“Damn it. I didn’t expect to lose after all,” Jasper said, unwilling to accept it.
“Haha, you should be proud. To fight me to this extent, I already had to bring out my true strength. From today onward, you are my disciple, Jasper,” Flint said, a smile appearing on his firm face.
After saying that, Flint still felt rather excited inside.
This young man suited his tastes in every aspect, and his talent was outstanding.
Looking at the boy and his Crystal Onix, Flint seemed to see a future where Pewter Gym’s name resounded throughout Kanto once again.
Ever since he had left, Pewter Gym’s status in the Kanto region had plummeted.
After all, Brock’s dream was to become a top Breeder, and he had not pursued his own battle strength too much.
This had eventually caused Pewter Gym to become the second weakest Gym in the Kanto region, leaving it constantly surrounded by controversy.
This boy was a chance to display Pewter Gym’s power again.
He was young, had great potential, and even had this Crystal Onix.
He would definitely bring Pewter Gym even greater fame, Flint thought to himself.
After hearing old Gym Leader Flint’s words, Jasper was still extremely happy.
After all, his original reason for coming to Pewter Gym had been to become a disciple and seek protection.
Now, his goal had already been achieved.
“All right, Master Flint. Please take care of me from now on,” Jasper said happily.
In the backyard of Pewter Gym, Jasper was carrying out the daily maintenance of the fruit trees.
These trees had all been taken care of by Brock before.
Although there were not many varieties, every single one had been cultivated extremely well.
As expected of someone whose goal was to become a top Breeder.
Unfortunately, the environment here could not support the planting of high-grade Berries like Sandscale Berries.
In the backyard, there were basic Oran Berries and Pecha Berries, as well as Pomeg Berries and Shida Berries used as mid-grade ingredients for Rock-type and Ground-type Pokémon.
In addition, there were Enigma Berries, Sitrus Berries, and some other medicinal plants used as supplementary ingredients.
Although none of them were especially precious varieties, they were all in high demand both for the Gym itself and on the market, and they were relatively simple to grow.
These fruit trees and medicinal plants were spread out across the nearly three-hundred-square-meter yard.
Among them, Pomeg Berries and Shida Berries, which were used as materials for Rock-type Pokémon, made up the majority, occupying nearly three-fifths of the space.
As Kanto’s Rock-type Gym, Pewter Gym was located in Pewter City, where the residents’ Pokémon were also mainly Rock-types.
Because of that, the sales of Pomeg Berries and Shida Berries remained consistently high.
This was also one of the Gym’s usual sources of income.
When Flint learned that Jasper actually possessed a Level 3 Berry-Grower Certification, he was first stunned.
This disciple of his truly had some ability.
After all that the Level 3 Berry-Grower Certification was not easy to obtain.
Not only did it require deep understanding of all kinds of fruit trees, but one also had to successfully cultivate a type of high-grade Berry.
High-grade Berries were among the top materials used for Pokémon food and energy blocks, and their prices were even more expensive.
After all that Berries were the main ingredients for making all kinds of energy blocks and Pokémon food.
Just having this Level 3 Berry-Grower Certification alone was already enough to make Jasper popular among various families.
It seemed his decision had truly been correct.
After that, Flint immediately handed the fruit trees in the backyard over to Jasper to manage.
After all, dealing with challengers every day and taking care of his own children had already consumed too much of his energy.
Fortunately, these things were not difficult for Jasper.
Presumably, those were prepared for massive Pokémon like Onix.
As expected of an official League Gym.
It was truly grand enough.
According to Flint, these training devices had all been specially custom-made when he personally went to the Silph Company headquarters in Saffron City years ago.
When he introduced this equipment to Jasper, he had been quite proud.
Although official League Gyms received considerable discounts when purchasing such equipment, he had still spent a large sum of money on them.
Jasper’s daily tasks now were to look after these fruit trees while learning how to make energy blocks used to train Onix.
At the same time, he trained the Crystal Onix and occasionally had actual combat training with Master Flint.
Days slowly passed like this.
Jasper no longer had to worry about the Crystal Onix’s food, and he did not need to worry too much about its training either.
“My decision really was correct,” Jasper thought to himself with a smile.
Different types of Berries, when paired with corresponding secret recipes, could be made into different Pokémon foods or energy blocks.
The energy blocks used by generations of Pewter Gym to train Onix were made with a special recipe that used Sandscale Berries as the main ingredient.
On top of that, they were paired with Pokémon food made from the precious ore-rich soil of Mount Miacha.
So after receiving Flint’s approval and becoming his disciple, the Crystal Onix’s daily food mainly consisted of energy blocks, paired with the Pokémon food Jasper had improved using Mount Miacha’s ore-rich soil and the crystals from the crystal cave.
Even Jasper himself felt that this kind of combination was luxurious.
As the saying went, training accounted for thirty percent, while eating accounted for seventy percent.
If one wanted a Pokémon’s strength to increase quickly and steadily, and wanted it to develop even better, blindly relying on special training alone would not have much effect.
The nutrition invested into every aspect of daily life was also key.