Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity. |
Knothole Village,[1] also known as simply Knothole, is a location that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog television series. It is a hidden settlement within the heart of the Great Forest, which serve as both the home and base of operations for the Knothole Freedom Fighters, a small band of Freedom Fighters led by Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally that is dedicated to overthrowing the evil Dr. Robotnik.
Description[]
Knothole is a small above-ground village built into harmony with nature, hidden deep within the Great Forest. It is seemingly situated in a valley and is located near the Lake of Rings. The heart of the village is the living quarters, small thatched-roof huts where the Freedom Fighters live.[2] Knothole is also surrounded by several observation posts in nearby trees, and possesses as well an underground shelter hidden under the trunk of a felled tree.[3][4] Also, a prominent house in Knothole is Rotor's workshop, which is made more of metal and has a stone floor.[2]
The village can only be accessed through various secret entrances in the forest, such as a hollowed out oak slide in a tree trunk which has a haystack at the end for cushioning the slide, or an elevator.[1][5]
History[]
TV series[]
Past[]
In 3224, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally, Antoine Depardieu, Bunnie and Rotor were evacuated to Knothole Village.[6][7] In time, this group would form the core group of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. In addition, several other escapees from Mobotropolis would also seek refuge in Knothole Village, only to be captured by Dr. Robotnik later on. One such victim was Rosie, the nanny of Sally and her friends. Although she stayed in Knothole Village for some time, she was eventually caught by Worker-Bots while out in the Great Forest.[7]
Season one[]
Sonic, Tails and Rotor once returned to Knothole Village while Sally was preparing new catapults for the Freedom Fighters. However, she was missing important parts, which Sonic and Tails went to Robotropolis to get. When they returned to Knothole Village the following night, they warned the Freedom Fighters of an impending Buzz-Bomber army that was coming to destroy the Great Forest with chemicals and reveal Knothole Village. With the help of catapults armed with water balloon though, the Knothole Freedom Fighters managed to chase the Buzz-Bombers away and save the village.[1] Sonic and Bunnie later returned to Knothole Village via the oak slide after a mission to Robotropolis, but they soon discovered that Sally was still in Robotropolis. The next day, Sonic quickly left Knothole Village and brought Sally back. Tails, however, noticed that Sally was behaving strangely, especially when he saw her eyes emit red lights during the night. The next day, he took an interest in Sally's reaction to Bunnie's dead carrot crops in her garden in Knothole Village. Later Sonic, Bunnie, Rotor and "Sally" went to Robotropolis for another mission, although not before Tails tried to warn Sonic about Sally, who in fact turned out to be a "Robot Sally". Eventually, Sonic and his friends returned to Knothole Village with the real Sally.[8]
Sally and Bunnie would later help Rotor build a new waterwheel for powering Knothole Village. However, Sonic and Sally were soon forced to leave Knothole Village in order to find spare parts for Nicole. Along the way, they discovered the existence of the Forbidden Zone, which Sonic ultimately went to in order to get the fabled computer of Lazaar. Meanwhile, Sally would worry about Sonic while working on the waterwheel. Eventually though, Sally and Bunnie were teleported to Robotropolis by Dr. Robotnik, but Sonic saved them from Robotnik's captivity. When the trio later returned to Knothole Village, Rotor demonstrated his working waterwheel to them by turning on a lightbulb.[9] Some time afterward, Knothole Village received news advertisements for a racing competition that Dr. Robotnik was organizing in Robotropolis. While Sonic wanted to participate, Sally was concerned that it was a trap. Despite this, Sonic decided to accept the challenge, seeing it as an opportunity to divert Robotnik's attention while his friends went to sabotage Robotnik's backup power plant in Robotropolis. After the successful destruction of the power plant, Sonic and his friends returned to Knothole, where they announced their victory.[10]
Sonic and his friends later returned to Knothole Village after Sonic destroyed the Shredder. Getting jealous at all the glory Sonic received, Antoine stole a Power Ring which he planned to use it to lure Dr. Robotnik into a trap. Sonic and his friends soon discovered Antoine's theft though, and Sonic left Knothole Village to stop Antoine. Later, Sonic returned to Knothole with Antoine, who would tell his own version of his and Sonic's most recent fight with Robotnik to the villagers.[11] Later on, one of Robotnik's rocket engines would crash near Knothole Village. The Knothole Freedom Fighters soon after determined that it came from the Sky Spy space station, which was equipped with spy sensors for locating Knothole. After destroying the Stealthbot sent to find Knothole, the Knothole Freedom Fighters repaired the rocket engine, which Sonic and Rotor used to fly to the Sky Spy in and destroy it. The duo later returned to Knothole Village onboard a Hover Unit. Sally immediately after showed them that the Sky Spy could still crash into Knothole Village. Sonic and Rotor therefore pulled the Sky Spy away from Knothole Village using Rotor's Super Magnet. Returning to Knothole Village afterward, Sally would tell the residents about the heroic deeds of Sonic and Rotor.[12]
Sonic would later wake up from a nightmare in his hut in Knothole Village. The next day, Sally told Sonic and Rotor that Robotnik planned to create toxic rain with his new invention: the Cloud Burster. Sally, Bunnie and Antoine thus donned Swat-Bot disguises from Rotor's shack to infiltrate the Cloud Burster while Sonic went to the Island of Nimbus, the place where the Cloud Burster was to be filled up with chemicals. After stopping Robotnik's plan, Sonic and his friends returned to Knothole Village, where a mentally exhausted Sonic decided to take a nap.[13] Griff later took Sonic, Sally and Antoine from Lower Mobius to the Great Forest in his Hover Sled. When Griff's Hover Sled seemingly broke down after arriving though, Sally offered him to spend the night in Knothole Village, which Griff accepted. Sally would soon after show Griff around Knothole Village. Later at night though, while Sonic and Sally had a teasing conversation, Antoine noticed that Griff had stolen the Power Rock from the Lake of Rings. Seeing that Griff had already left, Sonic ran back to Lower Mobius and retrieved the majority of the Power Rock.[14]
The Knothole Freedom Fighters soon after noticed that the trees they had been planting were beginning to die. After Sonic discovered some life-giving water in the Great River though, the heroes set out from Knothole Village and sailed down the Great River to find the source of that water. Later they came back with a gift from the Kraken which they used to revive their trees.[15] Soon after, Rotor would work on Bunnie's leg-ladders while Sonic and Sally helped him. Meanwhile, Tails was playing dirk hockey, and later brought a baby Terapod named Baby T to Knothole Village. When Sonic and his friends later picked apples from Knothole Village's orchard with the aid of Bunnie's leg ladders, Tails introduced them to Baby T. Soon after though, Baby T would rejoin his herd, just as it ran past Knothole Village. The Knothole Freedom Fighters decided afterward to join the Terapods on their migration to make sure they reach their destination.[5]
Season two[]
Following a scavenger mission, Dulcy, Antoine and Sally would arrive at Rotor's workshop in Knothole Village to examine the orders given to a destroyed Swat-Bot. Later Sonic and Sally would returned to Knothole Village to discuss a possible list of all the Freedom Fighters out there told to them by Ari.[16] Some time after, the Knothole Freedom Fighters had prepared a De- Roboticizer in Knothole Village. Upon testing it, the machine did its job and de-roboticized Bunnie. Wanting to subject his Uncle Chuck to the De-Roboticizer as well, Sonic brought him to Knothole Village. Initially, the De-Roboticizer got damaged during Chuck's de-robotization, but after Sonic got some spare parts for it, the De-Roboticizer was able to de-roboticize Chuck. Chuck proceeded to assist the Knothole Freedom Fighters in Knothole Village until he reverted back to his Worker-Bot form when the De-Roboticizer's effects wore off. Chuck then proceeded to destroy the De-Roboticizer and kidnap both Tails and Antoine from Knothole Village. At the same time, Bunnie regained her robotic parts as well. Fortunately, Sonic managed to get Antoine and Tails back to Knothole Village, while Chuck, who had regained his free will, became a spy for the Knothole Freedom Fighter in Robotropolis.[17]
After a trip to Robotropolis, Sally, Bunnie and Dulcy returned to Knothole Village. When Sonic did not get back to the village as promised though, they went to Robotropolis to find him. When they later returned to Knothole, Sally and co. told everyone that Snively was manipulating Sonic, who had lost his memories after being hit by a Memory Scrambler, and was now using him to locate Knothole Village. Unaware of the threat, Tails brought Sonic to Knothole Village, only to later learn about the threat Sonic posed when Dulcy explained the situation. In the meantime, Snively managed to locate Knothole Village with his computer. When Sonic then searched for them all over the village, the Knothole Freedom Fighters hid in an underground shelter in Knothole Village. However, Snively and his Swat-Bots arrived a moment later and discovered most of the Knothole Freedom Fighters in the shelter. Sally, Chuck and Tails, however, quickly evacuated to the Lake of Rings and used a Power Ring to restore Sonic's memory. Acting quickly, Sonic shot Snively with his Memory Scrambler while Sally and Chuck canceled the Stealthbots' attack on Knothole Village. Afterward, the heroes changed Knothole Village's coordinates, which Snively had saved, in Robotnik's database.[4]
Following a mission that did not go as planned, Sonic, Sally and Dulcy briefly returned to Knothole before heading to the Floating Island to get the Time Stone.[6] After returning from the past, Sonic and Sally got back to Knothole Village where they learned from Tails that Rosie had never been caught by Worker-Bots like in the original timeline, and that she had was always been in Knothole Village, as Sally had told her in the past.[7] Later in Knothole Village, Bunnie was training Tails in martial arts. She also tried to train Antoine, but he did not do well. When the Knothole Freedom Fighters later saved Antoine from the Nasty Hyenas, they returned to Knothole Village where Antoine would brag about his actions in the battle with the Nasty Hyenas.[18] Sonic and Dulcy later returned to Knothole Village after a mission to Robotropolis, where a hard landing awaited Dulcy. In Rotor's workshop, the heroes would treat the injuries on Dulcy's knees. Soon after though, Dulcy flew away from Knothole Village in a trance, but Sonic and Sally brought her back. As it turned out, Dulcy was being called to Dragon's Nest. When Dulcy later left Knothole Village on her own free will, Sonic and Sally followed her. When Sonic, Sally and Dulcy later returned to Knothole Village, the heroes left a dragon egg in the village under Bunnie's care. When they later rescued the egg's mother, a baby dragon would hatch from the egg in Knothole Village. The Mother Dragon proceeded to thank the heroes for everything, before flying off with her child to a place where Robotnik would never find them.[19]
Following one of his runs, Sonic came to Knothole Village and showed Sally a strange artifact that he had found in the Great Unknown. Soon after though, Sonic was summoned to Robotropolis by Chuck. In his absence, Sally and Bunnie were pulled into the Void by the artifact Sonic found. When Sonic later returned, he found only Nicole, whom he took with him in search of Sally after getting clues to her whereabouts from Nicole. After Sonic saved Sally and Bunnie, the trio returned to Knothole with a list of Mobius's Freedom Fighters that they had gotten from the King.[20] During winter later on, Sonic and Antoine tried helping Dulcy land in Knothole Village during a snowstorm. However, Dulcy ended up crashing, destroying Sonic's hut in the process. Sonic thus decided to move in with Antoine for a while, but he did not stay with him for long, especially after Antoine went insane (which was indirectly Sonic's fault). Not long after, a tree would collapse on Antoine's hut.[2] Later, during one night in his workshop in Knothole Village, Rotor would work on his robot assistant, Ro-Becca. Although Antoine helped him with his work, he accidently damaged Ro-Becca and turned her on. Having fallen in love with Antoine, Ro-Becca began chasing Antoine all over Knothole Village before she was turned off by Rotor. The next day, Rotor tried to reprogram Ro-Becca. However, he ultimately failed and decided to dismantle her after she went back to her old ways. Antoine, in turn, almost rid himself of Ro-Becca when she temporarily turned her feelings towards Sonic. However, she soon regained her love for Antoine, much to the latter's dismay.[21]
Not long after, the leaders of all five Freedom Fighters groups met up in Knothole Village, where they made an alliance to defeat Dr. Robotnik and his Doomsday Project.[22] Sally and Dulcy soon after met up with Sonic and Tails in Knothole Village. There, Sally told Sonic that Nicole would not give her information about the Deep Power Stones until she came of age. However, Sonic managed to convince Nicole that Sally would never reach the required age if Robotnik completed the Doomsday Project. After getting the information he needed, Rotor made a Deep Power Stone replica for the heroes, which Tails brought to Sonic. The Knothole Freedom Fighters then set off from Knothole Village and traveled to Drood Henge where they kept Robotnik from acquiring one of the Deep Power Stones.[23]
Back in Knothole Village, Sonic, Sally, Antoine and Bunnie would later discus a plan to sabotage a fuel convoy supplying fuel to the Doomsday Machine until Chuck sent them a message telling them when the fuel convoy would be departing. After returning to Knothole from their mission, Antoine bragged about his feats during the mission, which Sally supported for once. Later in the evening, Rotor showed Sally and Bunnie new gadgets that they would need to infiltrate the Doomsday Machine: a rebuilt Hover Unit, Robotnik's protective transponder, and a mechanical pigeon. After Sally and Bunnie had departed on their mission, Knothole Village received a message from Sally that told them that Chuck should be warned of an ambush Robotnik was setting for him. Antoine decided to take on this task and set off from Knothole Village on Dulcy.[24] During one night later on, Rotor introduced Sonic to his latest batch of Metal-eating Balloon in his workshop. Shortly after however, Knothole Village was attacked by a Doomsday Pod when it flew out of an underground pipe and began destroying all organic life around it. In the process, one of the trees collapsed on Rotor's workshop, destroying it. Fortunately, Sonic and Rotor managed to evacuate in time with a portion of the Metal-eating Balloons. After Sonic destroyed the Doomsday Pod, all five groups of Freedom Fighters gathered in Knothole Village and set out to attack the Doomsday Machine. After the Doomsday Machine was destroyed and Robotnik seemingly defeated for good, the Freedom Fighters would celebrate their victory in Knothole Village.[24]
In other media[]
Books and comics[]
Archie Comics[]
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Knothole Village was hidden in the Great Valley in the Great Forest. The Great Valley was once part of a network of limestone caves washed out and exposed to the world thousands of years ago. It was the perfect place for Knothole Village. Limestone caverns in the surrounding land remained accessible, which served the needs of their residents well. Knothole was an ancient settlement adopted by Mobotropolis and used primarily by the royal family and their court. After Robotnik's coup d'état, it served as the staging rounds for the Original Freedom Fighters and the homes for the next generation. The second generation of Freedom Fighters used one cave in particular as their clubhouse. Over time, it would become their base and eventually Freedom HQ.
Knothole Village remained a small, rustic village for a long time. At the end of the First Robotnik War it became a refuge for the Robians. At the start of the Second Robotnik War it hosted both Robians and Mobians, but not comfortably. The village reached its breaking point when it also hosted the Overlanders who had returned from space, although the Overlanders moved to the United Federation.
For a time, the village existed in a pocket zone three hours in the future, though this was reversed. During Sonic's year in space the village expanded and became "Knothole City". Since its location was already known to the Eggman Empire, the city opted to flourish and the Freedom Fighters fought to protect it. Ultimately, the overwhelming might of the empire won out and the village was burning to the ground. The barren area is now known as the "Great Wastes".
After the multiverse was rebooted by the Super Genesis Wave, Knothole became a village in the Wood Zone that the refugees from Mobotropolis used as their hideout during the Eggman Invasion. Even years later, the village remains in the Wood Zone, untouched.
Trivia[]
- The Sonic in Sydney show was (presumably) located at an area in SegaWorld Sydney called "Knothole Village". On top of that, the background for the show looks reminiscent of the design for Knothole in the Sonic the Hedgehog television series.
- In the Sonic Underground television series, Sanctuary strongly resembles Knothole Village.
Gallery[]
Concept artwork[]
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See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Janson, Len (11 December 1993). "Heads or Tails". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 13. ABC.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Janson, Len (5 November 1994). "The Odd Couple". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 22. ABC.
- ↑ Hurst, Ben (3 December 1994). "The Doomsday Project". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 26. ABC.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Allee, Pat (24 September 1994). "No Brainer". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 16. ABC.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kuch, Kayte; Scarborough, Sheryl (4 December 1993). "Sonic Past Cool". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 12. ABC.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hurst, Ben (1 October 1994). "Blast to the Past, Part 1". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 17. ABC.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Hurst, Ben (8 October 1994). "Blast to the Past, Part 2". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 18. ABC.
- ↑ Allee, Pat; Hurst, Ben (25 September 1993). "Sonic and Sally". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 2. ABC.
- ↑ Dennis, Jules (16 October 1993). "Super Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 5. ABC.
- ↑ Janson, Len (23 October 1993). "Sonic Racer". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 6. ABC.
- ↑ Rogel, Randy (30 October 1993). "Hooked on Sonics". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 7. ABC.
- ↑ Villaire, David (6 November 1993). "Harmonic Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 8. ABC.
- ↑ Santopadre, Frank (13 November 1993). "Sonic's Nightmare". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 9. ABC.
- ↑ Uitz, Matt (20 November 1993). "Warp Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 10. ABC.
- ↑ Slade, Barbara (27 November 1993). "Sub-Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 11. ABC.
- ↑ Allee, Pat; Hurst, Ben (10 September 1994). "Game Guy". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 15. ABC.
- ↑ Allee, Pat; Hurst, Ben (17 September 1994). "Sonic Conversion". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 14. ABC.
- ↑ Janson, Len (15 October 1994). "Fed Up With Antoine". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 19. ABC.
- ↑ Hurst, Ben (22 October 1994). "Dulcy". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 20. ABC.
- ↑ Hurst, Ben (29 October 1994). "The Void". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 21. ABC.
- ↑ Allee, Pat (5 November 1994). "Ro-Becca". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 22. ABC.
- ↑ Allee, Pat (12 November 1994). "Cry of the Wolf". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 23. ABC.
- ↑ Hurst, Ben (19 November 1994). "Drood Henge". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 24. ABC.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Hurst, Ben (26 November 1994). "Spyhog". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 25. ABC.