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Shade

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Shade
First seen: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008)
Species: Echidna (Nocturnus Clan)
Gender: Female
Age: +4,000 years (objective)
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Shade is a playable character in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Kept relatively enigmatic until the game's release, Shade is a member of the Nocturnus Clan echidnas, long-lost remnants of Knuckles' vanished race. A disciplined and serious military girl, Shade is dispatched by Imperator Ix to steal the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic's world. However, as her master's megalomania becomes apparent, she switches sides to help Sonic stop her former boss.

Character conception

Shade concept art
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Personality and traits

In the first half of Sonic Chronicles, Shade is commander-in-chief of the marauding Nocturnus forces on Sonic's World, holding the rank of Procurator. While physically much weaker than Knuckles, she can climb up walls in the same way, though she isn't able to glide. Shade fights with tactics and technology rather than brute force, stabbing with her leech blade and tossing out explosives to stun foes. An imposing figure in her helmet and armour, Shade's combat suit enables her to cloak for limited periods, and also teleport short distances.

The echidna's personality is described by the Chronicles codex as "the polar opposite of Rouge the Bat". She doesn't steal, doesn't joke, and certainly doesn't consider "sitting around looking pretty" as a worthwhile use of her time. She does have a moral streak, however; objecting loudly Imperator Ix's dreams of conquest until he fires her (off the edge of a cliff). Shade nurses a bit of a guilty conscience throughout the second half of Sonic Chronicles: both for enabling Ix's evil plans, and - as the Voxai Overmind teases out of her - for subsequently betraying them.

POW moves

Like all player characters in Sonic Chronicles, Shade has a selection of POW moves that she attacks enemies with:

Cloak
Shade activates her cloaking field, making her faster and harder to hit in combat. Activated via a device on her wrist, Shade's advanced suit can generate a local cloaking field which is useful in close combat as well as enabling the echidna to move stealthily.

Blade Rush
Shade rushes the enemy and delivers a brutal five-hit combo with her leech blade. The leech blade is the standard armament of the Nocturnus military elite: a glowing pink energy knife, which is capable of sapping foes' strength and replenishing the wielder's. The Blade Rush technique sees Shade deliver a stab, punch, and then crippling vertical strike against her opponent, which serves to replenish her own health at the same time.

Echidna Rush
Shade and Knuckles team up to deliver a powerful attack that ignores armor and may also leave the enemy distracted. Shade hurls an explosive grenade at her enemy, and, while they're reeling, she and Knuckles close in to simultaneously punch the stunned opponent.

Blade Drop
Sonic propels Shade into her target to deliver a leech blade attack that ignores armor. Sonic spin-dashes into an opponent, and on the rebound an airborne Shade ricochets off the blue blur, catapulting up into the air to deliver a powerful leech-blade slash from above.

Hard Line
Knuckles teams up with Shadow and Shade to deliver a crushing attack likely to distract the target. This attack is a pretty impressive bit of three-way teamwork. First, Knuckles hurls Shade up into the air; at the apex of her ascent, Shadow teleports above Shade, and throws her up even higher. Shade then comes cannoning down on top of the opponent fists-first, delivering a considerable amount of damage.

History

Shade's people, the Nocturnus Echidnas, were exiled by Argus to the Twilight Cage almost 4,000 years ago. It is only in Sonic's time that they begin to effect their plan to return, using warp belt technology to temporarily travel out of the Cage. In this capacity, Shade and her 'Marauder' forces secretly take over some of Doctor Eggman's old bases, including the deserted ruins of Metropolis, and begin gathering together the Chaos Emeralds. Tails and Knuckles' attempt to stop her backfire, with Shade's troops taking both the final Emerald and Knuckles himself to a base in the Mystic Ruins.

Sonic and co. only discover the Marauders' true nature in Blue Ridge Zone, when Shade reveals herself as an echidna, much to Knuckles' shock. After pursuing her to Angel Island, Sonic and Knuckles are around to watch Shade's falling out with her Imperator; Knuckles saves her life after the procurator is blasted over the side of the island. In the ruins below, Shade agrees to team up with the heroes; while she certainly wants to see the Nocturnus Clan rescued from the Twilight Cage, Ix's intention of crushing every other race on the planet is not to her tastes.

In this capacity, Shade assists Sonic and the others during their travels around the Twilight Cage, forging alliances with the Kron, N'rrgal, Zoah, and Voxai. After Super Ix is defeated on the Nocturne, Shade escapes in the Cyclone with the heroes, making her the only Nocturnus echidna to permanently escape the Twilight Cage to Sonic's world.

In other media

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie comics)

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Gallery

References


Characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog game series
Recurring characters
Heroes Sonic (Super, Starfall, Hyper, Darkspine, the Werehog, Excalibur) | Tails (Super, Hyper) | Knuckles (Super, Hyper) | Amy (Super, Hyper) | Mighty (Super) | Ray (Super) | Espio | Charmy | Vector | Cream | Big | Blaze (Burning) | Silver (Super) | Sticks
Anti-heroes/Neutrals Shadow (Hero, Dark, Super) | Rouge | E-102 Gamma | E-123 Omega | Jet | Wave | Storm
Villains Dr. Eggman | Metal Sonic (Rocket, Neo, 3.0) | Mecha Sonic (8-bit, Mk. II, Super, Mk. III) | Fang | Tails Doll | Metal Knuckles | Chaos (Perfect) | E-Series | ZERO | Biolizard (Finalhazard) | Black Doom (Devil Doom) | Eggman Nega | Orbot | Cubot | Deadly Six (Zavok, Zazz, Zomom, Master Zik, Zeena, Zor)
Teams Sonic/Heroes | Rose | Dark | Chaotix | Babylon
Other Animals (Flicky) | Froggy | Chao (Hero, Dark) | Tikal | Pachacamac | Omochao | Chaclon | Gerald & Maria Robotnik | President | King Boom Boo | Cheese | Chocola | Vanilla | G.U.N. Commander | Wisps | Mother Wisp
One-off characters
Heroes Emerl | Marine | Lumina Flowlight | Chip | Shahra | Knights of the Round Table | Caliburn | Yacker | Avatar | Barry | Trip (Super)
Anti-heroes/Neutrals Bean | Bark | Shade | Merlina | Sage
Villains Witchcart | Hocke-Wulf | Bearenger | Carrotia | Battle Kukku Army (15th, 16th, Dr. Fukurokov) | E-101 Beta | Void | Chaos Gamma | Gemerl | Shugo-hei | Iblis | Mephiles | Solaris | Erazor Djinn | Captain Whisker | Johnny | Master Core: ABIS | Ix (Super) | Dark Gaia | King Arthur | Hard Boiled Heavies | Infinite | The End | Mirage Express
Teams Vector | Eggman
Other Birdie | Illumina | Secretary | Elise | Duke of Soleanna | Sonic Man | Coconut Crew | Vikings | Professor Pickle | Wentos | Don Fachio | Dodon Pa | Koco | Ancients | Conductor | Conductor's wife | Ariem | Heavy | Bomb | Tiara | Gazebo | Honey


Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
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