John didn't kill the noble Arcanine.
But for a King, being stripped of its throne was no different from death.
Lugia picked up the fallen noble Arcanine from the water and placed it back on lava-filled Firespit Island.
Prostrating before Sunny, the noble Arcanine offered its loyalty. Golden light flowed from its body and condensed into a golden crown in mid-air.
The golden crown represented Arceus's approval and soon flew onto Sunny's head, merging into its body.
"ARCANINE!"
Sunny roared toward the sky, and the light on its body blazed infinitely, just like a real sun descending into the world.
Suddenly, bright daylight spread for dozens of miles around Firespit Island.
John silently put on his sunglasses, then opened his Gameboy to view Sunny's current panel.
[Arcanine (Fire-Type)] (Shiny) (King)]
[Level: 95]
[Ability: Intimidate (When appearing or acquiring this ability, the attacks of all opponents within range are reduced by one stage.)
-Royal Presence (All stats increased by 30%, Fire-type move power increased by 10%, gains special field "Scorching Sun Throne")]
-Scorching Throne: Automatically switches to harsh sunlight weather upon entry. In harsh sunlight weather, Fire-type move power increased by 100%, Strength and Speed increased by 50%. HP recovery increased by 30%.)
[IV's: HP (31), Attack (31), Sp. Attack (31), Defense (31), Sp. Defense (30), Speed (31)]
[Moves: Extreme Speed, Ember, Howl, Bite, Flame Wheel, Quick Attack, Agility, Flamethrower, Play Rough, Bone Rush]
[Held Item: Twisted Spoon]
John looked at Sunny's panel and nodded with satisfaction.
This way, Sunny had strength comparable to his main team Pokemon.
Whether in level or combat history.
The only thing that still needed strengthening was a divine treasure like Gardevoir, Tyranitar, Garchomp, and the other veterans had.
Arcanine was Fire-type, and for its divine treasure, he'd have to look toward Fire-type legendaries.
"Arcanine~"
The former noble Arcanine, now a subordinate beside Sunny, gently acknowledged the King.
At the same time, it held a charred black bone in its mouth and placed it before John.
"This is the proof that you were King. Now you want to give it to Sunny?" John asked.
The subordinate Arcanine nodded silently.
John reached out and picked it up, and the attributes of the blackened bone appeared before him.
[Sun Fangs: Fire-type move power doubled, Strength and Speed increased by 50%, all amplifying effects doubled in harsh sunlight weather.]
The attributes were quite dominant.
Even much stronger than the Garchomp clan's King's Scale.
Coincidentally, the item Sunny currently carried was the Twisted Spoon that John had specially made to look like a chew toy to practice its Intimidate ability.
Now, Arcanine's Intimidate ability had basically reached a strength that couldn't be improved further with High-level items.
So the Twisted Spoon was really just a chew toy for it now.
Replacing the Twisted Spoon with the Sun Fangs, Arcanine's whole body shook, and its combat effectiveness skyrocketed again!
The light that had briefly appeared when it became King had just shown signs of fading but now spread again.
The people living near the Cobalt Coastlands looked blankly at the sky.
"Why did it get bright so fast today?"
"Come back." John took out a Pokeball and recalled Sunny.
After the battle and the coronation ceremony, it was time for him to return to Snowpoint Temple.
"Arc-Arcanine!" The prievious King Arcanine circled around John, seemingly wanting to go with him.
"You want to come with us?" John asked.
"Arc!" The Arcanine was extremely determined.
"Arc! Arcanine!" Not only it, but also a smaller Growlithe ran over, staying with its father and looking at John eagerly, to be precise, looking at the Pokeball on John's waist containing Sunny, the New Arcanine King.
John looked into the distance.
The beautiful Pearl Clan warden who cared for the noble Arcanine was walking toward him with another Arcanine.
"Hello, I'm Palina from the Pearl Clan. May I ask who you are?" The woman waved to John.
"John, from The Galaxy Expedition Team,"
"You're from the Galaxy Expedition Team?" Palina felt relieved hearing John was from the Galaxy Expedition Team.
The Galaxy Expedition Team at least weren't bad people.
"However, I didn't receive any notification."
"It has nothing to do with the Galaxy Expedition Team. I heard there was an Arcanine noble here, so I brought my own Arcanine to challenge it," John explained.
"That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Uh, it's not a problem." Palina shook her head. Many people had brought their own Pokemon to challenge the noble Arcanine before, but let alone defeating it, there'd never been any Pokemon that posed a real threat to it.
John nodded and glanced at the subordinate Arcanine and its child.
"Then, can I capture them?"
John was more interested in capturing these two Arcanines.
The Hisuian Arcanine had never appeared in the sanctuary where he'd discovered Zoroark last time.
If he captured and brought them to modern times, the Hisuian Arcanine line, long extinct, could flourish again.
Furthermore, Sunny, who had become King, did need a few subordinates around it.
However, the Pearl Clan had been caring for this noble Arcanine for a long time, so out of politeness, John still had to ask.
"Of course, the former noble doesn't belong to anyone." Palina nodded quickly. "Besides, they're both willing to follow you now."
After receiving Palina's permission, John took out Pokeballs and captured both Arcanines.
Both Arcanines' potential was quite good.
The former noble was 5IV, its child was 4IV.
If he raised them at the ranch, they could not only help guard the ranch but were also excellent breeding stock. However, he didn't have much time to personally oversee the Arcanine family's breeding, so he'd still have to hire someone to handle it.
Speaking of raising Arcanine, John suddenly thought of someone.
Caine, the military commander who specialized in Arcanines.
It was he who'd given Sunny to John originally.
John planned to have him help breed the Hisuian Arcanines. He thought the man would be very happy.
It could be considered returning the favor, killing two birds with one stone.