c187: Zvitch Turns Doubles Match Into Live Press Conference
"Yes, it's a kind of Active Block," Zvitch said with a knowing smile. "And it contains exceptionally pure energy."
"The energy inside is significantly more abundant than that of a top-grade Energy Cube. You could call this an enhanced version an evolution of the current high-end model."
He passed the cube toward Gym Leader Kenin.
Given their long-standing professional relationship in Rustboro City, Kenin accepted it without hesitation. They were both stakeholders in the local trainer ecosystem, after all.
Kenin examined it calmly, then nodded with a touch of surprise. "The energy density in this Active Block is at least 10% greater than the top-tier Energy Cubes Devon distributes. Don't underestimate that 10% in high-level battles, this could translate into a 20–30% performance spike."
Zvitch took another cube from the briefcase beside him.
"I know everyone here is wondering why I've brought out something like this at a tournament."
The crowd murmured in agreement. Several top trainers and investors in the audience had already seen similar ultra-rare cubes in underground exchanges. Those cost anywhere between 300,000 to 2 million Pokémon Coins, depending on energy grade and purity.
But no one expected Zvitch to bring something like that to a public event. Even the wealthiest CEOs wouldn't use a press conference for something that exclusive unless it had a bigger purpose.
"I won't waste your time with fluff," Zvitch said with a sharp grin. "What I'm announcing today is this Devon has succeeded in the mass production of Active Blocks."
The moment those words dropped, silence spread across the entire stadium.
Mass production.
Everyone there trainers, company reps, Gym Leaders, even Pokémon researchers understood the weight of that phrase. This wasn't just an upgrade; it was a seismic shift in the energy cube industry.
Even Kenin's fingers trembled as she stared at the cube in her hand. She had researched these energy types herself. If mass production was real, Devon would eclipse Silph Co., RymeTech, and even emerging competitors like Hexcore Labs.
"Haha, yeah, I was just as stunned when the R&D department confirmed it," Zvitch chuckled. "But let me get to the point: everyone participating in today's tournament whether they advance or not will receive a souvenir Active Block."
The crowd gasped.
"Furthermore, Devon is putting Active Blocks into the prize pool. This doubles tournament will now be a real-time competition for both glory and innovation."
He raised a hand as a large holographic chart appeared behind him.
"Each team starts with ten Active Blocks in their prize pool, in addition to a souvenir block for personal use."
"In every match, the winning team will receive half of their opponent's Active Blocks."
"For example, if you lose a match with five remaining, your opponent gets three. If you lose all ten, you're eliminated from the event."
"If a team survives seven matches and keeps their prize pool intact, they'll advance to the official finals and receive half the active blocks in the tournament's global pool."
"If a team loses in the finals, they keep half of what they have accumulated; the rest returns to the sponsor."
The rules stunned the crowd into deeper silence. Not only had Zvitch turned the tournament into a battlefield of strength and strategy, but also into a live campaign for Active Block exposure.
Each team had 11 Active Blocks: 10 for battle, 1 to keep. With 682 teams participating, that meant 7,502 Active Blocks were being distributed today.
Given that a single Active Block could outperform a top-grade cube, its market value would be assumed to be over 200,000 Pokémon Coins.
That was over 1.4 billion Pokémon Coins in assets, handed out as promotional material.
Only Qin Yun watched with true understanding and admiration. Zvitch wasn't just a CEO he was a marketing genius. He had turned a high-profile doubles tournament into a televised launch event.
And Qin Yun, who had helped develop the Active Block with system-crafted resources and technology, knew a secret: the production cost of each cube was only about 3,000 Pokémon Coins.
That made the entire campaign cost just 21 million Coins. For this level of exposure and brand loyalty, the cost-benefit ratio was incredible.
Qin Yun clenched his fists with excitement. If it were up to him, he couldn't have done this half as well. Zvitch had leveraged every angle flawlessly.
"Lastly," Zvitch said, "although Active Blocks are now in mass production, the output is currently limited. So sales will be restricted."
"Each registered trainer may purchase up to ten blocks per month, with no markup fixed at 200,000 Pokémon Coins each."
The stadium erupted in cheers. The crowd shouted praise, some even rising from their seats to chant.
"Zvitch! Long live Devon!"
Qin Yun gave a genuine thumbs-up from the front row. If he hadn't chosen to work with Zvitch, this level of product rollout wouldn't have been possible. The entire Active Block production chain had benefited from their silent collaboration.
Zvitch handed the microphone to the host and motioned toward the reception desks.
All contestants were directed to collect their eleven Active Blocks: ten for tournament play, and one as a personal memento.
When Qin Yun picked up his set, a system notification lit up in his vision.
[Ding! Obtained Active Block. Thousand-fold reward activated!]
[Received: Mega Active Block ×50]
[System: Add items to backpack?]
"Even this can be boosted?" Qin Yun was stunned.
Apparently, only the souvenir Active Block had triggered the system multiplier. The rest intended for tournament use were considered outside his personal acquisition scope.
"Looks like anything I get through direct competition counts toward the system's reward logic. But things created or duplicated manually? Not eligible."
He chuckled inwardly. "This system is too crafty."
Other contestants were equally ecstatic as they received their Active Blocks. Many instinctively sensed the density of power within, especially the elite-level trainers with sensitive Pokémon partners.
The energy felt like a pulse of liquid light.
Zvitch's publicity stunt had succeeded. Every trainer present now became an unwitting ambassador for Active Blocks.
Even Jiang Cai'er, normally reserved, was glowing with excitement. She had no idea that Qin Yun had been involved in their creation much less that he held partial ownership in the project.
Though the match schedule was delayed slightly due to the new prize rules, nobody minded.
The small pause gave them time to examine their rewards—and imagine the upcoming battle chaos.
Half an hour later, the match resumed.
Because the number of matches had increased significantly, the competition area was divided into dozens of smaller fields, each equipped with a digital scoreboard and livestream broadcast.
A giant LED wall flashed to life.
682 names appeared, and under Zvitch's announcement, they began jumping rapidly into randomized pairings.
The crowd braced for battle.
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