Espio the Chameleon

Espio the Chameleon (エスピオ・ザ・カメレオン, Esupio za Kamereon) is an purple anthropomorphic chameleon and an expert ninja. Espio's name is thought to either have come from the word "espionage", another word for spying, or to be a reference to the Spanish word "espio" (meaning literally "I spy").

Knuckles' Chaotix
Espio first appeared in Knuckles' Chaotix (simply Chaotix in Japan) for the Sega 32X. The Japanese manual states that Espio, being a detective, goes to investigate the mysterious island that has emerged from the sea.

In the American manual, he is a friend of Knuckles the Echidna, and is visiting "Carnival Island" when Robotnik attacks it.

In both cases, he is attacked by Doctor Robotnik and Metal Sonic who try to capture him. Knuckles saves him from the two, and Espio automatically becomes his partner character for the training stage. After this, Espio can be chosen in the "Combi-Confiner" prior to stages. Espio can walk on walls and ceilings, and uses his own Whirl Attack instead of the common Spin Attack.

Sonic the Fighters
Espio appears as one of eight playable fighters in the arcade game Sonic the Fighters (Sonic Championship in Japan). In the story, Espio is one of the eight characters who try to collect the eight Chaos Emeralds in order to travel into space and destroy Eggman's Death Egg II. Espio is the fourth character to fight in story mode, and his stage is Mushroom Hill, a part of Angel Island that appeared in Sonic & Knuckles.

In the game, Espio is a medium-strong fighter, and his special abilities include using his Whirl Attack and attacking with his long tongue.

Sonic Heroes
The Chaotix made a new appearance in Sonic Heroes, where Espio, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee have formed a detective agency (previously, only Espio was a detective). They are contacted by an anonymous client via a walkie-talkie. Espio doesn't entirely trust the voice, but Vector and Charmy quickly go help after they are promised a reward, with Espio tagging along anyway. In the game, Espio is the "speed" member of Team Chaotix, meaning he can run quicker than the others, and creates small whirlwinds for various purposes. Unlike the speed members of the other three teams, Espio can turn invisible, throw large shuriken and stick to walls.

In the end of their story, the client is rescued from Eggman's base, and turns out to be Doctor Eggman himself, to Espio's surprise. Eggman reveals that he had been framed and captured by Metal Sonic, who transforms into Metal Madness shortly after. Team Chaotix help out by giving Sonic the Chaos Emeralds they had collected throughout game, with Espio giving him the red one. Chaotix then stall Metal Madness in order to buy time for Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to turn into their super forms. At the end of the game he is seen running after Eggman with Vector and Charmy in order to collect their promised reward.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, the Chaotix work on a new mission. He appears in the cutscene prior to the Mad Matrix stage, in which he and Shadow the Hedgehog hack into the cyberspace of Eggman's computer system. The player can then choose whether or not to help Espio retrieve encrypted data from the computer, with Espio being a "partner" character. In the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions of the game, the second controller can be used to control Espio, who attacks with punch combos and homing attacks.

In the game's ending, the Chaotix are all on the Space Colony ARK, where they activate an old video created by Gerald Robotnik for Shadow to see. When Shadow sees it, he gains new strength and defeats the main villain, Black Doom.

Sonic Rivals
Espio appears on two collectable cards in Sonic Rivals.

Sonic Rivals 2
Espio appears as Silver the Hedgehog's partner as they both investigate the case of the missing Chao. Although they don't particularly see eye-to-eye, the two eventually set aside their differences and work together.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
Espio appears as one of the referees. He was also supposed to be playable, but, he was removed. He is still playable to some extent, through hacks of the game.

Sonic and the Black Knight
Espio never actually appears, but one of the default file names given is 'Espio'.

Personality
Espio, unlike the majority of the Sonic characters, is very serious, calm and disciplined. He is seen as a ninja-based character; his battle poses and shuriken stars support that portrayal. In the TV show Sonic X, when he was discovered by Amy while trying to sneak aboard the Blue Typhoon, he leaves in shame. He is talented with computers, and plays the shamisen as a hobby. In Sonic Heroes, he plays the instrument in the Chaotix' Team Blast, "Chaotix Recital". According to the Japanese Chaotix game manual, Espio especially dislikes Dr. Eggman, although it's not stated precisely why. During a cut-scene in Sonic Heroes, the usually civil and soft-spoken chameleon even threatened the doctor's life. He is also able to see through Eggman's tricks very easily in Shadow the Hedgehog, and tells Shadow to destroy the villain.

Abilities
Espio, being a chameleon, can render his skin to match the environment, which makes him completely invisible, unless he gets something on him, such as paint, that allows him to be seen (and he did get paint smeared on himself in Sonic X episode 59). He is quite skillful with shuriken, and is said to own the biggest collection of them known to man. Some of his shuriken are also modified to explode within a certain time once they make contact to a target, like small time bombs (also seen in Sonic X episode 59). He also can run quite fast, as he is the Chaotix speed member in Sonic Heroes. He can also perform the homing attack like the other speed members, and can create small tornadoes (known as "Leaf Swirl") while turning invisible. Due to being a chameleon, he can also stick to and walk on walls and ceilings, and can quickly extend his long tongue in order to damage enemies. He can perform the Spin Attack and Spin Jump, along with his own variations of them, the Whirl Attack and Whirl Dash (appeared in old games; he uses the spin versions in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog). Espio can also charge forward destroying all enemies in his way, and, as mentioned above, throw over-sized shuriken, as well as kunai. Once, he was even seen with a ninja sword. In the Archie series, Espio has been shown using his tongue as a grapnel.

Friends/Allies

 * Chaotix
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Charmy Bee
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Mighty the Armadillo
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Rouge the Bat
 * E-123 Omega
 * Amy Rose
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Big the Cat
 * Cosmo the Seedrian (sonic X)
 * Silver the Hedgehog (Good Friend)
 * Doctor Bob Bobble (fleetway)
 * Heavy and Bomb
 * Bark the Polarbear
 * Bean the Dynamite
 * Valdez the Chameleon (archie comics) (currently roboticized)

Foes/Rivals

 * Doctor Eggman
 * Eggman Nega (Sonic Rivals 2)
 * Black Arms
 * Metal Sonic
 * Metarex (Sonic X exclusive)
 * Fang the Sniper
 * The Bulk (Fleetway)
 * Mighty the Armadillo (Rival in STC)

Sonic X


Espio appeared with the Chaotix in the anime Sonic X. Along with Vector and Charmy, Espio played a minor role in season 2, only appearing in Episode 39 to help find Cream when Chaotix was hired by Vanilla, Cream's mother (though in the end, it is Sonic who unites the two). They play a larger role in Season 3, first appearing to bring Chris supplies from his parents. The second time Espio appears, he reluctantly helps Vector and Charmy help Tails get Cosmo, a girl he likes, to like him back, and after that appears with the others to help fight the Metarex. Espio states in his first appearance that he is the brains behind the Chaotix (to which Charmy claims that he's "Super Full of Himself"), when in the Sonic Heroes instruction manual, Vector is stated to be the brains. In the anime he is sometimes seen as a comic relief character as he has been hit (unintentionally) by Amy's hammer, woken up by Vector when he had pepper poured on him and was discovered in a humiliating way shortly before being beaten up.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comics, Espio is a bonafide hothead, which causes his friend Charmy to constantly remind him of his manners. It can be noted that this appearance has green eyes instead of golden ones. This incarnation of the character differs significantly from the Espio portrayed in the games and Sonic X.

Joining the Chaotix
Espio became friends with Knuckles like the other Chaotix, and joined the group some time prior to Knuckles' first meeting with Sonic. Espio The Chameleon is often quite reserved and his past is a mystery to all except maybe Knuckles. Nothing is known of Espio's past by anyone, but it seems that he lived a normal chameleon's life, until he met Knuckles. Espio joined the Chaotix when Dr. Ivo Robotnik's lackey Renfield T. Rodent had successfully captured the Knothole Freedom Fighters in the House of Mirrors section of Happy Land theme park. Knuckles the Echidna, requiring assistance to defeat Metal Sonic, enlisted the help of Espio along with the rest of the Chaotix. After the successful capture Renfield T. Rodent and forcing Robotnik to flee, Espio has remained loyal to the Chaotix ever since. (KCX)

The Valdez Enslavement
During the early reign of Dr. Eggman, the mad scientist managed captured Valdez - Espio's former mentor. The newly roboticized Valdez was used to torment Espio and capture the other Chameleons on Angel Island. He proceeded to use extortion and threats of roboticization to force Espio into leading Robotnik's troops to the hidden Chameleon colony. With little choice, Espio was eventually forced to trick and destroy Valdez. (KtE: #30, #31, #32)

Recent Activities
While Sonic was gone for a year in outer space, Espio underwent extensive ninja training including the use of throwing knives and shurikens, non camouflaged stealth, and extensive combat training. When the Chaotix were staying in Knothole to aid in the fight against Eggman, Espio went on a mission (with NICOLE) to investigate the state of Charmy's former home, the Golden Hive Colony. After discovering that there were no survivors present and that Eggman had turned the hive into another of his outposts, Espio had it destroyed. At roughly the same time as the wedding of Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot, Espio infiltrated the heart of the Eggman Empire, and discovered the scope of Eggman's plans. He panicked and was cornered. Dr. Eggman hit him was some sort of green laser and Espio was sent to the Egg Grape Chambers. During Eggman's destruction of Knothole, all of the other members of the Chaotix were teleported to the Egg Grape Chamber, but he and the rest of the Knothole Mobians were quickly rescued however by Sonic, Knuckles, NICOLE, Tails and Amy Rose and were teleported to New Mobotropolis. Following this, Espio went with Knuckles and the rest of the Chaotix to help him overcome his guilt earned while he was Enerjak. (StH: #169, #174, #176, #186) Espio helped in the final battle against Eggman, but was soon contacted by Lightning Lynx, regarding being drafted into the service of the Iron Queen, after she had united all of the ninja clans. (StH: #199, #200, #201)

Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, he is a friendly (or sometimes not so friendly) rival to Mighty and has an extremely short temper. The two of them will end up clashing and arguing who's the best on almost any subject, to the extent of demanding a defeated enemy says which of them had punched him the hardest. This incarnation of the character differs significantly from the Espio portrayed in the games and Sonic X.

Espio's profile in Knuckles Knock-Out Special says that he was once a prisoner in Robotnik's Combi Machine, and that he has a personal grudge against Robotnik for this. However, this is never mentioned in any strip in the series, and may not be canon.

Theme Songs
Team Chaotix (although this theme is shared with Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee, Espio is mentioned in the two lines: "And the ninja stars fly, too!" and "Espio is clearly ready to go"

Voice actors

 * Sonic Heroes - present, Sonic X - Yuuki Masuda (Japan)
 * Sonic Heroes - Bill Corkery (US)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog - present, Sonic X - David Willis (US)

Trivia

 * Espio is the only member of Team Chaotix to appear in a game released between Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic Heroes.
 * Espio is the first non-robot anthropomorphic characters to lack a visible nose. Some fans often mistake his horn for his nose.
 * In Knuckles Chaotix and Sonic the Fighters, Espio has different shoes than his current design.
 * Espio has been playable in two more games than the other Chaotix members: Sonic Rivals 2 and Sonic the Fighters.
 * In Sonic Heroes, Espio is the only Speed-type character who is not a Hedgehog.
 * Through the games Espio's color gradually lightens from a dark purple to a light pink-ish purple.
 * Espio has the most playable appearance of all the Chaotix Members, with Vector at second, and Charmy in third.
 * In Sonic Heroes, Espio is the only speed formation character whose shoes do not involve the color red.