Shadouge

Shadouge is the het ship between Shadow and Rouge from the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom.

Games
The two have transitioned from teammates-of-convenience in Sonic Adventure 2 to one anothers' closest allies as the Sonic franchise games have progressed. When Shadow is presumably dead in Sonic Adventure, Rouge is gifted Shadow's inhibitor ring from Sonic. Shadow is one of the few people Rouge expresses concern over and her most sincerest bond, while Rouge is one of the few people Shadow accepts help from and expresses gratitude toward. They are usually seen teaming up to save the world or in their line of work as G.U.N. agents, but are sometimes seen teaming up for more personal goals and competitions.

In Sonic Heroes, Rouge accidentally finds and then releases an amnesiac Shadow from his comatose state in Dr. Eggman's lair. The two team up with E-123 Omega for the rest of the game, but Rouge does not let on that she knows anything about Shadow's past, even when expressing concern for Shadow's reaction when they encounter clones or robots of him. There is also in game quotes of her expressing concern for Shadow after meeting the copies. At the near end of Team Dark's story, Rouge begins to confess her knowledge to Omega about Shadow being a robot and his past, but she quickly recollects her emotions and dismisses the attempt. Omega reassures her that the original exist somewhere, as she walks off with a smirk. Team Dark story ends with Shadow making a joking remark on Rouge never changing her ways on finding the Master Emerald as Rouge mentions Knuckles appearance. This team continues into Shadow the Hedgehog.

In Sonic Battle, Shadow gets injured and passes out while fighting one of the Doctor's robots. Rouge goes out of her way to help him, carrying him to "Club Rouge" to recover from his injuries, despite complaining on the way that she will never carry anything heavier than jewels again. Rouge falls silent for a moment before adding, "He isn't bad looking but..." (may be implied for his looks or injuries). Farther into the story, Amy eventually shows up trying to get Emeril back from Rouge. Amy learns that Shadow is in her club, but Rouge doesn’t admit why he's there, claiming that Amy wouldn’t understand. Meanwhile, Shadow is still asleep and dreaming about tragedies, betrayals, and even Rouge, who appears in his dream seconds before he wakes up when he thinks of the word "Ally." Rouge seems pleased, even asking, "Has the prince finally awakened?" Shadow ignores this and prepares to go, to which Rouge gets upset since he doesn't thank her, claiming that he is just like all men. Shadow pauses before saying, "Thanks, Rouge... Thanks for saving me." Rouge seems satisfied and tells him where to find Emerl, even saying she went ahead and told them about Shadow. Shadow is a little surprised and responds with "Heh.."Ally"." Rouge asks if he has a problem with it, to which Shadow responds that he does not. When Shadow goes off to fight again despite not fully being healed Rouge makes a remark "huh, you are built pretty tough" as she kicks him to see if he can withstand the strike. During the final build up with in Shadow's story it is Rouge that reaffirms to Shadow his reason for being created when finding his creator's journal. She reminds Shadow that he has not used his power recklessly despite being a weapon and that his creator's ultimate goal is to bring hope to humanity which reminds Shadow of his promise to Maria.

For Sonic the hedgehog 06, Shadow is sent to rescue Rouge unknowingly to her, as a request from the President. He saves Rouge again from a possible head injury when Eggman knocks her down while holding the specter of darkness, that latter unleashes mephiles. During cutscenes, he remains on gaurd towards enemies that threatened them both as when she reaches for a chaos emerald that was bait from an enemy, he jumps in front of her and the enemy. Towards the end in the English version of Sonic the Hedgehog, Rouge tells Shadow she would be on his side even if the whole world turned against him. In the Japanese version, she only says "You have friends you can rely on"; which, by default, includes Omega who is also in the scene. He accepts her statement with a firm "I will" and they continue onward towards their goal of sealing Mephiles.

Rouge and Shadow cheer on the Sonics at the climax of Sonic Generations.

Pre-Super Genesis Wave
Rouge has flirted with Shadow a number of times, and has displayed interest in him since he saved her live on Prison Island. Rouge has called Shadow "handsome" from time-to-time. Like Knuckles, Shadow does not often accept her flirtation and other times, he simply brushes them off, but Shadow tends to smile around her often and does care for her well-being. Rouge also occasionally teases him by saying he mopes too much.

Post-Super Genesis Wave
They have demonstrated a strong connection with each other, transcending their status as teammates; Rouge is deeply concerned for his welfare. During the erased events of the timeline where they engaged Mephiles, she swore to always stand by him. This does not mean that she does not at times find him infuriating, though she is not above making jabs at him. Despite this, she does care deeply about him, and seeks to help him in whatever circumstances.

IDW Publishing comics

 * After defeating Neo Metal Sonic, Shadow decides to leave once it's over. Rouge notices this and says, "Not even going to stick around for the after party? (sigh) That's so you. See you around."
 * When Shadow gets turned into a Zombot, Rouge is visibly very upset, with her telling Sonic: "The idiot should've run when I told him to." referring to Shadow's stubbornness.
 * At the end of the Metal Virus Saga, Knuckles and Shadow are nearby Rouge who says "The world was about to end! I wanted to spend my last moments with the one I love!" This could be referring to Knuckles, Shadow, or even the Master Emerald.
 * In issue 31, Rouge informs Shadow of the party, with her stating that he's invited. Shadow being Shadow, declines. Which is what she expected of him. Rouge seems to be very understanding of Shadow in this scene.
 * In issue 33, Shadow suddenly appears in front of Amy's car, almost getting ran over. Rouge, in the passenger seat next to Amy says, "How 'bout that? Hey there, handsome!", with Shadow's response being, "Tch-- Typical."
 * In issue 36, Shadow decides to go after Starline as he'd run away. Before he could keep chasing after him, Rouge puts her hand on Shadow's shoulder and convinces him that he would have to live with choice he makes. Shadow decides to go and help Sonic instead of chasing Starline after his chat with Rouge.

They didn't work well at first. However, during their partnership, Shadow and Rouge started to cooperate with each other better. Thus, Rouge is the closest person Shadow has had since Maria passed away, proving that despite their occasional conflict, Shadow and Rouge genuinely respect and care for the wellbeing of one another.

Fanon
Shadouge is a popular ship among the Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase. Its greatest rivaling ships are Knuxouge for Rouge, and Shadamy for Shadow.

This pairing is favored by some fans over Knuxouge for how their connection has developed over the course of the games into being one another's closest allies, and for interacting much more than Rouge and Knuckles do. Their interactions are interpreted differently by fans as some would like to headcanon Shadow and Rouge as having a more sibling bond, despite Rouge having a established crush on Shadow. The headcanon is not an accurate representation of their dynamic, but nonetheless speaks on the closeness of the two characters.

Some fans theorize Silver the Hedgehog as a son of Shadow and Rouge in the future, but was debunked by Shadow's co-creator Takashi Iizuka. Despite this, a DeviantArt group dedicated to this "family" was formed on August 2015.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Shadow/Rouge on FanFiction.Net
 * Shadow/Rouge on FanFiction.Net

FAN ART

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WIKIS
 * on the
 * Shadouge on the Sonic the Hedgehog! Amino
 * Shadouge on Urban Dictionary

Trivia

 * The description of Rouge in Sonic 2006 Prima Official Game Guide reads: "However, there have been rumors that she has feelings for Shadow the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna. That's a love triangle that could really put off some sparks."

Variations

 * Knuxadouge — the polyship between Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles the Echidna
 * Shadazouge — the polyship between Shadow, Rouge, and Blaze the Cat
 * Shadoumy — the polyship between Shadow, Rouge, and Amy Rose
 * Sonadouge — the polyship between Shadow, Rouge, and Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Team Dark — the friendship including E-123 Omega

Navigation
Shadouge