Knuckles the Echidna

"You'll fail, unless you have me along. I can't wait to see the look on Sonic's face when he finds out that I helped defeat Dr Eggman while he missed out on the glory. That'll mess with his ego!" -Knuckles, Sonic X

Knuckles the Echidna (ナックルズ・ザ・エキドゥナ Nakkuruzu za Ekiduna?) is a fictional character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an anthropomorphic echidna and the current guardian of the Master Emerald, a powerful ancient relic which is his solemn duty to protect from anyone seeking to abuse it. He is also the sole remaining descendant of the Knuckles Clan and last of the echidnas on Earth. His dominant traits are his superhuman strength, and the two spike-like knuckles on each of his hands, from which his name is derived from, which he can use to dig with and climb walls.

Why He Rocks

 * 1) A loner by nature, Knuckles is independent, headstrong and serious, yet gullible and short-tempered to a fault.
 * 2) He is entirely devoted to his duty, spending most of his time on Angel Island protecting the Master Emerald, and rarely cares for anything that is of no importance.
 * 3) When his friends and others are in need of his help, however, Knuckles can always be relied on being willing to leave his post and prove himself a faithful and good-hearted hero.
 * 4) He is also one of Sonic's oldest friends and rivals.
 * 5) Knuckles has two amazing, hip-hop/jazz stylized music In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, called Unknown form M.E and Pumpkin Hill
 * 6) He spawned some internet memes, like the Ugandan Knuckles meme, and his famous line from Sonic Adventure: "Oh no."

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Knuckles is extremely gullible, often tricked by Dr. Eggman into believing that Sonic is the enemy, being a great cause for many of their confrontations.
 * 2) It appears that he's been sleeping on the job, since he's hardly seen guarding the Master Emerald in the recent installments.
 * 3) He was flanderized in Sonic Boom, becoming from a gullible, yet lovable and smart hero, to a lazy dumb idiot. To the point it got a page on the Loathsome Characters wiki.

Trivia

 * According to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 manual, Knuckles' favorite food is grapes. This is referenced many times through the series.