pride was something akin to a double-edged sword; one could take ample pleasure in their own accolades, but at the end of the day, boasting too often about them could potentially lead to their despair in the sense of the impression given off comparable to degradation of others. as a pokémon trainer, silverio would never seek to look down on opponents or view them as beneath him, especially in the midst of the gym challenge that he had once participated and cleared in paldea. simply put, the man had learned to remain humble and steadfast. of course he was always happy with his past achievements, but not once would he ever gloat about them. call it self-loathing if you will, but to silv, it was realism.

that was just how he'd been raised.

a unique gym challenge, huh? consider his interest piqued. alas, indeed it was still far too soon to consider it. the priority of ensuring the safety of a land foreign to him would take utmost precedence. "fair enough...regardless, i'll look forward to exploring these gyms, if i could ever find the time for them, that is." in these difficult times, downtime could be thought of as a luxury, and even if one could manage to find it, they'd be likely to pay a steep price for it.

best not to dwell on it now, however...

silv would accept her invitation, taking her hand in an exchange of pleanstries. perhaps he should've expected to be bombarded with questions, and likewise, some inquiries of his own would stir in the figurative hot pot. but that could wait. he might as well indulge, in the form of feeding the pinkette's curious mind. "i'd be happy to go with you; i was just thinking that i could use a guide." suppose that some newfound company wouldn't hurt on top of that, but for her to start with such a loaded question...

"aah...!?"

before he could find an opening to respond, a hard knock felt at the back of his leg. it wasn't long at all until his baby blues met with the culprit. another pokémon child, this time in the form of a tinkatink. silverio would look to shake off the runt himself, deeming the use of one of his own pokémon to be a tad over-the-top. but no, the daring little darling insisted on sticking to the man like glue. it seemed that desiree may not have been the only one whose attention he had drawn here...

reverting his own eyes back to desiree..."well..." now how was he supposed to explain his reasoning for coming here without sounding too much like his former academy's valedictorian? alas, no other excuse may likely be credible. and so..."long story short, i had sought to study abroad, and i still do if i'm being honest. i've always wanted to learn for myself...what lies beyond paldea's borders. our meeting here today? i guess that's as good of a start as any."

however...

"so far, i now know that hoenn is in trouble, and that's putting it lightly...what about you, desiree? how's life as a gym leader treating you?"