Emeralds, whether Chaos or Master, have been a key part of the Sonic games since the very beginning. Since the early Genesis games, collecting them has allowed Sonic to turn super. Knuckles was recently asked why he has never tried to harness the power of the emeralds, something he has done in the past, yet his answer implied it's something he would never even dream of doing.

Knuckles' comments on his reluctance to wield the power of the Master Emerald were made during the latest episode of TailsTube. Tails launched his very own YouTube channel earlier this year, on which the fox appeared to reveal he eats Chao. When the spotlight shone on Knuckles during last week's episode, Tails asked the echidna if he has ever been tempted to use the Master Emerald's powers for his own benefit (via ComicBook.com).

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“It is not my place to use The Emerald's power. It is my job to protect it,” Knuckles replies. It is implied in the games and reiterated in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the movie in which Knuckles was introduced to a whole new generation of Sonic fans, that the echidna have been sworn to protect the Master Emerald. However, like Sonic, Knuckles has used emeralds to turn super in the past.

In fact, Knuckles turned super as soon as he started appearing in Sonic games. Players were able to play the game as Knuckles in Sonic & Knuckles. That meant when all seven Chaos Emeralds had been collected, just like Sonic in previous games, Knuckles was able to harness their power and turn super. The echidna has a pink/magenta glow rather than a yellow/white one.

Collections and remasters putting Knuckles in Sonic and Sonic 2 have allowed the echidna to become super in those games too. There's even an instance where Knuckles uses the Master Emerald and not the Choas Emeralds, for anyone planning on pointing out that loophole, in the Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing games. His insistence that he protects emeralds rather than uses them implies that might well be his role in Sonic Frontiers, and that he likely won't be turning super in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 or the Knuckles spinoff series coming to Paramount Plus.

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