Espikal

Espikal is the het ship between Espio and Tikal from the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom.

Canon
While the two characters appear in mainly the same canons, there never been shown meeting each other. Their appearance in the games used to be separate by two years, while in Sonic X it is about six weeks in terms of airing dates between Tikal’s last appearance and Espio’s initial. Both appear as playable characters is in the now-discnotinued Sonic Runners mobile game. They are also playable in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Two out of the many rare characters that can be unlocked through collecting cards in said game.

In the Mario & Sonic series, Espio is a referee; and while Tikal does not physically appear, there are unlockable costumes featuring both characters that your Mii can wear. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the two are among the many stickers that Sonic can equip for an attack boost.

Outside of their appearances together, their closest associate on good terms is Knuckles. The orange echidna has some significant interaction with him, and the chameleon used to go with the red echidna on Chaotix missions. Both are also acquainted with Sonic, Tails, and Amy in some way in their debut games Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, respectively. Both rely on their faithful companions to succeed in their endeavors: the chameleon has Vector, Charmy, and a few other members of the Chaotix (in some canons), and the echidna with the Chao and Chaos.

Fanon
Espikal has some following, even though it is uncommon to pair Espio with a female Sonic character. Those who do pair the two would want to combine Espio’s ninja abilities with Tikal’s friendliness and occasional stubbornness. Others would like the echidna to be welcomed as a new member of the Chaotix, putting her spiritual guidance and Chao manpower to good use. There is currently only one work on FanFiction.net featuring this pairing, alongside with Silver and Blaze.

On DeviantArt, a fanclub featuring this ship was set up on April 2011 with currently 10 fan arts since December 2020. Under the Espikal tag, has made a stamp and few fan art, even though his main ships for both characters are Knuckles and Shadow for Tikal, and Sonia for Espio. SonicKnightWind also made a stamp for this pairing. Other notable artists who have drawn a handful of this pairing include and.

The two pairnings involving Knuckles, Knuxpio and Knuxikal, still supersede this in terms of popularity.

Sonic the Comic Online
Even after the cancellation of the main Sonic the Comic in 2002, some of the original writers had made an unoffical continuation.

Both characters are featured in issues 233 and issues 278, though they do not interact directly since the two appear in separate stories of their faction: Chaotix Crew and Knuckles, respectively. Espio also appears in The Night Before Christmas where he tries to get Sonic involved in restoring the Special Zone, while Tikal only has a brief mention when the hedgehog phones the Floating Island.

The sole story of issue 250, “The Battle for Mobius”, could be the only known meeting between the two. They, along with Charmy, Vector, and Porker Lewis, have been watching the badnik invasion from the Floating Island. Later, they are seen manning the island’s defenses through a control room, destroying some of Doctor Robotnik’s warships with it. When Espio detects multiple Buzz Bombers with the radar, Knuckles orders Tikal to take the island up in the sky and the chameleon to drop gum tree berry juice to the badniks. The red echidna then orders them to attack a few more ships, then put the island into stealth mode.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Espio/Tikal on FanFiction.net

FAN ART

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