Pecky

Pecky (ペッキー) is a species in the Sonic the Hedgehog series which first appeared in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. It is a race of penguin Animals living in many locations throughout Sonic's world, and are close friends of Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies. For years, the Peckies have been hunted by Dr. Eggman who seeks to use them as energy sources for his Badnik army or imprison them in Capsules for later use.

Anatomy
The general Pecky bears several similar traits to the macaroni penguin, but with an anatomy more similar to the Flicky. About half a meter tall, they have a round-shaped head with two large dark eyes, a soft orange beak, small cheeks, a smaller round torso, medium-sized wings compared to their body, and two orange three-toed webbed feet. Their plumage is mainly black with a white belly, and they have a wide turf of yellow hair on their forehead in the shape of a five-pointed leaf.

Characteristics
Like actual animals, the Peckies can only speak in a language consisting of small quack-sounding noises. Although considered some of the world's fauna, Peckies are remarkably intelligent and sociable, being capable of understanding normal language and establishing their own Animal communities. All Peckies are generally good-hearted, helpful, friendly and playful, but their small stature leaves them rather defenseless on their own. They also have great respect and appreciation for nature, choosing to live in complete harmony with it.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Pecky's first appearance was in the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog. In the game's storyline, the animal friends on South Island, Pecky included, had been captured by Dr. Robotnik who turned them into energy sources for his Badnik army. Pecky himself is featured in Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain Zone Act 3, where he appears when the player breaks him out from the local badniks or opens the capsules there.

Pecky also makes an appearance in the 8-bit version of the game with same name, In the game, Pecky can only be seen in Labyrinth Zone when they, along with the other animals, get released from the capsule.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Pecky's next appearance was in the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In this game, he was once again been captured along with other animal friends on West Side Island by Dr. Robotnik and turned in energy sources for the doctor's Badniks or imprisoned in capsules. In the game, Pecky can be found in Aquatic Ruin Zone and Oil Ocean Zone.

In the 8-bit version of the game with same name, Pecky only appear in Aqua Lake Zone, where they, like in their previous 8-bit appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog, are only seen when releasing them from the hovering capsule.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD
In Sonic the Hedgehog CD, it is shown that Peckies inhabit the Little Planet, where they are seen hopping around along with other flying birds in Wacky Workbench's good future. This scenario is only shown if the player destroys the Metal Sonic Projector in the past or manages to get good future by destroying Eggman's Machines or getting the Time Stones.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Pecky makes another appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where he reprises his role from earlier games where he is once again captured by Dr. Robotnik and used as an energy source for the doctor's Badniks or imprisoned in capsules. In the game, Pecky can only be found at IceCap Zone.

Sonic Gameworld
In Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld, Pecky is seen along with Sonic, Tails, Amy and the other animals friends. Pecky and Flicky dolls can be collected in the Toy Drop mini-game and Concentration contains pair of Pecky cards. The Slot Machine and Bakudan Nuki mini-games also feature Pecky icons, though the mini-games themselves are only featured in Japanese release of the game.

Sonic Pocket Adventure
While Pecky doesn't reprise his role like Flicky and Ricky in Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, several animal friends along with Pecky are included one time in the game's perfect ending.

Mario & Sonic series
In all of the games in the Mario &amp; Sonic series, Pecky makes an appearance among the audience along with other animals friends, Chao, Eggman's robots and other Mario characters.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Pecky makes another appearance in both episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, where he reprises his role from previous games where he is captured by Eggman to be used as energy sources for his new and improved Badnik army or to be imprisoned inside capsules. When Pecky gets out of a capsule in Episode II, they are either slowly walking or quickly sliding away.

In Episode I, Pecky can only be found in Lost Labyrinth Zone, while in Episode II he appears in Sylvania Castle Zone and White Park Zone. He also appear at the end of Episode Metal, where he along others gets shocked by Metal Sonic and runs away when the robot expressed his fury for missing Sonic.

Sonic Generations
Pecky made another appearance, along with Flicky, Cucky and Picky in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations. In this game, he and the other animal friends appear in some of the Challenge Acts, where the player must find capsules containing Pecky and the animal friends and free them from them. Additionally, a statue of Pecky and the other animal friends can be unlocked in the secret Statue Room.

Sonic Lost World
Pecky along with other animal friends also appeared in Sonic Lost World, where they are shown to inhabit the Lost Hex. During the events of the game, Dr. Eggman, with the assistance of Deadly Six, resumed kidnapping animals, as Pecky being among them, to use them as the energy sources for his badnik army. The small group of animals, including another Pecky that managed to escape capture, remained behind with Knuckles and Amy while Sonic and Tails went out to save their friends, where some of them had fun at the expense of Knuckles and even carried him around.

Pecky, along with other animals in Sonic Lost World, are collectible content used to progress with the game. Once the player has collected a set amount of Pecky and other animals, the player gains access to the fourth Zone in each area. Sonic is able to free animals from badniks, smaller capsules and even regular large ones at the end of each Zone. Pecky and animals can also be collected from Circus tents of each Zone. Pecky himself is featured in Windy Hill, Desert Ruins, Frozen Factory, Silent Forest and Lava Mountain.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, a Pecky appears alongside other Animals as a part of one of the collectable trophies representing the Sonic the Hedgehog series:

Excluding the trophy, the Pecky also occasionally makes a cameo appearance in the background of the Windy Hill Zone.

Other Appearances

 * Pecky along with other animal friends make small appearances in the background of multiple pictures in the Sonic the Screen Saver.
 * Many previous pictures and some character artworks of animal friends are featured in Sonic Jam and are later seen in Sonic Gems Collection.

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic
Pecky along with other animal friends, appears in Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic manga. He appears in few panels in first two stories. In Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 3 ' story Sonic Rampage!! he, Flicky and Rocky gets kidnapped by doctor Eggman who uses them as baits to get rid of Sonic. During the moment of truth, Eggman threatened to torture them to death if Sonic would not give up. Despite that, Sonic manages to free Tux and others from device of Egg Mobile with the speed of sound and after that he finished Eggman.

Sonic X
Pecky has made small cameo appearances in two episodes of Sonic X anime. Pecky's look is slightly the same with the expectation of pale blue eye pupils, orange beak and flippers. He is briefly seen along with humans in the episode Mean Machines and being transported back to his home world along with other animals in episode Running Out of Time.

Archie Comics
Pecky appeared in the Sonic:GENESIS arc of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. He is one of the animals that is imprisoned in Badniks. He was rescued by Sonic once Sonic destroyed the Badnik, and is seen looking out at the rest of Green Hill Zone soon after.

Early Sonic canon
Early on in the series, Sega of America renamed Pecky as Penguin for the western market in the first draft of the Sonic Bible. Peckey's name would later be changed to Tux for the second draft of the bible. It is stated in each draft of the Sonic Bible that Tux comes from a large family like the other Animals (which was intended to explain the appearance of multiple identical Peckies in the games) and helped raise an orphaned Sonic. It is stated in the second bible that Tux specifically taught Sonic the skills needed to find Air Bubbles underwater, though it is later said in the guidebook Stay Sonic that Tux taught Sonic how to control his breathing underwater for long periods. The Stay Sonic guide also gives a background for Tux, stating he got separated from his friends when an iceberg broken away from his homeland and carried him to the Green Hill Zone. This is however, only stated once in the guidebook.

Trivia

 * DiC Entertainment had plans for a early Sonic cartoon before Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog animated series, which was scrapped before it reached production. The single promo picture shows Sonic leading the "Freedom Team" which consists of many anthropomorphic animals, one of which is an angry little penguin named Tux.