章 1022: Experimental Results

Yuga and Minister Yagi steadily walked to the table, pulling out chairs and sitting down.

"Cough... Cough..." Minister Yagi cleared his throat and said, "Quite a few people have come today." He chuckled twice, indicating his current pleasant mood.

"Without further ado, let's get straight to the point. First, I want to say thank you to the representatives of various regional League and our media friends for attending this press conference. I'm sure everyone can't wait to witness our innovative potion."

Minister Yagi did not say much and got straight to the point. He clapped, and a Commerce Department staff member came on stage with a tray holding the Innovation Potion, prepared in advance by Yuga.

The potion is overall blue in color, was contained in delicate, transparent glass bottles. Under the direct lighting of the venue, it reflected a beautiful radiance, resembling shimmering gemstones in each bottle.

Everyone present gazed wide-eyed at the Innovation Potion held by the staff member. Though they had seen samples of the potion in posters and advertisements, the impact of the physical product was far more stunning than the images on paper and TV.

Everyone knew that if the Innovation Potion's effects matched its publicity, these potions could change the landscape for trainers, impacting the businesses of various Pokémon Day Cares.

At that moment, they all understood why the Verdanturf Gym Leader had allowed the League to share the profits from this lucrative business. Without the League's support for something so impactful, even with Mr. Kuni'o backing it, it wouldn't prevent people with ulterior motives from making their moves.

The Verdanturf Gym Leader was undoubtedly formidable, but individual power had its limits. No matter how intelligent or dominant someone was, they couldn't withstand ill intentions and schemes from all sides without the League's intervention.

However, with the League involved, the situation would be different.

"Take a look, everyone. This is the Innovation Potion we've mentioned in our promotions. You're probably already well aware of its effects from our previous Commerce Department promotions. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask now, and we'll try to answer as much as we can." Facing the eager crowd, Minister Yagi spoke calmly.

As Minister Yagi finished speaking, the trainers and media began discussing among themselves, not rushing to ask their burning questions. On the other hand, the representatives from various regions sat confidently in the front row, appearing composed.

Yuga remained quietly seated on the stage, not uttering a single word since appearing, leaving all the handling to Minister Yagi.

If it weren't for him being the owner of the Innovation Potion, personally, Yuga would prefer a more low-key approach. Being too much in the spotlight recently had its advantages, but it also came with its downsides, such as not knowing how many individuals were secretly eyeing him.

Yuga now had the massive support of the League as a significant backing. Most people dared not confront him directly, but if a direct approach failed, they could resort to softer or more tempting means. As long as the benefits were significant, they wouldn't be short of people making moves.

After much deliberation, a representative trainer finally stood up to pose a question.

"Minister Yagi, can you guarantee that the Innovation Potion's effects are as advertised? How can this be verified?" inquired the trainer.

Minister Yagi grinned, "I knew you'd ask that. Providing proof is quite simple." He clapped his hands.

Under everyone's gaze, a staff member brought out a device known to all trainers: a Pokémon potential detection device.

Once the potential detection device was securely placed on the table, another staff member brought a tray with nine red and white Poké Balls, rather than the potion as before.

"I'm sure you've guessed what we're about to do. No matter how much we explain, nothing beats a live demonstration. So today, let's witness the truth of the Innovation Potion's effects on these Pokémon."

After introducing the nine Pokémon, the staff members returned them to their Poké Balls. Afterward, the Pokémon underwent an potential detection test in full view of the audience.

These nine Pokémon, sent by the League, were meant to be "casually" presented to Yuga as a small reward once the press conference ended. Taking them back afterwards would make the League seem petty.

Following the tests, the results showed that the initial form of Treecko, Mudkip, and Torchic had red potentials, the second stage forms of Grovyle, Marshtomp, and Combusken had orange potentials, and the third stage forms of Sceptile, Swampert, and Blaziken had yellow potentials.

"Everyone has seen the potentials of the nine Pokémon. We did not falsify any data in front of you all," Minister Yagi continued, unfazed by the audience's reactions. "Now, let's proceed to test the effects of the Innovation Potion."

Upon Minister Yagi's signal, the staff members released the nine Pokémon again and administered each with a dose of the Innovation Potion.

"Please wait for a moment, everyone," Minister Yagi smilingly requested.

A quarter of an hour passed as everyone held their breath, fixated on the nine Pokémon on the stage. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no external reaction from the Pokémon. It appeared as though they had just consumed nine bottles of plain water.

Once the time was up, the nine Pokémon were re-encased in their Poké Balls and retested using the potential detection device. The results were evident.

Luck seemed to favor the Pokémon today. The red potential Pokémon—Treecko, Mudkip, and Torchic—all transformed into orange potentials. Among the orange potential Pokémon, Marshtomp and Combusken changed to yellow potentials. As for the yellow potential Pokémon, Blaziken and Sceptile transitioned to green potentials.

Due to this fortunate outcome, the effects exceeded those publicized for the potential potion, resulting in a greater impact and leaving the trainers and journalists below involuntarily wide-eyed in astonishment.

Even the Champions and Elite Four sitting at the front couldn't help but express their astonishment. Even though this potion didn't serve them much, they understood the significance of the Innovation Potion.

Especially Professor Oak; he eyed the remaining Innovation Potion in front of Minister Yagi with a gleam in his eyes. As a Pokémon professor, his interest in the potion surpassed that of anyone present. At that moment, he wished he could immediately approach Yuga to discuss about it, considering Yuga was technically the developer of the Innovation Potion.

Steven was also utterly surprised. Even though he had known everything about the Innovation Potion before coming, it was his first time witnessing its actual effects.

Due to the confidentiality surrounding the Innovation Potion, all physical items related to it were closely guarded. Other than Yuga and Minister Yagi, nobody had access.

Don't be fooled by Minister Yagi's lack of being a trainer; he was secretly protected by several experts. According to Yuga, there were four Elite level Trainer from the League who were concealed around Minister Yagi.

As the representative of the Hoenn League attending this event, Steven was meant to act as the host to entertain other League branch representatives after the press conference.

The benefits of the Innovation Potion couldn't be solely monopolized by the Hoenn League branch. Other regions would definitely get a share; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Elite Four and Champions present as representatives of various regional League.

Although there might be occasional competition among different League branches, the League functioned as a whole. If the Hoenn League branch enjoyed a full meal, at least the other League branches should have a sip of the soup.

Even though the other League branches could only have a taste of the soup, it was just the way it was. After all, Yuga belonged to the Hoenn League, and each League could only complain about not having a talent like him.

Observing the reactions of the audience below, Minister Yagi smiled triumphantly.

"Oh my, the enhancement of those Pokémon's potentials is unbelievable!"

"They were actually able to raise yellow potentials to green—simply incredible! Does this mean we can mass-produce green potential Pokémon in the future?"

"I wonder about the production volume of this potion. If it can be produced in large quantities, that would be extraordinary!"

...

Seeing that the discussions in the audience were starting to settle down, Minister Yagi coughed lightly twice, gesturing for everyone to quiet down. "Alright, I believe everyone has seen the effects of the Innovation Potion."

After saying this, Minister Yagi turned to look at Yuga, who nodded. Then, he released an exciting piece of news.

"As a bonus for those attending today's conference, we will select nine trainers to experience the effects of the Innovation Potion for free."

Once Minister Yagi made the announcement, the crowd erupted with excitement. Being chosen meant the chance to potentially acquire a high potential Pokémon, especially one they had nurtured step by step themselves.

Who wouldn't want to be chosen?

The attendees at this conference weren't all like the Elite Four and Champions, not having an abundance of high potential Pokémon. Getting a high potential Pokémon for free was like a dream come true for most present.

This experiential segment was meticulously planned by Yuga and Minister Yagi. Although they were giving away a few vials of the Innovation Potion for free, the aim was to engage the participants emotionally. Only by experiencing it firsthand could they get a more vivid understanding.

Seeing the increasingly fervent discussions among the audience, Minister Yagi tapped on the table. "Quiet, quiet!"

The room quickly fell silent.

Soon, a group of staffers holding boxes marched down to the front of the stage, indicating each trainer to draw a card from the boxes. Each card had a number printed on it.

"I'll call out nine numbers, and if anyone's card matches the number I call, they'll have the opportunity to come up and experience the effects of the Innovation Potion for free," Minister Yagi explained, observing the trainers' puzzled expressions.

"Are we allowed to participate?" Kalos League,'s Champion Diantha suddenly stood up and asked Minister Yagi.

After exchanging a glance with Yuga and receiving his nod, Minister Yagi smilingly responded, "Of course."

Initially, they hadn't intended to let regional representatives participate in this activity because the Champions and Elite Four might not necessarily have Pokémon with potentials below green. However, since Diantha brought it up, allowing their participation was no harm. After all, everyone deserved a chance to participate.

After getting a positive response, Diantha smiled gently and sat back down. Soon, a staff member arrived at the front row, allowing the Champions and Elite Four to draw their numbers.

Professor Oak also eagerly drew a number. Even though he didn't have any Pokémon with potentials below green, he could easily teleport one over from his collection. He was just too curious about the effects of the Innovation Potion and couldn't wait to test it personally.

Dianthabwas adamant about seizing this opportunity because she happened to have a Pokémon with a yellow potential.

As is well known, Diantha is not only the regional Champion of the Kalos League but also a well-known film star in the Kalos region.

By her side is a Furfrou, her long-time partner in films ever since her debut. Their bond is deep and has grown over time, despite Furfrou not being a Pokémon that Diantha herself captured but rather one arranged by her agent when she began her acting career.

This Furfrou's potential was ordinary because it was assigned to her as an actor's aid. Nevertheless, despite the shifts in her agents over the years, Furfrou remained a constant companion, starring in one film after another with Diantha.

Now that Diantha has become a big star, Furfrou's popularity has also surged.

Diantha knew she might not be picked, but she wanted to try her luck. Even if she wasn't selected, she could arrange for a vial by herself—after all, she was the Champion of Kalos and had the necessary permissions.

Since the Hoenn League had invited them, the allocation of shares to the Kalos League and other league branches was something Diantha was very clear about.

"Numbers 6, 15, 99, 101, 164, 190, 268, 314, 454."

Once the cards were drawn, Minister Yagi casually announced the nine numbers. The audience heard their numbers matching their cards and erupted with joy.

Professor Oak listened intently to all nine numbers called out by Minister Yagi. He was frustrated with his bad luck—his card had the number 245, and none of the numbers matched.

"Oh well, there are plenty of other chances," he thought, shrugging off his disappointment.

Diantha paused for a moment when she heard Minister Yagi call out the numbers and glanced at her card, which had the number 268.

She was chosen!

Diantha didn't expect her luck to be this good.

The nine lucky individuals soon stepped onto the stage, each receiving a vial of the Innovation Potion and administering it to their Pokémon.

The Innovation Potion had a chance of failure. Some of the lucky participants had their Pokémon's potential improved, while others made the trip in vain. Diantha fell into the fortunate group.

Observing the green light on the potential testing device, Diantha smiled with satisfaction.

As she descended from the stage, Diantha happened to meet Yuga's gaze. She smiled warmly at him before turning and leaving the stage. She was particularly curious about Yuga, the Verdanturf Town Gym Leader who developed the Innovation Potion.

Yuga was surprised that Diantha was picked; she was the only one among the regional representatives selected.

After the testing and reward session concluded, a journalist raised the most pressing question on the minds of all trainers present.

"Minister Yagi, how can trainers purchase the Innovation Potion?"