What, you thought this show was safe from the waterworks? Surely, you underestimate the power of animation.
- Robotnik's character is actually more tear jerking than you think. Sure he is evil and is hated by everyone but think about it—why did he become evil in the first place? Let's see, his mom constantly abuses him and is always favored by his cousin, we really don't know what happened to his father but he probably never loved him, everyone pretty much hates him and he always creates robots as his army/servants and he probably never had any friends, so is it possible that Robotnik became evil because he's depressed and has never had anyone in his life that loved him or cared about him? The answer is up to you.
- Hero of the Year implies he brings it on himself. During a testimonial dinner for himself that nobody but him, Scratch and Grounder attended, clips of Robotnik's destruction are played. For a moment he looks sad when he ponders about how empty the party felt.
Robotnik: No wonder I deserve this award!Scratch: No wonder we couldn't find any friends...- It's worse in the fact that Mama Robotnik intentionally raised him to be a despicable villain. Taking away anything that would bring him even the slightest bit of joy.
- One also can't help but feel sorry for Coconuts. He desperately tries to gain Robotnik's affection, but his efforts are always in vain. Despite being (slightly) more intelligent and competent than Scratch and Grounder, he gets most of the abuse and is often blamed and demoted for no reason. His mistreatment is most noticeable in "Boogey-Mania": When Coconuts tells Robotnik about Professor Von Schlemmer's Dream-a-Majig, Robotnik scolds him for not bringing the device. Then later, Coconuts captures Tails, but the ungrateful doctor again scolds him for not capturing Sonic instead. Finally, Coconuts attempts to warn his creator about Sonic, but Robotnik, feeling offended, sends Coconuts down a trap door.
- Then In "Full Tilt Tails", Robotnik gets suckered by Sonic and he blames Coconuts for the incident, despite the fact that the robotic monkey wasn't even there when it happened.
Robotnik: I was bamboozled by Sonic and it's all your fault!
Coconuts: What are you talking about? I wasn't even there.
Robotnik: Shut up! I'm the boss, I can blame whoever I want! - How about Sonic getting depressed and heartbroken over Tails moving in with his "real family" in "Tails New Home", coupled with a flashback which tells us how he met the orphan kid in the first place? For Dramatic Irony, this happened because Sonic wanted to find Tails a new home to protect him in the first place.
- Tails having to say goodbye to Goopster in "So Long Sucker". He knows that he'll never see his beloved pet again, and he tearfully waves goodbye to him. When Sonic then offers to take him to lunch, Tails, looking slightly miffed, says no thanks, but Sonic says he'll get him another pet (although not an alien this time), making this a Heartwarming Moment.
- From the same episode, we see Robotnik in tears as he remembers his former pet, Mr. Bobo. Yes, even Robotnik admits that "there's nothing more sacred than the bond between a boy and his pet".
- Sonic takes a level in Jerkass for most of "Over the Hill Hero" towards Captain Rescue, an aging superhero who is still trying to do good despite some Badass Decay. Sonic snaps at him after he accidentally traps Sonic in the blast radius of a "Sneeze Bomb" and later needs rescuing by Sonic after being defeated by Scratch, telling him, among other things, that with help like his, he wouldn't need Badniks to fight. This causes Rescue to fall into a depression, which leads to him getting manipulated by Robotnik and resulting in Sonic's capture, which drives him into a full-on Heroic BSoD until Tails manages to break that BSOD.
- In Sonically Ever After, after defeating Robotnik, Sonic talks to the audience saying that "Every story must end, even this one". The episode was the second to last episode in production order and the final episode aired.note
- Robot in "The Robots' Robot" is a robot created by Scratch and Grounder to do chores for them. Shortly after the innocent's Robot's creation, he is terrified by Robotnik threatening to dismantle him and immediately goes to run away as soon as possible. Robot's terror persists for some time, resulting in him being mistrustful of any other person he sees, showing the trauma Robotnik's words inflicted upon him. Thankfully, things turn out alright and Robot gets a new home in a city of robots previously seen in another episode, joyous at having a new home.
- Although Scratch and Grounder are initially mean to Robot by pushing their chores off onto him, they become very concerned after their 'child' runs away from home. Much as the audience knows that Scratch and Grounder wouldn't be good guardians for the Robot, it's still a little difficult to watch them scared for Robot's safety and desperately trying to find him.
- "High Stakes Sonic" has Sonic at probably one of his lowest points. He's been forced to enter a race against Grounder to save Tails, but a thousand Mobian sheep citizens have also staked their freedom on him winning. Armed with this knowledge, Robotnik orders Sonic to throw the race, which would mean saving Tails but condemning the sheep to slavery. For the first time in his life, Sonic is forced to walk slowly, his face a picture of misery as he agonizes between his duty of protecting Mobius' citizens and his loyalty to Tails. All while images of Robotnik's face hover around him, taunting and laughing at his misery.Robotnik: You must throw the race! Throw the race! Throw the race! The Mobians or Tails! Or Tails! Or Tails! (maniacal laughter)
- The heartbroken expression of the sheep mayor's face adds to it. Every sheep in that arena staked their freedom on Sonic winning the race, not knowing about the situation with Tails. Seeing their hero walk slowly and miserably down the road is a crushing blow to whatever hope they had of getting out of the mess they got themselves in.Sheep Mayor: Say it ain't so, Sonic! Say it ain't so!
- The heartbroken expression of the sheep mayor's face adds to it. Every sheep in that arena staked their freedom on Sonic winning the race, not knowing about the situation with Tails. Seeing their hero walk slowly and miserably down the road is a crushing blow to whatever hope they had of getting out of the mess they got themselves in.
