The title "king of beasts" is often used in Sinnoh to describe the Luxray, yet there is reason to describe the Shinx this way as well. Shinx are small, but command a certain presence about them, and their stare and roar often scares away much larger pokemon. It was once thought that the Shinx were better described as "princes of beasts" and what pokemon feared was not the Shinx themselves, but the Luxray who follow to protect their cubs; today it is known that Luxray rarely fight for their cubs and that even orphaned Shinx strike a surprising fear into the hearts of enemy pokemon.
Shinx are small in stature, and their electric shock is not the most powerful; they must grow into Luxray to have any hope of actually toppling an Indian elephant or other large prey. And although Luxray can carry around a pride with them, there are few pokemon willing to follow a mere Shinx into combat. Most Shinx soon develop a wholly outsized courage and ferocity in battle to compensate, the sort which makes leaders of men, and of pokemon as well. These Shinx are beloved by friends and feared even by enemies as large and destructive as Tyranitar. A few are not blessed with such heroic hearts, and instead grow quarrelsome with their neighbors. They prepare less for the glory of kings than for the power politics which makes every monarch watch their back. These Shinx can only usurp thrones, not build them, and find it far easier to seize power than to hold onto it.
Every time a Shinx triumphs in battle or scares off a foe, the black fur on their collar grows a tiny bit. Only when it becomes large enough to surround its face may a Shinx evolve into a Luxio.