Legacy

Upon being stopped in their tracks, Dusknoir and Yuga made their way to the bow of the ship, but the person on the other side showed no intention of letting them pass.

"Haven't you heard what I said? Trespassing in the palace grounds is forbidden. You'd better get off this ship immediately," the middle-aged man yelled, his face darkened, and two imposing Ninjask appeared at his side, ready to take action at the slightest provocation.

However, as soon as he spoke, several iron chains suddenly emerged from the side of the ship, instantly binding him and his two Ninjask.

This was the work of Dhelmise, and the chains continued to tighten, causing the middle-aged man to cry out in pain, and his two ninjas groaned intermittently.

These tightening iron chains were a combination of Dhelmise's Anchor Shot and Wrap move. They not only inflicted significant damage on the opponent but also caused immense pain.

If it weren't for Dhelmise showing restraint, the middle-aged man's bones would have been crushed by now.

"You have some nerve! Release me immediately! Are you trying to rebel?" the middle-aged man howled in pain and anger.

Just then, there was a commotion among the soldiers below, and a stout man wearing a crown hurriedly approached the scene.

"What's happening? What's going on?" he shouted as he ran.

When he saw the bound middle-aged man, the stout king was shocked and asked, "Hans, what is going on here?"

"Your Majesty, there are a group of traitors here. Please have them arrested!" Seeing the king's arrival, the man known as Hans instantly felt relieved, as if he had been saved.

Indeed, this stout man was the current king of the kingdom.

But when the king saw the black Dusknoir at the ship's bow, he immediately panicked and shouted to the soldiers, "Withdraw, quickly! It's Lord Dusknoir returning. It's all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!"

Afterward, the king bent over and respectfully bowed to Dusknoir, saying, "Welcome back, Lord Dusknoir."

The last time the king had seen Dusknoir was over twenty years ago when he had just ascended to the throne. He couldn't believe that so many years had passed since Dusknoir's last visit.

However, Dusknoir had always existed as the guardian Pokemon of the kingdom. Therefore, even after many years, the king immediately recognized it.

Dusknoir rarely stayed in the kingdom and usually traveled outside, so the king had only seen Dusknoir three times in total. Still, this did not diminish the king's respect for the kingdom's guardian.

The reason the kingdom had managed to survive the turmoil of the League's revolution was largely due to the guidance of this guardian. Without it, the kingdom might have disappeared into the annals of history like many other ancient nations.

As a result, Dusknoir held a high position within the kingdom, and all the kings throughout history had shown great respect to this guardian. They never presumed to give orders to Dusknoir as members of the royal family might do.

Hans, upon witnessing the king's attitude towards Dusknoir, turned livid.

Does Hans know Dusknoir's identity? Of course, he did.

The current king's health was frail, and his only daughter was not yet of age to ascend the throne. As the king's younger brother, Hans had naturally become the regent of the kingdom, handling all of the kingdom's affairs, big and small.

He had long held a grudge against this ghostly Pokémon, whom he believed was just an ill-omened ghost-type Pokémon looming over the royal family.

Hans had seen Dusknoir when he was a child. At that time, his father and brother had shown great respect for this Pokémon, which made him feel that the royal family's honor had been greatly diminished.

When Dusknoir returned, he decided to act as if he didn't recognize it, planning to dispose of it in one fell swoop. But his brother, the current king, was too feeble to oppose him.

Hans was an ambitious man. The fact that the kingdom itself had been reduced to a mere shadow under the League's control had already frustrated him. Now, within his own kingdom, he had to show reverence to a ghost-type Pokémon.

He couldn't accept it!

Seeing the king take charge, the soldiers had no choice but to withdraw. Dhelmise swung its iron chains and threw Hans and his two Ninjask onto the ground, further humiliating Hans.

Under the king's arrangement, Dusknoir's ghost ship was anchored in the square in front of the royal palace. Yuga and Dusknoir were welcomed into the palace.

As they entered the palace's grand hall, Yuga introduced himself to the king.

"Your Majesty, I am Yuga, the Gym Leader of Verdanturf Town, and I have come to your kingdom at the invitation of Dusknoir."

Seated on the throne in the grand hall were the king and queen, while Regent Hans and Princess Cela sat below. After a brief introduction, Yuga learned that he was in the Mirage Kingdom.

The Mirage Kingdom name sounded vaguely familiar to Yuga, but he couldn't quite place it and didn't dwell on it.

After Yuga's introduction, the king smiled and said, "So, you are Gym Leader Yuga. Since Lord Dusknoir has invited you, we warmly welcome you to the Mirage Kingdom. We hope you enjoy your stay."

Contrary to the king's warm and sincere welcome, Hans wore a displeased expression throughout the proceedings, as if he had just eating shit.

After a brief conversation, the queen, Hans, and the princess left one after another, leaving the king to have a private discussion with Yuga and Dusknoir.

With Yuga's assistance, Dusknoir explained the purpose of their return to the king.

After hearing Dusknoir's words, the king sighed and said, "I see, so Lord Dusknoir has returned to retrieve the legacy left behind by our ancestors."

As Dusknoir and the king went back and forth about the legacy, Yuga remained thoroughly perplexed, not having a clue about what Shadowsong's legacy entailed.

Seeing Yuga's confusion, Dusknoir finally began to explain the reason.

When Yuga had left, Shadowsong wanted to leave him a legacy as a token of appreciation for all the help Yuga had provided him.

Knowing that Yuga was a Pokemon Day Care owner in the present day, he gathered a group of Pokémon to bequeath to Yuga.

This group of Pokémon was later entrusted to Dusknoir and the Mirage Kingdom for safekeeping.

Like Yuga, Shadowsong had also received the blessings of Celebi, and they had a deep relationship. So, he had asked Celebi to create a special space within the Mirage Kingdom, where these Pokémon could live and thrive.

This special space required a unique method to access.

Upon hearing Dusknoir's and the king's accounts, Yuga finally recalled the location of the Mirage Kingdom. It was none other than the place where the Togepi Paradise was situated.

ヾ(〃^∇^)ﾉ Togepi!

So, the special space Shadowsong had asked Celebi to create was, in fact, the Togepi Paradise, and the legacy left for Yuga is a group of Togepi!

Yuga couldn't believe his luck; this was an incredibly precious gift. Finding a single Togepi outside was a difficult task, yet Shadowsong had left him an entire group.

Unbeknownst to Yuga and the others, the conversation they had inside the room was overheard by the king's personal guards. Among them was a guard who was loyal to Regent Hans.

Not only the guards, but a considerable number of the maids who served the king, queen, and princess were also placed there by Hans for the purpose of monitoring the king.

The guard later relayed every word of the conversation between the king, Yuga, and Dusknoir to Hans. Upon learning this, Hans flew into a rage, and in his anger, he destroyed items within the room.

Togepi Paradise was a place that Hans had coveted for a long time. It was said to hold mysterious powers. However, the method to access it was known only to the reigning kings throughout history. Even though he was the king's own brother, he was not privy to this information.

He never expected that his foolish brother would listen to that despicable, hateful, and extreamely despicable ghost-type Pokémon and give away such a valuable place to an outsider with no connection to the kingdom.

Hans's rage and his firm belief that the Togepi Paradise rightfully belonged to the Mirage Kingdom were unwavering. He considered any talk of ancestral legacy and inheritance to be mere deception. The Togepi Paradise was an integral part of the kingdom, and no one could take it away.

Over the years, the kingdom had established a customary rule that the heir to the throne must earn the recognition of the Togepi in the Togepi Paradise to succeed as the king.

In light of this, Hans believed that it was his destiny to become the king.

...

That night, Yuga was a guest at the king's palace and had settled into his assigned room.

In the middle of the night, a loud, buzzing sound filled the room, and Yuga awoke to find several Ninjask, their metallic bodies gleaming, rapidly approaching. Ninjask were known for their incredible speed, and with their unique ability, Acceleration, their speed was even more remarkable.

In the dimly lit room, these Ninjask seemed to materialize at Yuga's bedside, raising their sharp claws and preparing to strike.

However, before their claws could descend, they were repelled by flashes of white light, sent flying backwards.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

The Ninjask collided with the walls, leaving cracks in their wake.

Yuga had no intention of sleeping defenselessly in an unfamiliar kingdom. Ninjask, while fast and formidable in terms of offense, had weak defenses and low hit points. With a single strike, Yuga's Kartana, imbued with the Sacred Sword move, sent the sneaky attackers reeling.

The situation was far from over. Just as the previous Ninjask were defeated, new ones emerged within the room.

Yuga had been awake and alert by this point, witnessing another group of Ninjask rushing toward him. Quickly, he rolled off the bed to evade their attack.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Ninjask, with their gleaming sharp claws, were all deflected by the Kartana's strikes. Then, something extraordinary occurred—the room's temperature dropped suddenly, and a chilling wind began to blow.

Yuga's Snover had stealthily entered the room. It unleashed an icy, freezing gale that substantially slowed down the Ninjask. The drop in temperature directly caused the speed of Ninjask plummet made it easier for the Kartana to deal with them.

Just as Yuga thought the situation was resolved, there was a flicker in the room's shadows and a mysterious Pokemon materialized behind him and swung its claws toward his back.

This was the Ghost-type move, "Shadow Sneak."

At the critical moment, Gengar that hidden within Yuga's shadow, materialized and intercepted the incoming attack.

Yuga's Kartana and Snover immediately launched their respective moves, "Leaf Blade" and "Ice Shard," at the assaulting Pokemon. Strangely, their attacks dissipated upon contact with the Pokemon, leaving it unscathed.

At that moment, Yuga yelled, "Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

Gengar responded by hurling several Shadow Balls at the Pokemon. Unable to evade, the Pokemon was knocked down and concealed within the shadows.

As it fell, several identical Pokemons emerged in the room. They were all Shedinja.

Ninjask, and Shedinja are evolved forms of Nincada. When a Nincada evolves it will evolving into Shedinja and Ninjask. So, encountering both Ninjask and Shedinja together was not unusual.

What's remarkable about Shedinja is their unique ability, "Wonder Guard." Any moves that aren't super effective against them cannot harm them.

As a result, the Grass-type move "Leaf Blade" from the Kartana and the Ice-type move "Ice Shard" from Snover had no effect on them.

The only types of moves that can damage Shedinja are Fire-type, Ghost-type, Flying-type, Dark-type, and Rock-type moves.

On the downside, Shedinja have a critical weakness – they are vulnerable to any type of attack that's super effective against them. Therefore, it's a high-risk and high-reward strategy when using them in battle.

Understanding this vulnerability, the Kartana quickly swung its blade, sending razor-sharp Wind Blades to eliminate the Shedinja. In an instant, they were all defeated.

While Shedinja were effective at surprising their opponents, they stood no chance when confronted by a stronger opponent who could recognize their weakness.

The commotion in Yuga's room attracted the attention of the palace guards. Shortly, the king and his entourage, including Regent Hans, arrived.

Hans's face stiffened briefly upon seeing the Ninjask and Shedinja littering the room, but he quickly regained his composure.

Upon learning that Yuga had been attacked, the king promised a thorough investigation. In contrast, Hans appeared completely calm, as if he had no connection to the incident.

However, Yuga had no doubt that Hans was behind all of this attack.

In the entire Mirrage Kingdom, Hans was the only one who had shown malicious intent towards Yuga. And those familiar-looking Ninjask...

When they left, the king discreetly glanced at Hans, but Hans seemed oblivious.

The following morning, the king met Yuga again and revealed the method to access the Togepi Paradise.