Leaf Swirl

The Leaf Swirl (木の葉がくれ) is a Speed Formation maneuver and the Tornado Jump used by Team Chaotix in Sonic Heroes. When using this move, Espio the Chameleon forms a tornado to weaken enemies and turn invisible.

Description
When performing the Leaf Swirl, Espio jumps into the air and does a body flip, while keeping his hands folded in front of his face. There, he creates a tornado effect that forms a cyclonic vortex of air filled with transparent leaves around him. At the same time, Espio combines this with a Ninja Leaf Swirl manoeuvre which invokes his innate ability to camouflage himself, thus turning him invisible.

The effect of the Leaf Swirl depends on the type of enemy it is used on. If used on unprotected Egg Pawns, Egg Knights or opposing playable teams, the Leaf Swirl sucks the opponents off their feet and flings them into the air, before they fall back down to the ground. Upon landing, they will take damage and be potentially stunned for a short time - for some enemies, this can even reveal their weak spots. If used on Egg Pawns or Egg Knights wearing shields, the Leaf Swirl will permanently blow off their shields, thus leaving them with a weaker defense. If used on larger or airborne enemies, the Leaf Swirl will make them disorientated at most, but will deal no damage.

In addition to affecting enemies, the Leaf Swirl makes Espio invisible towards enemies and the environment, which is signified by Espio turning transparent. While invisible, Espio cannot be detected by enemies, pass through laser grids without getting hurt, and still attack enemies with his full moveset. However, while invisible, Vector and Charmy do not follow him and the player can still take damage. If Espio takes damage or using the Leaf Swirl once more, he will become visible again.

In addition to the mentioned effects, the Leaf Swirl can also be used in conjunction with some of the gimmicks in Sonic Heroes, such as enabling the player to scale vertical poles, or to activate propellers.

To perform the Leaf Swirl in gameplay, Team Chaotix must be in Speed Formation with Espio as the leader. The player then has to press the action button (//) during a jump to use the Leaf Swirl. To use it on targets, Espio must be either near or above them.