Depths of Danger

"Depths of Danger" is the sixteenth episode of the anime series, Sonic X. It first aired on 20 July 2003 and 17 January 2004 in Japan and the United States respectively.

Appearances
Characters:
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Amy Rose
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Cheese
 * Christopher Thorndyke
 * Chuck Thorndyke
 * Ella
 * Mister Tanaka
 * Sam Speed
 * President
 * President's third assistant
 * Doctor Eggman
 * E-57 Clurken
 * Decoe
 * Bocoe
 * Bokkun

Japanese version

 * "SONIC DRIVE" - Opening theme
 * "The Shining Road" - Closing theme

English version

 * "Gotta Go Fast" - Opening theme (USA and CAN)
 * "Sonic X" - Opening theme (AUS, NZ and UK)
 * "Gotta Go Fast" (shortened) - Closing theme

Plot
The President demands the search of the notorious Dr. Eggman who is hiding underwater inside the damaged Egg Fort. Down there, Eggman is seen holding onto Decoe and Bocoe, trying not to make a single sound, warning them that if they are heard, they are done for. After the search, Eggman orders Decoe and Bocoe to repair the Egg Fort. Back at the Thorndyke mansion, while Chris and his friends are enjoying a meal, Chuck hands out passports and other official documents issued by the government to Sonic and his friends (much to the dismay of the latter; Tails receives multiple licenses just so he could fly anywhere on his aircraft and Amy's picture in her passport was not favourable). Meanwhile, Sonic and company flew over to the Southern Sapphire Sea for a well-deserved vacation. While riding to the sea by the X-Tornado, Tails finds out that another Chaos Emerald is near them, but it is located underwater. When they landed, they discover more civilians; despite trying to keep their cool, the crowd chases them again (a reminiscent of the previous episode) to another location again.

After losing the crowd, Tails and Amy are tired from having to run away from crowds; saying that being famous is not fun. Cream then points out that Sonic is not with them. Amy and Cream have a swim while Tails rests by a rock; during this time Chris eventually finds Sonic who wonders how he can get to the bottom of the ocean to search for the Chaos Emerald. Chris discovers he might have some ideas on how to do this. As his first idea, Chris tells Sonic to breathe through a long hose and as Sonic walks along the sea floor, Chris holds out the other end in the air. However, the hose holder drops into the ocean, causing Sonic to get stuck. Things got worse when a crab comes by, cuts the hose and clamps Sonic as he manages to surface out of the water. Next, Chris returns with a large, diving bell. Sonic is then walking along the sea floor with a large bell. Although Sonic prefers this over breathing through a hose, he encounters a new problem that he cannot see where he is going. Unfortunately, he trips over a rock, causing the bell to trap himself inside.

After Chris manages to rescue Sonic back to dry land again, the gang heads towards a shop to purchase equipment necessary for diving. The owner of the shop says that the items are for free due to the government paying tax for Sonic and his friends' official residence and then tells them a legend that a ship sank along with treasure a long time ago. Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream and Chris dived underwater in hopes of searching for the treasure the diving shop manager speaks of as well as the Chaos Emerald they have detected earlier. Meanwhile, Decoe and Bocoe finally finished repairing the Egg Fort, much to their dismay that the repairs took place underwater. Eggman then gets mad at Sonic seeing them on TV that they are having a vacation. Not long though, Eggman decides to rest outside in the sun in attempt for a vacation. He orders his messenger robot, Bokkun to deliver a message to Sonic and his friends. When the robot arrived to the heroes' boat, he doesn't see anyone there apart from Cheese sleeping on the boat. Disappointed, he flies back to the Egg Fort and plays the message at a relaxing Dr. Eggman with Decoe and Bocoe. When the doctor questions why the message is played at him and not at the heroes, Bokkun responds that no one is at the boat apart from Cheese. After the message finishes playing, it explodes right in front of Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe, much to the doctor's disgrace.

Meanwhile, the heroes are trekking along the sea floor with Tails holding out the Chaos Emerald. They eventually discovered the sunken ship and finds a treasure chest filled with treasure. Tails notes that the Emerald is shining at its brightest indicating that the Chaos Emerald is nearby as well. Suddenly, the same crab who has been causing trouble for Sonic emerges from the treasure, holding out the Chaos Emerald in its pincer. Sonic demands the Chaos Emerald from the crab. The crab responds by throwing it, falling into Amy's hands. As Cream exclaims that the trip turns out to be rewarding, the Egg Fort arrives, with Eggman demanding the Chaos Emerald. He sends his robot Clurken to battle Sonic while the hedgehog tells the others swim back to the boat.

Clurken has the upper hand due to the drag of water limiting Sonic's running speed while in underwater. The robot manages to trap the hedgehog in its tentacles while taking the fight up in the surface. However, Sam Speed arrives into the scene riding on a jetski tossing the handle to Sonic. Tails gives Sonic a Ring and Sonic destroys Clurken, but the Egg Fort escapes. Mr. Tanaka arrives in a boat to rescue the gang. While they returned to the diving shop, they told the shop manager that they discovered the sunken ship and its treasure but because of Eggman, it is now buried beneath the sea rocks. Despite of this, the shop manager is glad to hear that the legend is actually true. As Sonic and his friends continue their vacation, Chris tells Sonic and his friends that the shop owner's grandfather is actually the captain of the sunken ship as the episode draws to a close.

Regional differences

 * The following scenes have been cut/edited:

Trivia

 * There is a small crab that keeps causing trouble for Sonic throughout the episode. That crab greatly resembles Crabmeat.
 * When the X Tornado was reacting to the Chaos Emerald, Tails refers to a similar reaction when he was flying over Diamond Stadium in the episode "Unfair Ball".
 * Amy and Cream wear their bathing suits and sandals for the second time in this episode.
 * In the Japanese version, when Chris holds up a sign at one scene the text reads "Good kids won't study this and try it at home." Sonic also holds up a sign which reads (translated as) "You mean I'm not a good kid?".
 * While holding the hose that keeps Sonic from drowning, Chris hums a part of "SONIC DRIVE", the Japanese opening theme of Sonic X.
 * In one scene, Sonic shows signs of both claustrophobia and achluophobia.
 * In the Japanese version of this episode's end credits, Amy's voice actress (Taeko Kawata) is mistakenly uncredited.
 * In one scene, palm trees are seen descending so the X-Tornado can take off. This is very similar to a scene in Sonic Adventure in which palm trees descend in order for the Tornado to take off.
 * The events of this episode is referenced in Sonic X #2.