Or, in this case, Werehog. Sonic the Werehog.
The Blue Blur seems to have it handled thanks to his friends but, after his first transformation thanks to Dark Gaia energy exposure, he worries that he may pose a threat to them each night. He decides to let the others continue finding the remaining Emeralds while he stays with Mighty, Ray, and Moss to hone in on this new form.
Meanwhile, Eggman has discovered a use for the dark energy and begins a project that promises to gather it all in one remote spot.
While that is running, he launches three of his most powerful Super Badniks to date at the Freedom Fighters, while Thunderbolt uses a new weapon in hopes of destroying Sonic and returning to Eggman's good graces.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Deviation: In Sonic Unleashed, Eggman wants to gather all of the Dark Gaia Energy so he can repair and control Dark Gaia itself. Here, however, he wants to gather it as an alternative power source and must make sure the planet stays broken to accomplish that.
- The Bad Guy Wins: While Eggman is unable to destroy the Freedom Fighters in his trap, he makes off with the blue Chaos Emerald. note .
- Big Damn Heroes: Just as Eggman's Super Badniks are about to finish off Sally's team, Cream leads Cheese and Big to get everyone out.
- Bittersweet Ending: Thanks to his training with Mighty's mentor Moss, Sonic is able to get a better handle on his cursed Werehog form and, as an added bonus, easily defeats Egg Boss Thunderbolt once again. Unfortunately, because he is away, the rest of the Freedom Fighters are at the mercy of Eggman's latest trap. Though they survive and escape, they lose their chance at getting the forth [blue] Chaos Emerald. After much encouragement from Sonic when they meet again, everyone prepares to go after the fifth [green] Emerald. The Emerald in question is held at Casino Park by an old "friend" of Sonic's, to be given out as a prize in an upcoming tournament.
- Cursed with Awesome: Moss encourages Sonic to start treating his new Werehog form as an extension of himself. As long as Sonic continues being the hero as he always does, the "beast" inside will follow suit. Once he finally embraces it, he can make full use of his newfound strength and stretching abilities to make up for his loss in speed, and he doesn't have to worry about going berserk anymore.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Sonic being absent from the team tends to make things a little difficult for his friends. Now that Eggman is fully aware that Sally has his resource data, it becomes a task of survival when he launches his Super Badniks against them. Sonic feels guilty upon learning about this on his return, wishing he could have stayed with them after all, but Sally claims that he would have been in just as much danger as the rest of the team.
- Foreshadowing: Eggman discovers that the seeping Dark Gaia Energy, that is forming the monsters, has a power reading that rivals that of the Chaos Emeralds (though, the Emeralds themselves hold infinite power by comparison). He makes plans to build a base that can gather it all in one spot and strengthen his empire: Eggmanland.
- Implied Death Threat: Eggman berates Thunderbolt for her failure from last arc and orders her to find a Gaia Temple to make up for it. He also warns her that next time, "there won't be enough left of her to make gloves".
- Mythology Gag: Given the abilities and colors of Super Badniks Iota (flight), Kappa (drills), and Lambda (bombs), you would be led to believe they are more competent and deadly versions of Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
- Oh, Crap!: The end of the arc has Nicole showing Sonic and Sally an advertisement that clues them in about the location for the next Chaos Emerald. The look on their faces say that this is going to be complicated, especially when the green Emerald's current holder is someone Sonic knows personally.
- Properly Paranoid: After their previous battle with Thunderbolt, Sally believes that Eggman is now better prepared for them and the data she stole from the Death Egg is all but compromised. After barely surviving his latest trap in this arc, she pretty much confirms it.
- Revenge: Thunderbolt is livid that she failed at her mission to kill the Freedom Fighters and secure the Chaos Emerald, making her look bad in front of Eggman. She uses another powerful Super Badnik to try and destroy Werehog Sonic and restore her honor, but fails again.
- Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Moss is a sloth, so there is no way he can outrun the "Fastest Thing Alive" that is Sonic. However, because he had secluded himself in the Rocky Jungle Zone, he knows everything about the landscape, allowing him to make use of the trees and terrain and beat Sonic at a race. While Sonic is a Werehog, he learns enough to beat Moss at his own game (his stretchy arms help in this regard as well).
- Xanatos Gambit: Eggman has already found a blue Chaos Emerald and uses it as bait to lure Sally's team into a trap while Sonic is absent. The outcome can be put as this:
- He successfully kills the Freedom Fighters then and there, sans Sonic, and keeps the Emerald.
- They escape, but he humiliates Sally, compromising the data she had stolen, and keeps the Emerald. This ends up as the chosen outcome after Cream, Cheese, and Big rescue everyone.
- Regardless of who actually gets the Emerald, he sends a Tails Doll to spy on the Sky Patrol so he can make plans to intercept and get all the Emeralds they have collected so far, as well as any more vital information.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Sally laments her team's epic lost against Eggman and the compromise of the data she stole, Sonic assures her that they are the best at bouncing back from losses like this. They'll bounce back now and will eventually get the Emerald, especially now that he's back. After all, it's a massive ratio of the Freedom Fighters' victories over Eggman's.
