honestly neither Knuxouge or Shadouge could ever really work, Shadouge doesn't work because Maria is so definitively the Main heroine of Shadows story they have to insert Maria stand in characters whenever she's not around, and Knuxouge can't work because their whole back-and-forth is centered around the Master emerald which is both far too important and nowhere near important enough to keep on bringing it back for every game the two of them appear in all for a glorified C-plot.