Discussion

After determining the Gym's location, Yuga, Mayor Ishida, and Sasaki Makoto discussed some finer details before seeing them off.

The specific construction matters of the Gym would be discussed by Yuga personally with the head of the construction team. Sasaki Makoto was overseeing the entire project.

In the afternoon, Sasaki arrived again, accompanied by a middle-aged man and a woman who appeared to be about Suzuki's age.

The middle-aged man, Ando, was the head of the construction team for the Gym's construction. He had come to discuss the specific arrangements for the construction with Yuga.

With the Gym's location now settled, the construction of the Gym was on the agenda.

The woman, named Hoshina, was a designer specializing in creating badges for new Gyms. She had come to discuss the badge design with Yuga, or if Yuga had any ideas, he could directly share them with her.

Once the badge style was decided, it would be submitted and manufactured by the League. League-made badges featured special anti-counterfeiting marks, making them difficult to replicate.

After everyone sat down, Ando took out several design drawings, all of which were existing Gym designs for Yuga to choose from.

"If Mr. Shimizu has his own ideas and would like to design the Gym himself, we can discuss that as well," Ando said to Yuga as he looked through the drawings.

"I'm not very knowledgeable in this area, so I'll defer to your expertise," Yuga replied. He had no particular preferences in this regard and knew that he wasn't an architect. Making arbitrary demands would only complicate the construction.

In his previous life, Yuga had admired protagonists in novels who could design and build houses according to their own blueprints when transported to ancient villages. He wondered if those protagonists were all architects before their time-travel adventures.

Architectural design was a complex field, especially for large-scale projects involving various areas of expertise.

For instance, ancient wooden structures, without modern tools like nails, made construction even more complicated. Randomly designing blueprints would cause significant issues for the construction workers.

Yuga couldn't remember or come up with anything specific himself. If he had general preferences regarding architectural style or broad requirements, he was willing to express them. However, he didn't want to interfere with the details.

Listening to the advice of professionals was better than causing unnecessary trouble.

Compared to other time travelers, Yuga felt like a complete novice who knew nothing.

In the end, Yuga chose a design drawing with a traditional Japanese architectural style, similar to his master's manor in Mauville City, which he greatly admired.

After selecting the design drawing, Yuga and Ando discussed the internal construction of the Gym. They removed unnecessary structures from the original drawings and added some other buildings.

Yuga also tentatively asked Ando if it would be possible to build a small Ecopark within the Gym. To his surprise, Ando readily agreed.

Yuga's idea was to provide apprentices at the Gym with a place to house their own Pokémon. Without a convenient facility for that purpose, it would be inconvenient for them. Hence, he brought up the suggestion.

Unexpectedly, Ando agreed without hesitation, even though building an Ecopark would be quite expensive.

This aligned with what Sasaki Makoto had mentioned earlier – the League's budget for this project was indeed very ample.

The area chosen by Yuga and Sasaki Makoto for the Gym construction was quite large. Building the entire Gym to its full scale would require a significant amount of money, let alone adding an Ecopark.

At this moment, Yuga realized that the hidden benefits of being in the top three of the Gym selection tournament were not to be taken lightly. They were tangible advantages.

After concluding their discussion with Mr. Ando, it was Ms. Hoshina's turn to talk about badge design.

The badge design discussion was relatively simpler but took some extra time to finalize.

While Yuga may not have a design background, badges, unlike buildings, didn't pose any safety concerns if designed poorly; they might simply not look as appealing. So, when it came to designing the badge for his Gym, Yuga wanted to be more involved.

Yuga's Gym was a Grass-type Gym, a decision made long ago, and this was taken into account during the badge design. Yuga had some ideas, and Ms. Hoshina was a strong-willed person. Combining their ideas, they designed the badge for Verdanturf Gym.

The badge for Verdanturf Gym, named the "Verdant Badge," had a relatively simple design. Due to being a Grass-type Gym, the badge took on the overall shape of a leaf.

After concluding discussions about Gym construction and badge design, Mr. Ando and Ms. Hoshina hastily left. They had many preparations ahead of them.

Once they left, Sasaki Makoto brought up another topic. "Apart from Gym construction and badge issues, I'd like to discuss the personnel arrangement for Verdanturf Gym."

A Gym could not function with only one Gym Trainer; it required specialized referees, Gym apprentices, maintenance staff, and more.

Yuga asked, "Are there any specific requirements for Gym personnel?"

Sasaki Makoto replied, "Other than referees, there are no special requirements. You can either request the League's assistance or recruit your own staff.

The League will arrange for professional referees if you don't have any candidates, and they will handle their salaries. If you have suitable candidates, they need to undergo the League's professional referee assessment to obtain certification.

Once certified, they will be considered League employees, and the League will handle their salaries. If someone lacks League certification, they can still work as referees in the Gym, but you'll need to handle their pay.

For up to ten Gym apprentices, the League provides basic training funds, and they arrange for initial Pokémon. This is a benefit for those who finish in the top three of the Gym selection tournament. For apprentices beyond ten, it's your responsibility.

Additionally, there's a chef, and the League covers the salaries of three Gym cleaners and maintenance personnel. You can recruit the chef and cleaning staff yourself, but I recommend accepting the League's arrangement for maintenance personnel; they are more professionally trained."

Yuga sighed, "The League is truly well-funded."

Yuga already had a candidate in mind for the referee role, none other than Beidou. Beidou was not only suitable as a referee but could also instruct Gym apprentices. Yuga felt it would be more convenient to have someone he knew rather than an unfamiliar League-assigned referee.

Now, the focus was on getting Beidou the professional referee certification. Since the Gym was not yet constructed, there was likely enough time.

As for Gym apprentices, Yuga had candidates at hand—Arata Shin, Akihito, and even Akihito's younger siblings—all seemed suitable. Though they didn't meet the ten-apprentice quota, Yuga preferred to avoid recruiting outsiders hastily.

Yuga shared his plans with Sasaki Makoto, indicating that he would handle the referees, apprentices, chef, and cleaning staff himself, while the League could arrange the maintenance personnel.

Sasaki Makoto assured Yuga that he would help with the arrangements. After discussing this, Yuga escorted Sasaki Makoto out of the YoYo Day Care.