 Japanese title card · “Huge Shoot-out on the Savanna!” | |
| Series | Sonic X (ソニックX), TMS Entertainment |
| Season | Season 1 (2003–2004) |
| Episode | Season 1, episode 18 · no. 18 of 78 |
| English title | “The Dam Scam” (4Kids) |
| Japanese title | サバンナの大決闘！ (Sabanna no Dai Kettō!, “Huge Shoot-out on the Savanna!”) |
| First aired (Japan) | 3 August 2003 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 31 January 2004 · Fox Box (Fox) |
| Directed by | Makoto Moriwaki |
| Written by | Hiro Masaki |
| Storyboard | Naoyuki Kuzuya |
| Previous episode | The Adventures of Knuckles and Hawk (S01E17) |
| Next episode | Sonic’s Scream Test (S01E19) |
SavannaSonic & Tails’ past
The Dam Scam is episode 18 of Season 1 of Sonic X and the 18th of the anime’s 78 episodes. In Japan it is called “Huge Shoot-out on the Savanna!” (サバンナの大決闘！). It premiered on TV Tokyo on 3 August 2003, and the 4Kids English version followed on Fox Box (Fox) on 31 January 2004. It was directed by Makoto Moriwaki and written by Hiro Masaki.
Synopsis
A dogfight with the Egg Fort over a savanna ends badly for both sides. Sonic’s Ring-powered spin slices through Eggman’s ship, but debris shears a wing off the X-Tornado, and Tails and Chris spiral down into the bush while the Egg Fort crashes into a swamp. Sonic, separated from them, passes the time racing a cheetah.
Grounded, Tails and Chris – who is suddenly more interested in animals than machines – discover a building firm putting up a dam that endangers the local animals. They take the case to a nearby city and rally enough protesters to halt the work.
Eggman has his own plans, and his ape robot E-65 Gorru-Gaooh ambushes Sonic out on the plains. In the brawl, robot and doctor flatten the construction site and expose the managers’ crooked scheme. Tails throws Sonic a Ring, the ape is destroyed, and the police arrest the two bosses – so in a way, the heroes decide, Eggman helped save the animals.
Key Moments
- Sonic races a cheetah on the plains.
- E-65 Gorru-Gaooh, Eggman’s ape robot, rampages across the savanna.
- Tails and Chris organise a protest against the dam.
Trivia
- Storyboarded by Naoyuki Kuzuya, who directed “Techno-Teacher” and “Beating Eggman, Part 1”.
- On home video: Japanese DVD/VHS volume 5 (Victor Entertainment, 21 November 2003); 4Kids/FUNimation volume 5, Sonic’s Scream Test (25 January 2005); 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.