Miles "Tails" Prower

"I've changed a lot since I started hanging out with Sonic, but I can't depend on him forever. I know I can do this by myself!"

- Tails


 * This is about the version of the character in the games continuity. For other versions, see Miles "Tails" Prower (disambiguation).

Miles Prower (マイルス・パウアー), better known by his nickname, Tails (テイルス), is one of the main characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, and animated series released by Sega.

The name "Miles Prower" is a pun on "miles per hour", a reference to the famed speed of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an 8 year-old orange-yellow, anthropomorphic fox with two tails (similar to the mythological kitsune), hence his nickname. He is known to be Sonic's best friend, sidekick, and an expert mechanic. He is able to use his two tails to propel himself into the air like a helicopter for a limited time. His debut was on October 16, 1992, introduced in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2; the 16-bit version was released that November.

During his first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, his fur was orange in color, but the color was changed to yellow-orange for Sonic Adventure, and light-yellow for Sonic Heroes. In 1993 and 1995, he starred in his own games, Tails and the Music Maker for the Pico, Tails Adventure, and Tails' Skypatrol for the Game Gear. Tails is the third most popular character of the series, behind Sonic and Shadow, according to official polls.

Conception and creation
Yasushi Yamaguchi, originally the main artist and zone designer for SEGA's Sonic Team, was assigned to created a sidekick character for Sonic in an internal contest. Yamaguchi originally created Ray The Squirrel (who would only appear in SegaSonicArcade) to be used as a sidekick but designed Tails as an internal competition for a sidekick to the speedy hedgehog after Sega of Japan rejected the Flying Squirrel idea. The character was meant to hold a "deep admiration for Sonic." The name 'Miles Prower' played on a speed pun and was originally intended to be a tanuki, a raccoon-like canine native to east Asia, and extremely popular in Japanese folklore. The designers decided to change him to a fox, however, to avoid possible comparisons with Mario, who at the time had a power up called the Tanooki Suit, which allowed him to fly, and made him look like a tanuki. His entry won, but Sonic Team decided to change his character's name from "Miles" to "Tails" in which Yamaguchi was none too pleased at all about.

Yamaguchi ended up with a compromise. He snuck the name "Miles" in as his legal name; "Tails" would be his nickname, ending up with the full name of Miles "Tails" Prower.

Tails was redesigned (along with all of the other Sonic characters) by Yuji Uekawa for Sonic Adventure. His fur changed color to a slightly orange shade of yellow, and he gained visible blue irises.

A Sidekick's first adventure


Tails was first seen in Sonic 2 for the Master System, where he was kidnapped by Doctor Ivo Robotnik for ransom. He was first made playable in the Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where he played the part of Sonic's sidekick and also as a playable character from the second controller, or could be chosen as player one.

Chaotic Imbalance
Sonic Chaos (1993), on the Game Gear/Master System was the second game where the player could control Tails, and the first game where the player could control his flight.

A Partner's Second Stand
Then, in Sonic 3 (1994) Tails made his third major appearance, this time able to pick up Sonic when possible, while he was flying. This was a big step forward for Tails; he became much better known and respected at this point for his usefulness.

Solo Appearances
Tails starred in his first solo role in Tails' Skypatrol (1995), which was a sort of puzzle game on the Game Gear. This was followed by Tails Adventure, which was a Metroid-esque platformer with RPG elements (Note: according to the Japanese release, the events of the latter game took place before Tails ever met Sonic). Tails Adventure was released the same year as Tails' Skypatrol.

Tails was also the star of Tails and the Music Maker for the Sega Pico.

A Kid Who Fights
He found himself in the ring for the arcade game Sonic the Fighters, which was later ported to the GameCube and PlayStation 2 (excluding America) via Sonic Gems Collection. In this fighting game, he can fly into enemies, spin dash and punch rapidly. He is the fifth character the player fights in the story mode, and his stage is "Canyon Cruise", which takes place on a boat.

A World Prix Runner
Tails is also a playable character in Sonic R. He has good turning and can take shortcuts with his flying ability.

Now It's Tails' Time To Shine
In Sonic Adventure and its remake, Sonic Adventure DX, Tails was one of the six playable characters. His gameplay was standard platforming stages; the goal of each stage was to destroy the capsule or get to the Chaos Emerald before Sonic or Dr. Eggman. However, in the sequel, Sonic Adventure 2 and its remake, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, he was featured in third-person shooting segments, seated in his "Cyclone" mech, similar to E-102's stages from the first, not counting his Chao Garden appearances where he performed as he did in Sonic Adventure. He is also in the story mode as a member of the hero team.

He also has unlockable skins for his machine.

Advancing With the Crew
Tails was also a playable character in the Game Boy Advance series Sonic Advance. He could fight offensively with his tails, along with jumping, flying and using the Spin Dash.

A Hero with the Heroes
Tails appeared as the fly-type character of Team Sonic in Sonic Heroes. In the game Tails, alongside Sonic & Knuckles, chased Dr. Eggman throughout the world in an attempt to prevent him from using his new "super weapon". However, at the Final Fortress they met with Team Dark, Team Chaotix & Team Rose and found out that Metal Sonic was the real mastermind behind the plot, who had locked the real Eggman in a cell and impersonated him all the time. The other teams gave their Chaos Emeralds to them and distracted Metal Sonic, who had tranformed into Metal Madness, while Team Sonic use the Chaos Emeralds to turn sonic into Super Sonic, also resulting in Tails and Knuckles gaining a ball type flame shield. Then they setted of to the skies to fight against Metal Sonic, who was in his ultimate form: Metal Overlord. After his defeat, Tails was last seen running after Sonic.

Help Wanted
In Shadow the Hedgehog, he helps Shadow out in the Circus Park in which the player can, in exchange, choose to help him recover 400 of the rings stolen by Eggman. In the Air Fleet, the player can choose to help exterminate 35 Black Arms in order to protect the President. He can be played using the second controller in the GameCube and PS2 versions. He shows the ability to use Sonic's Jump Dash in this game, but cannot fly. He can attack by hitting enemies with his tails.

A Genius In Battle
Tails was also in Sonic Battle for the Game Boy Advance. His story was second in the main mode. His specials included firing electrical energy with an arm cannon, setting "Chu2" bombs that seek out their target and causing a giant hand to appear and attack. His flying ability is present but greatly weakened, but it is made up with the fact that Tails has one of the best healing abilities in the game.

Travelling Dimensions
Sonic Rush on the Nintendo DS featured Tails as a supporting character as well as in Sonic Rush Adventure. Tails helps Sonic by being a navigator.

The Ultimate Extreme Gear Specialist
In Sonic Riders, Tails is a playable character, and one of the main characters of the game. He modified Sonic's Extreme Gear "Blue Star" to become "Blue Star 2", and rides a board called the "Yellow Tail". Wave the Swallow makes fun of his board design, sparking a rivalry between them throughout the game. When racing, he has the best cornering of all characters, and fights with a giant electrical plug. He is also playable in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders.

A Next Generation Supporter
In the Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Tails is a playable character. He and Knuckles are amigo characters for Sonic. Tails is notable for being quite a bit slower then in previous games, ironically he moves faster in the Team Attack mode downloadable add on then in the regular gameplay.

He attacks using Dummy Ring Bombs in this game instead of his twin tails.

Now To Really Help Sonic
In Sonic Rivals, Tails appears in Sonic's storyline as a cameo appearance. When both he and Sonic head over to the mysterious Onyx Island, they discover that Amy has been turned into a card by Dr. Eggman himself. When Sonic doubts Dr. Eggman, Sonic gets a front-row seat to see Tails get turned into a card himself. Sonic sets off to rescue the two as other rivals, Knuckles the Echidna, Silver the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Metal Sonic get into the mix as they all head on a search for Eggman. Tails is rescued by Sonic after defeating the boss in Crystal Mountain Zone and helps Sonic and Knuckles get into outer space.Tails also appears as three collectible cards in the game. He is playable in Sonic Rivals 2.

As a Skillful Athlete
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Tails is one of the 16 playable characters (8 being from Sonic's universe) as a Skill-type character. He also appears in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games as one of the now 20 playable characters (10 from the Sonic Universe with the addition of Metal Sonic and Silver). He is still a Skill type character. Tails' signature moves for the game are Tailspin for the Wii version and Propeller Dash for the DS version. Tails is also playable in Mario and Sonic at the 2012 London Games, in this game he is, as usual, one of the faster Sonic characters. On the Official Olympic Games website all character descriptions depict what each character excels at. Tails' description depicts his high-Skill based abilities that will make him formidable in a wide range of events. It also states that his high acceleration and speed will make him tough to beat in many races.

An Arabian Look-alike
In Sonic and the Secret Rings, Tails is a playable character in Party Mode, but during the main story he acts as a guide, with his likeness used for Ali Baba in place of Tails himself.

Save now, sidekick later
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Tails calls on Sonic to inform him of numerous going-ons, thus starting the adventure. He joins Sonic's party upon their entrance to Central City, and is the third party member to join (after Amy). Upon reaching the Overmind at Voxai Colony Alpha Tails is overcome by fear wanting to turn back due to the Overminds influence. He is of the Support Class, meaning that he has a lot of skills that help keep his party members alive, or help them in their assaults, such as 'Scan.' He can fly on the map, allowing him to get to places only a select few can reach.

Cameo
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he has a Green Hill Zone cameo. He also has an unlockable trophy, only obtainable by accumulating over 30,000 FT of walking distance between all characters.

The only one who could recognize his dear friend
In Sonic Unleashed, Tails is the only person who could automatically identify Sonic after he changed into his werehog form (even though Amy met Sonic as the Werehog, she wasn't able to identify him until talking with Professor Pickle). Tails and the Professor appear to be good friends and share common interests. In this game, Tails flies Sonic and Chip around the world to each location to help repair it. He still does even after the player completes the game and the world is restored.

A Blacksmith In A Knight's World
In Sonic and the Black Knight, he is portrayed as a blacksmith that Sonic goes to have Caliburn sharpened. He is playable in mutliplayer mode. In multiplayer mode he uses a slingshot as his weapon. He is amazed at Caliburn's details and the fact that Caliburn can talk. Once he resharpens Caliburn, Sonic gains the use of the Soul Gauge. Sonic can then return to him before missions to equip items, check his stats and forge new weapons for the other Knights of the Round Table.

A True SEGA Racer!
In Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Tails appears as a playable character. In this game he created both his and Sonic's race cars, the Tornado Racer and the Speed Star. His All-Star move is Tails Tornado. This move creates a tornado that sucks up other racers and items that get in his way.

A Color Filled Interplanetary Odyssey; Free As Many Wisps As Possible!
Tails has a major, non-playable role in Sonic Colors. He found Yacker in Tropical Resort and decided to reconfigure his Miles Electric into a translator to comprehend his language, however the device was not very accurate but Tails had a good enough Intel to get it right. He is usually there in the cutscenes to tell Sonic the new information Yacker has given him about Eggman's scheme. In one of the cutscenes, he is mind-controlled by the negative energy Eggman created out of Hyper-go-on power. Sonic tries to get him back to his senses, but fails to. Eggman orders Tails to fight Sonic, but Sonic holds back as he doesn't want to fight his best friend. Right as Tails is about to attack him, the machine runs out of energy and he comes back to his senses.

Near the end of the game, when Sonic and Tails are about to enter the elevator to go back home, they are stopped by Eggman. Tails, being afraid, says that he doesn't think they can beat Eggman. Sonic decides to push Tails into the space elevator in order to keep him safe. Tails then unwillingly goes back down to their planet. When Sonic beats Eggman, the Wisps take Sonic's body back to the planet while he's unconscious. Not knowing that he had fainted after the battle, Tails tells Sonic that he's impressed that he was able to defeat Eggman and save the world. Sonic then says that he actually didn't think that he was going to win. Tails tells him that the last thing he remembered was being pushed into the elevator. Yacker then comes to thank them for helping, but says that he has to get back to his own planet. Tails was saddened by this, but understood and gave Yacker a high-five before he left.

4 Tails
Tails and his past form will appear in Sonic Generations but he will not be fully playable as expected. His past form will speak on behalf of Sonic's past form since Sonic's past form will not be able to speak.

Other Appearances
It has been confirmed that in the unreleased Sonic X-treme, which was in development for the Sega Saturn platform, Tails would have appeared, playing in a first person flight mode. The original Sonic the Hedgehog for Master System, Game Gear and Genesis have a blue caption "See you next game Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear and Genesis" is above Tails. Sonic CD only contains Tails in the form of a piece of artwork that features him standing next to a race car that has MILES on the license plate slightly implying that it is his with the caption "SEE YOU NEXT GAME" above the car - a reference to Sonic Drift for the Game Gear. Also he will be a playable character in the December 2011 re-release of Sonic CD.

Personality
Tails is portrayed as a very kind, young fox who is humble about his abilities, and always willing to help out when he can. Tails can just about do anything if he just thinks about it and sums up all the answers correctly. He was very shy when he first met Sonic the Hedgehog, but gradually opened up and became Sonic's best friend. In Tails' Adventure, he saved an entire island from the brink of destruction caused by the Battle Kukku Army. He also battled various villains in Tails' Sky Patrol, such as the main villain, Wendy Witchcart. In Sonic Adventure, Tails saved Station Square from Doctor Eggman. Tails soon realized that he was able to be independent and support himself without Sonic's help. Even though he enjoys being Sonics sidekick, he believes that he can do almost anything, even without Sonic's support.

He now has many different creations, and his intelligence matches Doctor Robotnik's. He does have a few weaknesses, though. He is very afraid of lightning, and has a tendency to talk too much, which frequently causes him to accidentally blab out secrets or plans (for example, in Sonic Adventure 2, without thinking at first, he told Eggman that the Chaos Emerald that Sonic had was a fake, thus ruining the heroes' plans). He also has a tendency to talk techno-babble, much to the irritation of his friends (E.g. in Sonic Riders, where Knuckles asks him how Extreme Gear works. When Tails starts to explain, Knuckles' eyes start to roll from left to right disappear then appear from left to right several times before he yells "Stooop!", then proceeds to say "I get it, okay?! It just floats and thats good enough for me!").

Interactions With Other Characters
Tails has many friends besides Sonic, and his skills are respected by everyone who knows him. In Sonic Heroes he is part of Team Sonic, along with Sonic and Knuckles. Tails mostly treats and respects all his friends the same with a humble and somewhat passive attitude.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic is Tails' best friend, as the two have been inseparable since Sonic 2. The amount of time they've spent together as friends is so long that they have formed a bond akin to that of two brothers. Ever since they first met in Westside Island, when Tails was being teased by the other children, he saw Sonic running at incredibly high speeds. Tails was impressed and thought he was "cool" and went after him. Tails found his biplane and got so fond of it and slept under it, Sonic found Tails and they both had a short meeting. When Sonic went, Tails went after him until Sonic stopped, Sonic was impressed by how he could keep up (as nobody had ever done so before) and the two became close friends.

After their meeting, Sonic and Tails were always there to help each other, their friendship grew and grew until they had a more brotherly relationship. It is often that Tails invents machines for Sonic in his help and also made him three Extreme Gears. In Sonic Advance 3, they are known as the "Unbreakable Bond" when they team up. In Sonic Rivals 2 it is shown that Sonic trains Tails to learn how to run and fight in their free time. Whenever Sonic has an adventure to explore, he always comes to Tails and asks him to come along and Tails is always ready to help. Tails also used to depend on Sonic a lot, but later realized that he can't depend on him forever. Sonic is also an idol to Tails and Tails just wants to be as heroic as he is.

In Sonic Colors he was great help to Sonic and was with him throughout the game. Though, he did disagree with Sonic when Sonic said that Eggman is planning on an evil scheme, Tails thought that Eggman was actually coming to the good side. When Tails was mind-controlled by Dr. Eggman, Sonic refused to fight Tails because they are best friends. This shows that although Sonic sometimes focuses more on other tasks, he still maintains that care for Tails, and at this point, continuously tries to persuade Tails to snap out of the mind-control. Tails also embarrassed Sonic when he was talking to a giant broken robot saying that it "can not hear him". Sonic tells him to forget about it, saying that it is between "him and the robot" but Tails said that he won't change the subject. In the end, he however doubted that Sonic could beat Eggman and was impressed when Sonic was able to not only do just that, but also live through the following explosion.

Amy Rose
Amy and Tails have not interacted much mostly because Amy is only interested in Sonic because she is madly in-love with him. It is often when Amy shows up, Sonic feels hesitant to talk to her because he is over-whelmed by her energetic, loud and cheerful personality, he asks Tails for backup. This is when Tails is also startled to talk to Amy as he has to think of a way to help Sonic. Though, Amy and Tails have barely spoken to each other, she stood up for him and showed to be visibly upset when Wave insulted Tails' mechanical skills.

Knuckles the Echidna
Tails is also good friends with Knuckles. They converse more than Knuckles does with Sonic, and although he isn't as much a rival to Knuckles as Sonic is, Tails does occasionally tend to irritate Knuckles with his technobabble. Knuckles seems to enjoy picking on Tails, such as when he scares Tails with the idea that they fought with Shadow's ghost just before Hang Castle Zone in Sonic Heroes. Despite this, Knuckles is probably Tails' closest friend, after Sonic. Knuckles has shown that he cares for Tails, such as when he furiously defended Tails after Wave mocked Tails in Sonic Riders. Even though they are good friends, Tails and Knuckles have fought each other numerous times, usually when Knuckles has been tricked by Eggman, but in the end, there are never hard feelings between them.

Dr. Eggman
In Sonic Adventure 2, he had a rivalry with Doctor Eggman, fighting him directly in the Cyclone twice - once on Prison Island, the second time on the Space Colony ARK after Eggman blasted Sonic into space. After this, the rivalry seemed to cease, and Eggman and Tails are seen talking to each other in a quite civil way at the end of the game. Eggman also seems to develop a respect and liking for him during the events of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, due to their shared skill with machines.

Shadow the Hedgehog
Tails mostly interacts with Shadow in rivalries. In Sonic Battle, Tails revealed he admired Shadow, but he was going to fight him anyway and won which made Shadow tell him to watch out for the Gizoid's true power. Tails doesn't usually interact with Shadow unless he is with Sonic, but Shadow interacts with Tails individually more than he does other characters.

Wave the Swallow
Wave and Tails are rivals in inventions, since they both are smart. In Sonic Riders Wave was impressed by Tails' inventions but couldn't admit it saying that he made "a piece of junk". She teases Tails by calling him "shorty". In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, the two do not seem to rival each other in anything. When Wave was hurt by the robots in the game, Tails is seen in the screen trying to help her get up. In Sonic Free Riders, instead she calls him "shrimp". Once again, they do not talk much or show much rivalry until in one scene when Tails examines the gears she made he commented, "Your gear is still as amazing as ever, Wave", to which Wave ungratefully replied, "Is that supposed to be sarcasm, shrimp?" much to Tails' dismay, telling her that he actually meant that.

Friends/Allies

 * Sonic the Hedgehog (Best friend, close as brothers)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (Good friend)
 * Amy Rose (Good friend)
 * Blaze the Cat (Good friend)
 * Cream the Rabbit (Good friend)
 * Vanilla the Rabbit
 * Cheese the Chao
 * Shadow the Hedgehog (To a degree)
 * Rouge the Bat (Also a rival)
 * Big the Cat
 * Silver the Hedgehog (Also a rival)
 * Marine the Raccoon
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Mighty the Armadillo
 * Chip (Sonic Unleashed)
 * Emerl (Sonic Battle)
 * Shade (Sonic Chronicles)
 * Tikal (In flashback only - Sonic Adventure)
 * Luigi (Close Friend)
 * Yoshi (Good friend/rival)
 * Yacker (Sonic Colors)
 * Wisps (Sonic Colors)
 * Himself (Past Self) (Sonic Generations)
 * Classic Sonic (Sonic Generations)

Rivals

 * Dr. Eggman (also an enemy)
 * Wave the Swallow (Sonic Riders series)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Rivals 2)
 * Yoshi (Mario & Sonic series)
 * Metal Sonic (also an enemy)
 * Rouge the Bat (also friend/ally)
 * Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic Rivals 2)
 * Espio the Chameleon (Sonic Rivals 2)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (Sonic Rivals 2)

Enemies

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Metal Sonic
 * Eggman Nega
 * Captain Whisker (Sonic Rush Adventure)
 * Johnny (Sonic Rush Adventure)
 * Bowser (Mario and Sonic series)
 * Black Arms
 * Chaos (At first)
 * Imperator Ix (Sonic Chronicles)
 * Ifrit (Sonic Rivals 2)
 * Tails Doll (Puppet Doppelganger, Sonic R)
 * Metal Knuckles (Sonic R)
 * Black Doom (Shadow the Hedgehog)
 * Battle Kukku Army
 * Orbot
 * Cubot

Tails' Mechanical Creations
Although Tails can fly by twirling his two tails like the blades of a helicopter, he also enjoys flying Sonic's red biplane, the Tornado. As the series progressed, it was obvious his interest in the old biplane went further than just piloting it - Tails is a prodigy with mechanics, and he has a mechanical ability equal to that of Doctor Eggman's (though Tails has never built sentient robots). As a result, many modifications were made to the Tornado, as well as new biplanes and a small, blue submarine called the "Sea Fox", a spaceship called the "Lunar Fox", and a race car called the "Whirlwind S7," which is clearly based upon the Lotus/Catherham Super Seven (hence the name). In Tails Adventure he built small remote-controlled robots shaped like himself to help him on his quest.

In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (also known as Sonic OVA) Tails tampers with a tracking device given to him by Eggman to find the location of Robotropolis and the whereabouts of 'Black Eggman'. After the escapade turns out to be a trick, Tails uses his quick thinking to modify the device back at his home and uses the chipset to make an interference device which somehow causes Metal Sonic to malfunction. The device is later shot off of Tails' arm by Eggman, narrowly missing his arm.

In Sonic Adventure, Tails was experimenting with a Chaos Emerald-powered prototype plane based on Sonic's Tornado, the Tornado II. The Tornado II has two modes. One is quite similar to the original Tornado, but with a button press, Tails could make it transform into a rather futuristic-looking little plane which outperformed the Tornado in all but one important function - landing gear. Big the Cat ended up flying the wrecked Tornado II to his home after Sonic and Tails crash-landed on Eggman's flying fortress, the Egg Carrier.

In Sonic Adventure 2, Tails had a new plane, the Tornado III. The Tornado III has three modes: a plane mode, a car mode, and a walker mode. The airplane is only seen in cut-scenes; the car is used on only one level (In the Kart mini game, Tails uses a go-kart); the walker mode, called the Cyclone, is used most during the game. Tails uses the Cyclone during all other gameplay, except when visiting the Chao Garden. The old Tornado II then appears in cut-scenes in both Sonic Heroes and Sonic Riders. In Shadow the Hedgehog, the Tornado III reappeared as its Sonic Adventure 2 version.

In Sonic Battle, Tails comes equipped with an arm cannon that fires electrical energy, presumably of his own invention.

In Sonic Rush Adventure, Tails constructs 6 new vehicles with the first 4 being playable while the last two only appear in cut-scenes. The first is the Wave Cyclone which is a waterbike that has a effective boost function that can plow through enemies, a sail boat called the Ocean Tornado that is armed with machine guns, cannons and a flamethrower, the hovercraft Aqua Blast that has a charged beam function and can spin, the Deep Typhoon is a submarine that carries missiles and the last of the water crafts is the SS Tornado EX that can do dimensional travel. The last one is the only vehicle that does not travel on water, the Magma Hurricane that is a drilling vehicle.

Tails brings along portable machines during the events of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, focusing on aiding allies and weakening enemies.

In Sonic Unleashed, Tails has seemingly invented a portable monitor labeled "Miles Electric" that can apparently pick up and process satellite imaging, as demonstrated when Tails uses it to show Sonic and Chip that a part of the planet has been put back into place. Tails is frequently seen with this device in one hand during the game, and during portions of the game featuring flying on the Tornado, this same device, or a similar device is used as a sort of on-board computer for the Tornado. It can also be seen during most loading screens.

The "Miles Electric" also appeared in Sonic Colors, where Tails built a translator into it, thus playing an important role in the game as he was able to get information about the Wisps and Eggman's plans from Yacker, a white wisp which was saved by Sonic.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Sonic uses a red rocket to chase Eggman to the E.G.G. Station Zone. The front of the rocket has Tails' twin tails symbol on the front.

Abilities
Like many of the other characters in the Sonic universe, Tails has super speed, and can perform the Sonic Spin, and the Spin Dash. He also has several unique attacks, such as attacking with his tails by twirling around. Most notably, he can achieve flight by spinning his two tails around like a helicopter rotor. When in flight, he can go fast enough to keep up with Sonic; making him one of the fastest characters in the series, right behind Sonic, Shadow and Metal Sonic. He can also swim quite well, which is an ability Sonic never had. This, when combined with his flying ability, actually makes him quite an unfairly skilled character in some games.

Although not considered as fast as Sonic, Tails seems to be the only one to keep up with him as they are always out saving the world together. Tails is one of the fastest characters in the games like in Sonic Adventure, Sonic Advance 1, 2,and 3, Sonic Heroes (the flight character is the 2nd fastest character on each of the teams and Tails has a slightly better run speed than Amy, who is Team Rose's speed character, and Tails equals Espio and Rouge's run Speed), Sonic Battle (Tails, behind Sonic has the fastest run speed sharing with Amy and Rouge, faster than Knuckles and the other slow people), Sonic Rivals 2 (Tails partner is Sonic), Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

In Sonic Adventure, he obtained the "Rhythm Badge", which enabled him to attack with his tails by continuously spinning around (however, if you pay attention to how Tails does this, it's logical to assume that the Rhythm Badge bestows super agility). In Sonic Heroes, he is the Flight member of Team Sonic, which means that he can also use the Thunder Shoot attack, where he electrically charges Sonic and Knuckles and kicks them at his enemies. When alone, Tails can also throw Dummy Rings, which electrocute enemies who blunder into them.

In Sonic '06, Tails can once again fly through Dash Rings and use Dummy Ring attacks. The first attack is "Dummy Ring Bomb", which throws multiple Dummy Rings that explode on impact, "Dummy Ring Snipe", which allows him to aim and throw a Dummy Ring, and "Dummy Ring Blitz", which throws a huge amount of Dummy Rings to explode on impact.

Tails seems to know more about the Chaos Emeralds than most characters, being able to create a duplicate that can cause Chaos Control

POW Moves
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, as a support class, Tails' POW moves involves using his intelligence and inventions to inflct status problems on the foes, and aid his teammates in battle. These are
 * Scan (スキャン): Tails scans an enemy for weak spots, making it vulnerable.
 * Tinker (ティンカー): Tails sabotages robot enemies, leaving them weakened and distracted.
 * Medi Bot (メディカルロボット): Tails deploys a droid to heal himself or an ally.
 * Shield Bot (シールドロボット): Tails deploys a droid with a forcefield to fortify himself or an ally.
 * Flash Bang (フラッシュボム): Tails flies up and drops a flash grenade on a non-robot target, leaving them sluggish and distracted.
 * Adrenaline Rush (ハイパーラッシュ): Tails deploys a portable temporal field, making himself or an ally hyper and getting an extra action.

Super Tails
Like Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow, Tails can transform into a super form, called Super Tails by using the Chaos Emeralds. Because of his young age, however, he required their enhanced version, the Super Emeralds to do so and has so far only done it in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. In this form he gains invincibility, greater speed and strength and can control four Flickey birds that attacks any enemy.

Turbo Tails
In Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails can assume a super transformation called Turbo Tails with the help of the Chaos Emeralds and Power Rings. In this form Tails is granted invincibility, increased strength and speed and can fly without the help of his twin tails. He can also perform Chaos Control in this form.

Titan Tails
In Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog, by merging with all of his inter-dimensional counterparts, Tails can assume the form of Titan Tails. As Titan Tails he can command powerful cosmic energy and has knowledge of the universe workings.

Gameplay Quirks
In Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic Adventure, when the player has opted to play in 'Sonic and Tails' mode (controlling Sonic while the AI makes Tails follow him), it's not readily stated in the manual, but a second player can use the 2P controller to use Tails. The action will continue to follow Sonic on the screen, making him the focal point, but Tails is fully controllable in every way that he is when playing as Tails alone. This can potentially be exploited by players who are having trouble with some problem areas or bosses, as Tails has the benefit of being completely invulnerable, with any "death" he suffers being quickly resolved as the character flies harmlessly back onto the screen after a few seconds. Moreover, in Sonic 3, Tails is granted the ability to fly as he pleases, which can allow the Tails-using player to airlift Sonic wherever he might need to go, though Tails does have an endurance limit to his flight. Sonic Advance allowed this mode as well (via a code entered at character select), however, Tails couldn't be controlled by a second player this time. In the GameCube and PS2 version of Shadow the Hedgehog, all non-hovering characters, including Tails, could be controlled with the second controller.

Weaknesses
Tails has a tendency to talk too much as shown in Sonic Adventure 2 when he reveals to Dr. Eggman that the Chaos Emerald Sonic was trying to give him was a fake. He is also said to be afraid of lightning, otherwise known as astraphobia (movie first) and ghosts, as he can be sometimes heard screaming when ghosts appeared in Hang Castle and Mystic Mansion on Sonic Heroes. Tails occasionally lacks self-confidence but has been shown to get over this weakness on some occasions.

It is also proven in Sonic Heroes, Sonic Advance 3, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, and Sonic Colors that he gets dizzy easily; although this apparently does not effect him when he uses a Spin Dash or spinball jump.

Comics and TV shows
Tails has appeared in three cartoon shows, SatAM, its comic spin-off, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Sonic X, Sonic the Comic, and the Sonic X comic series. However, he is absent from Sonic Underground, probably because Knuckles was in four episodes.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, he is a lot younger than in the games; he is "only 4 and a half", as he says in the episode "Slowwww Going". As with the SegaSonic canon, his real given name is revealed to be "Miles" in the episode "Tails' New Home". In this same episode, it is said that he hates the name and wants to keep it a secret, which means Sonic can use it to blackmail him out of danger ("You get out of here now or I'll tell everyone your real name is Miles!"). However, in later episodes, he is not shy at all in using his real name. It is also revealed that the "Tails" name come from Sonic's naming of Miles. In the episode "Tails Tale", it is revealed his full name is Miles Prower, keeping with the SegaSonic canon. Like in the games, Tails and Sonic are best friends, but AoStH takes it a step further by making them surrogate brothers. Tails seems to have a vast intelligence in mechanics and can operate independently in drastic situations, such as in one instance lacing an entire building with booby-traps (in a manner similar to those seen in Home Alone) in order to revive Sonic from a nasty ailment. He also built Sonic a flying bike for his birthday out of parts he found from a junkyard and invented a machine the would have stopped Doctor Robotnik forever if it wasn't tampered with. He is not that intimidated by Robotnik or any of his creations, and Scratch and Grounder often fall for his elaborate ruses. While Tails is indeed useful to Sonic in many situations, he can be a hindrance. Because he is very young and he cannot defend himself, he is incredibly susceptible to kidnappings. Sonic appears to know of this flaw and does his best to protect him, but his protection methods are often the reason why he gets kidnapped in the first place. There are times where it seems like Tails isn't that smart at all in AoStH, though this is probably due to his age (he is 4 1/2 in the AoSTH continuity, as opposed to 8). According to the episode "Slowwww Going", he cannot write, only "scribble". In the episode "Over the Hill Hero", Sonic gives him a lesson about air pressure. He also seems to have a large appetite (exemplified in the episode "Too Tall Tails," in which he eats so much that he grows to a gigantic size), and like Sonic, his favorite food is chili dogs (it is revealed that he likes his with extra cheese). Tails is also known to get jealous whenever Sonic stops paying attention to him, whether it's a girl or something else. When Breezie appeared, Tails became jealous of her because Sonic would listen to every word she said and ignore Tails, he also yells "yuck!" when Breezie kisses Sonic, However, Tails discovers the truth about Breezie after a short swim (Breezie throws him into a lake, instructing him to float down the river and get "lost at sea"). Tails is usually the one that discovers a way out of situations that look bad, and due to his young age he occasionally gets into bad situations. He is a fan of a famous pilot called William La Duck, and gets help from him in the episode "Tails' Tale" when Sonic was kidnapped. Also he has lucky coins in his shoe. He is voiced by Christopher Evan Welch in the normal episodes and by Chris Turner in the Christmas special.

Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog
Tails also appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comics published by Archie Comics, in which he is a member of Sonic's Freedom Fighters. Tails is always been in the good side in the comics, where he uses his mechanical skills to help out the team.

In this continuity he is given a family, including parents Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, and an uncle named Merlin. He also has his own nemesis, the prehistoric Mammoth Mogul.

Sonic the Comic
Tails also appears in the British Sonic the Comic, published by Fleetway, where he hails from the Nameless Zone, a region which can apparently only be accessed by a space warp. He traveled to the Emerald Hill Zone after mistakenly believing that the streets were paved with real emeralds. Once on Mobius he met and befriended Sonic, eventually becoming his sidekick.

Tails frequently starred in his own solo adventures, occasionally back in his native Nameless Zone or in the Chemical Plant Zone. Over time he built up an extensive rogues gallery including the brutal Trogg, the psychotic robot Nutzan Bolt, Fleabyte the bounty hunter and the gangster Max Gamble, as well as allies such as Errol Blackthorn and Morain, and Sab. He also fought many criminals after the defeat of Robotnik, defended the Casino Night Zone and its people from Brutus' Badniks, and was chosen by Sonic to protect the planet while he went after Robotnik during the Planet In Peril/Game Over story. While he is self-conscious, Tails has proven time and again (and openly stated) that he is much tougher than some people may think.

Sonic SatAM
In the Saturday morning Sonic series, Tails is a light brown color. Like with the other series, Tails looks up to Sonic as a "big bro." Sometimes, Tails likes to come with Sonic on his adventures. Tails is also commonly referred to as "Big Guy." His age is different as with AoStH: he is ten years old rather than eight. in the episode Drood Henge Sonic and Tails team up, like in the games, Tails also comes up with a plan, that everyone (save Sonic he was in on it) didn't know about, and he was decreed a real Freedom Fighter at the end of the epiosde. He was voiced by Bradley Pierce.

Sonic X


Throughout most of the anime series Sonic X, Tails mirrors his game role in various stories and game adaptions, though he sometimes plays a smaller role due to Chris Thorndyke. He quickly befriends fellow inventor Chuck Thorndyke, who helped him build the X-Tornado jetplane. In Series 2 (Season 3), Tails finds a love interest in Cosmo, a plant-like alien girl. He also builds the Blue Typhoon spacecraft. Tails is also shy at times in the episodes, but at other times he is very brave and strong in his words. He is voiced by Amy Palant.

How Sonic and Tails met
The Japanese and western manuals differ somewhat in the story of how the two first met.

In the Japanese manual for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Tails lived on Westside Island, at which Sonic arrived shortly after in his biplane, the Tornado. Sonic instantly became Tails' idol when the fox first witnessed the blue hedgehog's incredible speed. After Sonic saw that Tails was actually able to catch up with him, he decided to let him tag along (this scene can be witnessed in Sonic Adventure in a flashback during Tails' story). He was treated unfairly by the other peoples of his tribe and wanted someone "cool" to be with. Being a mechanics buff, Tails took the time to look over Sonic's plane when he had gone away. However, around the same time, Dr. Robotnik began demonstrating the power of his space station, the Death Egg. Tails was more than willing to help stop Eggman, effectively teaming up with Sonic. The added details about his mechanical abilities explain why Tails was so quick with repairs while Sonic fought his way through the Wing Fortress Zone, and have since been referenced in later titles such as Sonic Adventure where he made a much faster, more well equipped plane, the Tornado II, to replace the old one.

According to the western manual, Sonic had been Tails' hero ever since he was a baby fox. After following his hero relentlessly for a long time, Tails became fast enough to keep up with Sonic by spinning his twin tails in a propeller-like style, which gave the fox the ability of flight. Eventually, Sonic and Tails became best friends.

In a flashback in Sonic X, Tails and Sonic became friends after Tails rebuilt and repainted Sonic's antique airplane blue, Sonic stating that he never liked it in red (this could be a careful bite at his and Knuckles' relationship, although they meet much later). Before he met Sonic, Tails was bullied by other animals because of his twin tails.

In a flashback shown in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episode "Tails' New Home", Tails literally landed on top of Sonic. The baby fox cub explains to Sonic he had just been kicked out the nest of some birds, young Tails had decided he was a bird due to his ability to fly. Sonic tells him he is in fact a fox and is shocked to see that he can actually fly. Baby Tails follows Sonic and after getting him into some mishaps, Sonic agrees that Tails can stay with him. Sonic gives Tails the name "Tails" after Tails explains he hates his real name, Miles.

In Sonic the Comic, Sonic saved Tails from drowning in a swamp when they first met when he saw two tails peering from the swamp, the rest of Tails' body completely submerged. Mistakenly believing there were two foxes in the swamp, Sonic only had time to grab one tail and believed one fox had drowned; he soon realized that both tails belonged to the same fox.

The Saturday morning cartoon did not give an explanation as to how they met.

Reception
Tails was awarded "Best New Character" in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1992 video game awards, stating "not only is he as cute as Sonic, but he actually serves a major purpose in the game."

Tails also came third in an official Sega Sonic character popularity poll, coming behind Shadow and Sonic himself.

Memorable Quotes

 * "My name is Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails." - Tails when starting his recap in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "I'll beat you!" - Before starting a battle in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "Ahh, it's Doctor Eggman"- Modern Tails addressing Modern Eggman in Sonic Generations.
 * "Doctor Robotnik"- Classic Tails addressing Classic Robotnik in Sonic Generations.
 * "This Chemical Plant feels familiar I would never forget a smell like this, and that pink water makes me really nervous for some reason."- Tails talking to Sonic about the Chemical Plant Zone while they are inside it, also he makes a reference to the Mega Mack in Sonic Generations.
 * "This place looks like something sucked all the life and color out of it."- Tails talking to Sonic about the strange area they went through (they couldn't realize it was Green Hill Zone) in Sonic Generations.
 * "I'll do my best!" - Tails before performing a large task, various sources
 * "Hoo, ha, ya, hyyaaahh, Let's go!" - Tails after linking multiple grinds, air rides, or power objects in Sonic Free Riders.
 * "WEEE!" - Flight boost in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Let's Go!!!" - Tails getting his Special attack in Sonic Free Riders.
 * "When we turned to look around, the race was over and we already won." - Tails saying to Omochao how easy it was to beat Team Rose in the Grand Prix.
 * "You're always up to no good. Now what do you want?" - Tails asking Eggman what he is up to when Eggman confronts Tails and Sonic at Tails' Workshop.
 * "What have you done to Sonic!? I'll never forgive you for this!" - Tails after Eggman shoots Sonic into space, Sonic Adventure 2
 * "What are we gonna do, Sonic?" - Tails' reaction to Eggman's threat in Sonic Heroes.
 * "I wonder what happened to Sonic." - Tails prior to Eggman shooting a missile into Station Square in Sonic Adventure
 * "Stop it Knuckles!" - Says to Knuckles as they are entering The Mystic Mansion in Sonic Heroes
 * "Okay! Time to Fly!" - Tails upon entering a fighting in Sonic Battle.
 * "Wow, I must be getting stronger!" - Tails after winning a fight in Sonic Battle
 * "All right, I got it" - Tails telling Sonic and Knuckles to switch to him in Sonic Heroes
 * "Making robots is the same as breaking them" - Tails after Eggman's Robot Carnival Boss, Sonic Heroes
 * "(phew) We're finally out of that freaky tent" - Tails after leaving the carnival tent, Shadow The Hedgehog
 * "Shadow, I believe in you! You can do it!" - Tails telling Shadow before he encounters and fights Devil Doom in the last story from Shadow the Hedgehog
 * "Go for it, Shadow!" - Tails in Shadow the Hedgehog, when Super Shadow is fighting Devil Doom
 * "Sonic actually asked me for the first time to do something for him- I won't let him down! I WON'T GIVE UP!" - Tails about to fight Eggman after Sonic's apparent demise, "Sonic Adventure 2"
 * "No . . . You don't think . . .?" - Tails reacting to Sonic's death in Sonic '06
 * "I won! I really won!" - Tails after winning a race or battle in Sonic Rivals 2
 * "I'm leading!" - Tails when taking the lead in Sonic Rivals 2
 * "We've been with Sonic and we never saw Froggy or Chocola!" When Sonic is knocked off during the Team Rose Boss Battle in Sonic Heroes.
 * "If we can force Amy's team off the field, WE WIN! But if they force us out, we lose, so be prepared!" - Tails telling teammates during the Team Rose Boss Battle in Sonic Heroes
 * "Hi, this is Tails!" - introducing himself in online podcast Ask the Sonic Heroes.
 * "I hate it when he doesn't listen to me." When Sonic ignored Tails about the Egg Carrier transforming in Sonic Adventure
 * "Haha! I did it!" - When Tails gets first in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
 * "I can do it!" - Tails as you select him in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, as well as the winter games.
 * "SEGA!" - Unused voice clip from Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2
 * "I did it, Sonic!" - When getting an "A" in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "My power's failing!" - When health is down to half in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "My machine has reached its limit..." - When health is down to 25% in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "...Sonic..." - When Tails' health is completely gone in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "Heh heh, I'll do my best!" - Before starting a race in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.
 * "I'm gonna fly circles around you!" - Before starting a race in Sonic Rivals 2
 * "Awww, I'll try harder next time." - Tails when losing a race in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "Uhh...Are you talking to the broken robot that can't hear you?" - In Sonic Colors when Sonic started talking to Planet Wisp's broken boss.
 * "Leave it to me!" - Tails when switching to him in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Sonic, you did it!" - Tails after Sonic shut down the last generator in Sonic Colors.
 * "Okay, he says his name is 'Talks-a-lot' and he's from a far away soda and where flowers and water them with dances." - Tails when he uses his binary translator when Yacker tells him who he is.
 * "Good job to you on inventing a translator that allowed us to speak to the aliens and figure out exactly what we needed to do so we weren't running around the park looking like idiots. Oh no wait, that was me." - Tails speaking sarcastically when Sonic said that Tails didn't do anything at the end of Sonic Colors.
 * "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said soon! I thought you already left!" - Tails when he first encounters with Classic Sonic in Sonic Generations.
 * "You can win, Sonic!" - Classic Tails cheering on the Sonics in Sonic Generations
 * "You always do!" - Modern Tails to Classic Tails' comment
 * "He collects how many? Wow. Where did somebody put all those gold rings?" - Classic Tails talking about Super Sonic.
 * "You know what? I don't know. I keep forgetting to ask." - Modern Tails responding to Classic Tails' question.

English

 * Christopher Evan Welch- Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993)
 * Bradley Pierce - Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) (1993-1994)
 * Chris Turner - Sonic Christmas Blast (1996)
 * Lainie Frasier - Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (1996)
 * Corey Bringas - Sonic Adventure (1999) - Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
 * Connor Bringas - Alternative voice in Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
 * William Corkery - Sonic Heroes (2004) - Sonic Advance 3 (2004)
 * Amy Palant - Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) - Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing (2010)
 * Kate Higgins - Sonic Free Riders (2010) - onwards

Japanese

 * Hekiru Shiina - Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (1996)
 * Kazuki Hayashi - Sonic Adventure (1998)
 * Atsuki Murata - Sonic Shuffle (2000) - Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
 * Ryō Hirohashi - Sonic Heroes (2003) - Current

Solo Themes

 * In Sonic Adventure, Tails' theme song is called "Believe in Myself", which is a soft rock theme.
 * In Sonic Adventure 2, Tails' theme song is a remake of "Believe in Myself", which has a pop rock tune and rearranged lyrics.
 * In Sonic and the Black Knight, if you go to the Blacksmith's, a short, soft instrumental version of "Believe in Myself" will play.

Shared Themes

 * In Sonic Adventure, Tails shares "Open Your Heart" with the other main characters.
 * In Sonic Heroes, Team Sonic's theme is called "We Can", and refers to Tails in the line "Tails keeps us flying high to stay out of trouble".
 * In Sonic Riders, Tails' team theme, shared with Sonic and Knuckles, is an instrumental one called "High Flying Groove".
 * In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity Tails' theme is "Un-Gravitify" shared with Sonic and Knuckles.

Trivia

 * Tails and Amy are the only playable characters with formal names.
 * In Sonic Generations, the younger Tails has two light blue straps below the fold of his socks. However, in the 1990s, very few artworks depicted him having those blue straps.
 * Tails and Sonic share a trait of being rather impatient, no other characters except sometimes Amy, ever act impatient as Tails and Sonic are always going fast when after Eggman and hate when things get slow.
 * His fur color seems to vary a little bit from every game, from orange in Sonic 2-3, to brown in AoStH-SatAM, to golden yellow in Sonic Adventure, to being orange in Sonic Adventure 2 and to yellow in Sonic Heroes.
 * As proven in Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Heroes and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Tails seems to get dizzy easily and feels pretty uncomfortable when he gets dizzy. This is an inconsistency concerning the character, due to his "Rapid Tail Spin" attack in Sonic Adventure and the Spin Dash attack.
 * Along with his astraphobia (fear of thunder and lightning) which was shown in the Sonic OVA, Tails also appears to have phasmophobia, the fear of ghosts.
 * The only main Sonic games that Tails has not officially appeared in since Sonic the Hedgehog 2 were Sonic CD, Sonic Labyrinth, and Sonic Blast, additionally, the only Sonic cartoon Tails was not ever featured in was Sonic Underground.
 * In issue #188 of the GameInformer magazine, Tails had the #6 worst video game character name, mainly because of the "miles per hour" joke.
 * The September 2010 issue of GameInformer magazine elected Tails as the 10th "Most Disgustingly Cute" Video Game Character.
 * Tails is the youngest character with a Super Form.
 * In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Metal Robotnik stated that both Sonic and Tails cannot swim. Oddly, Tails is said to be a good swimmer and can swim in some games.
 * All of Tails' solo theme songs are "Believe in Myself" or some kind of remixed version.
 * As seen in Sonic Colors, Tails can read Binary fluently, although it was shown later that the codes were in Hexadecimal.
 * Tails has had more English voice actors than any other Sonic character.
 * Nintendo Power magazine had a poll recently asking which sidekick people would you choose, with Tails being the second most picked.
 * In Sonic Adventure, in the cutscene after the Egg Carrier shoots down Sonic and Tails (if playing Tails' story), it shows a flashback where Tails is walking in the jungle of the Mystic Ruins and Sonic speeds by, with Tails running right behind him (a reference to how they met). The Mystic Ruins is used for this scene, rather than having to develop an entirely different environment that would only be used once.
 * Modern Tails' Artwork in Sonic Generations looks very similar to his Sonic Advance 3 artwork, whereas his Classic Artwork appears to be completely new.
 * A top ten list by the video-gaming website ScrewAttack named Tails as their #1 pick for Best Sidekicks. However, it should be noted that this was only due to his perceived uselessness in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
 * Even though he is just a cartoon character, it would be physically impossible for Tails to fly in reality, due to his tails having to twist. However, if one slows down footage of him spinning his tails to fly/move, they don't actually turn through morphing of the model, but actually mesh through each other. This minor inconsistency wouldn't normally be noticable at normal speed though.
 * Unlike Sonic's classic form, Classic Tails has a voice actor in Sonic Generations.

Gallery
For more, please see here.