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. The first game in which they may both appear as playable characters is in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, albeit rare to unlock.

Their closest associate on good terms is Knuckles, in which Tikal shares ancestry with and Espio used to go with on Chaotix missions. Both are also acquainted with Sonic, Tails, and Amy in some way.

In the Mario & Sonic series, Espio is a referee; and while Tikal doesn't physically appear, there are unlockable costumes featuring both characters. Both are stickers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl that Sonic can equip for an attack boost.

Fanon
Espikal is a somewhat popular ship, most likely due to the process of elimination when fans pair with other Sonic characters. There is currently only one work on FanFiction.net featuring this pairing, alongside with Silver and Blaze. A DeviantArt fanclub featuring this ship was set up on April 2011 with currently 10 fan arts since December 2020.

Notable rival ships for Espio include Espicole and Espilver, while for Tikal are Knuxikal and Shadikal.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Espio/Tikal on FanFiction.Net

DEIVANTART