Shovel Knight

Template:Tags/LBlue
Sprite(s)
Attributes
Type(s)	Main Playable Character (Shovel of Hope, Showdown, Dig) Main Boss (Plague of Shadows)
Gender	Male (canon) Female (Body Swap)
Occupation(s)	Knight Adventurer
Weapon(s)	Shovel Blade, Relics
Hit points
Game Information
Appears in	Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove Shovel of Hope Plague of Shadows King of Cards Shovel Knight Showdown Shovel Knight Dig
Stage(s)	Explodatorium (Plague of Shadows)
Music Track(s)	Battling the Burrower

“	I will NEVER give up on you. I will follow you to the end of the world.	”

Shovel Knight is the titular protagonist of the Shovel Knight series and the protagonist of Shovel of Hope and Shovel Knight Dig. This chivalrous adventurer is trying to stop the Enchantress from taking over the Valley and find his beloved Shield Knight, lost to the Tower of Fate.

Official Biography

“	A practitioner of the ancient code of Shovelry, Shovel Knight can do almost anything with his signature weapon: the Shovel Blade. His ingenuity and quick thinking have won him many battles, even though his stature is small! Always honest and helpful, Shovel Knight lives by the creed of Shovelry: Slash Mercilessly and Dig Tirelessly!	”

• Pros: Kind Hearted, Clever, Master of the Shovel Blade
• Cons: Bound by the Code of Shovelry

Appearance

Shovel Knight wears the Stalwart Plate, a blue piece of armor with shoulder pads, a plate, and a horned helmet. He has a round body and a short stature. He is named after his weapon of choice, the Shovel Blade.

Personality and Traits

Always honest and helpful, Shovel Knight aids people he meets along his journey. He constantly dreams of his long lost partner Shield Knight, fighting away imaginary enemies while attempting to catch her.

He solves many physically and mentally challenging puzzles throughout the lairs of the Order of No Quarter, proving his great intelligence and strength. Shovel Knight is a shining example of the Code of Shovelry: Slash Mercilessly and Dig Tirelessly! 

Abilities

Shovel Knight's main form of attack is his trusty Shovel Blade. Although out of commission for quite a while, he still retains great skill with it.

• Shovel of Hope
• Plague of Shadows
• Showdown

Base attacks

• Dig Slash: performed by a swing from his Shovel Blade, it can inflict damage, dig piles, break blocks, open chests, find secret rooms and reflect projectiles.
• Shovel Drop: performed by pointing the Shovel Blade to the ground and plunging while in midair to bounce on obstacles and enemies, damaging them from an advantaged position. It can be interrupted at any time.

Special Attacks

• Charge Slash: a charged Dig Slash with a longer range that can knock foes further away. It can be used after upgrading the Shovel Blade with the Charge Handle. Slows down Shovel Knight when using it.
• Relics: Special defensive and offensive items consuming Magic. How many times Shovel Knight can use them is determined by his Magic Capacity. They can be bought from Chester. The Troupple Chalices are an exception, costing no Magic and being sold by a Troupple Acolyte.

Upgrades

• Shovel Blade: Shovel Knight's weapon can be permanently upgraded by the Shovel Smith in the Armor Outpost.
• Armor: His set of armor can be changed by the Armorer in the Armor Outpost.

Base attacks

• Dig Slash: performed by a swing from his Shovel Blade, it can inflict damage, break blocks and reflect projectiles. After Shovel Knight heals himself mid-fight, he becomes far more proactive with reflecting bombs.
• Shovel Drop: performed by pointing the Shovel Blade to the ground and plunging while in midair to bounce on his enemy, damaging them from an advantaged position.

Special Attacks

• Charge Slash: a charged Dig Slash with a longer range that can knock foes further away. Shovel Knight only uses it at the end of his fights.
• Relics: Special defensive and offensive items consuming Magic. He uses the Flare Wand, Phase Locket, Throwing Anchor, War Horn and the Chaos Sphere. When he has lost approximately six health, he uses an Ichor of Renewal to heal himself. hen fought long enough, he runs out of Magic and will stop using Relics altogether.

Base attacks

• Dig Slash: A standard, close-hitting attack. It can reflect projectiles back at opponents.
• Shovel Drop: Bounce on enemies and breakable environment items, damaging them and reaching higher grounds.

Special Attacks

• Charge Slash: a charged, faster and far-reaching Dig Slash. It knocks enemies away and gives Shovel Knight a short hop forward.
• Flare Wand: Throws a fireball, locks Shovel Knight in place when using it in the air. Only one fireball can be thrown at a time.

Campaigns

• Shovel of Hope
• Plague of Shadows

In Shovel of Hope, Shovel Knight retired to a farming life after the loss of his partner Shield Knight in the Tower of Fate. With the rise of the Enchantress and her Order of No Quarter, he took his weapon once more to bring peace back to the Valley.

Throughout his quest to defy the villainous knights, Shovel Knight is haunted by Shield Knight's tragedy. He is occasionally defied by his eternal rival Black Knight, who mistakes his purpose of saving Shield Knight with simply defeating the Enchantress. After beating the Order and making his way to the Tower of Fate, he makes clear his goal, despite how hopeless returning Shield Knight to normal seems.

In the end, Shovel Knight succeeds in beating the Enchantress, saving Shield Knight and fighting alongside her the Remnant of Fate. Wounded and unconscious by their foe's last attacks, he is carried away by Black Knight to a campsite outside the tower. Shield Knight makes it out alive and rests beside him, the pair being finally reunited.

In Plague of Shadows, Shovel Knight appears in the background of the Village and the Armor Outpost, on his quest to defeat the Order of No Quarter. He invades the Explodatorium by the time Plague Knight returns to it, and the two fight out in the alchemist's furthest chamber. Plague Knight seemingly defeats him and extracts his Essence, but Shovel Knight gets back up and finishes him off before he can collect it. Later, the alchemist follows the adventurer to a campsite and collects his essence while he is asleep.

Shovel Knight reappears in the banquet hall at the top of the Tower of Fate, barging in after Plague Knight but falling unconscious. He awakes once the alchemist finished off his former colleagues, and after another battle emerges victorious once more, leaving the Order to hang outside the room.

In the credits, Shovel Knight is shown defeating the Liquid Samurais ambushing the Wandering Travellers, joining them for another battle.

Dialogue

Before the fight in Plague of Shadows:

Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/3

After that fight, at a campfire: Template:Quote/1

Template:Quote/1

Stage Introduction Splashes

• Strike the Earth
• Justice In Spades
• Get Digging
• Ready
• Sharpen thy Shovel
• Let's Get Shoveling
• It's Shoveling Time
• For Shovelry
• Dig In

Cameos and Playable Appearances

Main article: Appearances in Other Media

Gallery

See: Shovel Knight/Gallery

Trivia

• When fought as a boss in the Explodatorium, Shovel Knight will have access to the War Horn, which he shouldn't have been able to obtain yet.
• Shovel Knight also appeared in an episode of the ScrewAttack webseries DEATH BATTLE!, where he lost to Ducktales's Scrooge McDuck.
• Shovel Knight's blue hue may be a reference to the NES' color palette. The NES' colors had more variations of blue than anything else. This is the reason a lot of NES characters are blue (i.e. Mega Man).
• Shovel Knight does not appear in Specter of Torment. He is however referenced by a Wizzem in the Tower of Fate: "Even the most Template:Tags/Red or Template:Tags/LBlue knights could never stand a chance!". Stalwart is highlighted in Shovel Knight's light blue, and legendary in Shield Knight's red.
• Shovel Knight's code, Shovelry, is a play on words on Chivalry, which is an informal, varying code of conduct developed between 1170 and 1220, never decided on or summarized in a single document, associated with the medieval institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlewomen's behaviors were governed by chivalrous social codes.