Pokémon: Starting with a Pokémon Ranch.

Chapter 193 The Arcanine used a long howl, and Su Yu's attack increased!

"Was it brought by the original Officer Jenny?"

In an instant, Su Yu connected the dots. Perhaps, before their arrival, the Sword and Shield duo had entrusted something to Officer Jenny to bring from Aquamarine?

"It's not impossible. Perhaps the two legendary Pokémon foresaw something."

However, now is not the time to delve into those matters. As the team advances step by step, it will soon be Su Yu's Growlithe's turn to receive the sacred flame.

Before Su Yu, the boy in front of him had already taken up the stairs with his Growlithe. Meanwhile, Arcanine, controlling the flames, directed them towards Growlithe's location, subjecting it to a baptism of fire.

After the baptism, the Growlithe cautiously opened its eyes. It felt that the fire energy within its body seemed to have become much purer.

Moreover, it seems to have learned some new tricks?

He tried to demonstrate this move, and the boy beside him exclaimed in surprise:

"Growlithe, you've learned Flare Blitz?!"

"That's great! Hahaha, I had almost given up hope that I would master this move before evolving!"

This scene was equally shocking to Su Yu.

"Is this the foundation of the Officer Jenny family?"

Every Growlithe that has undergone systematic training has access to such resources. It's no wonder, then, that Officer Jenny has been able to maintain her position as a law enforcement officer in the League for so long.

Similarly, Su Yu saw this as a tremendous opportunity.

"Let's go, it's our turn."

As Su Yu spoke to Growlithe, he stepped forward. Beside the sacred flame stood what seemed to be the same familiar Arcanine from before. Seeing Su Yu's Growlithe, it appeared somewhat excited.

"Awoo...?"

It's you again?

This time you're facing the Olympic flame, so you can't possibly act as abnormally as you did before, right?

With that in mind, Arcanine also directed the sacred flame toward Growlithe and provided energy for it.

"Awooo ┗|｀O′|┛"

Growlithe closed its eyes, bathing in the flames. As it felt the flames, it seemed to see a firebird taking flight before it.

"Awoo?"

Upon seeing the bird, Growlithe was about to reach out and paw at it. But as its bath ended, the scene before it vanished, leaving it opening its eyes in confusion.

Su Yu, who was standing to the side, asked:

"So, what did you learn?"

Upon hearing this, Growlithe shook its head blankly, as if there was nothing there.

However, it seemed to have just seen a phantom of a molten bird in front of it?

"...?"

A living phantom? Logically speaking, this shouldn't happen during a normal bathing in flames, right?

Could it be... that this is a fire with its own consciousness, capable of manifesting a form in one's mind?

Su Yu remembered that the Moltres torch in the anime possessed its own consciousness. It could even transform into a bird and retaliate against the Team Rocket trio who tried to steal the torch.

Perhaps what Growlithe saw at that moment was the independent consciousness of this flame. But because there wasn't enough time, it couldn't communicate with it.

"I wonder how I can let Growlithe bathe in the sacred fire again..."

Su Yu muttered to himself.

The boy in front of Su Yu heard Su Yu's mutterings and said:

"If you wish to be bathed in the sacred flame again, I suggest you go to our family's mission hall and accept some missions to accumulate contribution points."

"Once you have enough contribution points, you can do it again like today. Of course... that would require a huge number of contribution points."

Upon hearing this, Su Yu quickly expressed his gratitude. Since he couldn't bathe in the sacred fire again for the time being, the next step was to help Growlithe evolve.

"You should also evolve, right? Then we can go together. By the way, my name is Yang Yan."

"My name is Su Yu."

Officer Jenny's Growlithe evolved using a Fire Stone as large as a mountain. This Fire Stone is said to have existed before Arcanine Valley was established.

For centuries, Officer Jenny's family has used this stone to evolve Growlithe.

It is said that the energy inside will still be consumed, but because the energy it contains is too enormous, the entire Officer Jenny family is said to have not yet used up one-fifth of it.

"Is it similar to the special evolution stone from the seabed at Vermilion City in the special episode?"

Su Yu thought to himself. However, the evolution stone at the bottom of the sea in Kuroba City is said to be a true Eternal Evolution Stone.

After a dozen or so Growlithe touched the giant Firestone together, bursts of intense white light erupted from their bodies simultaneously.

Such a spectacular sight of so many Growlithe evolving together is probably only seen at Officer Jenny's house; you probably wouldn't see it anywhere else. And when the white light faded, a series of majestic Arcanines appeared before Su Yu.

"Awoo (o▽)o~!"

As soon as the evolution was complete, Su Yu's Arcanine pounced over, its heavy size putting immense pressure on Su Yu.

"Huh? You've grown up!"

According to the Pokédex, Arcanine can reach a height of 1.9 meters and a weight of 155 kg.

It's just that Su Yu's physical condition isn't bad now, otherwise, such a fall would have sent him straight to the hospital.

The trainers standing nearby also showed expressions of envy. This was not only because they envied the relationship between Su Yu and Arcanine, but also because they envied Su Yu's physical condition.

If it were them, they would absolutely not dare to let Arcanine cause such damage.

After evolving, the only thing that didn't change about Arcanine was its love for licking people's tongues.

Stroking Arcanine's head and letting it lick his face, Su Yu sighed:

"In the blink of an eye, you've become taller than me! Congratulations on your evolution, Arcanine."

Growlithe evolved into Arcanine, and the little dog became a giant Hound. When they get back, Alcremie and the others will probably be quite surprised, right?

"Awooo~~!"

In response, Arcanine roared to the sky and unleashed the move "Long Howl".

—Su Yu's attack +1.

During the system's investigation, Arcanine also successfully learned the move "Extreme Speed" after evolving. Now, the legendary Pokémon Arcanine, which runs across the Eastern Lands, has finally learned one of its most core moves.

Arcanine's current strength has firmly reached the professional level, and is among the best. However, it is still some distance from the Gym Leader level, which is a mainstay of the ranch.

"Alright, the evolution is complete, it's time to go back."

After saying goodbye to Yang Yan, Su Yu returned to the castle with Arcanine. At this moment, Yang Wen followed closely behind.

She looked at Su Yu's Arcanine and nodded with satisfaction.

"Not bad, it seems that evolution has brought quite a significant boost to your Growlithe. So soon, your Arcanine will catch up with mine."

Yang Wen's Arcanine is at the Gym Leader level. This is one of only two Gym Leader level Pokémon Yang Wen possesses; the other is her previous Pidgeot. However, Pidgeot only recently reached that level.

Su Yu simply smiled at this. He then inquired about the matter of bathing in the sacred fire from Yang Wen, to which Yang Wen explained:

"Actually, if it weren't for the Holy Flame, I would have advised you to stay and take on some missions. But since you've already decided to, there's no need for me to persuade you."

"The family does have a mechanism for bathing in the sacred flame. But I want to talk about something else. That is... to hone and develop your Arcanine's [Heart of Justice] by fighting crime."

The Officer Jenny family has a systematic method for cultivating a sense of justice. Yang Wen explained this method to Su Yu in detail.

The so-called "Heart of Justice" simply means that Arcanine's Attack stat increases when attacked by Dark-type moves. Through the development of this ability, the Officer Jenny family has evolved it into a true "Heart of Justice."

—That is… an all-around ability to suppress Dark-type Pokémon, including overwhelming presence, type resistance, and the ability to counter Dark-type Pokémon.

In addition, there is another effect that converts the temporary attack power boost gained from the trait into a permanent attribute boost. This is also a unique skill developed by the Officer Jenny family based on the Heart of Justice trait.

Yang Wen also said:

"Of course, the efficiency of this transformation is actually not high, and it can even be said to be negligible."

"But this is also a way to improve your strength, and it's a bonus. After all, you're planning to accumulate contribution points to bathe in the sacred flame, right?"

"Developing some special features along the way is actually quite good. At the same time, this is also preparation for mastering the [Sacred Flame] in the future."

The development of a sense of justice is said to be a necessary prerequisite for mastering the sacred flame, and this is also the strongest technique of the Officer Jenny family.

However, it is said that this unique skill has not been mastered by anyone for hundreds of years.

……

(End of this chapter)