Rouge the Bat

"I despise anyone who takes jewels from me... All the world's gems are mine to keep!"

- Rouge the Bat, Sonic Adventure 2

Rouge the Bat (ルージュ・ザ・バット) is a fictional character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series who first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2. She is an eighteen-year-old anthropomorphic bat and jewel thief working as a part-time government spy for the President of the United Federation and an agent on loan for the Guardian Units of Nations. A world-famous freelance treasure hunter, Rouge has a weakness for jewels, especially large jewels, like the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds which she always obsesses about. As a spy, Rouge is trained in combat, stealth and infiltration, and possesses both super-level kicking power and flight.

Rouge is in short, an enigma, as her motivations are always in question. In truth, she is usually just out for herself. She is smart, sassy and seductive, and knows how to get what she wants. Once she has a target in mind, she always goes for it, regardless of the costs. Beneath her ditsy exterior though, she is a calculating realist and her motives are always mercenary in nature. Regardless, she is loyal to her closest friends and has more than once helped Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies save the world.

Early life
Not much is known of Rouge's origins or past, though at some point she gained an obsession with jewels and became a treasure hunter. She also joined the Guardian Units of Nations as an undercover agent, and was paid for her services with gems and other riches. She gained possession of the blue Chaos Emerald at some point.

Sonic Adventure 2
At some point, Rouge learned of the Master Emerald and went after it, hoping to steal it from Knuckles the Echidna. She was seen arguing with Knuckles over it as she tried to convince him to "just let it go". Their argument was interrupted when the notorious Dr. Eggman, whom Rouge had heard of but never seen, arrived to take the Emerald for himself—which didn't go as planned, as Knuckles jumped up and smashed it. This prompted both Knuckles and Rouge to find all of the shards before the other did. However, just prior to beginning her search, Rouge apparently placed a tracker on the Eggmobile, which enabled her to later locate his pyramid base.

After finding three Emerald shards in Dry Lagoon, Rouge headed for the Egg Quarters, where she sent a message to the President's secretary through some sort of device apparently concealed in her glove. Finding three keys to enter Eggman's computer room, she discovers his space transporter, which is set to the Space Colony ARK Rouge had heard about. Using the machine, she heads for the central control room of the ARK. When she arrives, she strikes a deal with the Doctor and Shadow the Hedgehog: if he gives her his Emerald detector to the Master Emerald shards, then she would give him the blue Chaos Emerald she had found and would help him obtain the others, three of which she knew their locations. Around this time, she begins to investigate the Ultimate Lifeform and Project Shadow.

On Prison Island, Rouge steals three of the Emeralds after breaking into Security Hall. However, a guard robot appears and the vault is sealed, leaving her trapped in the building as Eggman's bomb is about to go off. Fortunately, she manages to destroy the robot, and is saved just in time by Shadow, who used Chaos Control. Back on the ARK, they threaten the world with the Eclipse Cannon, giving the President twenty-four hours to surrender the United Federation to the Eggman Empire, or else they would destroy the country.

Rouge was later supposed to try and guard the ARK from the intruders (Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles) after Eggman failed to stop them (and ended up having to get out of the mess he got himself into) but instead started snooping around about the Ultimate Lifeform for the President. Later she discovered that Knuckles' stash of the Master Emerald Shards had accidentally been jettisoned into space, and used the opportunity to try to complete the Master Emerald. However, shortly after finding them, she encountered Knuckles at a Space Structure Planetoid and dueled with him for the Emerald Shards. However, her recklessness gets the better of her and she nearly falls into a pit of lava, where she is saved by Knuckles. They have an intimate moment before Rouge pulls her hand away from him and offers some bashful remarks. In the end, she gives him the Emerald Shards, claiming that "they stink like echidnas do", and takes off.

She continues to assist Shadow and Eggman, until she is revealed by Shadow to be a secret agent working for G.U.N., who also stops Rouge from taking the Emeralds from the Eclipse Cannon shortly after overhearing her plans. However, Eggman, while attempting to activate the Eclipse Cannon, unknowingly activates a crash sequence that was secretly programmed into the ARK's main computer. Rouge comes to Sonic and Knuckles to tell them the grave news after learning what was going to happen from the President (although Knuckles initially thought she was attempting to regain the Master Emerald when she arrived). She then read up on Gerald Robotnik's diary after Dr. Eggman supplied it to them, deducing this was the reason Eggman released Shadow from Prison Island. She also comes up with the idea to use the Master Emerald to neutralize the Chaos Emeralds in the Cannon Core, using knowledge she gained from Knuckles during their first encounter. When working together with the others (barring Shadow, who was content with letting the ARK collide with Earth) to access the Cannon Core, Rouge was tasked with draining the liquid into the core area, to allow Knuckles to access the final door to the core. Rouge cheers Sonic and Shadow on during the final battle to save the earth from the Biolizard, and is given Shadow's inhibitor ring by Sonic after his supposed death. She is seen telling Knuckles that she is going to change her treasure-hunting ways; a promise she doesn't sustain.

Sonic Heroes
In Sonic Heroes, Rouge is the flight member (and presumptive captain) of Team Dark, as the player can have the ability to fly when they play as her. Sneaking into one of Eggman's bases in hopes of finding secret treasure, she is surprised to see an unconscious Shadow in a stasis pod. As she proceeded to unlock the stasis pod, she accidentally activated E-123 Omega and the robot attacked the entire base attempting to destroy all of Eggman's robots/androids, including Shadow, who Omega assumed is a robot android. Rouge stopped Shadow and E-123 Omega from fighting and suggested that they work together as a team to find Eggman (also learning that Shadow had developed amnesia). She wears a different outfit than in Sonic Adventure 2, sporting a more futuristic pink-and-purple design with the heart motif on her belt rather than her chest. As the trio arrived at a city, Rouge spotted Team Chaotix whom she accused of trying to take Eggman's treasure themselves before their battle against them. Her only objective in the game is to find Eggman's "treasure", which turned out to be a huge room with thousands of capsules containing Shadow's clones. Upon this discovery, she attempted to inform Omega that the Shadow accompanying them was likely to be an android made in the original's likeness, but decided against it, although Omega deduced enough about what she was about to say and informed her that the original Shadow had to exist if the Shadow Androids are present.

Sonic Battle
In Sonic Battle, Rouge is one of the most prominently-featured characters in the game, with her story being the third to be played through. She is the owner of Club Rouge, a casino in the Night Babylon' area of Story mode. During the story, when Sonic lent control of the Gizoid, Emerl to her, she trained him to be the ultimate jewel thief. Most of her fighting techniques appear to be derived from kickboxing. Her special attacks include sending a round bat that blows up towards her enemies, a powerful kick and sending what appears to be a ball of sonar energy into her opponents.

Shadow the Hedgehog
Rouge also appears in Shadow the Hedgehog, helping with the Hero missions in Digital Circuit, Death Ruins, and GUN Fortress. In Expert Mode, Rouge lends her voice to Shadow at the beginning of Cryptic Castle, Lava Shelter, and The Last Way (along with the voice of every other character that appears in Expert Mode). In her levels, she rescues the Chaos Emerald and fights the Black Arms when they are pushed back into the forest.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
In Sonic the Hedgehog, Rouge appears as an "Amigo" character, playable in stages White Acropolis, Kingdom Valley, Flame Core and Tropical Jungle. She first appears escaping Eggman's base with Shadow after stealing the Scepter of Darkness as part of a mission from GUN. After escaping, Rouge and Shadow go to Kingdom Valley to find the GUN rendezvous point, however they are ambushed by Eggman and the Scepter is broken after a struggle. Mephiles the Dark emerges from the broken scepter and is reborn in Shadow's shadow and sends the two into the future. Rouge then teams up with Sonic and his friends to find two Chaos Emeralds that enable them to return to their own time. Rouge returns to the present alone and realizes that Shadow has stayed in the future. Rouge then goes about finding E-123 Omega and sends him to help Shadow.

Rouge eventually finds that Omega and Shadow have found a way back from the future and so teams up with them once again to find Mephiles, Omega confesses that he betrays Shadow in the future and that one day the whole world will turn against him. Rouge assures her friend that "even if he believes everyone in the world will turn against him, she will always remain by his side". Rouge then helps Shadow, along with Omega, to try to defeat Mephiles and seal him in the new Scepter of Darkness. However this attempt does not work because Mephiles is using Shadow's form. Thanks to Shadow, the trio then defeat all of Mephiles' clones only to find out later than Mephiles actually escaped. She later helps the rest of the crew save Sonic.

Sonic Rivals
Rouge mainly appears in Shadow's story in Sonic Rivals. When she communicates with Shadow about what she discovered about Eggman, the transmission cuts off. Much later, when Eggman Nega (who is disguised as Eggman and took the picture of Rouge with his camera turning her into a card) threatens to take a picture (and trapping it) with his camera, the mad scientist is ultimately defeated and Rouge is freed from her card. Rouge appears in some of the 150 collectible cards.

Sonic Rivals 2
Rouge appears as a playable character in Sonic Rivals 2. During the storyline she worked with Knuckles the Echidna, her rival, to find the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds. To do so, she stole Eggman's emerald detector to find them. She and Knuckles found themselves having to battle with other rivals and Eggman Nega (unknown to the duo, he is disguised as Eggman) in order to find the Chaos Emeralds while Knuckles was unable to find the Master Emerald. Rouge found six emeralds which opened a portal to another dimension. Rouge was dragged into the portal by Knuckles, leading to her finding herself separated from Knuckles in another dimension. When she found Knuckles, she saw that his mind was being controlled by the Ifrit, a big fire monster that could destroy the world. Rouge managed to defeat the Ifrit and saved Knuckles, she then found the emerald detector destroyed and saw the Master Emerald inside it. The two returned to their own dimension. Knuckles took the Master Emerald but was then distracted when Rouge calls him dashing, giving her enough time to take the Emerald from his grasp and run from the scene.

Sonic Riders
Rouge appears in Sonic Riders as an unlockable character that can be used in Free Races. She is the strongest flight-type character (after Wave) in the game. Rouge plays no active role in the story; however, the official website states that Rouge has some kind of rivalry with Wave the Swallow.

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Rouge returns in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity as an unlockable racer, but, again, not in the storyline. She is unlocked by completing Heroes Story in Story Mode. Also, she is a flight-type character and can transform her Extreme Gear, Temptation, to an Air Ride with a Gear Part.

Sonic Free Riders
In Sonic Free Riders, Rouge, along with Shadow, decided to enter the World Grand Prix in Extreme Gear as Team Dark. Rouge, however, was only interested in the large cash prize and treasure that was given to the winners of the tournament.

As the World Grand Prix had started, Rouge and Shadow were fifteen minutes late to the opening ceremony. When they arrive, Omochao complained about their tardiness, but Rouge told Omochao that she and Shadow were only here for the award. Discontent with the rule that three members are required in one team, but accepting of them, Rouge asked Omochao if he wanted to a part of her team, but he refused. Rouge then spotted a E-10000B robot and gets him to join her team.

In their first race, Team Dark was put up against Team Babylon and were victorious. In the next race, Team Dark went up against Team Heroes. During their races, E-10000B began to wear down from overheating and Rouge displayed some teasing doubt for her robotic teammate. As Tails began to worry about E-10000B's condition, Rouge insisted to continue the race. Eventually, Team Dark defeated Team Heroes which led to them finals against Team Rose.

As Team Dark was just one race away from winning against Team Rose, E-10000B began to reach critical levels. Team Rose berated Rouge for treating a teammate like that, but Rouge brushed off their comments, as she believed that E-10000B was just a machine, and insisted on continuing the race. After winning against Team Rose, Rouge and Shadow left the tracks and hurried over to the Grand Prix Headquarters and stole the cash purse and treasure from there, before taking their leave. When Omochao found them, Rouge told him that since they had earned the prize, she had gotten what she came for and saw better use of her time than wasting it on the award ceremony. Rouge was, however, surprised to hear from Omochao that what they had taken was just dummy drops for display and that the real prize was locked away in a safe, and they had to attend the award ceremony to receive it.

As the World Grand Prix proceeded, Team Dark received their own fair share of defeats. During these races, Rouge displayed her general confidence to the opposing team that she and her team would win the grand prize, while mocking their efforts, only to be defeated each time. Despite this, Rouge is impressed by their opponents' skills.

Near the end of the World Grand Prix, Team Dark and the other teams came down with an equal amount of victories, and Rouge, with the rest of her team, came to the award ceremony to collect their prize. Once there, however, Rouge and the others were told by Dr. Eggman (under his alias King Doc) that they had one more race against his Gear-jockey robots. As she was heading out to the track, Rouge was surprised to find E-10000B, whom she had thought was out of commission. After the race, Eggman then revealed himself and announced that that he had been collecting all the data on the racers in the Grand Prix with his E-10000 to make the ultimate Extreme Gear that he could use for his own agenda and challenged Rouge and the others to a race. After beating Eggman, Rouge noticed that E-10000B looked a little shaky, but then Metal Sonic revealed himself as the one controlling E-10000B and passing fake data to Eggman.

Rouge and the others watched as Metal Sonic challenged Sonic the Hedgehog to a race, in which Sonic soundly defeated his robot copy. Afterwards, it was revealed that Eggman never had any prize to give to the winners of the World Grand Prix, but Rouge remarked that she would be lying if she had said that she had not seen this coming.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Rouge appears as a playable character in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. She is the fourth person to join Sonic's group and is assigned by the GUN Commander as a "representative" of the organization. When the group reaches the Kron Colony it is revealed that Rouge was sent by GUN to gather some Nocturnus technology. The player can choose to help her by obtaining various amounts of Nocturnus Tech. Her overworld abilities allow her to fly (better so than Knuckles but worse than Tails and Cream) and the Stealth ability—one that she shares only with Shade. In battle, she has low attack power and low armor, but gets to attack twice per round. She can weaken, distract and even steal items from her foes.

Sonic Colors (DS)
Rouge appears in an extra mission in Starlight Carnival in the DS version of Sonic Colors. She tricked Knuckles into coming to Eggman's theme park, much to Knuckles' dismay but for unknown reasons.

Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, Rouge attended and helped prepare Sonic's surprise birthday. As the party started, however, the Time Eater suddenly appeared and Rouge was sucked into one of the Time Eater's Time Holes and ended up in the White Space, where she was turned into a statue due to the Time Eater's effects.

Eventually, Rouge was returned to normal by Sonic and his younger self. When the Sonics confronted the Time Eater, which was revealed to be controlled by Dr. Eggman and his younger self, Rouge arrived at the battle with the others and cheered on both Sonics, allowing them both to transform into Super Sonic. When the Sonics defeated the Time Eater, Rouge and the others were sent back to the present. Continuing with the celebration, Rouge later waved goodbye to the younger Sonic and Tails when they returned to their own time.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Rouge appears in the game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games as a boss in Festival Mode that the player may compete against, as well as Jet, Omega, and Eggman Nega. She is the boss of the figure skating event, and after beating her, the player can buy her costume, which gives Rouge stats to the selected Mii. Rouge also appears in the DS Adventure Tours working for Mario and Sonic to find stolen objects from the museum for White Stones. However, she will challenge Mario and Sonic to a Figure Skating match since Bowser and Dr. Eggman bribed her with a huge amount of White Stones. Rouge will help recover the next Snow Spirit from Eggman and Bowser after her defeat and continue working for Mario and Sonic.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Rouge later returns in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games as a rival in London Party Mode. This time, the player competes against her in 110m Hurdles. The Rouge costume with her stats for the selected Mii also returns where it easily be purchased through Blank Exchange in Bonus Mode. In the Nintendo 3DS version she is fought by Peach in Hyde Park saying she was going to trap them (Peach, Amy, Daisy and Blaze) in the fog. After she is defeated she claims to have no memory of what she had done. She then says the last thing she remembers is being in the British Museum looking at the art and artifacts there when the room fills with fog. She then remembers breathing some in (mind-controlling her) and after that nothing except someone telling her to trap them in the fog. She then leads them to the Fog Machine and Blaze destroys it. She then stays with them and helps clear the fog coming from Big Ben.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Rouge is set to appear as a playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Sonic Runners
In Sonic Runners, Rouge is a playable Fly Type character. In gameplay, she can float in midair and boost the Score Bonus by 75%.

During the "Birthday on Windy Will" event, Rouge came to participate in Sonic's birthday party, but got kidnapped by Dr. Eggman when he attacked with his Death Egg drones. While waiting for a rescue, Team Sonic finally arrived and freed her, where she got into an argument with Knuckles when she teased him with his lack of courtesy. Back at the party after Eggman was dealt with, Rogue gave Sonic Shadow's regards as she wished him a happy birthday.

Personality
Rouge is a strong-minded young woman, a fearless, treasure-hunting, ambitious, independent, flirty, ruthless, calculating narcissist who most people see as only caring for herself and her gems. It is shown in Sonic Generations that Rouge can be referred to a temptress, due to her flirtatious and selfish ways. Her carefree and playful attitude can be fun or even annoying for the other characters of the series, especially Knuckles. She has a lot of pride and starts to fight dirty when facing a superior opponent, such as Knuckles (when it comes to power) or Tails (when it comes to flight). She can also show a bashful side, such as the time Knuckles saved her life from falling into her doom and became very embarrassed before disguising it with disgust and outrage.

Rouge is also at times a government spy who works for her own good. Rouge has a great obsession for jewels or even anything else that shines or glitters. She has been known to seduce people with her attractiveness to get what she wants (such as kissing Tails in Sonic Battle). However, she has, on occasion, shown that she can be heroic. In the final events of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, she helped to save the planet. In Sonic Heroes, she stopped Shadow the Hedgehog and E-123 Omega from killing each other, and is seen battling Chaotix and Sonic as liabilities to her quest to finding Dr. Eggman's supposed hidden treasure room. In Sonic Battle, when Shadow was injured and needed a place to stay, Rouge helped him. In Shadow the Hedgehog, she did other laudable things, such as rescuing a Chaos Emerald from the doomed mainframe, destroying the evil monster Black Bull, and assisting Shadow in defeating Black Doom as well as showing concern for Shadow's welfare at the end of the game.

Recently, she has been becoming less selfish, as can be seen by her actions towards Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Rivals. However, as shown in her portrayal in Sonic Free Riders, which depicts her as a very cold and only caring about her and the cash prize suggest that she has not changed much, regarding her interest in jewels and riches. This is proved as she couldn't care less that her robot team member broke down and even went on to insult it as well.

Rouge is often known to switch between the sides of good and evil whether to succeed to get her jewelry or to save the world from danger.

Physical abilities
Rouge possesses enormous physical strength that rivals that of Knuckles the Echidna's. However, whereas Knuckles' strength lies in his upper body, Rouge's lies in her lower body, particularly in her legs and feet, giving her enormous kicking power. With her kicks, she can shatter boulders, slice through metal, or even leave dents in thick steel walls. She can even split her opponents in half with precise kicks and create small earthquakes to trip opponents by striking the ground.

With the wings, Rouge is able to achieve flight and can glide by using her wings to manipulate her descend. When flying, Rouge can move as fast as Knuckles' gliding, but not as fast as Sonic or Shadow can run. Nevertheless, Rouge possesses an innate quickness, making her fast on her feet and can reach super speeds when running, though she is still not as fast as Sonic, Tails or Shadow.

Rouge has proven herself to be quite acrobatic, precise and agile, on both the ground and in midair due to her government training. She is able to perform all kinds of actions and movements while in midair effortlessly, grind on rails and as well perform several types of nimble movements in combat with incredible precision.

Much like Knuckles, Rouge is an expert climber and can climb on any kind of surface, no matter the material. She is also excellent at digging and tunneling through subterranean regions. She is also very experienced swimmer, possibly due to her being a treasure hunter, enabling her to swim with both great speed and skill, and can reach amazing depths.

Stealth and infiltration expertise
As both a government spy and self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Thief", Rouge has been trained in infiltration and is skilled in the art of stealth. As most times, she uses these skills to pull different kinds of successful heists, and has proven herself as a master thief.

As a result of her training, Rouge can surreptitiously enter enemy-held territory, either through stealth or by manipulation of others, such as when she tricked Shadow and Dr. Eggman into believing that she was willing to help them in Sonic Adventure 2 when she was send to investigate the doctor, and can hack computers and break codes in record time with successful results nearly every time. She is also stealthy enough to move nearly undetected through even the most fortified of locations, such as Prison Island, Dr. Eggman's various bases or Space Colony ARK and sneak up on people without bringing attention to herself.

Combat skills
A part-government spy and expert thief, Rouge is one of the strongest female characters in the series. Swift and powerful, she has been recognized as a force to be reckoned by both allies and foes alike. She is well-versed in a variety of martial arts and has gone through several forms of special training in self-defense. Her skills in combat are so great that she was able to fight the combat-versed Knuckles the Echidna to a stalemate when confronting him on Space Colony ARK.

Fighting style
Rouge's fighting style focuses on a form of kickboxing, a style she has derived from her special combat training. Thus, she rarely using her arms or fists in combat. In battle, Rouge primarily fights her opponents using a large number of skillful and specialized kicks to strike blows. Using her agility in line with her training, Rouge can perform moves such as high kicks, side kicks, spinning kicks etc., striking her opponents with deadly precision and efficiency, and can even send her whole body spinning through the air with her feet first, turning herself into an all-piercing spear.

Rouge can also complement her fighting style with her flight abilities, allowing her to take her fighting techniques to airborne opponents and allowing her to launch aerial kicks and strikes at her opponents.

Techniques and moves
Most of Rouge's standard moves and techniques revolves around her Kick Attack move where she attacks her opponents with combos composed of kicks. Her special attack Screw Kick enables her to form a "screw" shape into midair while kicking, while her Drill Drive lets her send herself downward, with her feet first, as a spinning drill that pierces through her opponents. Also, her Hip Drop lets her drop onto the ground to form wide tremors that effects everything within its range.

When not attacking her opponents directly, Rouge has also been known to use techniques that involves some form of weapon. In Sonic Heroes she is shown to use Dummy Rings in her "Dummy Ring Bomb" move to paralyze opponents, and in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Generations, she used her "Bomb" and "Bomb Snipe" techniques with her Heart Bombs to damage her opponents.

Miscellaneous skills
Like real-life bats, Rouge has an excellent and sensitive sense of hearing, even allowing her to hear Espio, who is known as an expert ninja and a master of stealth, when he is in her proximity. Also, as hinted by her move Shriek and some of her moves in Sonic Battle, Rouge can make ultrasonic shrieks, just like real bats, to both attack her opponents or leave them disorientated.

Rouge is one of the world's most foremost treasure hunters, as seen during her hunts for the Emerald Shards and the Chaos Emeralds, and her skills on the subject rivals even that of Knuckles'. Rouge has also proven herself asvery talented Extreme Gear rider as seen in Sonic Free Riders, where she is able to go toe-to-toe with some of the best Extreme Gear riders in the world. While in midair, she is capable of doing several acrobatic tricks with her Extreme Gear and can as well dash through midair with her Extreme Gear with her wings to pass through shortcuts through the tracks.

Color Powers
By harnessing different variants of Hyper-go-on from Wisps, Rouge can use specific Color Powers to transform into a certain form, such as a drill, a laser or even a planet, each one possessing its own unique abilities. So far, Rouge has been able to transform into the Cyan Laser, Yellow Drill and Indigo Asteroid. However, these transformations require a steady supply of Hyper-go-on to be maintained.

Weakness
While not having any physical weaknesses, Rouge has a stubborn attitude that has put her in mortal dangers, like in Sonic Adventure 2 where her arguing over the ownership of the Master Emerald nearly made her fall into a lava pool. Also, her spy skills are not flawless either, as she was discovered by a Flying Dog while robbing Prison Island and got imprisoned by Dr. Eggman when she stole the Scepter of Darkness (although she eventually broke herself out in the latter case).

Shadow the Hedgehog
The two are teammates and current best friends in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes and often work together during mission stages, but are not seen together outside of duty alliance and do not spend time in one another's presence unless it is business. Nonetheless, Shadow is one of the few people Rouge cares about, other than herself.

In Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow saw a comparison to Maria in Rouge and saved her life when she was trapped in Security Hall. Despite how he later dismissed his actions saying he only returned for the Chaos Emeralds that she had acquired, she suspected that there was more to his reason for saving Rouge than he let on.

In Sonic Heroes, Rouge forms Team Dark with Shadow and Omega. During this time, Rouge and Shadow are much closer than they were in Sonic Adventure 2; interacting more within Team Dark as partners alongside Omega. Rouge is willing to help Shadow get answers about his past and is shown to have some sympathy for him when they discover the existence of Shadow Androids.

In Sonic Battle, Rouge calls Shadow "not bad-looking" and "a prince". She also lets him stay with her at Club Rouge when he is injured during a fight after carrying him inside when he passes out in front of the club. Also, while Shadow is dreaming, an image of Rouge appears and he whispers, "Ally." Rouge seems offended when Shadow doesn't thank her for saving him, but later he thanked her when she told him that she actually rescued him.

In Sonic Rivals, after Shadow saves Rouge from Eggman Nega, Rouge tries to persuade him into going treasure hunting with her and suggests the two "take a peek" into their own future using Eggman Nega's device. Shadow declines and the story ends with Rouge still trying to convince Shadow to join her in hunting for the remaining cards.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Rouge makes an attempt to draw Shadow into a conversation that doesn't involve Mephiles' plan to destroy the world, and at one point she says, "It's always business with you." when Shadow ignores her and rejects the off-topic sessions. Although, Shadow also shows he is protective of Rouge's wellbeing. Once, when catching her from a fall after she was momentarily knocked out by one of Dr. Eggman's robots. And again, when he jumps in front of her defensively, after a fake Chaos Emerald explodes. After E-123 Omega reveals to Shadow that he is the one who traps him in the future, Rouge tells Shadow, "Even if you believe everyone in the world will be against you, know that I will always remain by your side... Remember that..." Shadow pauses, then replies strongly, "I will." Though, in the original Japanese version of the video game, Rouge simply says, "You always have friends to whom you can rely on."

In Sonic Free Riders, both Shadow and Rouge appear as Team Dark along with E-10000B. Their main focus during the game is winning the treasure and prize money. Unlike in previous games, Shadow seems perfectly content with helping Rouge obtain the treasure she covets. (Note: This is the only time Shadow has appeared in a game with the intent on making money, rather than his usual ulterior motives, although the manual implies that Shadow also joined for the sake of competing against Sonic of who had the better skills.)

Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna is Rouge's rival and the two have been fighting over the Master Emerald ever since they met. Unbeknownst to Knuckles, Rouge has a bit of a crush on him, but she would never admit it. She has thus been known to deny having such feelings for him, like in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood where she said he was cute, but not her type. Regardless, she is secretly inspired by Knuckles' determination to protect the Master Emerald.

In Sonic Adventure 2, when Knuckles purposely shatters the Master Emerald to save it from Doctor Eggman, Knuckles and Rouge both go looking for its pieces. But during their fight fight, he saves her life. After the rescue, Rouge and Knuckles share a short moment gazing at each other, before Rouge snatches her hand away and retorts with ungratefulness by teasing that he just wanted to hold her hand. In the end, Rouge gives him the remaining pieces of the Master Emerald and complains that, "They stink like echidnas do", to imply her stubbornness. Needlessly, Knuckles apologies in the case he hurt had, and runs off. Before the scene fades out, Rouge gives a thoughtful smile over her shoulder before also heading out.

In Sonic Heroes, they don't have much interaction with each other. At the end of Team Dark's story, Rouge commented that she would go looking for the Master Emerald, "since that irritating Echidna is here." However, in the last scene, she went to Knuckles and coquettishly hinted about going to look for someone else's treasure, then he ran after her.

In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, the codex states that "there's a sort of unstated connection between Rouge and Knuckles that neither are overly willing to explore." During the game, when Shade the Echidna mentions that she is 4,000 years old, Rouge responds to this by saying that Knuckles was "always into older women".

In Sonic Rivals 2, the two are teamed up. Rouge's reason for this is because she had a mysterious client who told her that if she found all the Emeralds, she would be rewarded, so she believed with Knuckles she might find her client to know exactly who he was. When Sonic first saw Knuckles and Rouge together, he teased them, asking them if they are on a date. Rouge is hostile towards Knuckles and doesn't trust him. She however, supported Knuckles throughout the game but later on deceived him by stealing the Master Emerald by calling him "dashing and daring" in order to distract him.

Most recently, in both the first and final cutscenes of Sonic Generations, Knuckles and Rouge are seen having a conversation at Sonic's birthday party. They appear to be communicating in a friendly, lighthearted way.

E-123 Omega
Rouge's second best friend is Omega, who is very loyal to her. She prevented Shadow and Omega from killing each other in Sonic Heroes, and soon after they formed Team Dark to help her find Eggman's "secret treasure room". Instead of finding treasure, of course, they end up saving the world, and Team Dark has been a tightly-knit bunch ever since. The two are close allies, and she shows signs of caring for him, such as in Sonic Chronicles, where she says she is saddened by the thought of Omega rusting away in Metropolis, and not with her and Shadow "blowing things up". She has sometimes shown annoyance at Omega, saying that he is too serious and that she is tired of hearing him ramble on about revenge and hatred.

Amy Rose
Rouge and Amy are generally portrayed as arch-rivals towards each other. Their relationship is similar to Rouge's relationship with Knuckles. In Sonic Battle, the two fight several times over Emerl. When Amy called Rouge's house a "dump", Rouge was furious about Amy's comment and the two started to fight over the Emerald Shard.

Their dislike for one another is also apparent in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood; they aren't always bickering, however, as shown in Shadow the Hedgehog. When Shadow had saved the world in the last story, Rouge wonders, "I hope Shadow's okay." Amy comforts her by saying, "I'm sure he's fine, Rouge. After all, he is Shadow." Rouge then looks back at her and nods in agreement.

Sonic the Hedgehog
As seen so far, Rouge and Sonic don't really show a dislike for each other, despite him being Shadow's rival and she being Tails, Knuckles, Amy's rival. Also, despite having some conflicting encounters and standpoints, they appear to be on good terms. In Sonic Battle, Rouge challenges him to a battle, if she wins, Sonic will have to get her gems and work for her. Sonic manages to win however, but he did not hold any grudge against her as seen later on. Later, Sonic let Emerl say hello to Rouge, which suggest Sonic somehow trusts her. In Sonic Chronicles, Rouge flirts with Sonic and gave him the nickname, "Big Blue". She uses the nickname again in Sonic Generations when rescued.



It is worth noting that in Sonic Generations, Rouge is one of the voluntary attendees at Sonic's birthday party and that Sonic treated her as all of his other friends, which shows a friendly relation between them. If Classic Sonic rescues her, she tells him to watch out for the Time Eater, then adds that he's not the Sonic she knows.

Although they do get along they sometimes get into fights, like in Sonic Heroes when Team Sonic and Team Dark fought in a jungle and in Sonic Battle when she kidnapped Emerl to train him to be a thief. He also said her if she did something to Emerl, he wouldn't let her off easily. When Rouge was introduced to Emerl, she gave them an idea to help Emerl, Sonic refused calling her 'a thief'.

Miles "Tails" Prower
Tails and Rouge have a friendly relationship but Rouge sometimes adds complications to it. They will usually get along but Rouge will sometimes playfully tease Tails to just get a reaction from him.

In Sonic Adventure 2 Tails was basically unaware of Rouge's presence, but this was because Rouge was sent by Eggman to spy on Tails when he was trying to find the President. After that their interaction stopped until the Ark was set to on its course for collision with Earth. In Sonic Battle, Rouge would use her charm to tease Tails because she thought it was cute and funny how he reacted. She was however very helpful in Tails' story as she gave him the access card for the Central Computer Room, distracted Shadow, and told Tails how to escape the Guard Robos. Later on in Rouge's story Tails had to stop Rouge from stealing a Chaos Emerald. In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, while in Metropolis Rouge would sometimes be snarky with the plans Tails and Eggman would come up with but still show a playful affection for Tails.

Vector the Crocodile
Rouge and Vector have interacted a couple of times in games, usually in an uncomfortable manner. She seems to dislike him and marks him foolish. In Sonic Heroes in Team Dark's Story, when Rouge was representative for Team Dark, the Chaotix budged in her way, both started trash talking to each other until Rouge found him foolish and asked for a fight. In Team Chaotix's side, Vector claims Rouge's team as the enemies and their client adversary which lead to a fight.

In Sonic Free Riders, in the finals, both seem to have a common interest in winning the prize money when Rouge gets angry that their robot partner breaks down just one race before the cash prize. Cream complains about her behavior, but Vector says that he can relate with her in wanting the money of the Grand Prix, though it is not worth sacrificing a teammate.

In Sonic Generations, they don't really interact with each other but they attend the same party and face the same conditions as everyone else. However, when the player gets all Red Star Rings in the Classic version of Spagonia, Vector says, "Aw man, you got all five Red Star Rings. Rouge is gonna have my hide for this one."

Friends/allies

 * Shadow the Hedgehog (best friend)
 * E-123 Omega (close friend)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (also a rival)
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower (also a rival)
 * Dr. Eggman (depending on her goals)

Rivals

 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Wave the Swallow
 * Amy Rose
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Vector the Crocodile

Archie Comics
Rouge appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series. Very much like her video game version, Rouge is fond of riches, especially rare, beautiful gems, and has often searched for or stolen jewels. She has had several run-ins in the past with Fiona Fox and Nic the Weasel, often beating them to rare treasures, and thus has something of a former rivalry with the pair.

Sonic X
Rouge appears in Sonic X and its comic book series as an agent for the President and friend of one of his agents, Topaz. She was recruited into GUN at some point after she was transported from Sonic's home world that is in parallel dimension to Earth. She fought in the Chaos Emerald Martial Arts Tournament and during after returning back home, she mainly sided with the heroes on their adventure to defeat the Metarex.

Theme songs
The Sonic the Hedgehog video games have featured several theme songs for the character.
 * Sonic Adventure 2: "Fly in the Freedom" - Tabitha Fair, Todd Cooper.
 * Sonic Heroes: "This Machine" - Julien-K. This was a team theme shared with Shadow and Omega.

The background music for the stage Security Hall (titled "I'm a Spy") in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is generally attributed to Rouge, despite technically having no relation to her. Like most characters, Rouge is associated with a genre of music, specifically smooth jazz/bossa nova/fusion with some feminine sighs thrown in (similarly to how Knuckles is associated with the rap genre). It is interesting to note that the background music in her Club Rouge stage from Sonic Battle also has feminine sighing. No other BGM in the game has any form of vocal.

Promotion and merchandising
Rouge has been featured in many advertising campaigns and advertising for the Sonic the Hedgehog series in North America and Japan. At the launch of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Rouge and a few other characters were featured in a line of plushes advertising the game. Another Rouge plush was released as a prize for crane games in Japan at the launch of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. As a campaign for the Sonic X anime in North America and Japan, keychains were distributed for the main characters in the show, one of whom was Rouge. Sega and McDonald's released a series of LCD Sonic Themed Games at McDonald's in 2004, the games were bundled with Happy Meals. Rouge was featured in the game Amy & Rouge Volleyball in which, "Players are challenged to move Amy from side to side to return Rouge's serves and volleys.".

Critical reception
Upon Rouge's introduction in Sonic Adventure 2, many game reviewers commented on her similarity to Knuckles, including such critical remarks as "Knuckles with bat wings and breasts", whilst some further criticized her design. Her "daring attitude" and narcissism received further comment. Rouge appeared on GamerRadar's list of "The Sexy Lady Beasts of Gaming", in which she is described as "Proof that voluptuous curves, thigh-boots, sexy eyes and rubber gloves can make any animal in the kingdom an object of lustful perverted desire. No matter how freaky-looking their real-world inspiration might be."

In an official Sonic character poll by Sonic Team, Rouge was voted the tenth most popular character in the series, marking her as the second most popular female character next to Amy Rose.

Quotes

 * "Even if you believe everyone is against you, know that I'll always remain by your side. Remember that." - Rouge telling Shadow that even if he is a threat to humanity she will always be with him in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
 * "My name is Rouge the Bat. Better known as the treasure hunter, Rouge." - The beginning of Rouge's recap in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Oh great. Mama always told me that one day I'd get stuck in an alien dimension without a change of clothes." - Rouge when the heroes finally landed in the Nocturne in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
 * "So, you did your homework, is that it? I'd say that's an invasion of privacy" - Rouge talking to Shadow in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "How's that? Perfect? Like me?" - After getting an A Rank.
 * "I'm Rouge the Bat, but you can call me Rouge." - Rouge introduces herself.
 * "You just wanted to hold my hand, didn't you? (teasingly) That's why you saved me; you're such a creep!" - After being saved by Knuckles.
 * "All the world's jewels will be mine." - After winning in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "I've got something better than jewels that I'm thinking about right now... It'll all work out; you'll see." -To Knuckles, during the credits on Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Aw yeah baby, this makes us a team!" - After assembling Team Dark for the first time in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Long time no see boys! Too bad you had to come all this way for nothing, we'll take it from here!" - Taunting Team Sonic on their way to Eggman, before the teams fight.
 * "I haven't seen the President lately." - Rouge when standing still for a while in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Wonder if there are any jewels around here..." - Another of Rouge's lines when standing still for a while in Sonic Heroes.
 * "These ears aren't for show, you know." - When she was being spied on by Espio in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "Better behave yourselves!" - Sonic Riders, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
 * "Hey, ladies first!" - When losing a race in the Sonic Riders trilogy and when she is behind in Bobsled Race in Sonic Heroes.
 * "These boots were made for racing." - After winning a race in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "Too bad, so sad."- Another quote when winning a race in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "(Sighs), you're so slow!" Another quote when winning a race in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "I think... No. See ya later, silver boy." - After arguing with Silver about Chao and Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "I despise anyone who takes jewels from me. All the world's gems are mine to keep!" - After Eggman took the Master Emerald in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Winning is everything!" - Rouge after winning a battle in Sonic Battle.
 * "Shadow? Has the prince finally awakened?" - Rouge asking Shadow if he woke up in Sonic Battle.
 * "What'd ya think of my beautiful technique?" - Rouge after getting an S Rank in Sonic '06.
 * "Thanks Big Blue, that's the first time I've ever been stolen." - Rouge after Modern Sonic rescues her in City Escape in Sonic Generations.
 * "That piece of junk robot is no match for my charms!" - Rouge before the Seaside Hill mission with Modern Sonic begins from Sonic Generations.
 * "Such a hard worker! How's about I give you a kiss for your troubles?" - Rouge flirting with Sonic after he completes her mission in Sonic Colors (DS).

Trivia

 * Prima's Game Guide for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) states that there are rumors that Rouge has feelings for both Shadow and Knuckles, although it is unknown how much of this is valid due to the book possessing a large amount of errors and contradictions. It also erroneously says above that in Omega's back history that it was his rampage that unleashed Rouge from Eggman's base.
 * In Sonic Riders, Rouge has blue eye shadow on the character select screen and in gameplay but when you see her icon on the race results screen she has pink eye shadow on, very similar to the eye shadow in Sonic Heroes.
 * Rouge may have been named after the jewel, the Rouge, relating to her jewel obsession. Her name could also come from a type of makeup applied to the cheeks (also called "blush").
 * It is also possible that her name is a pun on the capital of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, due to her first name being Rouge and her being a bat. Her name also means "red" in French, possibly named after Knuckles' color or the fact that red is a color symbolizing love and Rouge is having a flirtatious and romantic attitude.
 * Another possibility is that her name is a play on the word "Rogue", often used as a synonym for "Thief", mirroring how she often steals other peoples jewels.
 * Although she told Knuckles at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 that she was done with jewelry, she is still hopelessly obsessed with jewels in later games.
 * Not counting team members in the support class, Rouge has the least team POW moves in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, with only one.
 * Also, Rouge is the only character with an Armor-Piercing move that hits all onscreen enemies instead of targeting one enemy. She is the second member of the Shifter class, and the only Shifter class member in Team Dark (Shadow and Omega are both in the Power class).
 * In Sonic Heroes, while selecting Shadow or Omega to be Team Dark's leader, if you use the first-person camera to look at Rouge, she will occasionally turn her head in the player's direction and wink.
 * Rouge and some other characters have a few locations named after them in Empire City, as seen on the street signs of the level's day time stages in Sonic Unleashed.
 * At one point in Sonic Battle while Rouge was around, Sonic says, "I smell perfume. Maybe Rouge is around.". This might mean that Rouge wears perfume, or Sonic was only making a joke.
 * After Sonic Battle, Rouge's design changed a bit, her wings become less detailed and only one color, also her blue eye shadow got darker after Sonic Adventure 2, (while becoming lighter again in Sonic Generations).
 * In Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge's outfit appears to be a purple/lavender color in game, but the concept art from the game has the outfit in its regular black color.
 * As of date, Rouge has never appeared in any Sonic game without Shadow appearing in the same game, cameo or not.
 * In the Sonic Riders trilogy, Rouge's breasts and thighs are shrunken down. This may be a result of her wearing a sports bra, though.
 * In her alternate outfit model in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle her mid-driff shows her navel. However, in Sonic Riders onwards it isn't present. It is also true that Sonic characters do not have a navel (such as Wave and Tikal).
 * In Sonic Adventure 2 Rouge had fangs, but afterwards, they have been absent. From Sonic Free Riders though, they have started to become visible again.
 * Despite being referred to as a "white" bat, Rouge only has fur on her head, while being completely hairless everywhere else.
 * One of Rouge's unused lines ("Pleasure before business!") of Sonic Adventure 2 is used in one episode of Sonic X.
 * After Sonic Adventure 2, Sega decided to change Rouge's outfit (explaining why she wore something different in Sonic Heroes) to make her look less provocative, but they ultimately decided to change it back as they found the new outfit to be even more provocative than the old one.