Enerbeam

The Enerbeam (エナービーム) is a device that appears in the Sonic Boom franchise. It is an energy tether that can be used to pull and latch onto objects for either combat, puzzle solving, or exploration.

Concept and creation
In an interview with Bob Rafei, it is implied that the Enerbeam tether idea came from the Ring Power gimmick from Knuckles' Chaotix.

Description
Enerbeam, as its name implies, is a tether made of several lightning bolts intertwined to form a solid whip from the user's wrist which can extend and contract when necessary. As a tool, the Enerbeam can latch onto targets to pull them in, lasso enemies, or swing from point to point. Alternatively, it can be used as a make-shift rope. This makes the Enerbeam a versatile device for both navigation and combat.

The Enerbeam's color tends to match its user's primary color scheme. In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric they are colored according to the characters: Sonic's Enerbeam is blue, Tails' is yellow, Amy's is pink and Knuckles' is red. In Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal though, all the Enerbeams are purple. In the television series, the Enerbeams take on their color from Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, except that Sticks' is changed to lime green. In Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, Shadow's enerbeam is yellow.

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, when Lyric was imprisoned, he was given four Enerbeam tethers to chain him in his tomb. When Team Sonic accidentally reawakened Lyric a millennium later, Lyric used the tethers to bind the team while he escaped. Tails managed to free the heroes though and recalibrated them into tools which they used in their mission to stop Lyric. In the final battle, Lyric made the Enerbeams trap Team Sonic again with his technopathy, though his attempt to kill them failed. In the aftermath, Tails created the Communicators for his team by replicating their Enerbeam devices.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal
In Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, the Enerbeams are ancient technology that are implied to have been discovered by Amy and Tails while they investigated some ruins. These Enerbeams were given to Sonic, Knuckles and Sticks who used them to rescue Amy from Lyric.

Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice
In Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, the Enerbeams were used extensive by Team Sonic during their mission to restore balance to the environment. Somehow, Eggman had also gotten his hands on the Enerbeam technology which he armed his EggBot Racers with.

Season one
Having obtained the Enerbeam, Tails incorporated the device into his attire, allowing him to activate it remotely with his belt buckle and channel it through his gloves.

The Enerbeam has been deployed scarcely, normally by Tails for Team Sonic's ongoing battles with Dr. Eggman to either fight robots or snatch objects. When Tails' crush Zooey was caught by Giant Robot, Tails used his Enerbeam to save Zooey from harm. On one occasion, all of Team Sonic used their own Enerbeams to ride Tails' Plane into a battle with Obliterator Bot.

Season two
Sonic would use his own Enerbeam to tie up Obliterator Bot when saving Tommy Thunder.

Archie Comics
The Enerbeam has been deployed a few times by Team Sonic, namely for a failed offensive maneuver against the Big Boy and later to form a safety net for Sonic when he fell off the road during the Go-kart Pan-island Grand Prix.

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, the Enerbeam are first obtained at the end of Lyric's Tomb. For exploration, they can be used to move and/or activate objects by latching onto them and then pulling them in, or ride Ener-Rails and Zip Targets. In combat, they can lasso and throw enemies to damage them or pull away their shields to make them vulnerable. The Enerbeam's damage can also be increased with the Fastball Special Power Glyph.

To use the Enerbeam to pull objects, the player must press and move the left stick. To lasso enemies, the player must press to grab them, aim with the left stick and release  to throw them.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal
In Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, every playable character and rival can use the Enerbeam from the start of the game. It is mainly used to swing on Enerbeam Swings, ride Ener-Rails or remove shields from enemies. It can also destroy weak obstacles from afar. With the Mega Grapple upgrade unlocked, the player can instantly destroy enemies when ripping off their shields. To swipe out the Enerbeam in gameplay, the player has to press.

Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom
In Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, the Enerbeam is usable to all playable characters in the game. In gameplay, the Enerbeam will be activated whenever the player touches the "Enerbeam" powerup during a run. These powerups are presented as glass capsules with a red cap on the top and bottom and Sonic's Communicator on the inside.

Upon its activation, the player is pulled up on an Ener-Rail, along which Rings, Blue Orbs, and Hoops may be found. The player can also tilt the mobile device left and right to sheer the characters while using the Enerbeam. After a certain about of time though, the characters will drop down again, although collecting Rings or equipping special Sprites can extend the duration.

Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice
In Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, the Enerbeam works just like in Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal and is useable to every playable character. This includes every Bot Racer as well.

In gameplay, Enerbeams are used primarily to utilize Enerbeam Swings and ride Ener-Rails. When using the Enerbeam in gameplay, the player has to press to swipe it out.

Trivia

 * In early demos of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, the Enerbeam's name was stylized as "EnerBeam."
 * The Enerbeam works very similar as the the Swingshot from the Ratchet &amp; Clank series.
 * Bill Freiberger has stated that the reason the Enerbeam has not appeared too often in the Sonic Boom television series is because that, while it is good for gameplay, it is not very useful in a comedy show.