can continue watching the match together.

Knuckles and Espio come out next, and Julie-Su is surprised to find out Liza hasn’t made her move on Espio yet. The male Chaotix members begin to battle and Knuckles exposes Espio’s camouflage by flinging dust onto him. Espio uses a smoke bomb, but, that results in a disqualification, much to his embarrassment. The boys meet up with Liza and Julie-Su, with the former telling Espio that his mistake was one any ninja can make and the latter congratulating Knuckles on his win.

Nelson and Coconuts are up next and Coconuts is instantly disqualified for using a bomb. Nelson tosses it back to Coconuts and he’s blown up. Nelson questions his choices for the battle, which Jules and Aleena are quick to agree with.

Fiona and Payback are next and Cream and Tails cheer Payback on from the sidelines. Unfortunately, Fiona gets the upper hand quickly and knocks Payback out. As Fiona walks away, Tails tells Cream to find Maria and he carries Payback away.

Tails gets back just in time to have his match against Hawk. Hawk tries to attack, but, Tails uses his namesakes to block the punches and manages to spin Hawk with his namesakes to knock him out. While the girls are cheering, it’s Cream’s cheers who rise above the rest.

Cream is next against Bokkun, but, he faints upon being in the ring with her and Cream is declared the winner, much to her confusion. Bokkun is taken out of the ring.

The last match of the first round is Sonic against Ray. As they are both Mobians, like with Espio and Knuckles, they go all out with their attacks - Sonic Eagle, Ray Pincher, Sonic Wave, Sonic Drive, Ray Bowler, and Sonic Meteor. The last attack knocks Ray out and Sonic is the winner. Marine darts out to see if Ray’s alright and he wakes up to assure her that he is. Marine boops Ray on the nose and he faints, causing her to take him in her arms.

Meanwhile, Snively is looking for Decoe and Bocoe.

Unknown to him, Sonia is still disgusted with Chris’ tricks when Mighty senses trouble. The “trouble” is a Mobian cat named Honey, who used to be Mighty’s girlfriend. Sonia believes Honey broke Mighty’s heart, but, when she realizes how sweet Honey is, she starts to think again. Honey admits that Mighty thought she was younger than she was and the two dated before coming to the realization, breaking up on good terms. Honey assures that Sonia and Mighty make a lovely couple and upon seeing Sonia upset at her mistake, Mighty hugs her to make her feel better.

Sonic, Hope, Jules, and Sally chat to Chris, ashamed of what he did, and Chris admitted he, too, felt ashamed because he wanted to see what it was like to be a bad guy. It didn’t feel good at all. Jules promises to show the discussion to the others.

Next holds up a sign with Round 2 kicking off with Knuckles facing off against the “Black Knight.” He tries to battle, but, the “Black Knight” wants Knuckles to forfeit the match. He reveals himself to be Jerome Wise and he’s still blaming Sonic for the mess he’s in. Knuckles insists that it was his own fault and the echidna manages to chase Jerome out of the ring. Knuckles felt like he accomplished that without showing off, but, realized his comment came out wrong. Julie-Su still congratulates him on his victory and they fist bump.

Chris goes back out to the ring and Danny explains that Jules showed him, Helen and Frances everything and he came to wish Chris luck. He goes out to see his father. Chuck, Sir Charles, Jules, and Linsdey observe the battle and Chuck is sure Nelson will win, which Jules and Sir Charles don’t necessarily believe. The hedgehogs prove to be right as Chris wins against his dad, with Jules remarking to Manic and Amy that talent must skip a generation.

Sam and Mr. Stewart are next, but, because Sam started too quickly, Mr. Stewart wins and Sam races off in his car.

Lucky was due to face off against Decoe or Bocoe, but, both of them are on the run, so, he wins again.

Next up is Topaz and Mr. Tanaka, but, he gives her a necklace. Topaz is so happy she forfeits the match. Rouge remarks to Shadow that if it were the two of them and Shadow did that to her, she may do the same thing. Danny and Chris are very confused and Ella simply tells them it’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar as she proceeds with her next match.

Ella is pitted against Emerl, who is told by Cream he can win, but, he must be gentle with Ella. Emerl is most confused on how to win if he’s gentle, but, Ella has an idea - she can forfeit the match and make dinner instead. Cream smiles at her as she does just that.

The next match is Tails against Fiona. He tries using his Tail Swipe on Fiona, but, she dodges it. Hope and Maria think that Tails is in trouble, since Fiona easily dodges all his attacks, then they hear Cream cheering for Tails, Fiona finds herself at the edge of the ring and taunts Tails to fly towards her. He does so, but, she grabs his hands and kisses him, stunning Tails and dumping him outside the ring. The Knothole Freedom Fighters are disgusted by Fiona’s audacity, but, none more so than Cream, who, when prompted by Manic, calls Fiona a hussy and tosses Cheese in her direction. Vanilla tells her daughter to call Cheese back and she does so before Vanilla explains that if Cream wins, she can put Fiona in her place.

Cream is pitted against Sonic, the former of whom is quite nervous. Sonic understands why Cream decided to take part in the first place and knows to go easy on her. Before he can go on however, Snively rushes past looking for the missing robots (or maybe not in Bokkun’s case) and Sonic gives chase after him, forfeiting the competition to Cream. This brings it down to the final eight: Knuckles, Chris, Mr. Stewart, Lucky, Mr. Tanaka, Emerl, Fiona, and Cream as the episode ends.

## Differences between this and the real episode

* Snively, Scratch, Grounder, Sleet and Dingo are with Eggman, Decoe, and Bocoe when the shopping list was handed out. In addition, Scratch and Grounder join Decoe and Bocoe on the shopping trip.

* Chocola and Bunnie join Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, and Emerl outside in the flowers. Emerl is also capable of speaking as per the previous episodes, but with more emotion.
* It’s mentioned that Cream, Maria, and Hope helped Emerl learn to be gentle. This isn’t the case in the real episode.
* In the real episode, Amy is trying to whack a mosquito for interrupting her fantasy with Sonic. In this episode, she tries to hit a dragonfly because she got frightened and Ella also admits she doesn’t like dragonflies.
* In the original anime, the red emerald was the prize instead of the grey one.
* Some of the competitors in the original anime are missing. Here, the missing competitors are Silver, Blaze, Ray, Cream, Coconuts, Espio, Charmy, Payback and Sally. Apart from Espio, Charmy, and Cream, the rest were never in the anime at all.
* Amy is eliminated much earlier from the competition. In addition, we know she battled Bokkun in the original. Here, it was Cream who was with Bokkun. Cream wasn’t in the competition at all in the original and we don’t know who battled Sam first.
* Fiona replaces Rouge in the tournament. Instead, Rouge is in the crowd with Shadow, who wasn’t in the original saga either. Sally also replaces Rouge in the meeting scene in the office with Sonic and Knuckles. Topaz is replaced in the meeting scene with Payback instead.
* The “missing” competitions are shown in the first round.
* Everyone at the Thorndyke Mansion, in addition to Frances and Helen, are shocked to see Chris acting so mean to Danny. Sonic, Jules, Hope and Sally all call him out, while the original just had Sonic gently talking to Chris.
* Snively goes looking for Decoe and Bocoe instead of Eggman. Therefore, Sonic chases Snively instead.
* Knuckles is congratulated on his win against Jerome Wise by Julie-Su, who wasn’t in the anime.
* Jules tells Manic and Amy that “talent skips a generation” instead of Chuck.
* Sonia doesn’t confront Chris directly but is still disgusted with his actions and she meets Honey, Mighty’s ex-girlfriend and they immediately become friends after some miscommunication.
* Fiona not only kisses Tails like what Rouge did in the original, everyone is enraged at Fiona’s actions, causing Cream to toss Cheese into the ring.
* Unlike in the original episode, the tournament forbids the use of weapons.
* Cream is hesitant to fight Sonic, despite Sonic mentioning he’ll go easy on her. In the original, Amy and Sonic are pitted against each other, and Amy doesn’t know how to fight someone she has a major crush on when she’s not angry.
* Ella is given a last name and Mr. Tanaka is given a proper name.

## Trivia

* There’s a few fourth wall breaks in the episode. Rachael, Blake, and Brandon are in a sports stadium discussing the plot of the episode as well as the status of Bokkun’s potential status as a techno-organic.
	+ Brandon also brings up a mini-series to take place between the movie and this episode.
	+ Rachael mentions that Frances’ and Danny’s parents are background humans in Sonic X.
* Ella’s last name is revealed to be Rodriguez and Mr. Tanaka’s name is Edward.