Tikal

"The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the chaos."

- Tikal, Sonic Adventure

Tikal (ティカル) is a fictional character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. She is a 4,000 year old spirit of an anthropomorphic echidna and was once a member of the Knuckles Clan who resided in what became the Mystic Ruins. She is the daughter of Chief Pachacamac.

In her youth, Tikal lived in a period of war where she opposed her father's warmongering ways. During this time, she befriended the local Chao and their guardian Chaos. When Chaos went on a destructive rampage after her father attempted to steal the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, Tikal stopped Chaos by sealing it inside the Master Emerald with her own spirit. 4,000 years later, Tikal was released from the Master Emerald when Dr. Eggman planned to use Chaos to take over the world, where she aided Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies. After Chaos was calmed, Tikal left with Chaos to live their lives in peace.

Concept and creation
Tikal is named after a ruined Mayan city in Guatemala whose name means "Place of Voices". Her father, Pachacamac, shares the name of both an Inca solar deity and a city of the Inca Empire, located near Lima, Peru. In addition to this, the pyramid in the Mystic Ruins, an adventure field in Sonic Adventure, resembles the one in the city of Tikal, and the Lost World level retains aspects of Maya ruins, such as the rotating snake and the jade. Tikal's attire is also derived from the Mayan civilization.

Early life
Tikal was born over 4,000 years prior to the events of Sonic Adventure to Pachacamac, a member of the family of chiefs that lead the Knuckles Clan. She was raised by her knowledgeable grandmother, her clan's chief, who passed onto Tikal her teachings about her pacifistic beliefs and her clan's knowledge about the lore surrounding the Chao, the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds and an old mantra. Tikal, in turn, loved her grandmother dearly and believed everything she was taught wholeheartedly, making her a peace-loving pacifist. Tikal also always cherished her grandmother's words and her mantra, which she was not sure what meant. When Tikal's grandmother passed away, her father took over and directed his people into a series of violent conquests of the neighboring countries to fulfill his ambitions. Following her grandmother's ideology, Tikal opposed her father's ways.

In the period of war, Tikal spend her time outside the Altar of the Emeralds, eventually getting through the sacred barrier protecting it, where she discovered the Chao. While the Chao were initially frightened, Tikal quickly gained their trust due to her gentle nature and shortly after met Chaos. Tikal was initially startled and frightened by Chaos, but came to realize its gentle nature and learned of its duty to watch over the Emeralds and the Chao at the altar, and managed to befriend it. Over time, Tikal would be at the altar to entertain herself with the Chao and Chaos, often to seek sanctuary when her father became too much to bear. Eventually, Tikal gained enough of Chaos' trust to be allowed entrance to the inner altar, where she saw the Chaos Emeralds and discovered the Master Emerald, which made her understand her grandmother's mantra.

Eventually, Tikal learned that her father planned to steal the Emeralds from the altar to gain the power to destroy their enemies who threatened their survival, namely the Nocturnus Clan. Fearing the worst for the altar's residents, Tikal pleaded her father not to do this, insisting that plundering and killing were the wrong way to peace, but to no avail. Tikal then returned to the altar to warn Chaos and convince it to take the Chao to safety, but when it said it could not leave the altar, Tikal promised to talk to her father again and assured the Chao she would not fail them.

Despite Tikal's attempts, Pachacamac lead a group of his warriors in a brutal attack on the altar. However, Tikal and the Chao blocked Pachacamac's path to the Emeralds, where Tikal refused to move and beseeched them to stop. Knowing her people would never get enough, she tried to reason to them that greed were the enemy. Ignoring her words, Pachacamac and his men trampled over Tikal and knocked her unconscious.

When Tikal came to, she discover the horrible destruction that had befallen the area; it turned out that when Pachacamac and his men attacked, they angered Chaos, who had then used the negative chaos energy of the Chaos Emeralds to become Perfect Chaos and kill Pachacamac, his men and nearly the entire Knuckles Clan. Understanding that Chaos was now blind with rage and would not stop its rampage until it had destroyed the world, Tikal turned to the Master Emerald, knowing its power could stop the Chaos Emeralds. Reciting her grandmother's mantra, Tikal pleaded the giant emerald to stop Chaos. Using her spirit as a catalyst, Tikal sacrificed her body to strip Chaos of its power and seal it away within Master Emerald along with her own spirit as well.

Sonic Adventure
For the next few millennia, Tikal's spirit existed inside the Master Emerald with Chaos, their hearts coexisting. 4,000 years after the attack on the Altar, they were released by Dr. Eggman, who sought to use Chaos to conquer the world. By shattering the Master Emerald, Eggman awoke Chaos, but also Tikal's spirit as well as a spiritual ball of light. Realizing that Chaos would resume destroying the world once it got all seven Chaos Emeralds, Tikal strove to stop Chaos by finding others she felt would be the most able to heed her warning and cry for help.

Tikal eventually came into contact with Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies - Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big and E-102 Gamma - where she appeared before them in spirit form and showed them visions of her history with Chaos in pieces, hoping that they would see the cataclysm that befell the world before and what would happen if Chaos got the Chaos Emeralds so they could prevent it.

Despite Tikal's best attempts to warn the heroes, Chaos betrayed Eggman and managed to obtain the Chaos Emeralds, using their negative energies to become Perfect Chaos again. As Perfect Chaos began destroying Station Square, Tikal appeared before Sonic in her spirit form and told him about Chaos' sadness and anger. As Perfect Chaos then released the Chaos Emeralds, having drained them of their negative energy, Tikal pleaded with Sonic to seal Chaos away in the Master Emerald again, but Sonic disagreed with her as Chaos' anger would never vanish like that. Sonic's friends then arrived with the rest of the Chaos Emeralds and Sonic used their positive energies to transform into Super Sonic and defeat Perfect Chaos, neutralizing its anger. Tikal then showed Chaos that the Chao it had protected were still alive and were cared for. Thanking Sonic and his friends for their help, Tikal disappeared with Chaos to live their lives in peace.

Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Tikal is an unlockable character in the Dreamcast game, Sonic Adventure 2 and its remake Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. To acquire her, the player has to complete all of Knuckles the Echidna's missions with an "A" rank. She is then available to play in 2-player in the treasure hunting game as well as in the kart game. In the GameCube re-release Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, she is initially playable in Treasure Hunting. Sonic Adventure 2 reuses several quotes from Sonic Adventure rather than using new lines from Tikal. Some people believe that her appearance in 2-player clears up the plot hole of her disappearance, while others think SEGA put her there for fans.

Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2
Tikal additionally appears in a Chao mini game in Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2 that is playable by combining one of the games with Sonic Adventure DX. This game involves Tikal giving Sonic tips on where to find a specific Chao for Cheese.

Sonic Pinball Party
Tikal makes a cameo appearance in Sonic Pinball Party as an animated stone carving on the Angel Island board.

Sonic Rivals series
Tikal makes an appearance in Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2 on several collectible cards.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Tikal also makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a sticker.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Though Tikal does not appear in person, she is mentioned, along with Chaos and Pachacamac, several times by the characters in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, as the events of the game centers around the history of the Echidnas. Additionally, information about Tikal can be read in the game's codex.

Sonic and the Black Knight
In Sonic and the Black Knight, even though Tikal is not mentioned in the game, when a file is chosen, Tikal is one of the default names.

Sonic Colors
In the console version of Sonic Colors, even though Tikal is not mentioned, when a file is chosen, Tikal is one of the default names, just like in Sonic and the Black Knight.

Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Tikal also appears in Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games as one of the many unlockable costumes that can be worn by a player's Mii. The costume gives the Mii the stats of Tikal.

Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, Tikal makes another cameo on a billboard in Speed Highway advertising a movie in the Chao in Space series, titled "Chao in Space III: The Search for Tikal".

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Tikal additionally appears in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed as a sticker.

Personality
Because of her grandmother's teachings, Tikal is a gentle and kindhearted pacifist with a peaceful temperament. She strongly opposes greed, violence and conflict, and wishes for everything to be in peace, harmony and tranquility. She is very devout to her teaching, never once resorting to violence, and will try to resolve conflicts peacefully through talk, going as far as to desperately beg others to stop their evil ways. While she abhors fighting, however, Tikal is willing to stand up to defend peace herself when needed, as she tried to block her clan's attack of the Altar of the Emeralds, and is not above helping others in their fights to protect the world and harmony. She is as well a proud member of her tribe.

Tikal is extremely compassionate about the people around her and non-discriminatory, never treating anyone with prejudice. She is a caring person and is liked by everyone. Even when her clan disapproved her ideals for war and her father closed off to her, Tikal cared deeply for her clan and attempted to sway them from their destructive path. When she failed to stop her clan, Tikal became determined to never let anyone relive the tragedy that caused her clan's destruction. Also, despite Chaos' corruption of anger and sadness, she still considered it her friend.

While Tikal only wants everyone to live in peace, she tends to have moments of oversight while trying to achieve it. She often chooses the quickest path that will restore immediate peace, rather than what might restore harmony and be for the greater good of everyone involved. Still, Tikal is well-meaning in her intentions and she is quick to forgive and forget.

Powers and abilities
Tikal is a trained warrior of the Knuckles Clan, meaning she possesses unspecified combat skills befitting her tribe. She is also noted to be very quick on her feet, surpassing the running speed of Knuckles and Rouge.

Tikal is one of the few known people who is able to access and utilize the powers of the Master Emerald on her own by using the mantra of her grandmother, allowing her to harness its various abilities. She is also the only known person so far who is able to understand Chaos' language.

Following her transcension into a spirit, Tikal gained a variety of mysterious spiritual powers. These powers include assuming the discorporate form of a floating and glowing orb and as well her original physical form, making herself (in her physical form) and others levitate, and teleporting herself and others. While against her pacific nature, she can also harness her spiritual power for special attacks, such as creating earthquakes, generating lightning, and blind opponents with strong light.

A prominent spiritual power of Tikal's is the ability to temporarily transport people back in time in their mind, similar to a vision. During these "visions", people are able to physically interact with their surroundings in the past, and can even bring things they pick up back to the present, such as when Tails brought back the Rhythm Badge. While people's minds are visiting the past, their bodies in the present enter a trance-like state and can even move on their own accord until their minds return from the past.

Weakness
Tikal's weakness is that she is not as physically strong as some of the characters, as shown in most media. In Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, she throws short punches and can't sense Emeralds as well as the treasure hunters, but is instead faster than them.

Sonic the Comic
In the Sonic the Comic comic book series, Tikal was the daughter of Pochacamac and a member of the Acient Echidnas that fought a war against the Drakon Empire for control of the Chaos Emeralds 8,000 years ago. Fearing the danger, Tikal transported Sonic to her time to help battle the Drakon. However, when Sonic was about to be killed by Chaos, Pochacamac was forced to send him home.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Tikal was the member of the Knuckles Clan, a warrior caste of a group of Echidna colonist from Albion. They settled in Soumerca, where she and the Knuckles Clan remained behind and entered a territorial war against the Felidae and the Nocturnus Clan. There, Tikal befriended Chaos and the local Chao.

When Chaos went on a rampage following her father's attempt to steal the Chaos Emeralds, Tikal sealed herself with Chaos inside the Ancient Onyx to stop Chaos. After several hundred years, Tikal was freed when Dr. Eggman sought to use Chaos to conquer the planet, where she aided the heroes in stopping Chaos for good. Following that, Tikal returned with Chaos to their own Zone to rest in peace.

Sonic X
Tikal mirrored her role in Sonic Adventure during her appearance in the anime series, Sonic X.

In Sonic X, Tikal tried to stop her father Pachacamac from taking the seven Chaos Emeralds to defeat their enemies. In this process, she and several Chao were injured, which angered the water beast Chaos. Chaos killed Pachacamac and the remaining members of the tribe, forcing Tikal to stop and calm Chaos by trapping it and her inside the Master Emerald. When Chaos was resurrected by Dr. Eggman, Tikal arrived where Chaos had taken all of the Chaos Emeralds and transformed into Perfect Chaos, in the presence of Sonic the Hedgehog and co. They gathered all seven Chaos Emeralds and restored their power, allowing Sonic to transform into Super Sonic, allowing Sonic to beat Chaos. Tikal then took Chaos with her home.

In the comics, she travelled to the present along with Chaos and several other Chao to help Sonic and his friends to stop the rampage of Eggman's "genetically-modified" Chao.\

Sonic Boom
Tikal is set to make her Sonic Boom debut in the episode "Unlucky Knuckles". Tikal becomes Amy and Sticks's and help Sonic and Tails reset Knuckles's Luck.

Family

 * Pachacamac (Father)
 * Unnamed grandmother

Friends/allies

 * Chaos
 * Chao
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Amy Rose
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Big the Cat
 * E-102 Gamma

Enemies

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Pachacamac

Quotes

 * "The servers are the seven Chaos, chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, the controller is the one that unifies the Chaos." - A poem taught to her by her grandmother.
 * "How can I make you understand?"
 * "The fight is over, harmony is restored, and life goes on."
 * "I beg of you..."
 * "Gather 50 rings, and press the Action button while you're jumping. You'll transform into Super Sonic! But watch out for your ring consumption." - An unused line from Sonic Adventure.
 * "I'm sorry, you're not one of them."
 * "I'm sorry." - When using a special attack in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "I must do something..." - Tikal at the beginning of the Treasure Hunt Race in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "I'm Tikal!" - Tikal introducing herself to Tails and when being chosen for a Treasure Hunt Race in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Go to Station Square/the Mystic Ruins/the Egg Carrier Crash Site, you might find something."
 * "Father, please don't!"

Trivia

 * It is unknown where Tikal really went with Chaos. It is possible that she may not reappear because when asked about it to Sonic at Sonic Central, he responded that he did not "know exactly where they [Tikal and other minor characters] are" - possibly suggesting that she will not be in the games any time soon. A popular theory was that she went back to the Master Emerald, but this is generally considered to be untrue, for when it shattered in Sonic Adventure 2, she was nowhere be seen. The image after the Super Sonic story credits shows Tikal at the Master Emerald Altar at Angel Island, but it is unclear on what the picture really depicts; the past, the future, a form of Heaven, or something else.
 * She is one of the few Sonic characters with visible feet. Other characters wear shoes all the time.
 * Her in-game model in Sonic Adventure shows her shirt as covering only her chest, though official artwork makes it into a tank top-like garment revealing her midriff. (This could however just be how her model appears in the game)
 * Her skirt pattern differs from an X-shape to diamond-shapes in various artworks.
 * In her Sonic Adventure official artwork, Tikal has an extra wristband on her right hand.
 * When playing as Tikal in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, her lines are simply voice clips from Sonic Adventure.
 * Tikal's eyes are different colors in different continuities; in the video game series they're blue, in Sonic X they're purple, and in the Archie series they're green.
 * However, in one scene of Sonic X, her eyes are blue.
 * When Tikal does a victory pose in Sonic Adventure 2, her brass knuckle disappears.
 * There is an unlockable costume for your Mii in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games based on her character appearance.
 * In her Sonic Adventure artwork, she has a long train on her skirt. But in her other appearances, she does not.
 * In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Shade refers to Knuckles as "Pachacamac's descendant", hinting that Knuckles may have some relation to Tikal.
 * If you use the Action Replay moon jump code in Sonic Adventure in a cutscene that she is in, you can make her jump, perhaps hinting that she was playable in one point in development.