Knuckles (Outcome Memories)

Knuckles is generally impulsive and short-tempered, getting angry over trivial things, like people considering him weak. He embodies the immobility of a mountain, refusing to leave Angel Island and the Master Emerald unprotected. He's also somewhat of a loner and prefers to work alone whenever possible. Despite this, Knuckles remains a kind and good-hearted being who enjoys helping others and hates harming innocent people. Although some consider him short-sighted, Knuckles is actually quite perceptive and simply naive.

In "Outcome Memories," Knuckles' personality remains the same. Despite his extreme fury and rage toward the executioners for taking everything he loved, as evidenced by the lyrics of his solo songs, his conviction that everyone has some goodness within them remains strong; however, despite this, he continues to give his all to protect his fellow survivors.

Knuckles looks very similar to his appearance in the official Sonic games: he's an anthropomorphic echidna who stands 3'7". He has red fur covering most of his body, with tan markings on his snout; a large, pointed black nose; charcoal-colored eyes; large dreadlocks hanging from his head; a lightning bolt-shaped tail; and, perhaps his most distinctive feature, large spikes protruding from his gloves. As for his clothing, Knuckles wears large white gloves, metallic emerald-green anklets, and red shoes with metal plates and six bolts set on yellow stripes.

Glide: Every time Knuckles jumps against a wall, he grabs onto it. If the wall is high enough, jumping off it in this state will allow Knuckles to glide for 4 seconds. Like Tails, he will then begin to descend, though much faster; however, unlike Tails, he moves at high speed, has no stamina bar, and cannot ascend in any way. Knuckles can only chain and glide along walls three times, and cannot grab onto a fourth wall.

Punch: Knuckles will charge a punch, which will greatly slow him down and cause him to briefly glow red. When the user presses M1 in this state, Knuckles will dash forward at high speed, and if an Executioner makes contact with him, they will be stunned for 3 seconds (5 seconds when fully charged). Note that this ability can increase the stun duration of Executioners that have already been stunned, effectively circumventing the invulnerable frames they receive while stunned.

Knuckles can continue charging this punch through two subsequent phases. In phase 2, he will glow red again with a distinctive sound, gradually increasing the stun duration to a maximum of 5 seconds. In phase 3 (dubbed "Flaming Fury"), his fists will burst into flames, and his punch will inflict the "Burning" effect on the Executioner. However, it's worth noting that the flames usually extinguish before the stun ends, so they are often purely cosmetic. Taking damage while charging the ability reduces it by an impressive 62.5% (for example, the 45 damage from 2011X will be reduced to approximately 16,875 damage).

If Knuckles clicks while charging his punch in mid-air, he'll instead perform a ground slam that launches the Executioner into the air, in addition to the usual stun. You can activate the ground slam while gliding so it occurs upon landing, thus masking the punch animation.

Counter: Knuckles stops dead in his tracks and adopts a fighting stance for three seconds, briefly glowing white.

If an Executioner deals physical damage to Knuckles during this period, he will be stunned for 3 to 5 seconds and knocked back, while Knuckles can flee without penalty. If you use a counterattack while in a fist stance, your counterattack will be affected by the phase you are in; for example, if you are in phase 3, your counterattack will apply flames as if you had thrown a punch. The punch will not go on cooldown if you use the counterattack while charging, meaning you can charge, counterattack, and then throw a punch.

Knuckles was born alone and raised on Angel Island as the last surviving member of the Knuckles Clan, a long-extinct race of echidnas dedicated to protecting the Master Emerald from misuse. It seemed he had been entrusted with the task of protecting the Master Emerald since he was old enough to understand. However, Knuckles' own past was a mystery to him; he knew nothing of how he came to exist, of his ancestral roots, or even of the details of the Master Emerald he was meant to protect, and he believed himself to be the last of his kind. Despite this, he chose to spend his life as the Master Emerald's guardian, never questioning it. Knuckles knew, with an innate understanding, that his duty was his destiny, and he was content with that.

For much of his life, Knuckles remained close to the Master Emerald sanctuary, protecting it fiercely and with little contact with the outside world, to the point of becoming friends with all the animals and the very nature of Angel Island.

"Outcome Memories" is a place created by an unknown void, similar to the one from which X came. It is a hellish purgatory that holds both Executioners and Survivors captive in infinite timelines with different outcomes. Most Executioners do not wish to leave, as they enjoy the cat-and-mouse chase, while the Survivors do everything they can to both survive and escape. Any Survivor who dies is sent to another timeline within the purgatory, repeating the cycle again and again. Upon entering the VOID, participants receive either enhancements or penalties, placing them all on an equal power level.

This purgatory appears as a dark, red-tinged abyss, with large chains connecting to rocks and debris, and white portals scattered throughout, similar to the Shatterverse in Sonic Prime, though much darker. It is implied that this is where the survivors, and possibly the executioners, reside between rounds, as well as the place from which they are taken and to which they are thrown after matches.

Nothing is known about Knuckles' history in purgatory, except that it is possibly from a later point in the future because he knows about the Egg Pawns, a machine Eggman created later on.

And that somehow, the return to its classic form upon arriving here.