Yuga

is an evil sorcerer and the main antagonist of . At the beginning of the game, Yuga hunts the descendants of the Seven Sages from /, as well as Princess Zelda, in an attempt to resurrect Ganon and use his power to rule the worlds of Hyrule and Lorule, and ultimately take his place among the gods.
Yuga's trademark attribute is that he can transform himself and others into two-dimensional art. With his magic wand, he can trap people within picture frames, turning them into paintings that he can simply pick up and run off with.
==Biography==
===Background===
Long before the events of , Lorule was a beautiful kingdom similar to Hyrule; however, the kingdom had lost its Triforce in a fierce civil war, due to the Royal Family destroying it rather than seal it away, and slowly began to decay. Generations later, Yuga was serving Princess Hilda when he discovered a crack in Lorule's sacred realm that led to Hyrule; upon learning of the existence of another, relatively intact Triforce in this realm, Hilda and Yuga formed a plan to obtain the sacred relic and use it to restore Lorule, despite knowing that doing so would doom Hyrule to Lorule's fate. As Hilda was not capable of merging so as to fit in the crack, she sent Yuga to Hyrule so as to start the first phase of their plan - namely, to abduct the sage's descendants and Zelda. Secretly, however, he intended to backstab Hilda to fulfill his own personal agenda to utilize the Triforce to ascend to godhood and remake existence into his image, and was using Hilda, with only Ravio seeing through Yuga's intentions.
===Yuga's Hunt for Sages===
Yuga is first seen within the Sanctuary by Link, who has traveled to the church-like building to deliver a sword to the Captain. Shortly after a nun named Seres enters the Sanctuary to fetch the Captain, screaming is heard and the doors leading inside are shut, however, Dampé informs the young hero of a hidden passageway leading into the sanctuary within the graveyard. Upon arriving into the Sanctuary's interior, Link finds the Captain has been turned into a lifeless painting on the wall and the Priest knocked onto the floor, confronting a mysterious man who reveals that his name is Yuga and that he has come to the Sanctuary seeking perfection. Yuga informs Seres that she is perfection, and turns the young girl into a painting and kidnaps her, claiming that "Her Grace" will be pleased, as Link can only watch helplessly. Yuga notices Link's presence within the church-like building and despite the Priest's warnings about Yuga's power, the sorcerer taunts Link into attacking him and swiftly turns into a drawing himself and hides in the wall, causing Link to crash into it and faint. Yuga exclaims that he is the portrait of perfection and that he'll be leaving this ugly world soon enough. The sorcerer then proceeds to leave the sanctuary, kicking Link out of his way and explains that the Captain couldn't even oppose his might, and that the painting of the captain upon the wall was a waste of his magic.
Under Princess Zelda's orders, Link heads to Kakariko Village to consult Sahasrahla for help due to his vast knowledge of the past. Upon entering the elder's dwelling, the young hero proceeds to inform Sahasrahla of the events that took place within the Sanctuary. After being told of what has occurred, the old man asks Link if he has heard of the legends of the Seven Sages and of the hero who saved Hyrule. The elder proceeds to tell the young hero about the legends of old, and after finishing, informs Link that Seres is a descendant of the Seven Sages who sealed Ganon in darkness and that Yuga must be after the Seven Sages of their day, with the intention of freeing Ganon from his prison. Additionally, Sahasrahla asks Link to travel to the Eastern Palace to warn his pupil Osfala, a descendant of the Seven Sages, about Yuga.
Link travels to the Eastern Palace, but once again arrives too late to save Osfala from being turned into a painting by Yuga who informs Osfala that he is the latest work of art to be added to his collection of Sages. Yuga takes notice of Link and attacks him, but the young hero soon overpowers him. Upon being defeated, the sorcerer casts a spell on Link and turns him into a wall painting, then leaves, implying to the young hero that he is heading to Hyrule Castle to turn Zelda into a painting next. However, unbeknownst to Yuga, a bracelet given to Link by Ravio for allowing him to live in his house allows Link to escape from his imprisonment as a painting. Subsequently, it also allows the young hero to merge with walls at will.
===Yuga's Continuing Pursuit===
After turning Link into a painting, Yuga leaves the Eastern Place and heads to Hyrule Castle, taking it over it. He sets up a magical barrier around it to prevent Impa, one of the Seven Sages, and Princess Zelda from escaping, as well as prevent anyone else from entering the castle. Additionally, the sorcerer releases hordes of cursed soldiers across Hyrule from the paintings depicting the cursed soldiers that were painted all over the walls surrounding the castle during an outbreak of vandalism. Yuga then proceeds to leave and wanders throughout Hyrule in search of the remaining four descendants of the Seven Sages: Irene, Gulley, Rosso and Oren. Upon arriving outside the castle, Sahasrahla attempts to break the magical barrier, but fails to. The wise elder tells Link that they must turn to the legends of old in order to find a solution, explaining to him that similar events occurred many years ago when Hyrule Castle was besieged by Agahnim. He states that the young hero had to find the Master Sword and prove himself worthy of wielding the blade by claiming the three Pendants of Virtue, however, he states that one of the three pendants is inside the castle with Princess Zelda. Fortunately, Link was given the Pendant of Courage by Princess Zelda while meeting with her earlier. Sahasrahla then tasks Link with obtaining the other two pendants from the Tower of Hera and the House of Gales, so that the young hero can be deemed worthy of wielding the Master Sword. However, as Link is traveling throughout the land to collect the Pendants of Virtue to obtain the legendary Master Sword, Yuga transforms the four remaining sages into paintings one by one.
After transforming the four remaining sages into paintings, Yuga travels back to Hyrule Castle to capture Impa, a sage, and Princess Zelda. However, Link obtains the Master Sword from deep within the Lost Woods. The young hero, wielding the legendary blade, heads to the castle and manages to successfully break the magical barrier surrounding the structure and heads inside. While scaling the castle's central tower, Link encounters Princess Zelda asking Yuga to stop his evil rampage. Yuga informs her that his plan is almost complete as he has possession of all seven Sages and proceeds to turn her into a painting despite her protesting and questioning of what he intends to do with the sages. After praising his painting, Yuga notices Link and is puzzled at first as he left the young hero to rot as a painting in the Eastern Palace, then the sorcerer summons four soldiers to buy him time and proceeds to the top of the castle. At the top of Hyrule Castle, Yuga informs Link that he refuses to let him delay his departure from Hyrule any further and attacks him, however, the young hero once again manages to best the sorcerer. Unfortunately, Yuga manages to escape to perform his ritual in another world's counterpart of Hyrule Castle, stating that once he releases Ganon, creatures like Link will not be worth his time.
===Ganon's Resurrection===
In Lorule, Yuga uses the descendants of the Seven Sages along with Zelda to resurrect the Demon King and holder of the Triforce of Power, Ganon, who Yuga claims will help him attain true beauty. After releasing Ganondorf's soul from his seal, Yuga proceeds to merge with Ganon's form and the Triforce of Power, transforming into a monster-like being that takes on the attributes and personalities of both Yuga and Ganon. Possessing the Triforce of Power, Yuga Ganon attempts to finish Link only to be restrained with magic by a mysterious princess named Hilda, who informs Link that she can only hold Yuga Ganon at bay for so long and welcomes the young hero to her kingdom, Lorule. She informs the young hero that she knew of Yuga's plot to abduct Hyrule's Sages and Zelda, however, she failed to stop him, allowing Yuga to use them to siphon Ganon's power in order to gain enough power to destroy both Hyrule and Lorule. Hilda asks Link to awaken his full potential in order to defeat Yuga by stealing back the paintings of the Seven Sages, which have been sent to different locations throughout Lorule.
After rescuing the Seven Sages and attaining the Triforce of Courage, Impa reveals to Link that Ganon is returning and that he must travel to Lorule Castle to stop the Demon King. Link travels to the top of Lorule Castle, where Hilda tells him the legend of how Lorule fell into its current state. Upon finishing the tale, Hilda attains the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda and summons Yuga Ganon, ordering the beast to steal the Triforce of Courage from Link, but Yuga Ganon is defeated and Hilda - believing him to be loyal - orders him to give his Triforce of Power to her. However, Yuga Ganon reveals his betrayal, states that Lorule is no better than Hyrule and that when the Triforce is his, he plans to remake Lorule in his own image. He proceeds to turn Hilda into a painting and absorbs her along with the Triforce of Wisdom, transforming into an even stronger beast. Stating that he will soon take his rightful place among the gods, Yuga Ganon engages Link for the Triforce of Courage, but he is defeated and finally destroyed. The is reclaimed from Yuga Ganon and is ultimately resurrected without 's soul prior to the events of the .
== Physical Description ==
=== Lorullian ===
Yuga is a Lorulian with pale white skin, he has dark almond-shaped eyes, vermilion eyeshadow and false purple eyelashes under them, pointy ears, and long, curly, poppy-red hair.
He mainly wears a long purple and red cape, he wears a black tunic with long sleeves, with triangular edges and the Lorule symbol in the center, he wears baggy pants with blue and dark blue stripes and golden shoes, he has a golden headdress on head with a red gem and wears diamond earrings.
=== Yuga Ganon Form ===
After merging with Ganon, Yuga took on the demonic swine-like appearance of the former, but still retained his curly red hair, baggy pants. Additionally, he began to wear a ruff with the symbol of Lorule around his neck.
== Personality ==
Yuga, being a painter, is obsessed with art, in fact his obsession is such that he uses his magic to transform beautiful beings or people into paintings, showing a sadistic side by wanting to make everything beautiful into a painting.
Yuga proved to be quite manipulative since he manipulated Princess Hilda to steal the triforce of Hyrule, only to later betray her and keep it for himself, however Yuga was so arrogant that he always looked down on beings he considered inferior, like Link, which ironically caused his death.
== Abilities ==
Yuga is a powerful sorcerer, who prefers to use his magic skills to fight and has demonstrated great magical feats such as conjuring lightning bolts, creating doubles of himself and shooting energy bolts from his staff. His most prominent ability is his power to turn beings and objects into paintings, being able to make his drawings come to life and attack on command, transform himself into paint and escape through narrow places.
After fusing with Ganon his magical abilities increased incredibly, being able to shoot bolts of energy from his hands and the ability to transform himself and others into paint without the need to use his staff, but he gained a great vulnerability to the divine magic.
==In battle==
Yuga is fought three times over the course of the game. He is first encountered as the first boss of the game in the Eastern Palace, then later as the boss of Hyrule Castle, and one last time in the two-part final battle of the game, at the end of Lorule Castle.
===Eastern Palace Encounter===
As the first boss battle of the game, Yuga is at his weakest. He attacks by shooting energy balls at Link, and hiding in the wall as a painting when the young hero gets too close. He is too fast to run towards him directly, so the only way to hit him to use the Bow to shoot an arrow at him. This will stun him, making him vulnerable to sword slashes or more arrows. After taking enough damage, he will get angered and become faster, and start moving along the wall in a more unpredictable way, but the strategy to defeat him remains the same. Eventually the battle will end, and Link will obtain the ability to become a drawing himself.
===Hyrule Castle Encounter===
As the boss of Hyrule Castle, Yuga is much more formidable. He attacks by creating two copies of himself and launching powerful spells at Link, which the young hero can avoid by standing between the pillars in the arena. Link must hit the real Yuga to stun him, making him vulnerable to more damage. If Link hits a fake Yuga, the copy will turn into a Soldier and the real Yuga will launch a powerful spell. The real Yuga can easily be recognized by his glowing staff. When Yuga takes enough damage, he will once again become much faster and move more erratically, and his spells will have a wider range.
===Lorule Castle's Throne Room Encounter===
Yuga is fought in a joint form with Ganon as the final boss of the game. There are two stages to the fight.
==Spinoff appearances==
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In , Yuga appears as a playable Warrior, added to and with the Pack DLC. In , he can be unlocked as a Reward for Battle Victory in Battle H11 in the Lorule Map in Adventure Mode. He uses the Picture Frame as his Weapon, which carries the element of . Using the Picture Frame he can summon powerful lightning strikes, fire and the Trident used by his Yuga Ganon form. He can also use Magic Circles with Picture Frames to momentarily bind enemies before lightning blasts them into the air.
Yuga does not drop any unique Materials when defeated in battle. He instead drops Ganondorf's Gauntlet as a silver Material, or Ganondorf's Jewel as a gold Material.
==Crossover appearances==
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Yuga appears as an Ace Spirit in .
==Trivia==
*As he is leaving the Sanctuary, Yuga can be heard humming his own theme tune. This is similar to a scene early on in , when Midna can be heard humming a little of her own theme tune. In , Ghirahim also hums his own theme tune during the ritual to revive Demise.
*Yuga is likely the Lorulean counterpart of Agahnim from A Link to the Past, based on his clothing and role in the story, such as both betraying the royal family in their respective games.
**Given how Hilda and Ravio have similar appearances to Zelda and Link, respectively, it's also implied that he was also the Lorulean counterpart to Ganon's original form, Ganondorf, due to sharing a similar appearance to the latter (notably the red hair and long Gerudo nose). This is further reinforced in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Hyrule Warriors, where the former game had Ganondorf act as the puppet fighter for Yuga, and the latter had Yuga dropping Ganondorf's spoils if defeated.
*Immediately before trapping Hilda in a painting during the final battle, Yuga Ganon is shown adopting a pose that resembles Ganon's game over appearance in the Overseas versions of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
==Nomenclature==
Yuga's name is derived from the Japanese word , which means "oil painting", a reference to his magical abilities.
==Gallery==
File:ALBW Link Fighting Yuga Artwork.png|Artwork of Yuga engaging Link in battle from 
File:ALBW Yuga Kidnapping Seres.png|Yuga kidnapping Seres from 
File:ALBW Yuga Wall Merging.png|Yuga turning into a drawing to dodge Link from 
File:ALBW Yuga transforming Osfala.png|Yuga seen about to transform Osfala into a painting from 
File:ALBW Yuga First Battle Phase 2.png|Yuga fighting Link in the Eastern Palace from 
File:ALBW Yuga First Battle End.png|Yuga after the battle in the Eastern Palace from 
File:ALBW Yuga Second Battle Lightning.png|Yuga's lightning attack from 
File:ALBW Yuga Second Battle Fire.png|Yuga's flaming pillar attack from 
File:ALBW Yuga Reviving Ganon.png|Yuga reviving Ganon from 
File:ALBW Yuga Reviving Ganon 2.png|Yuga reviving Ganon from 
File:ALBW Ganon Revived.png|Yuga with Ganon from 
File:ALBW Yuga Ganon Model.png|Yuga Ganon from 
File:ALBW Yuga Ganon Final Form.png|Yuga Ganon after taking the Triforce of Wisdom from 
File:HWDE Yuga Artwork.png|Render of Yuga from 
File:HWDE Yuga Picture Frame Artwork.png|Render of Yuga wielding the Wooden Frame from 
File:HWDE Yuga Icon.png|Yuga portrait from 
File:HWDE Yuga Portrait 2.png|Yuga portrait from 
File:HWDE Yuga Portrait 3.png|Yuga portrait from 
File:HWDE Yuga Portrait 4.png|Yuga portrait from 
File:HWDE Yuga Adventure Mode Icon.png|Yuga Adventure Mode icon from 
File:HW Yuga Magic Circle.png|Yuga using a Magic Circle from 
File:HW Yuga Trident.png|Yuga using the King of Evil Trident from 
File:HW Yuga Special Attack.png|Yuga using the Picture Frame's Special Attack from 
File:HW Yuga Victory Screenshot.png|Yuga's victory animation from 
File:HWDE Dark Yuga Portrait.png|Dark Yuga Portrait from 
File:HWDE Yuga Mini Map Icon.png|Yuga Mini Map icon from 
File:HWDE Dark Yuga Mini Map Icon.png|Dark Yuga Mini Map icon from 
File:HWDE Yuga Burning Frame.png|Yuga wielding the Burning Frame in