 Japanese title card · “Chase the Hero Sonic!” | |
| Series | Sonic X (ソニックX), TMS Entertainment |
| Season | Season 1 (2003–2004) |
| Episode | Season 1, episode 14 · no. 14 of 78 |
| English title | “That’s What Friends Are For” (4Kids) |
| Japanese title | 英雄ソニックを追え！ (Eiyū Sonikku wo Oe!, “Chase the Hero Sonic!”) |
| First aired (Japan) | 6 July 2003 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 6 December 2003 · Fox Box (Fox) |
| Directed by | Keiko Oyamada |
| Written by | Yoshio Urasawa |
| Storyboard | Kenji Yazaki |
| Previous episode | Beating Eggman, Part 2 (S01E13) |
| Next episode | Skirmish in the Sky (S01E15) |
HelenThe President’s party
That’s What Friends Are For is episode 14 of Season 1 of Sonic X and the 14th of the anime’s 78 episodes. In Japan it is called “Chase the Hero Sonic!” (英雄ソニックを追え！). It premiered on TV Tokyo on 6 July 2003, and the 4Kids English version followed on Fox Box (Fox) on 6 December 2003. It was directed by Keiko Oyamada and written by Yoshio Urasawa.
Synopsis
Sonic has made a quiet promise. Chris’ classmate Helen, who uses a wheelchair, longs to see an island covered in flowers, but her father works too hard to take her, so Sonic has said he will. Unfortunately the trip clashes with something rather grander: a victory party at the White House in his honour.
The party is the idea of the President’s aide, Jerome Wise, who has noticed that the public credits Sonic, not the President, with beating Eggman. A photo of the two together, Wise reckons, could win the coming election. When Sonic skips the party for his day out with Helen, Wise sends the military to fetch him.
The flower trip becomes a chase, with Sonic pushing Helen’s wheelchair at full speed and soldiers on their tail, until the pair escape in a borrowed helicopter. They do reach the party, and Sonic shakes the President’s hand – but by then the reporters are in no state to take the picture. That night Helen tells her parents about her adventure, and her father resolves to take the family back to the island.
Key Moments
- Helen, Chris’ classmate, becomes Sonic’s friend.
- The President’s aide, Jerome Wise, schemes to use Sonic for a re-election boost.
- Sonic keeps his promise to Helen rather than go to the White House party.
Trivia
- From this episode the Japanese version used a new ending theme, “Hikaru Michi” (“Shining Road”) by Aya Hiroshige, which ran until episode 39 and returned for Season 3.
- On home video: Japanese DVD/VHS volume 4 (Victor Entertainment, 22 October 2003); 4Kids/FUNimation volume 4, Beating Eggman (7 December 2004); the Chaos Emerald Chaos DVD set (2008); and Discotek’s Sonic X Collection 1 (2016) and complete-series Blu-rays.
Watch the Episode
The full 4Kids English episode, uploaded by TMS Entertainment’s official “Anime! on TMS” YouTube channel (checked 6 November 2026).
Part of our Sonic X Season 1 guide. See the Sonic X series page for the cast, theme songs and home video.
Sources: titles, credits and air dates from Wikipedia’s list of Sonic X episodes and Sonic Wiki Zone, cross-checked with each other and with Luke’s original Sonic Scene episode table; synopsis written for Sonic Scene from the episode, Wikipedia’s summary and Sonic Wiki Zone’s plot notes; title card and screenshots via Sonic Wiki Zone, copied to our media library.