Upon hearing Yuga's question, Shadowsong fell into a brief silence.
Seeing Shadowsong's expression, Yuga's heart sank. "Is he dead?"
Shadowsong nodded silently.
Not only was Celebi dead, but he had also been killed by his own father.
It seemed that the purpose of the Celebi send them to the past wasn't to save the former Gardevoir, but rather something else entirely.
However, Yuga couldn't help but wonder how a human like Rode had managed to kill a Legendary Pokémon like Celebi.
Fearing that it might upset Gardevoir, Yuga refrained from asking about the details.
"How... how do you know all this?" Shadowsong hesitated for a moment before speaking, appearing unsure and somewhat guilty. He understood the deep connection between Yuga's lineage and Celebi, which left him feeling apologetic.
After a moment of thought, Yuga replied, "I not only know about Celebi, but I also know that you are the prince of Arus, and your father is named Rode."
At this point, Yuga felt that there was little reason to conceal the truth. After all, he had been brought to the era of the Arus Empire.
Upon hearing Yuga's words, Shadowsong's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How... how did you know?" Shadowsong had never disclosed his identity to Yuga.
"I told him!" Gardevoir spoke up at this moment.
Throughout the journey, Gardevoir hadn't spoken to Shadowsong and Hubert, so they were unaware of her telepathic abilities.
While Yuga and Gardevoir occasionally communicated in hushed tones, they believed it was due to their unique abilities to communicate with Pokémon. Shadowsong assumed this was how Yuga knew.
"How could you possibly know..." Shadowsong began to voice his questions, bewildered by how Gardevoir could have such knowledge.
"Because I am the Celebi that your father killed!" Gardevoir glared at Shadowsong fiercely, though it face was too gentle to convey the true extent of it anger.
Upon learning Gardevoir's true identity, Shadowsong entered a state of bewilderment.
Subsequently, he shared everything he knew with Yuga and Gardevoir, tracing the events back over a decade.
It all began with the return of Minister Ralf, who had been on a journey. He returned to the capital and became an advisor to Emperor Rode.
After that, Emperor Rode started acting strangely, amassing various treasures, and his intentions remained shrouded in mystery.
However, there was more to the oddities. The four guardian Pokémon of the palace disappeared one after another.
Some quietly suspected that Emperor Rode had a hand in their vanishing. After all, the guardian Pokémon were immensely powerful and only answered to the king. No one else could command them.
Yet, no one had witnessed the disappearances, and there was no concrete evidence. Although the incidents had shaken the entire capital, they were ultimately left unresolved.
The situation escalated with the beginning of Emperor Rode's oppressive rule.
A year after Ralf's return, the Arus Empire held its once-every-three-years Guardian Deity Festival. Celebi, who was rarely seen otherwise, would visit the capital during this event.
The Celebi's blessing on Shadowsong occurred during this particular festival. At that time, Shadowsong had just turned one year old.
It was this blessing that allowed Gardevoir to remember Shadowsong's aura and recognize his identity a thousand years later.
On the day of the festival, in front of all the people of the capital, Emperor Rode killed Celebi during the Guardian Deity Festival.
According to rumors, the method Rode used to kill Celebi was brought back by Minister Ralf from his travels.
The death of the guardian deity Celebi sent shockwaves throughout the entire nation.
In the following years, the Arus Empire descended into turmoil. Celebi's death had sparked resistance among many of its people, leading to numerous uprisings throughout the land.
However, Emperor Rode remained unyielding and suppressed all the revolts with his powerful military forces.
Under Rode's rule, the empire grew increasingly tyrannical. His military forces became stronger, and he began encroaching on neighboring nations.
As the years passed, countless small nations vanished under the iron grip of Emperor Rode's armies.
Shadowsong continued to grow older, carrying the burden of being the son of a tyrant. Though discussions of the past events were forbidden within the palace, there were no secrets that remained hidden from the world.
By the time Shadowsong reached his teenage years, the Arus Empire had grown immensely powerful through years of warfare.
From his infancy to his understanding of the world, Shadowsong had never witnessed any loving or fatherly gestures from Rode. His father's demeanor toward him had always been distant.
Six months ago, Shadowsong's mother passed away, and Emperor Rode embarked on campaigns to conquer neighboring lands.
The small nations surrounding Arus had gradually fallen in the wake of Emperor Rode's relentless campaigns.
Only one nation, the Vante Empire, remained, and it was comparable in strength to Arus.
Yuga was aware of the Vante Empire since he had previously studied information about it while researching Arus.
Unlike Arus, which had scarce historical records, the Vante Empire had a prominent history in the Hoenn region. They ruled over the regional interior for six hundred years.
It was only three hundred years after Arus vanished from the Hoenn map that the Vante Empire finally met its downfall.
In fact, according to inscriptions on ancient stone tablets, Arus's demise wasn't due to losing a war; it was the result of someone seeking revenge.
After listening to Shadowsong's description of the current state of the Arus Empire, Yuga asked, "Is your country currently at war with neighboring nations?"
Shadowsong nodded. "Yes, my father is currently at the border leading our troops against the Vante Empire."
Yuga fell silent for a moment.
Based on the inscriptions on the stone tablets, Arus had fallen about twenty years after Minister Ralf's return.
Calculating from Shadowsong's age, Arus's fall must be imminent, possibly within the next couple of years.
This realization made Yuga feel utterly betrayed by the Celebi that had transported them to this time. If Arus were to fall, there would be no place for him to return to.
He felt that the Celebi had set him up for a disastrous fate.
"We should go to the capital now," Shadowsong suggested. "Join us on our journey."
After some consideration, Yuga agreed. At this point, he needed to gather as much information about the current era as possible. Arus's capital would be their first destination.
(Note: The text mentions discrepancies in the previous description of how Gardevoir recognized Shadowsong, clarifying that it was through sensing his aura, not by appearance.)