 Japanese title card · “Shadow Rebirth” | |
| Series | Sonic X (ソニックX), TMS Entertainment |
| Season | Season 3 (2005–2006) |
| Episode | Season 3, episode 8 · no. 60 of 78 |
| English title | “Trick Sand” (4Kids) |
| Japanese title | シャドウ・リバース (Shadō Ribāsu, “Shadow Rebirth”) |
| Japan | Not shown on Japanese TV until 6 April 2020 (Kids Station) |
| First aired (US) | 29 October 2005 · 4Kids TV (Fox) |
| Directed by | Masami Furukawa |
| Written by | Masahiko Shiraishi |
| Storyboard | Seiji Okuda |
| Previous episode | Galactic Gumshoes (S03E07) |
| Next episode | Ship of Doom (S03E09) |
Metarex SagaShadow returns
Trick Sand is episode 8 of Season 3 of Sonic X and the 60th of the anime’s 78 episodes. In Japan it is called “Shadow Rebirth” (シャドウ・リバース). It premiered in English: 4Kids aired it on 4Kids TV (Fox) on 29 October 2005, after a French TV debut on 18 March 2005, while Japanese TV only showed it on 6 April 2020. It was directed by Masami Furukawa and written by Masahiko Shiraishi.
Synopsis
Chris dreams of the Space Colony ARK and the day Shadow was lost. On the Crimson Egg, Rouge goes back to a hidden room she has found, where a Chaos Emerald powers a strange capsule. Reaching for the gem sets off an alarm – and inside the capsule, asleep, is Shadow.
The Blue Typhoon follows an Emerald signal to a dark, deserted world, Hobidon in the Japanese version. Sonic, Amy and Knuckles explore an old castle while Chris and Cosmo search the ruins of a colony, where they find a recording of the planet’s fall to the Metarex. The castle is a trick: it is the shape-shifting Metarex Deserd, and it turns into a trap of sand.
Chris flies the Hyper Tornado to the rescue, but Sonic’s new rocket shoes can’t beat Deserd, and Chris’ damaged plane starts to fall. Then Shadow, woken aboard the Crimson Egg, teleports into the fight, destroys the Metarex, saves Chris and vanishes again, only to collapse back on Eggman’s ship with two Chaos Emeralds.
Key Moments
- Shadow returns, revived in a capsule aboard the Crimson Egg.
- The Metarex Deserd turns a castle to sand.
- Chris pilots the Hyper Tornado.
Trivia
- Shadow’s comeback reached US TV on 29 October 2005, weeks before Shadow the Hedgehog came out in November 2005.
- On home video: the The Complete 5th Season DVD set (2006); and Discotek’s Sonic X Collection 2 (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 3 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.