Zonshen (ゾンシェン Zonshen?) is a character that appears in Sonic Unleashed. He is a human resident of Chun-nan and the grandfather of Chun and Yilin. He is also the elder of his village and a master healer.
On the Wii/PlayStation 2 version of the game, Zonshen is the Gaia Temple guardian of Chun-nan's Gaia Temple.
History[]
Xbox 360/PlayStation 3[]
In the time he has known them, Zonshen has cared much for his grandchildren, Chun and Yilin, and spent much of his time with them, such as playing hide-and-seek with Yilin and treating them both with medicine and healing techniques. In his entire career as a doctor, Zonshen did not encounter an illness he could not cure. Over time, Zonshen himself developed chronic back pains, but was unable to cure them himself, as his arms were not long enough to treat his own back.
At the beginning of Sonic Unleashed, the tremors created from the earth being shattered by Dark Gaia made the village's treasure roll away during the chaos and become lost. Zonshen then went outside the village to search for the treasure, passing through the village's Entrance Stage. While searching for the treasure, Zonshen was attacked, thus preventing him from returning to the village.
While missing, Zonshen ended up unconscious in front of Chun-nan's Gaia Temple with the village treasure right beside him. Fortunately, Zonshen was saved from the Dark Gaia Phoenix by Sonic the Werehog and Chip, who had come to find him. As he woke up, Zonshen assured Sonic that he was fine and thanked him before seeing Chip use the village's treasure to unlock the Gaia Temple. After Sonic and Chip restored a Chaos Emerald and the continent inside the Gaia Temple, Zonshen witnessed the Dark Gaia Phoenix return to his original form, and assured the duo when they returned that the beast had come to his senses.
After that, Zonshen returned to his village with Sonic and Chip, where he told them of how surprised he was that the village's treasure was the key to the Gaia Temple. Zonshen then thanked Sonic and Chip for saving, and told them that he was wholly in their debt and that they were welcome in Chun-nan any time.
Soon afterwards, Badniks began to overrun Chun-nan. Luckily, Sonic and Chip returned, and Zonshen told them about the situation in the village before asking them to take a look. Sonic and Chip soon after returned from driving Eggman's robots off, where Zonshen asked them how he could ever repay them for all their help before giving them his sincerest thanks. Zonshen soon understood, however, that Sonic and Chip had to report to Professor Pickle, and told them to say hello to the Professor for him.
After Sonic and Chip left, Zonshen decided to repay his debt to them by curing Sonic of his Werehog transformation. When he later saw Sonic and Chip in Chun-nan again, Zonshen called them to him and claimed confidently that he could cure Sonic before telling Sonic to come back at nighttime. When Sonic returned, Zonshen told him that before he could make him a cure, he had to study his Werehog form's strength and condition first. To test Sonic's Werehog form to its fullest, Zonshen sent out Sonic to battle some of Dark Gaia's Minions outside the village, while he studied him from afar.
After having studied Sonic's Werehog form, Zonshen returned with Sonic to the village, where Zonshen remarked that Sonic's Werehog form was quite strong and that he had a good idea of Sonic's condition. Zonshen then said that he just needed some time to put a medicine together and told Sonic to come back later. During the following day, Zonshen met up with Sonic again, where he asked Sonic to fetch some herbs for his cure that he could mix up. Sonic soon after returned with the herbs, and Zonshen promised that he would have him back to normal soon. All the while, Zonshen had a fun time coming up with Sonic's cure.
A while later, during daytime, Zonshen had Sonic's cure, a mystical medicine, ready before finding Sonic and getting him to drink it. Afterward, Zonshen instructed Sonic to take a jog in order to get the medicine circulating into his bloodstream. After Sonic returned from his run, Zonshen praised his running, but noticed to his surprised and shock that the medicine was not working. Still determined to cure Sonic, however, Zonshen decided to use his extra-secret technique. Zonshen then told Sonic to come back later, as he had to prepare.
During the following nightfall, Zonshen met up with Sonic again and told to lie on his back while he explained that he planned to cure Sonic's condition by using his own Zonshen Method to touch the right pressure points with his golden finger. Before he could treat Sonic, however, Zonshen's back pains acted up again, leaving him unable to perform his treatment. To treat himself, Zonshen got Sonic to retrieve some green medicine for him, and je quickly recovered. Resuming Sonic's treatment, Zonshen touched Sonic's pressure point with his Dragon Finger, but discovered to his shock that Sonic's pressure points were not responding. Now frustrated at his failures, but refusing to give up, Zonshen told Sonic that he would need to prepare something else.
The next day, Zonshen met up with Sonic once more and proclaimed that he would use the Zonshen Qigong technique, which was only known by master healers, to cure him. However, because this technique required solid concentration, Zonshen asked Sonic to get him some Pick-Me-Up to help him maintain concentration while promising to definitely cure him this time. After Sonic brought the Pick-Me-Up, Zonshen asked Sonic to leave him for a while so he could enter a trance to center himself so he could focus and build up his qi for the technique. Zonshen also told Sonic that he would not be ready before nighttime as he could not build up qi as fast as he used to.
While building up his qi, Zonshen's frustration and restless determination left him so wrapped up in focusing that he did not eat and was up all night, leaving him muttering, grumbling to himself, famished, and in need of nutritious energies to do the Zonshen Qigong technique. Fortunately, Zonshen got some of his favorite snacks from Chun and Yilin and was soon back to normal. With both the energy and the necessary qi, Zonshen found Sonic and activated the technique on him, but was shocked to see that the Zonshen Qigong technique did not work either. Admitting defeat, Zonshen told Sonic that he had given up as he did not know any other method that could cure him and apologized for being unable to help him.
When Sonic and Chip later returned to Chun-nan, Zonshen met Sonic again and asked him why he had an expectant look in his eyes. As Sonic explained that he was looking for a miracle cure for Irma's pains, Zonshen said that he had such a cure and glady provided Sonic and Chip with his special premium quality medicine to pay his dept to them.
A while later, Zonshen met Sonic and Chip again, who told him that a young man named Charles, who aspired to become a doctor, wished to meet him. After thinking about this, Zonshen told Sonic and Chip that they could tell Charles that he could come as he liked. Eventually, Zonshen met Charles, who revealed that he had come to learn Zonshen's techniques. Seeing that Charles had the knowledge to become a doctor, but lacked the understanding that human contact was what a doctor needed to learn what was truly best for the patients, Zonshen agreed to teach Charles, but made him hand out deliveries to learn human contact. Charles, however, did not understand Zonshen's exercises, which spawned a conflict between the two of them, with Zonshen getting angry at Charles' arrogant behavior and impatience.
After Charles had cleared his deliveries, Zonshen was about to give him his next assignment, but while Charles thought that he would be treating a patient, Zonshen intended to give him more work. Charles then got angry and said that he came to learn the world's best doctor’s techniques from him, but Zonshen explained angrily that he had to learn human contact before he could let him treat a patient. As Charles tried to protest, however, Zonshen told Charles to go home and that he had no use for him here. However, Zonshen was surprised to hear Charles refusing to go and became interested when he heard Charles announcing that he would master human contact medicine. After that, Zonshen told Sonic and Chip later that he had been expecting some insolent young brat, but then admitted that Charles may have some spirit after all, and gladly announced that he had his work cut out for him.
Later on, during Sonic and Chip's battle with Dark Gaia, Zonshen saw the local Gaia Temple rise from the ground, which he said was simply incredible. Zonshen later watched on in horror with the rest of his village as Dark Gaia began to cast the world into darkness while maturing into Perfect Dark Gaia, but later rejoiced and talked to Lin when the world returned to normal following Perfect Dark Gaia's defeat at the hands of Super Sonic and the Gaia Colossus.
Wii/PlayStation 2[]
At some point, Zonshen gave the Moon Tablet to Shuifon and told him to hold on to it for him. At some point around the events of Sonic Unleashed, Zonshen went to the local Gaia Temple, but somehow lost consciousness.
While lying unconscious in front of Chun-nan's Gaia Temple, Zonshen was saved by Sonic the Werehog and Chip, who had been sent by Lin to find him, from the Dark Gaia Phoenix. As he woke up, Zonshen thanked Sonic and Chip and told them that they his deepest gratitude before explaining how he had ended up here. As Sonic and Chip asked about the Gaia Temple, Zonshen explained how his village had been the keepers of temple before asking for their tablet fragments and assembling them to a Planet Tablet, thus giving Sonic and Chip access to the Gaia Temple. As Sonic and Chip restored a Chaos Emerald and the continent inside the Gaia Temple, Zonshen witnessed the Dark Gaia Phoenix return to his original form, and assured the duo when they returned that the beast had come back to his senses.
After that, Zonshen returned to his village, where he at some point entrusted a Sun Tablet to Hualin for her to pass on to Sonic and Chip. When Zonshen later met Sonic and Chip again, he explained how grateful he was to them, and after wholeheartedly thanking them even more, Zonshen told them that he gave the Sun Tablet to Hualin, believing they were looking for it. Afterwards, Zonshen gave Sonic and Chip a nugget of wisdom by explaining about how being elsewhere and meeting people would allow them to discover more and that he would always be of service to them despite his busy schedule.
Later on, during Sonic and Chip's battle with Dark Gaia, Zonshen saw the local Gaia Temple rise from the ground, which Zonshen said was simply incredible. Zonshen later watched on in horror with the rest of his village as Dark Gaia began to cast the world into darkness while maturing into Perfect Dark Gaia, but later rejoiced and talked to Lin when the world returned to normal following Perfect Dark Gaia's defeat at the hands of Super Sonic and the Gaia Colossus.
Powers and abilities[]
Zonshen is renowned as the world's best doctor and a master healer. He has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of just about any physical illness. To cure his patients, Zonshen utilizes medicines made of herbs and other natural ingredients along with secret and ancient medical techniques, such as pressure points. Due to his accomplishments, it is said Zonshen can cure any ailment.
In other media[]
Archie Comics[]
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Zonshen is a human resident from Chun-Nan and a Gaia Key guardian. During the Shattered World Crisis, he was cornered by a corrupted form of the Gaia Phoenix during a visit to the local Gaia Temple.
Trivia[]
- In the cutscene "The Divine Beast Calmed" in Sonic Unleashed, Zonshen is shown to have a unique accent. However, in the cutscene where the citizens watch Chun-Nan's Gaia Temple rise from the ground (due to Chip's summoning), he speaks the line "That's just incredible!" in an American accent.
- The spelling of "Zon" does not exist in Standard Chinese, so his name would be more accurately written as "Zongshen".
Gallery[]
Concept artwork[]
Sprites[]
Screenshots[]
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