YALL I HAVE A SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG THEORY AND I NEED YOU TO HEAR ME OUT!!!
Okay so, i was reading over gerald's journal and i noticed something.
Maria was the first thing he ever saw when he woke up, which got me thinking. "Do hedgehogs imprint on the first thing they see? Could explain how he quickly was able to trust maria and become friends with her?"
Turns out, no hedgehogs are solitary creatures and dont typically do that.
But it got me thinking, maybe the black arms do? Like, maybe they are ment to obey the first things they see, (usually it being black doom) and perhaps gerald knew this. Making him decide to make sure Maria was thr first thing Shadow saw as he could trust Maria would be trustworthy and kindhearted enough to make sure Shadow did the right thing!
He even states in the journal that Shadow and Maria are developing a deeper bond than he expected, the two were inseparable and i think thats partually because maybe a part of shadows dna saw her as his "master"
This theory also makes sence if you take into account that Shadow is unable to deny any of Marias requests, regardless of if he wants to or not. He also hasn't been able to achieve a similar bond with anyone else since. (Rouge and omega come close but not quite as close as Maria)
We see an example of him not being able to say no to Maria in SxS gens when he leaves without her despite not wanting to, specifically because she asked. Im sure there maybe more examples but i cant think of any atm lol (im still catching up to sonic lore, there is alot)
Anyway! I think Shadow imprinted on Maria, thats the theory (a game theory) thankyou for coming to my ted talk! Lol, I'd love to know if anyone else has thought of this?? Or just, lemme know your thoughts because i dont think ive heard anyone suggest anything like this yet and my brain lit up when i thought of it lol.
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After 20 years of Sonic â06, it took me to realize that Princess Eliseâs unconscious tumble hints at the events that occur in the game. Check this out:
Do you guys remember that in-game cutscene where Sonic witnessed the Egg Carrier explosion? This is where the Egg Carrier was heading, as shown here at that distanceâthis cutscene sets the stage for the game, Kingdom Valley:
Compared to the last CGI cutscene of Sonicâs Story, which is set in a different background:
Without Sonicâs assistance in rescuing her via time travel, could this be an unseen depiction of Eliseâs death, as shown above? Think about it. Remember that pre-rendered cutscene where the Solaris Project had gone wrong. After this, we watched the scene in which Shadow interacts with the Duke of Soleannaâs corpse, Eliseâs father:
(That one was from another in-game cutscene, where he sealed Iblis into Elise, giving her to Silver to a safe place, and passing out, after giving her a motivational speech:)
(Recalling this shot of Eliseâs corpse in a similar position:)
Also, that shot of Silver crouching next to that random hazmat scientistâs corpse:
We saw another shot of him lying next to younger Elise from behind:
Which recalls this shot of Eliseâs corpse in a slightly similar lying position:
Between the shots of corpses from the laboratory (Aquatic Base) and Elise in the plains from the Egg Carrier incident, could those be a good example of visual depictions of corpse-related background, which could presumably apply to Soleanna itself? Speaking of Kingdom Valley, this is where the laboratory was, referring to that shot of younger Elise sleeping against the tree:
Which recalls this shot of her sleeping, facing forward:
If you look at this shot, her unconscious pose could represent Solaris (Phase 2) himself, compared to the way her arms spread, along with the pose itself, as Solarisâs wings:
Even though we know that the emblem of him, which is the symbol of Soleanna, was featured on her dress below:
Could Elise be the true symbol of Soleanna and the first true victim of this city, since the Duke of Soleanna from the lab incident, despite being a princess? Thatâs not all! Moreover, do you remember that in-game cutscene where Mephiles kills Sonic? His corpse presumably echoes her corpse as well:
However, take a closer look at these shots. As Sonic and Elise roll over from prone to supine, their right arms land in a similar position:
As a result, since Elise is the first female human character to lie unconscious in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise since Maria Robotnik, these unexpected parallels to these characters in the later games so far, including Maria herself, are notable:
Princess Elise the Third - Sonic the Hedgehog (2006):
Shahra the Genie - Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007):
Maria Robotnik - Sonic X Shadow Generations (2024):
MIND-BLOWING... đ€Ż Share your thoughts!
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Shadow Is Gerald's Son & Maria And Shadow Are Like Siblings
So a detail that about Shadow and Maria that is seen in the games is that the 2 of them are basically siblings. As both of them learned stuff together hung out, and Maria is often labeled as Shadow's best friend.
Sonic Channel: "She lived with Shadow, who was born there, as if they were siblings."
Another detail is Gerald Robotnik the creator of Shadow the Hedgehog views Shadow as one of his sons. This can be seen in both Shadow The Hedgehog and Sonic x Shadow Generations.
This basically makes Shadow a Robotnik since he is part of the family as Gerald's son. This also technically makes him the uncle of Maria and Eggman.
Written by Eris
Sonic didn't know what the term "life hack" was prior to it, though he was familiar with the concept
Sonic describes having a Chao as a mix of "having a pet, having a baby, and having some sort of little karate fighter"
If someone leaves Chao fruit on the ground, they'll come get it themselves when they're hungry
Tails hacked a video game to give him and Sonic endless respawns
Tails hacked something of the president's
Sonic only buys one kind of socks so he never has to worry about mismatched socks
Tails does Sonic's laundry
Once Sonic chipped a tooth trying to eat a copper pipe
Tails knows random psychology bits
Tails keeps leaving his communication gizmos around Angel Island in secret so he can call Knuckles at random
Amy donates clothes that she doesn't wear to charities
Sonic falls for Rouge's bargaining tactics and almost decided to give her a chaos emerald
(this also implies that he has access to them most of the time)
Sonic is just as guilty for falling for bad advice and then passing it on to Chao
Rouge bargains by making large requests at first and then lowering it to what she actually wants, in order to make it seem reasonable
Rouge sometimes wears glasses, whether as a disguise or maybe for reading
Tails is more street smart than Sonic (at least in some ways)
Tails thinks Sonic's razzing of Shadow is actually hilarious
Shadow does NOT like prank calls and threatened to come and break their stuff if they do it to him again (even though it wasn't supposed to be a prank call originally)
things we know about Silverâs future and backstory lore
he fought and struggled for half his lifetime through the disaster future filled with despair(he fought demons and disasters like fire tornadoes since he was 7)
he looked for the cause of the disaster his whole life but no one he talked to could answer him directly(which is why he listened to Mephiles the first person to give him an answer)
psychic powers are common in Silverâs future(06 website, Mario & Sonic games)
(unconfirmed) Silverâs gloves, boots and cuffs were made by scientists with spiritually resonant metal from an ancient civilization that could strengthen and stabilize mental abilities. Silverâs Psychocuffs amplify his psychic powers and give him greater precision with them. they are a constant reminder of his duty and the sacrifices of the people who created them. Silverâs gloves and cuffs have the symbols found all over Sky Sanctuary so thatâs probably the ancient civilization
he killed Iblis over and over again because it was the only thing he could do to try and fix things
Silver believed in restoring the blue sky when no one else did
Silver ate apple flavored calorie bars and ration foods and had bandages. we donât know what else he had in the apocalyptic future
Silver dreamed of better food like meat đ
because he fought and struggled since he was 7 Silver is a feral warrior because and thatâs why he always has those aggro expressions even when heâs playing sports. heâs got crazy pain tolerance and is ready to bite your face off if you surprise him in Generations
Silver is naive and innocent and doesnât know or get certain things because heâs from the hell world future(Heneryism)
Silver loves nature, blue skies and peopleâs smiles so much because the world he came from was full of disasters, black skies and people lived in despair/without hope
some really complicated stuff with Blaze happened that hasnât really been explained yet but Sonic Rush comes before 06 and Blaze wasnât from the future according to Ian Flynn and Takashi Iizuka and the Sonic Channel timeline. Silver and Eggman Negative are from the future and Blaze is from her dimension
Silver and Blazeâs story in 06 is a retelling of the Tanabata fairy tale so Blaze comes from her dimension(Blaze's dimension representing Vega and Silver's future representing Altair. the stars separated by the Milky Way) and instantly formed a bond with Silver before they were separated at the end of Silverâs story
because of 06's ending Silverâs future was restored but he doesnât remember how(he doesnât remember 06). Silver still has his backstory and everything from before Sonic 06 but doesn't remember the events of the game or his original partnership with Blaze(unless ESP Silver is a thing)
after 06 Silver gets to live in the peaceful future he always wanted with blue skies and smiles and he thinks Sonicâs time is dated(unless ESP Silver is a real thing then 06 and Rivals Silver are different characters and things would be even more confusing)
so far they've mentioned robots, pumpkin dumplings, super trains, cars like the lightron, extreme gear made with special future metal, a camera that turns people into cards in Silverâs good future
Silverâs good future is called the blue sky future and Silver lives in an apartment in the future there
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Iâve said this before, but Dark Sonic represents an overflow of Sonicâs negative emotions, the ones he usually suppresses: anger, sadness, and fear.
However, many people believe that Dark Sonic is somehow a betrayal of Sonic as a character (even Ian Flynn, reportedly, but Iâve yet to see an official source). Sonic is meant to be a beacon of optimism. Sonic is meant to be the pillar of hope when all else fails. Sonic is meant to be the last one standing, no matter what.
In this sense, sure, Dark Sonic contradicts the notion that Sonic is âuncorruptable,â but I think that depends on how we define corruption.
I see it two ways:
1) Corruption by way of losing faith, through dishonesty and fraud.
2) Corruption by way of a forceful shift from one state of being to another.
In the first sense, corruption occurs when someoneâs paradigm is shifted through lies, cheating, or manipulation. Itâs a conscious mental shift. In the second sense, corruption occurs when something (or someone) is co-opted and changed without its will or influence, like data corruption, or a shift in the meaning of a word or image. Itâs a literal, physical and/or metaphysical shift.
Thereâs a saying that floats around the fandom that says, âShadow is just âSonic, if Sonic had one really bad dayâ,â and I think that makes sense. Shadow is jaded and cynical because of how the world has hurt him, but he still wants to do right by peopleâjust like Sonic. What separates Sonic from Shadow, however, is Sonicâs tenant optimism and positive paradigm. Without those differences, Sonic has endless reasons to be as cynical as Shadow, or even more so.
So, Sonic doesnât let himself feel those feelings for very long, and especially not when other people are around. He pours everything into a clean, neat bottle, with a tight screw-on cap, right?
What happens when something tampers with that bottle?
Dark Sonic is a forceful corruption of body but not of mind. Letâs talk about it.
How Dark Sonic Works
What I think people misunderstand most about Dark Sonic is that itâs not an intentional state of being. It never was.
Dark Sonic is the polar opposite to Super Sonic, which is achieved when Sonic harnesses the positive energy of the Chaos Emeralds. If Sonic wanted to harness the power of the emeralds for the wrong reasons and his heart accessed the negative energy rather than the positive, he could possibly bring about Dark Sonic willingly. This, however, would likely never happen because that is the betrayal of Sonicâs character that everyone worries about.
That said, the only reason Dark Sonic ever appears is because of a mix of Sonicâs pure rage over Black Narcissist physically assaulting Chris and Cosmo and the presence of hundreds of the Metarexâs fake Chaos Emeralds, which possess an aura clearly shown to impact Sonic and make him ill.
Sonicâs first interaction with negative Chaos energy from the fake emeralds is filled with discomfort and even disgust. Sonic reacting to the negative Chaos energy poorly is critical, as it showcases that itâs seeking him out, not vice versa.
When Sonic was as triggered as he was, the negative energy from the fakes harnessed his emotions and corrupted him. It was a complete, freak accident.
This situation is very similar to Darkspine Sonic, the in-game equivalent to Dark Sonic from Sonic and the Secret Rings. Darkspine Sonic only surfaces when Sonic is severely triggered after Shahra starts to betray him, Erazor Djinn murders her (she sacrifices herself for Sonic), and he sees Erazor Djinnâs final form about to destroy the storybook world. In his shock and anger, the Secret Rings of Sadness, Rage, and Hate target him, painfully turning him into Darkspine Sonic. Once again, external energies corrupt him at the height of his emotional vulnerability.
Sonic never seeks out the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds because his heart is good. When the negative energy seeks him out in such overwhelming waves, it corrupts his abilities, alters them, and pulls them out to play.
Butâ
If itâs simply a matter of fake Chaos Emeralds, then why can Sonic use Tailsâ fake Chaos Emerald in Sonic Adventure 2 without any problems? I posit this to the fact that Tails might have a better understanding of the balanced nature of the Chaos Emeralds (in that they are powered by both good and evil), while Eggman and Dark Oak have only ever used (or desired to use) the Chaos Emeralds for evil.
Recall Eggmanâs laser at the beginning of Sonic Unleashed and Perfect Chaos in Sonic Adventure. Both uses of the chaos emeralds drained them of their powerâtheir negative power, that is. (Albeit through different means based on the lore of each game), Sonic is still able to restore and harness the emeraldsâ power because he relies on the positive energy of the emeralds. As intelligent as he is, I imagine that Eggman (as well as the Metarex) has a hard time replicating the intricate nature and balance of the Chaos Emeralds because their hearts are filled with hatred and turmoil, so unwilling to heed the perspectives of others. The power is there, sure, but not the heart.
~Chaos is power. Power is enriched by the heart~
Tikal's Prayer
I think the difference between Tailsâ fake emerald and every other fake emerald weâve seen in canon is marked by the fact that both Eggmanâs and the Metarexâs fakes disintegrate after excessive use (i.e., Chaos Control), but Tailsâ fake remains intact.
The Metarex's emerald disintegrates upon excessive use
Eggman's fake emeralds can't hold their form upon excessive use
Tails' fake emerald is intact and ultimately used to stop the Eclipse Canon from firing
In short, Tailsâ emerald is simply a better fake, more accurate to the originals.
also, I refuse to talk about how dumb it is that Sonic was able to use a fake Chaos Emerald to do Chaos Control for the first time. However, it is canon, and therefore relevant to my point.
Another key problem cited in Sonic X is just how many fake emeralds there are. One emerald pales in comparison to hundreds. Sonic feels all the latent negative energy consume him because that energy is a corruption, itself.
Itâs not that Sonic gets so angry that he just gives in to darkness, itâs that darkness captures him when heâs in extreme emotional distress and his guard is down. Dark Sonic is the result of negative, unstable, potent Chaos energy clinging to him, using his latent Chaos powers as a vessel when he least expects it and, thus, is powerless against it.
I think I can best prove this by contrasting Dark Sonic with Sonicâs other intimate encounter with darknessâŠ
Sonic Unleashed, Dark Gaia, and the Werehog
Iâve spoken at length about this game and this specific scene, already, so kindly forgive my hyper-brief summary this time around!
When Dark Gaiaâs âweight issuesâ cause its essence to disperse around the globe, many people fall influence to Dark Gaiaâs despair, losing faith and hope in the world. Nothing like the influences of Chaos energy, but enough of an influence that much of the world feels it. A core aspect of the gameâs plot is that Sonic, distinctly, does not. In the cutscene No Reason, Sonic asks Chip why he stays the same despite the darkness inside his heart while so many others change at night. Chip answers simply, saying that Sonicâs too strong to lose himself and that part of his good will is because he never doubts himself, even when heâs on his own.
The difference is that while Sonic undergoes a physical transformation, he never loses faith or gives up hopeâmade especially clear by the fact that Professor Pickle, once as hopeful as Sonic, eventually does lose hope.
Also key to note that Amy also never loses hope.
Unleashed is just another fun, high-stakes adventure for Sonic; thereâs never a moment where heâs aggressively triggered by something or when his personal morals are ever tainted. Irritated, maybe. Flustered, even. Never at a loss. The closest we see Sonic come to this is when he loses the werehog form to Dark Gaia before the final battle. He falls to his knees, worn and exhausted, and tells Chip to run because he doesnât want him to get caught up in the mess. Yet even then heâs not giving up.
Thatâs why Sonicâs heightened emotional state is so important to the conversation. When Sonicâs will is intact, heâs much stronger, but when heâs triggered by something and his defences are down, itâs much easier for corrupting forces around him to take hold.
Mind over Matter
Even with the parameters for Dark Sonicâs appearance established, something that stands out to me about Sonicâs encounters with dark energies, and something I see as additional evidence that Dark Sonic is only a literal, physical corruption and not a corruption of his paradigm, is that Sonic is still in control of himselfâto an extent.
Even as he seethes in his amplified rage, Dark Sonic never inflicts harm on the innocent. After Gold and Silver are destroyed, itâs not expressly clear if Sonic intends to stop or fight Black Narcissist, but Eggman implies that Sonic was fighting Gold and Silver until there was quite literally nothing left. Sonic was given a target to attack, and he kept his focus there, even when other enemies presented themselves.
This also goes for the Werehog and Darkspine Sonic.
He also has the mind to listen to reasonâfrom Eggman, of all peopleâand stop when itâs clear that heâs finished what he set out to do. Sonic channels his anger to where it needs to be, and itâs clear that Sonicâs moral code and paradigm on life are thoroughly intact.
The only thing that changes is that heâs no longer imposing his usual limits. Sonic is stupidly powerful, even without any power ups. If he ever wanted to kill Eggman, he would have by now. If he ever wanted to kill anyone, he would have by now (and technically, he has).
Sonic throws Erazor Djinn's lamp into a pit, never to resurface, effectively trapping him and ending his livelihood indefinitely.
However, Sonic holds back because he doesnât want to be an arbiter of justiceâhe doesnât want to deprive someoneâs chance to be good unless itâs been clear that they cannot be redeemed.
Why I Care About This
It is no secret that I believe that Sonic is a highly emotional characterâfar more emotional than many give him credit for. It bears repeating that Sonicâs emotions are very big and can be cataclysmic when left uncheckedâŠ
âŠbut thatâs just part of growing upâgrowing up as a hero and, damn it, even just a kid.
Dark Sonic isnât a case of Sonic giving himself to darkness, nor is it a perversion of Sonicâs character. Itâs an energetic, chaotically-charged version of Sonic when he is at his angriestâand even then itâs not enough to change his morals or make him lash out unjustly.
Dark Sonic is cathartic, in a way, and I definitely think it deserves its place in canon.