Diablon

The U78-X/D "Diablon" was a prototype energy-charged weapon built by the Guardian Units of Nations and one of the final bosses in Shadow the Hedgehog. It took the form of a large red mecha that was piloted by the Commander (possibly remotely) and fought alongside Sonic the Hedgehog against Shadow the Hedgehog after the dark mission was completed in the levels GUN Fortress, Black Comet and Final Haunt in story mode. Both Sonic and Diablon were defeated by the Ultimate Life form by using the latter's weaknesses against it.

Shadow the Hedgehog
The Commander used Diablon to try and avenge those who died on the Space Colony ARK (Including Maria Robotnik and his family) by fighting alongside Sonic in the hopes of taking down Shadow, whom he viewed as responsible for the ARK's incident. The duo fought well, but they were both defeated at the Ultimate Life form's hands by exploiting Diablon's weaknesses.

Abilities
Diablon was fitted with an electromagnetic barrier that, when activated, deflected most projectiles, including firearm shots, laser blasts and even physical blows. In terms of weaponry, it had a laser cannon secured on its forehead that could fire long-ranged laser beams in any direction, and also had a chargeable Antimatter Cannon which could destroy easily damaged objects in a large dome-shaped radius around Diablon after charging up enough energy. Apart from that, the only other abilities Diablon was seen to use were hovering and moving around in the air by using its jet boosters, and swiping at enemies with its hands.

Weaknesses
Though Diablon's electromagnetic barrier could deflect various assaults, when the barrier was shut down so Diablon itself could strike its foe, it was considered "nothing but mere scrap iron" left wide open to firearm and physical attacks. The head appeared to be its weak-point, as Black Doom ordered Shadow to strike it. It was also vulnerable to Chaos Blast attacks, even with its barrier in place. However, at the beginning of the fight, the head is too high to reach by simply jumping, so players must try and use the Homing Attack when Sonic jumps to propel Shadow high enough to hit the robot's head.

Battle
thumb|320px|right During the boss battle Sonic & Diablon, Diablon is the actual boss, Sonic cannot be damaged but can be knocked down. Shadow's guide during this battle is Doom's Eye.

You must use the Homing Attack at Sonic while Sonic is jumping to bounce off Sonic to reach and attack Diablon for the first quarter of the fight. Once ⅛ of Diablon's health is depleted, his repulsers will fail, allowing the player to attack without having to hit Sonic first. He will use more attacks and have a shield around him. He is vulnerable as he attacks, so hit Diablon while he is attacking. When he is says "Charge complete," get him to start using it and once he says "Antimatter cannon. Fire!" run out of the line representing the range of it. Watch out for Sonic, he will try to use homing attack on Shadow. Jump to reflect his homing attack. When your dark gauge is full, use it as many times as you can, because Chaos Blast can pierce Diablon's shield. Or you can grab a weapon when your dark gauge is full and exploit both your invincibility and unlimited ammunition.

Help
Shadow can obtain a pistol around the room if you destroy the correct box. This is not necessary, but can be useful if your dark gauge is full which will give unlimited ammo. You can deal more damage this way than using Chaos Blast. This cannot pierce through his shield, so just fire as fast as you can when it's down.

Trivia

 * In all three endings in which Diablon was defeated, it was seen disabled but intact. Its current status is unknown, as none of the optional Shadow the Hedgehog endings have been confirmed as canon.
 * Even though the boss title is called "Sonic & Diablon", the real boss is Diablon, since Sonic can't be damaged, but is an obstacle; in fact, Sonic serves as an assistance to defeat Diablon.
 * When you try to shoot at Sonic he will dodge the same way as Shadow when strafing.

Etymology
Diablon's name is derived from the Spanish word for devil, diablo. Perhaps coincidentally, whenever the Commander takes a swipe at Shadow in Diablon, he says "Hold still, you devil!"