Zone

Zone is the Mobian term for other dimensions and universes besides Mobius Prime. Both Mobian science and mysticism have been successful at enabling other-dimensional travel, so travel to zones and visitors from zones, while not common, are not considered unusual. The various zones discovered can be divided into two categories: Pocket zones and alternate zones.

A pocket zone is another dimension with different physical properties and characteristics than Mobius Prime. They are called "pocket zones" because all the ones discovered so far are smaller than Mobius Prime (however, given that Mobius Prime is an universe with multiple galaxies, a pocket zone can still be very large). Various pocket zones can be reached via portal, technology or by using magic or magical items such as Chaos Emeralds. Some famous pocket zones include the Twilight Cage and the Special Zone (formerly the Zone of Silence). Pocket zones have been used as both places of banishment and confinement as well as safe havens, such as the various pocket zones Hawking created and sent both the Echidnas and Dingoes to in order to keep them safe from harmful radiation. (StH: #43, KtE: #3, #5, #18)

An alternate zone is a parallel universe with the same physical properties as Mobius Prime, but with a different history. Alternate zones can be very similar to Mobius Prime (such as Moebius, which seemingly has a counterpart of every resident of Mobius Prime) or quite different (like Sol Zone, which is populated by Mobians, but none of them appear to be counterparts of anyone from Mobius Prime). Alternate zones can also be accessed by various means, but the most reliable is the Cosmic Interstate. Collectively, all of the alternate zones are sometimes called the multiverse.

The term zone is also used in various place names on Mobius, such as the segments of Angel Island with dramatically different climates. In this context, it just means 'area' or 'region', though this usage is becoming less common. When Dr. Eggman temporally changed reality during Operation: Clean Sweep, there were many places named "Zone" on Mobius. (StH: #226 - #229, KMS: #1, CSE)

Known Pocket Zones
Named
 * Collision Chaos Zone
 * Flicky Zone
 * Hall of Limbo
 * Maginary World
 * Mirror Zone
 * Negative Zone
 * Neutral Zone
 * Special Zone (formerly known as the Zone of Silence)
 * Void
 * Stardust Speedway Zone
 * Triple Trouble Zone
 * Twilight Cage (also called the Twilight Zone)
 * Virtual Zone
 * Skull Egg Zone

Unnamed
 * Verti-Cal and Horizont-Al's zone
 * Zone which Echidnaopolis was sent to by the Hyper-wave Projector
 * Zone which the Dingoes and their city was sent to by the Hyper-wave Projector
 * Pocket Zone where Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles fought

Known Alternate Zones
Named
 * 3437 P.X.E.
 * Dark Mobius
 * Discovery Zone
 * Light Mobius
 * Litigopolis
 * Luna Zone
 * Mobius Prime
 * Mobius-Seventeen
 * Moebius
 * No Zone
 * Planet Freedom
 * Sentai Zone
 * Sol Zone
 * Underground Zone
 * Earth 20XX

Unnamed
 * Alternate Mobius where Cyborg Sonic originates from
 * Future Mobius where NICOLE and Dr. Eggman originate from
 * Future Mobius with the Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy
 * Alternate Mobius where Freedom Fighters are giant monsters
 * Alternate Mobius where Shade appeared
 * Alternate Mobius where Werehog appeared
 * Medieval universe
 * Prehistoric universe
 * Sonic X universe

Locations on Mobius Named "Zone"

 * Arctic Zone
 * Casino Night Zone
 * Forbidden Zone
 * Lethal Radioactive Zone

Angel Island's Zones

 * Angel Zone
 * Forbidden Zone
 * Hidden Palace Zone
 * Ice Cap Zone
 * Lava Reef Zone
 * Marble Garden Zone
 * Mushroom Zone
 * Sandopolis Zone
 * Sky Sanctuary Zone

Operation: Clean Sweep Zones

 * Chemical Plant Zone
 * Emerald Hill Zone
 * Final Zone
 * Green Hill Zone
 * Labyrinth Zone
 * Marble Zone
 * Metropolis Zone
 * Oil Ocean Zone
 * Scrap Brain Zone
 * Star Light Zone

Background Information

 * In response to a fan query regarding whether or not the futures from which NICOLE and Dr. Eggman originated were the same, writer Ian Flynn stated that: That's up for debate, honestly. There's room to take it in both directions. For the sake of simplicity, I'd consider it the same. This way we're only dealing with three futures (Eggman/Nicole's, MxYL, Silver's) rather than four.
 * Writer Ian Flynn says that he is against reusing any characters or concepts that are blatant parodies of movies/TV shows/other media again, meaning that several characters and zones are unlikely to appear again in the canon comic series.