Eric the Echidna (Virgin Books)

History
Sonic encountered Eric while trying to find out what had happened to turn the Green Hill Zone into the Brown Hill Zone. While investigating a mysterious cave with a circle of grey nothingness floating in midair, Eric introduced himself and kicked Sonic into the nothingness, sending him to the Fourth Dimension. He reported his success to Robotnik.

Appearance
He is described as being almost identical to Sonic the Hedgehog, covered in dark spines, except that his nose was much longer and more pointed. He has a copyright symbol © on the bottom of his foot, similar to the labels that appear on rocks in the Brown Hill Zone saying "Copyright © Robotnik Industries".