Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1031724-20160901000706/@comment-679780-20160903172442

KillRoy231 wrote: But I didn't come here to debate another villain's fate. If Sonic 4 Episode I isn't set before Sonic CD, then what's with the apparent "grand introduction" of Metal Sonic at the end? It's quite simple. Little Planet does not "vanish" for the remainder of the year, it is an additional world with an orbit around the sun very similar to Earth. My guess a clockwise orbit which would explain why Little Planet is only visable once a year. Episode: Metal takes place when Earth and Little Planet are approaching one another.

I also believe Little Planet is a dimensional transcendentalism which explains why it is "smaller on the outside" and how Dr. Eggman could wrangle Little Planet to Earth without causing devastating global catastrophies, but I'm going off-topic with theories now.

Point I'm making is, unlike Miracle Planet from Sonic the Comic that simply vanishes for the rest of the year, it's more logical Little Planet simply has it's own orbit in Sonic's solar system.